Emirates Global Aluminium’s Challenge programme expands with five major industry partners
Emirates Global Aluminium’s Challenge programme expands as major firms join to accelerate gender diversity and inclusion across the UAE industrial sector.
Emirates Global Aluminium’s Challenge programme has grown with five new industry partners signing on to boost gender inclusion across the UAE’s industrial workforce. The move brings Schneider Electric, RAK Ceramics, Veolia, Delta Plus and Knauf into a coalition led by EGA to address shared barriers to women’s participation in technical and operational roles. The expanded membership also reinforces cross-sector collaboration as companies look to scale mentoring, recruitment and workplace practices that support women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
New partners join the Challenge programme
EGA confirmed the arrival of the five new members and said they join existing participants that include ADNOC, Ducab, Emirates Steel Arkan, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Strata, TAQA and TechnipFMC. The company described the programme as a platform for industrial employers to coordinate on practical measures that remove systemic barriers and expand opportunity for women. By pooling resources and aligning targets, members aim to accelerate change more quickly than individual efforts alone.
Programme priorities and areas of action
The Challenge programme, launched by EGA in 2023, concentrates on three core priorities: encouraging women to enter STEM fields, creating more inclusive workplaces within heavy industry, and providing structured career mentorship for young women already working in the sector. Participating companies will collaborate on recruitment pipelines, skills development initiatives and awareness campaigns to attract female talent into technical trades and engineering roles. The programme also seeks to standardise best practices for family-friendly shift patterns, safety training and progression pathways that support retention.
Targeted measures to increase female participation
Members plan to pilot joint initiatives such as apprenticeship quotas, sector-wide mentoring schemes and shared training modules that prepare candidates for operational roles. The programme emphasises practical interventions — from on-site facilities and protective equipment designed for women to sponsored scholarships and industry placements. EGA has framed these measures as not only equitable but necessary to meet evolving labour needs and technological demands across the UAE’s industrial base.
EGA reports measurable progress on gender diversity
EGA said it has adopted a proactive approach to gender diversity since the start of the decade and reported concrete gains within its own workforce. The company now employs more than 830 women, with over 60 percent occupying operational roles, and women holding roughly one quarter of managerial positions. EGA added that the firm met the internal target it set in 2021, achieving the stated managerial representation by the end of 2025, a milestone it presented as evidence that structured commitments can deliver results.
Leadership perspective on competitiveness and inclusion
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, framed the programme as a strategic business priority as well as a social one. He said organisations with inclusive cultures tend to perform better, innovate more effectively and deliver stronger long-term growth. Bin Kalban described the expansion of the Challenge programme as an opportunity to raise competitiveness across the sector while broadening economic participation for women.
Sector-wide implications and next steps
Industry leaders and policymakers have increasingly emphasised that increasing female participation in STEM and industrial trades is necessary to sustain workforce pipelines and national development goals. The Challenge programme’s collaborative model aims to produce transferable practices that smaller employers can adopt, multiplying the impact beyond the founding members. EGA and its partners have indicated they will publish progress updates and share results of pilot initiatives to encourage wider uptake across the UAE and the wider region.
EGA’s expanded coalition also signals a shift from isolated corporate programmes to coordinated, cross-company action on inclusion, potentially serving as a template for other sectors facing similar talent shortages. As members begin implementing shared initiatives, observers will be watching recruitment and retention metrics to assess whether the partnership can translate commitments into sustained increases in female representation in technical and operational roles.
The success of the Challenge programme will depend on translating stated ambitions into measurable, repeatable interventions that address the practical constraints women face in industrial environments. By aligning hiring practices, training investments and workplace supports across multiple major employers, the partnership seeks to create clearer career pathways for women and to strengthen the industrial workforce that underpins the UAE’s economic growth.