Stats & Facts

EDUCATION

The Literacy rate of women in the UAE is 95.8%

Balance

The UAE has focused on educating both men and women. In 1975, the rate of adult literacy was 54% among men and 31% among women. Today, literacy rates for both genders are close to 95%

95% of female high-school graduates pursue further education at tertiary-level institutions, compared with 80% of males

77% of Emirati women enroll in higher education in secondary school

Emirati women make up 70% of all university graduates

56% of the UAE’s graduates in STEM courses at government universities are women

POLITICAL

The UAE has 9 female ministers, making up 27.3% of ministerial roles, one of the highest in the region

Female ministers

Ministerial roles

WORKFORCE

Women make up 66% of the public sector workers, with 30% in leadership roles and 15% in technical and academic roles.

UAE women comprise over 40% of all employees in education, at least 35% work in the health sector and approximately 20% in social affairs.

About 75% of positions in education and health sectors are occupied by women.

23,000 Emirati business women run projects worth over AED50 billion, and occupy 15% of the positions in the boards of chambers of commerce and industry nationwide.

UAE FEMALE

DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION

Women make up 30% of the diplomatic corps, where they occupy 234 positions, 42 working on missions abroad, and 7 being ambassadors. The UAE has started appointing women as ambassadors ever since 2009. Up to date the UAE has 7 female ambassadors:

HE Dr. Hessa Abdullah Al Otaiba

UAE Ambassador to Spain

HE Nabila Al Shamsi

Consul General of the UAE to Hong Kong

HE Hanan Al Alili

UAE Ambassador to Latvia

HE Fatima Khamis Al Mazrouei

UAE Ambassador to Denmark

HE Noora Mohammed Juma

UAE Ambassador to Finland

HE Hafsa Al Ulama

UAE Ambassador to Brazil

HE Lana Nusseibeh

UAE Permanent Representative to the UN

HE Mariam Khalifa Al Kaabi

UAE Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt

HE Hend Mana Saeed Al Otaiba

UAE Ambassador to France

HE Dr. Eman Ahmed Al Salami

UAE Ambassador to Poland

HE Rawdha Mohamed AlOtaiba

UAE Ambassador to Costa Rica

HE Amna Mahmoud Fikri

UAE Non-Resident Ambassador to Finland and Estonia

INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS

#35

UAE ranks 35 out of 189 countries in the 2018 UNDP Human Development Report UAE ranks 49 in Gender Inequality Index in the 2018 UNDP Human Development Report

UAE ranks 1st out of 132 countries in “Women Treated with Respect” indicator in the Social Progress Index 2015 report.