UAE To Require Listed Firms To Have At Least One Woman On Board

Every listed firm in the United Arab Emirates has been directed
to have at least a female director on its board following a meeting
on Sunday by the Securities and Commodities Authority.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler
of Dubai twitted immediately after the meeting.

“Women proved themselves in many workplaces and today we want
them to have a strong presence in decision-making positions in our
institutions,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

The regulator’s Chief Executive Officer Obaid Saif Al Zaabi, “We
previously used to accept explanations if there wasn’t compliance,
but now we are moving to make female representation
compulsory.”

“So now there must be at least one female member on the board of
any listed company,” added Obaid Saif Al Zaabi.

The move comes after the Gulf nation’s central bank signed a
memorandum of understanding with Aurora50, a firm focused on
gender-balanced boardrooms, to work toward raising the number of
women on the boards of both public and private companies in the
UAE.

The Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) held a conference last month
on the topic, discussing how to increase female representation on
boards; women hold only 1.5% of board positions in listed companies
in the GCC.

Shamsa Saleh, the DWE chief executive, said the Cabinet decision
was “the most important news in the history of Dubai Women
Establishment”.

“We recommended this policy last month in our forum and it’s
been implemented this month,” she said.

“It means that we have succeeded and Sheikh Mohammed is very
happy about it.”

The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting to approve a draft
law on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

As well as tweeting about women’s representation on company
boards, Sheikh Mohammed also used the social media tool to outline
various other components of the new law.

He said it included the establishment of a SME council and the
provision of incentives in several areas to business owners. He did
not say what these were.

The law also aims to “prepare a new generation of financially
independent Emirati businessmen so they can contribute to our
economy,” he tweeted.

Addressing the young people of the UAE, he said he held big
ambitions for them.

“Your small businesses will grow and you will be the future
leaders of the private sector,” he wrote.

Every listed firm in the United Arab Emirates has been directed
to have at least a female director on its board following a meeting
on Sunday by the Securities and Commodities Authority.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler
of Dubai twitted immediately after the meeting.

“Women proved themselves in many workplaces and today we want
them to have a strong presence in decision-making positions in our
institutions,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

The regulator’s Chief Executive Officer Obaid Saif Al Zaabi, “We
previously used to accept explanations if there wasn’t compliance,
but now we are moving to make female representation
compulsory.”

“So now there must be at least one female member on the board of
any listed company,” added Obaid Saif Al Zaabi.

The move comes after the Gulf nation’s central bank signed a
memorandum of understanding with Aurora50, a firm focused on
gender-balanced boardrooms, to work toward raising the number of
women on the boards of both public and private companies in the
UAE.

The Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) held a conference last month
on the topic, discussing how to increase female representation on
boards; women hold only 1.5% of board positions in listed companies
in the GCC.

Shamsa Saleh, the DWE chief executive, said the Cabinet decision
was “the most important news in the history of Dubai Women
Establishment”.

“We recommended this policy last month in our forum and it’s
been implemented this month,” she said.

“It means that we have succeeded and Sheikh Mohammed is very
happy about it.”

The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting to approve a draft
law on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

As well as tweeting about women’s representation on company
boards, Sheikh Mohammed also used the social media tool to outline
various other components of the new law.

He said it included the establishment of a SME council and the
provision of incentives in several areas to business owners. He did
not say what these were.

The law also aims to “prepare a new generation of financially
independent Emirati businessmen so they can contribute to our
economy,” he tweeted.

Addressing the young people of the UAE, he said he held big
ambitions for them.

“Your small businesses will grow and you will be the future
leaders of the private sector,” he wrote.