What the UAE Can Teach Israel Before the Next Election
Women hold 50% of the seats in the UAE’s Federal National Council, compared with just 25.8% in Israel’s Knesset.
The comparison is not exact. Israel is a parliamentary democracy, whereas the UAE operates under a different political system. Yet the contrast raises an important question: What can Israel learn from the UAE about making women’s leadership a national priority?
As Israel approaches its next election, political parties have an opportunity to turn promises of equality into measurable action.
My recent visits to Abu Dhabi revealed another dimension of the UAE beyond trade, technology and tourism: its deliberate investment in women’s leadership.
As an Israeli, a father of two daughters and someone working with women leaders across the Middle East and North Africa, this issue is close to my heart.
I have witnessed what women achieve when given opportunities to lead in business, education, public service and grassroots initiatives connecting divided communities. The question is not whether women have the talent or ambition. It is whether our institutions are prepared to open the doors.
A Lesson in Political Representation
Since 2019, women have occupied 20 of the UAE Federal National Council’s 40 seats. In Israel, just 31 of the Knesset’s 120 members are women.
We should not confuse the two political systems, but neither should their differences prevent us from learning from one another.
The UAE has demonstrated what can happen when women’s representation becomes an explicit national priority backed by policy.
Israel has a proud history of women leaders, from Golda Meir to prominent figures in science, business, the judiciary and civil society. Yet women’s parliamentary representation has stagnated.
Before the next election, every political party should commit to clear targets, place women in winnable positions on electoral lists and publicly report its progress.
This is not about symbolic appointments. It is about giving talented women genuine influence over decisions shaping our future.
Turning Commitment into Results
In 2015, the UAE established its Gender Balance Council, chaired by Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to advance women’s participation through legislation, public policy and workplace practices.
This builds on decades of work by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, whose commitment to women’s education and empowerment helped shape the country’s development.
The lesson is simple: good intentions are insufficient. Progress requires objectives, institutions and accountability.
Israel already has mechanisms promoting gender equality, but they need greater effectiveness and authority.
A strengthened national gender-balance authority could monitor senior public appointments, coordinate government policy and publish an annual scorecard measuring women’s leadership across public institutions.
We measure economic growth, educational achievement and national security. Why shouldn’t we measure women’s participation in leadership with equal seriousness?
From Mars to the Boardroom
The UAE’s investment in women has produced remarkable achievements.
Women constituted 80% of the science team behind the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe. Imagine what that communicates to a young girl considering engineering or space exploration.
In 2021, the UAE required listed public joint-stock companies to appoint at least one woman to their boards, later extending the requirement to private joint-stock companies.
By 2024, women held 141 board seats in listed public joint-stock companies, compared with 47 in 2021.
Progress remains incomplete, but these figures demonstrate what targeted policies can accomplish.
Israel has achievements of its own. Both countries can benefit from exchanging experiences and challenging one another to improve.
The Abraham Accords opened extraordinary opportunities in trade, innovation and investment. Why not make women’s leadership another pillar of cooperation?
Sometimes the greatest expression of friendship is being willing to learn from one another.
Recognizing the Women Changing Our Region
Beyond government and business, extraordinary women across the Middle East and North Africa are transforming communities, often without recognition.
They are advancing disability inclusion, education, community development and cooperation across religious and cultural divides.
Through Women Champions for Change, I have met inspiring leaders whose determination reinforces my belief that women are among our region’s most powerful agents of positive social change.
Yet their initiatives frequently remain underfunded, locally confined and disconnected from others doing similar work.
The UAE is uniquely positioned to help change this.
I would love to see the UAE establish a prestigious regional award recognizing women driving social change across the Middle East and North Africa.
The award could celebrate achievements in inclusion, education, well-being and cross-cultural cooperation, offering not only recognition but funding, mentorship and opportunities for regional collaboration.
Imagine a woman advancing disability inclusion in Morocco connecting with an educator in Jordan, a social entrepreneur in the UAE and a community leader in Israel.
Together, they could achieve far more than any could accomplish alone.
Such an initiative would represent a meaningful investment in our region’s future and the cooperative spirit behind the Abraham Accords.
A Challenge Before Israel’s Next Election
Israel does not need to adopt the UAE’s political system to learn from its achievements.
We can protect our democratic traditions and recognize effective approaches developed elsewhere.
The coming election presents an opportunity.
Every political party should publicly commit to increasing women’s representation, demonstrate where women appear in winnable positions and explain how it will develop future female leaders.
And Israeli voters, women and men, should ask their political leaders one simple question:
If women represent half our society, why aren’t they better represented among those making decisions on our behalf?
Our relationship with the UAE should be about more than what we can sell one another. It should be about what we can teach one another and how we can build stronger societies together.
Before Israel goes to the polls, let’s make women’s leadership a test of political credibility, not merely another election promise.