Women’s employment representation is at 33% in GCC
The Chennai, India based Avtar Group, the leading workplace culture consulting and Inclusion (DEI-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Solutions firm, recently announced the Second Edition of Avtar and Washington DC-headquartered ‘Seramount Best Companies for Women in Gulf’ (BCWG) list.
BCWG is an influential benchmarking initiative spotlighting organization across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that excel in fostering gender diversity and inclusive workplace policies. The announcement was made at the Best of Best (BOB) Conference held in Dubai.
The 2025 BOB – Gulf Conference saw an active participation from the companies in the region with speakers including Al Shirawi Facilities Management; Diversey—A Solenis Company; Dkhoon Al Emiratia; Finastra UK; Ingram Micro Company and KONE Middle East amongst others.
2025 BCWG study
The 2025 BCWG study unveiled the Top 10 companies and other Best Companies in the Gulf region that are leading the change in creating inclusive work environments for women. Companies were evaluated on parameters including:
Recruitment and retention of women professionals; Representation of women in leadership roles;
Pay equity and benefits; Parental and caregiving support policies; Flexible work arrangements and
Management accountability on DEI
This year’s winners represent diverse sectors, from technology and manufacturing to retail, and financial services.
The 2025 Top 10 Best Companies in the Gulf, listed alphabetically are as follows: A A Al Moosa Enterprises Car Rental Division (Thrifty & Dollar); Al Shirawi Facilities Management; Diversey- A Solenis Company; Dkhoon Al Emiratia; Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group; Ecolab; EY (Ernst & Young); Finastra UK; KONE Middel East and TruKKer.
Nine more companies qualified to feature in the list. Listed alphabetically, these are:
Apparel Group; Beauty Steps; Canon Middle East; CBRE Advisory Services; GIG Gulf Insurance; House of Shipping Management Consultancies; Ingram Micro Company; MCA Management Consultants & MCA Auditing and Wipro Limited.
Key highlights are as indicated below:
Women’s representation in Best Companies is at 33%; 42% of all hires in Best Companies is women; 28% of all women in Best Companies were promoted – this is higher at 34% in Top 10 companies; 95% companies provide leadership training and 79% provide formal mentoring and 79% provide executive coaching, all contributing to this facet of career advancement; Towards enabling women’s engagement, 63% companies have employee resource groups; Towards ensuring equity in career advancement, 63% best companies provide assured performance rating during paid maternity leave; Towards fostering emotional support, 63% offer postpartum stress/depression counselling; 95% companies foster an inclusive culture through programs to resolve Diversity, Equity & Inclusion grievances.
Honouring frontrunners
“By fostering opportunities for women to excel, lead, and thrive, the best companies have set a gold standard for progressive organizations in the region, inspiring the larger business ecosystem. We are proud to honour these frontrunners,” affirmed Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, Avtar Group, addressing a specially convened press conference in Dubai.
“Seramount and Avtar share a deep commitment to advancing global inclusion, and we’re proud to celebrate the continued momentum of the Best Companies for Women in the Gulf initiative,” stated Subha V. Barry, President of Seramount,” commented Subha V. Barry, President, Seramount.
Avtar Group
The Avtar Group, founded in 2000 by Dr Saundarya Rajesh, is Asia’s leading workplace culture consulting and inclusion solution firms, supporting hundreds of companies in creating inclusive and supportive workplaces.
For its transformational impact in the realm of DEI, Avtar Group was listed in the prestigious Steward Leadership 25 Listing by Strait Times & INSEAD at Singapore in 2022.
