A call for clarity

Leaders worldwide are facing deep uncertainty over the global economy. The economic system under which most countries have operated for the past 80 years is being reset, and it’s not clear yet what the new rules will be, according to the International Monetary Fund. Amid trade tensions, high policy uncertainty, and geopolitical unrest, economists are predicting slower growth and higher inflation for 2025 than they originally forecast.

Women leaders are as susceptible as anyone else to these global forces. Against this backdrop, nearly half of the respondents in the Middle East (49%) said they felt they were under more pressure than before. Globally, the number was even higher, with 62% saying they felt under more pressure.

In the Middle East, only 46% of women leaders surveyed said they were confident or very confident the global economy would grow over the next three years. A majority said they either weren’t confident (20%) or were neutral (35%), meaning they could not predict whether the global economy would grow or not.

In fact, this neutral response proved to be one of the most surprising and significant findings of the 2025 Women Leaders Outlook. When it comes to the global economy, there are simply so many variables and so many unknowns that more than a third of women leaders locally (35%) and globally (38%) won’t even hazard a guess as to what will happen. In that context, the undecided third as we’ve come to think of it is a rational response to uncertainty.

As this report reveals, however, the same indecision appears in other areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in response to questions that should have produced relatively straight forward answers.

In these cases, their responses can be seen as the canary in the coal mine. The neutral responses represent either a lack of strategy on the part of the organization, or a failure to communicate key strategies to the organization’s leadership. These are areas where organizations should be absolutely clear on what they are doing and why, and yet they run the risk of following currents.

The survey can therefore be understood as a call for more clarity on some of the key topics that do remain within companies’ control, regardless of whatever uncertainty lurks outside their doors. Read on to discover how women leaders in the Middle East are ensuring growth for their companies, responding to key issues such as AI and ESG, winning the talent arms race, handling the negative aspects of being women in high-profile roles, and supporting the next generation of women leaders.

As traditional economic models evolve, women leaders are navigating growing pressures and unpredictable shifts. Even amid uncertainty, their responses underscore the importance of staying grounded in what organizations can control: setting clear priorities, fostering strong leadership, and providing meaningful support to top talent.”

Kholoud Mousa

Partner

Head of Our Impact Plan, KPMG Middle East

Key findings

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87%

were confident or very confident their industries would grow over the next three years

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60%

said their organizations were investing more in people than technology

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62%

listed increased efficiency and productivity as the top benefits of AI

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64%

expect their companies to grow by 2.5 to 9.9% over the next three years

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74%

said achieving gender equity in the C-suite would help their organizations meet their growth targets

groups

44%

said artificial intelligence was a top investment priorit

psychology

45%

said ESG had been fully integrated into their businesses as a means of creating increased value

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72%

predicted their organizations would see a return on their AI investments in the next three years

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65%

had faced bias or stereotyping

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26%

had been the victim of digital violence

Spotlight on the Middle East

Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Oman

One of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is to ensure and increase women’s participation in the labor market. Nearly a dozen initiatives have been launched to support that goal, including efforts to boost women’s participation in civil service roles, train women leaders, offer more flexible working conditions, and provide childcare services to working women.

Today, 35% of women participate in the labor force, with many entering high-skilled and traditionally male-dominated sectors like engineering and finance. The government has also begun championing prominent Saudi women and celebrating their accomplishments in an effort to shift cultural norms. In recognition of the rapid reforms Saudi Arabia has achieved, the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women unanimously appointed Saudi Arabia to chair its 69th session in 2025.

The General Women’s Union was formed in 1975 to provide a national mechanism for women’s empowerment and leadership. Then in 2015, the UAE Gender Balance Council was created to reduce the gender gap across government sectors, achieve gender balance in decision-making positions, and promote the UAE’s benchmark status for women’s participation in business, government, and science and technology.

Today in the UAE, women make up almost two-thirds of students at public universities, and more than half of students at private tertiary-level institutions. Women make up 70% of all university graduates and 56% of graduates in STEM courses at public universities. They constitute 46% of the labor force and account for 66% of public sector workers. Women represent 45% of the national space sector and 20% of the nuclear sector.

The UAE has nine female ministers of out of 33, or 27%—one of the highest percentages in the region. The UAE was also the first country in the Arab region to require female presence in boardrooms. On the boards of its governmental corporations, 17% of the seats are held by women.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry actively supports Omani women on the global stage, encouraging them to serve in leadership roles with the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations. Women from Oman have been elected to serve on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF’s Executive Board, and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.