123,388 Emirati women were working in UAE private companies by the end of August 2026, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), making Emirati women private sector workers represent 71 per cent of all UAE nationals employed in private firms.
MoHRE released the figures on 28 August to mark Emirati Women’s Day, celebrated this year under the theme ‘We Emerge Stronger and Better’, according to the National Media Authority.
Total Emirati private sector headcount reaches 190,000
The overall number of Emiratis working in private companies has reached 190,000, spread across more than 32,000 businesses. MoHRE said the figure represents a rise of more than 128 per cent compared to 2023.
The scale of the increase is clearer against a recent baseline: as of 30 June 2025, the total stood at more than 152,000 Emiratis employed across 29,000 companies, per an earlier MoHRE announcement.
More than 26,000 private companies now employ Emirati women, the ministry said.
Skilled roles and leadership positions dominate
Almost all Emirati women in the private sector, 98 per cent, work in skilled positions, MoHRE said. Women account for 70 per cent of Emiratis in senior professional roles and 55 per cent of Emiratis in executive and leadership positions.
Young Emirati women are similarly prominent: women represent around 70 per cent of young Emiratis working in private companies.
Shayma Al Awadhi, Undersecretary of MoHRE, said the data reflected deliberate policy choices. ‘Emirati women are key partners in shaping the future and driving sustainable development,’ she said.
Al Awadhi added that flexible laws, fair treatment and technology had helped more women join the workforce, and that the government would continue working with public and private partners to expand opportunities. ‘These achievements demonstrate the success of national policies in attracting and empowering Emirati women,’ she said.
Nafis and Emiratisation rules behind the shift
Two policy levers sit beneath the numbers. The Nafis programme, launched in 2021 by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council as part of the UAE’s Projects of the 50 and extended until 2040, supports UAE nationals aged 18 to 60 seeking or holding private sector employment through a salary support scheme, unemployment benefit, child allowance, pension contributions, and on-the-job training, among other measures, according to u.ae.
On the employer side, private sector Emiratisation rules require companies in 14 specified economic sectors with between 20 and 49 workers to have hired at least one UAE national by end of 2024 and one more by end of 2025. Firms that miss their broader Emiratisation targets pay Dh6,000 per month for each UAE national not employed in line with the required quota, a contribution that has risen by Dh1,000 annually since 2023.
The minimum monthly wage for Emiratis working in the private sector was set at Dh6,000, effective 1 January 2026, also by MoHRE, according to the ministry’s Emiratisation announcements.
MoHRE is due to publish its next quarterly private sector employment update later in 2026, which will show whether the 190,000 total continues to rise toward the programme’s extended targets.
