4 September2022Editor NoteProlific Indian Women Making a Mark in the Burgeoning UAE Business LandscapeDubai has transformed itself into becoming the land of growth and opportunity. From being an arid desert country, to having achieved massive business and economic growth within the last five decades of being independent, the UAE is where dreams comes true. With a GDP of over $421 billion the United Arab Emirates is currently the second largest economy in the entire GCC region. It is also known to be one of the most open countries in terms of ease of doing business. In 2020, UAE ranked 16th in the ease of doing business report published by the World Bank Group. Bu virtue of its growth forward policies and administration, the UAE is also home to a thriving expat population. The Indian expat community is one of the fastest growing and most prosperous community in the UAE currently. According to data released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Indians are currently the largest ethnic community in the UAE. With a total of 3.5 million Indian residing in the UAE, they make up roughly 30 percent of the country's population. UAE is also well on its way towards promoting more women to join the workforce, both public and private. Today 70 percent of all university graduates in UAE are women. Women also make up close to 59 percent of the national UAE labour force market according to a UAE Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs (MFNCA) report. The 2017 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report ranked UAE as the second highest among other countries in the region for making it easy for women to find a job. The country has also mandated that all listed companies must have at least one female board member. A conjunction of these various trends and social factors, Indian women business leaders have emerged as a strong community in UAE. Armed with skill, gumption, grit and perseverance, there women leaders are scripting success stories that are aspirational. In the current edition of WEM we bring to the stories of a few such prolific Indian origin women leaders who have marked a space for themselves in the burgeoning UAE business landscape. Read on and do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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