Emirati Women Make Up 85% of DEWA’s Female Workforce
Emirati women account for 85% of the female workforce at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), highlighting the growing role of national talent across one of the UAE’s most strategically important utilities.
DEWA’s latest published workforce figures show that the authority employs 1,938 women across its divisions, with 835 working in engineering and technical roles and a significant number holding supervisory and leadership positions.
The 85% share marks a gradual increase from previous years. Emirati women represented around 84.6% of DEWA’s female workforce in 2024, while the figure stood at 84% in 2023 and 83% in 2022.
That steady rise reflects DEWA’s broader localisation strategy, which has increasingly focused not only on hiring Emirati nationals but also on expanding their presence in technical, engineering and decision-making roles.
Women already play a substantial role in DEWA’s engineering operations. The authority has previously reported hundreds of female employees working across technical and engineering functions, including areas linked to power generation, water, renewable energy, infrastructure and digital transformation.
The wider workforce picture also shows how significant that female representation has become within the organisation.
DEWA reported a total workforce of more than 10,700 employees in 2025, with women accounting for just over 18% of the overall headcount. That means Emirati women form the clear majority within the authority’s female workforce, even though women remain a smaller share of total employment across the organisation.
The authority has also continued to invest in leadership and professional development programmes aimed at Emirati employees.
Earlier this month, DEWA certified 21 Emirati professionals under the fifth cycle of its Excellence Expert Assessment programme, bringing the total number of certified experts to 99 since the initiative began.
Its Women’s Committee also organised 15 awareness and community events during the first half of 2026, with programmes focused on professional skills, communication, teamwork and supporting women’s development inside the organisation. Satisfaction with the committee’s activities reached 95%, according to DEWA.
Khawla Al Mehairi, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications at DEWA, said Emirati women continue to play an important role in the authority’s institutional development and in supporting Dubai’s broader ambitions across sustainability, innovation and government services.
The figures underline a broader shift in the UAE’s energy and utilities sector, where Emirati women are moving beyond administrative roles and increasingly participating in engineering, technical operations, strategy and leadership.
For DEWA, the 85% localisation rate among female employees is therefore not simply a workforce statistic. It reflects a longer-term effort to build national capabilities in sectors that are becoming more technology-intensive as Dubai expands renewable energy, smart infrastructure and AI-powered public services.