According to the “GCC Board Gender Index Report 2026,” women’s presence on GCC boards has increased to 7% of positions, up from 6.9% in 2025, with the UAE leading with 15%. Heriot-Watt University and Aurora50 released the third edition of their comprehensive study on women’s board representation at GCC publicly traded businesses, indicating consistent progress toward greater inclusivity in corporate leadership.
The research included 759 publicly traded GCC firms. Over the past year, the overall number of board seats increased by 1.5 percent, from 5,668 to 5,755. Across the GCC, 341 women now hold 403 board positions, a rise from 334 women who controlled 390 seats in 2025. This improvement demonstrates an increase in both the number of female directors (up 2.1 percent) and the board positions they occupy (up 3.3%). Some women have multiple directorships, indicating a greater increase in female representation and participation on boards.
Country-level data reaffirmed the UAE’s sustained leadership for the third consecutive year, with women holding 15% of board seats, or 191 out of 1,274 positions. Bahrain came in second at 10.5 percent (36 of 342 seats), followed by Oman at 7 percent (51 of 731), Kuwait at 5.6 percent (52 of 927), Qatar at 3.2 percent (15 of 467), and Saudi Arabia at 2.9 percent (58 of 2,014).
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