Rethinking Women Leadership Development Programs in the UAE

Abstract

In the increasingly globalized context of the UAE, women’s leadership development programs have become high on the agenda of government, academic and private sector organizations. Accordingly, the UAE is an interesting location to examine the growth in women’s leadership development programs and to better understand their evolution, goals and impacts. These programs vary greatly in levels of impact, some providing models to follow and continue building upon and others offering a learning opportunity on what works and what doesn’t in the UAE particularly and the region more generally. With a roundtable discussion on women’s leadership development as a backdrop, which brought together experts from three key sectors (private, public, academic), this policy brief reevaluates women’s leadership development programs in the UAE. Through a diversity of perspectives, important questions regarding women’s leadership development are posed with the ultimate goal to present key recommendations to policy makers in the UAE about how to improve and strengthen such programs.