Nearly 125,000 active Emirati women invest on ADX as their influence on capital allocation grows
Emirati women are emerging as a significant force in Abu Dhabi’s capital markets, with nearly 125,000 active investors collectively holding about AED39 billion in shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
The holdings represent 94 percent of the total value owned by female investors on ADX, highlighting the scale of Emirati women’s role in allocating capital and participating in the UAE’s long-term economic diversification.
ADX Group, one of the world’s fastest-growing exchanges, highlighted the figures as it marked Emirati Women’s Day with a bell-ringing ceremony honoring its female colleagues as well as the mothers and grandmothers of female employees.
The symbolic event formed part of the UAE’s first month-long celebration of Emirati Women’s Day under the theme “We Emerge Stronger and Better.”
Women shape capital
ADX said Emirati women are not simply participating in the UAE’s capital markets but are increasingly helping define them.
Based on the exchange’s market statistics, close to 125,000 active female Emirati investors participate in the market, establishing them as a dominant force within their investor category and supporting the UAE’s long-term economic diversification objectives.
ADX data as of the end of July 2026 showed that Emirati women held shares worth approximately AED39 billion, equivalent to 94 percent of the total value held by women on the exchange.
Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ADX Group, said Emirati women continue to advance the economy through resilience, determination and ambition, while their ability to drive innovation alongside nurturing their families reflects the strength of that contribution.
He said that as a dynamic, multi-asset exchange, ADX is developing the infrastructure and market access needed to strengthen this leadership among both investors using its platform and its own workforce, where women account for 40 percent of employees and contribute to shaping how the exchange operates.
Leadership builds forward
Alnuaimi said the next priority is ensuring that future generations of Emirati women inherit a robust and thriving market built with women’s leadership, financial knowledge and empowerment.
This year’s Emirati Women’s Day also coincides with the UAE’s Year of Family initiative, giving ADX’s celebration an intergenerational dimension.
To mark both occasions, the exchange welcomed employees’ mothers and grandmothers onto its trading floor to participate in the event. The gesture highlighted the role relationships across generations can play in building family wealth and encouraging responsible financial stewardship.
The initiative also emphasized long-term investment and financial literacy as practical tools that can strengthen families, create greater financial stability and support sustainable wealth creation over time.
ADX applies similar principles within its own organization through structured career-development opportunities and advancement guidance for female professionals at every level.
The approach reflects the exchange’s commitment to developing women’s leadership while supporting the sustainability and continued expansion of their contribution to the UAE economy.
The latest figures build on an already significant presence of women in Abu Dhabi’s capital market.
In its 2024 Sustainability Report, ADX said the number of UAE female investors on the exchange had surpassed 309,000 by mid-2024, representing 77 percent of all female investors. Their trading value reached AED7.6 billion during the first seven months of that year, accounting for nearly 80 percent of total female trading activity.
ADX also reported that Emirati women represented around 91 percent of female shareholdings at the time. The measure is not directly identical to the latest statistic, which calculates Emirati women’s share of the total value held by women, but both data points demonstrate their substantial presence within ADX’s female investor base.
The exchange marked Emirati Women’s Day in 2024 with another bell-ringing ceremony under the theme “We Collaborate for Tomorrow.” That event recognized female leaders and entrepreneurs and featured nine-year-old Al Dhabi Al Mehairi, who became the youngest person to ring ADX’s opening bell.
Workforce role expands
ADX’s focus on women has also extended beyond investment participation into its internal workforce and
leadership-development policies.
Women represented 38.7 percent of ADX employees in 2024, while women held 20 percent of board positions. The exchange said it supported employees through targeted training, structured career-development pathways and policies designed to promote equal opportunities.
Training across the organization reached a record 3,449.5 hours in 2024, an increase of 37 percent from 2023 and more than twice the level recorded in 2022. Female employees consistently received slightly more training than their male colleagues, while all employees participated in regular performance and career-development reviews.
The latest Emirati Women’s Day announcement puts women’s current share of the ADX workforce at 40 percent, reinforcing the connection the exchange is drawing between women’s participation as investors and their contribution to the institution managing Abu Dhabi’s capital market.
That participation is taking place within an exchange that has expanded significantly in size, product range and investor reach.
ADX marked its 25th anniversary in November 2025 with more than 200 listed securities and over 1.2 million investors representing more than 200 nationalities. The exchange had grown into a market worth more than AED3 trillion and ranked among the world’s 20 largest exchanges by market capitalization.
Its 2025 performance results showed market capitalization reaching AED3.13 trillion at year-end, up 4.6 percent from AED3 trillion in 2024. Total trading value rose 12.6 percent to AED385 billion.
Retail investor trading increased particularly strongly, rising 22.9 percent to AED167 billion from AED136 billion a year earlier. UAE investors generated AED472 billion in combined buy-and-sell trading value, an increase of 11.8 percent.
Investor access widens
ADX continued expanding participation during the first half of 2026.
The exchange ended June with market capitalization of AED2.8 trillion and trading value of AED171 billion. It added more than 30,000 new investors during the six months, representing annual growth of 7.1 percent in new registrations.
UAE nationals accounted for 52 percent of total trading value during H1, an increase of six percentage points from a year earlier, while international investors represented 48 percent. Institutional investors generated 78 percent of overall trading value.
The exchange has simultaneously widened the products available to individual investors. In July, it added six new single-stock futures, increasing its derivatives offering to 17 futures products and 50 contracts covering sectors including energy, artificial intelligence, logistics and financial services.
ADX also provides investors with exchange-traded funds, fixed-income securities, derivatives and other products intended to broaden portfolio choices beyond traditional individual equities.
Digital access deepens
Technology is making that expanding market easier to access.
In August 2026, ADX became the first exchange in the MENA region to make official live market data directly accessible through conversational AI platforms including ChatGPT and Claude. Investors can query ADX information using natural language without relying on specialist terminals or complex technical interfaces.
ADX positioned the initiative as a way to increase market transparency, financial awareness and inclusion while making financial information more accessible to a broader investor population.
The exchange is also developing structured approaches to long-term retail investing. Its Systematic Savings Plan is designed to allow registered investors to make recurring investments in eligible ADX-listed ETFs through automated contributions.
ADX says the approach is intended to encourage disciplined long-term investing, reduce reliance on market timing and make portfolio management simpler through automation, while broadening retail participation and supporting recurring liquidity in ETF products.
Financial wellbeing broadens
The focus on women’s investment participation also fits into a wider UAE push around financial knowledge and long-term financial wellbeing.
Just days before Emirati Women’s Day, National Bonds launched the “Ahed Council,” an open-membership advisory platform designed to better understand women’s financial needs across different stages of life and translate those insights into savings and investment products and initiatives.
The initiative is intended to support women’s financial wellbeing through dedicated dialogue sessions rather than a conventional closed advisory structure, extending the wider national conversation from women’s economic participation toward savings, investment and financial security.
ADX itself had already supported initiatives focused on financial awareness among women. In 2025, the exchange backed the SMK Tennis Tournament as part of its efforts to promote financial literacy, women’s empowerment and a more inclusive investment culture.
Together with the latest AED39 billion holding figure, those initiatives show women’s economic participation becoming increasingly connected with ownership, investment knowledge and long-term capital formation.
The generational theme of ADX’s latest ceremony also aligns directly with the UAE’s designation of 2026 as the Year of Family.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan designated 2026 as the Year of Family, an initiative focused on strengthening family closeness, supporting growth and building confident future generations. (
The official program places particular emphasis on intergenerational continuity, stronger family bonds and giving families tools that support stability and confidence. Its longer-term outcomes are intended to contribute to the National Family Growth Agenda 2031.
Emirati Women’s Day 2026 is being celebrated under the theme “We Emerge Stronger and Better,” introduced by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation.
Source: aa