Women in Leadership
A leadership pathway for women across the GCC, and for the leaders who champion them. Designed and led by women. Built for the realities of the region.
Explore the programmes →WHY THIS PRACTICE EXISTS
Leadership Is Built, Not Granted
The women we work with rarely lack ambition, and almost never lack ability. What is missing is the infrastructure: the sponsorship, the structures, and the deliberate development that turns potential into promotion.
We build that infrastructure. We design programmes that strengthen confidence, sharpen presence, and equip women to lead with clarity and credibility in GCC organisations. And we do it alongside the men who lead beside them, because equity is not a women’s programme. It is a culture programme. And culture changes in pairs.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The Business Case for Women in Leadership
More likely to financially outperform peers. Companies in the top quartile for executive gender diversity. (McKinsey, 2023)
Women’s share of board seats at UAE-listed companies in 2026, up from 3.5% in 2020. (GCC Board Gender Index 2026)
Of women in our programmes report increased leadership confidence within six months of completion.
Stronger retention from experiential learning, compared to instruction alone. (Kolb, 2015)
WHO IS THIS FOR
For Women at Every Stage & the Leaders Beside Them
Early and Mid-career Women
Strong performers approaching their first or second leadership transition. The pipeline you do not want to lose.
Senior Women Leaders
Partner-track, C-suite-adjacent, or already there. Operating in commercial environments where multi-month cohorts are not realistic.
Women Approaching the Boardroom
Executive women within two to three years of their first non-executive appointment, or already serving and building toward a portfolio.
Male Managers and Sponsors
The men whose decisions determine whether women in their teams progress. The other half of the dual-track.
THE FLAGSHIP PROGRAMME
Women in Leadership Programme
A dual-track programme in three phases. We develop the women. We develop the managers around them. We sustain both with coaching over time.
Every commission is adapted to your sector, your nationalisation strategy (Emiratisation, Saudisation, and equivalent), and the cultural realities of the organisation commissioning it. Delivered in-person, with virtual and hybrid formats available for distributed teams.
Foundational Training
Multi-module leadership workshops for women: identity, confidence, communication, and career strategy. Workplace readiness modules included for early-career cohorts where required.
Long-Term Development
Six months of 1:1 coaching and the Empower Mentorship, connecting participants with senior leaders inside and outside the organisation who can unlock real progression.
Equity Advocacy
A dedicated parallel programme for male managers. Inclusive leadership, bias interruption, and the practical mechanics of sponsoring women in their teams.
1-DAY MASTERCLASS
The Senior Leadership Intensive
A condensed format for women at the top of the pipeline: partner-track, C-suite, or equivalent. Built for commercial environments where multi-month cohorts are not an option.
Four intensive modules in a single day, anchored in the realities of your sector and the specific commercial pressures women leaders face at that level.
DELIVERED WITH NEDA
Women on Boards Programme
A board-readiness programme built for the specific realities women face in GCC boardrooms.
Grounded in the NEDA case method: every governance framework is taught through a single fictional GCC-listed entity, followed end-to-end across the programme. Strategy meeting to crisis to AGM. And layered, at every phase, with the dynamics of gender, culture, and network that turn a first appointment into a portfolio career.
Delivered in partnership with the Non-Executive Directors’ Association (NEDA). Faculty includes practising chairs and non-executive directors from the GCC.
Board Foundations & Positioning
Governance codes across five GCC jurisdictions, legal duties, and the foundations of effective oversight.
WOMEN
The positioning work that gets women onto boards — personal brand, board-ready narrative, and how GCC nominations actually happen.
Strategic Oversight & Boardroom Authority
Financial oversight, risk and audit literacy, strategic decision-making, and the quality of challenge that separates strong boards from weak ones.
WOMEN
Executive presence for women in traditionally male-dominated rooms — landing challenge without being labelled, claiming airtime, reclaiming contributions.
Influence, Dynamics & the Network
Boardroom communication, crisis response, and the behavioural dynamics that determine whether a director gets heard.
WOMEN
Gender and cultural dynamics specific to GCC boards, and the sponsorship networks that turn a first appointment into a portfolio career.
2-DAY SIMULATION
The Boardroom Challenge
A simulation in which participants take director roles in an unfolding GCC governance crisis. Facilitated with coaching that surfaces the dynamics women navigate under boardroom pressure – being heard, holding ground, sustaining challenge.
The Work Behind the Words
A dual-track programme supporting Saudi women in STEM and operational roles, alongside an advocacy programme equipping male managers as active champions for gender equity.
A one-day masterclass for senior women directors in EY's UAE audit function, designed to accelerate partner readiness through identity, influence, and executive presence.
A three-module programme across two successive cohorts for junior and mid-level women, building personal brand, communication, and organisational influence.
We Would Love to Hear From You
Most of our work begins with a conversation. This is a good place to start one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from other women's leadership programmes?
The programme is dual-track: we develop the women and equip the male managers around them in parallel, because progression accelerates when sponsors are part of the work, not bystanders to it. The learning is experiential, not theoretical: real scenarios, applied practice, and the specific situations women navigate in GCC organisations, not generic confidence-building. And the design is boutique, not generic: every commission is built around your sector, your nationalisation strategy, and your cultural realities, led by women who have spent more than a decade delivering for the region.
Do you run women's leadership programmes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
Yes. We design and deliver women's leadership development programmes for organisations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and across the GCC – from the flagship dual-track Women in Leadership Programme to the one-day Senior Leadership Intensive. Every programme is designed and led by women with senior GCC leadership experience.
How do we get more women into senior leadership roles?
Representation at entry level does not convert into leadership by itself – progression requires design. The pattern across regional and global research is consistent: women advance when development is paired with sponsorship, when their managers are equipped to advocate for them, and when progression is measured like any other business outcome. That is the architecture our programmes build: capability for the women, sponsorship behaviour for the managers around them, and KPIs a CHRO can report.
Why include men in a women's leadership programme?
Because the evidence is consistent across the McKinsey Women in the Workplace series, the World Bank, and our own GCC engagements: the broken rung is fixed by sponsors, not by confidence-building alone. Equip the managers who make promotion and stretch-assignment decisions, and progression accelerates. Without the men, you change the women. With the men, you change the organisation.
How can women prepare for board roles in the GCC?
Board readiness combines governance capability with positioning: understanding legal duties and board dynamics, and building the narrative and network through which GCC nominations actually happen. Our Women on Boards Programme, delivered with NEDA, develops both – and The Boardroom Challenge tests them in a live two-day simulation.
What outcomes can a CHRO report to the executive committee?
We track three layers: representation progression (promotions, retention, internal mobility), capability progression (assessed at module level), and culture progression (manager behaviour change, surveyed pre and post). Specific KPIs are agreed at commissioning.
Who designs and delivers the programmes?
Designed and led by women. Our faculty includes practitioners from sovereign wealth, energy, financial services, and professional services backgrounds, all currently or recently in senior leadership roles in the GCC.
Can the programmes be adapted to our sector and nationalisation strategy?
Yes. Every commission is adapted to your nationalisation strategy, whether Emiratisation, Saudisation, or equivalent, and to the regulatory and cultural realities of your sector. For one Saudi enterprise partner, we are currently supporting a move from 3% to a target of 12% female representation in STEM and operational roles, working with the women and their male managers in parallel.
Is the content culturally suitable for a Saudi or wider GCC cohort?
Yes. Every commission is reviewed for cultural fit at the design stage, including format, faculty composition, and case selection. The practice is led by women who have spent more than a decade designing and delivering across the region.
What is the typical cohort size and duration?
The flagship Women in Leadership Programme is a multi-month dual-track programme, typically with cohorts of around 16 participants, agreed in scoping. The Senior Leadership Intensive is a one-day masterclass. Women on Boards is modular, adapted to the commissioning organisation. The Boardroom Challenge is a two-day simulation.
What assessment tools do you use?
We integrate with whatever your organisation already uses: Hogan, SDI, 360, or other. If no framework is in place, we can recommend and administer one as part of the discovery phase. We also map every programme to your existing competency framework, linking each module to the capabilities your business already measures against, so the programme reports into the language and standards your talent processes already use.
Do you deliver in Arabic?
Yes. Programmes are delivered in Arabic, English, or bilingual formats depending on cohort composition. Written materials are available bilingually on request.
Where do you deliver?
In-person across the GCC, principally Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Doha, with hybrid and virtual formats for distributed teams.
What does it cost?
Investment depends on cohort size, format, and the depth of customisation required. We provide a fully scoped proposal following the discovery phase.