ع
Emirates Global Aluminium welcomes 79 Emirati women over past year as the aluminium producer continues to expand opportunities for female nationals across technical and supervisory positions. The company, the largest industrial firm in the UAE outside the oil and gas sector, detailed the recruitment in a statement that highlighted its focus on Emiratization targets. Many of the new hires have entered national training schemes that prepare high school graduates for roles in smelting operations and corporate administration, according to the announcement.
Company figures show women hold 23.3 per cent of supervisory roles and 9.6 per cent of all positions at Emirates Global Aluminium. The firm has established goals to increase those shares to 25 per cent of supervisory posts by the end of 2025 and 15 per cent of the total workforce by the end of 2026. Such targets form part of a multi-year push that has already lifted the in-focus Emiratization rate to 44.3 per cent at the end of 2024, a company assessment found.
Emirates Global Aluminium launched the Challenger Programme in 2023 alongside other industrial groups to tackle common obstacles to gender diversity in heavy industry. The collaboration has produced joint projects including a gender diversity toolkit that sets out inclusive policies and behaviours for the full employee lifecycle. The company said these efforts have improved recruitment practices and supported the development of progressive workplace environments across participating organisations.
More than 330 women now occupy operational roles at the company, with over half of them holding Emirati nationality, according to its data. This presence in frontline positions such as potline supervision and reduction cells marks a shift from traditional industry patterns. The overall female workforce has grown substantially since the gender diversity programme began, rising from 291 in April 2022 to 714 at the end of last year, company records show.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said gender diversity remains central to the company’s strategy and the UAE’s industrial ambitions. “Gender diversity is key to the future of EGA and our nation’s industrial success,” Bin Kalban said. “At EGA, we are proud to provide opportunities for women to thrive, not just in our offices but in the heart of operations,” he added in the statement.
The company has additionally introduced the Made by Many campaign to illustrate the contributions of Emirati women and the family support networks that sustain their careers in industry. The initiative aligns with the national Year of Community by presenting personal stories from engineers and their relatives. Emirates Global Aluminium said the campaign seeks to encourage more young women to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields where the UAE already records high female graduation rates.
