There’s a talent gap looming that threatens the UAE economy with potentially billions of economic output at risk, and that could put a dampner on the nation’s economic diversification strategy.

This talent gap is not just a UAE challenge. It’s a global one. Major economies aare facing tough competition for a scarce pool of specially skilled workers prepared and aptly trained to lead the way in the new digital and advanced technology focused economy.

That competition could come with a big price tag, as much as $2.5 trillion globally in additional labour costs by 2030, a figure reported in the new Korn Ferry “Future of Work: Salary Surge” study. In the UAE, salary bills of employers could rise nearly $6 billion, or 9 per cent of the future total national payroll, to compete for the more than 110,000 highly skilled workers needed to protect as much as $50 billion in potential unrecognized annual economic output.

That’s on top of standard inflationary and cost-of-living increases.

This is an economy that has grown very rapidly and long relied on importing specialists to augment the limited size of the Emirati workforce. That approach will have to continue to be a part of the UAE future economic development strategy as the country works to continue to its rise in the Global Competitiveness Talent Index, where it currently rank 17th overall but first in the region.

There is however, another highly valuable and powerful arrow in the UAE quiver that could make a significant impact on closing that talent gap and protecting the future of the UAE economy: true gender equity.

If you look on the surface, the UAE appears to have made great strides in promoting women in the workforce. In fairness, the UAE is far ahead of many more mature and larger economies when it comes to gender equality and equal pay for women. The total workforce participation of 42 per cent is not far below the global average of 49 per cent reported by the World Bank. Korn Ferry research also shows that women, particularly Emirati women, are actually paid more in like-for-like positions than male counterparts.

Drill deeper, however, and you can see where the real challenge lies: participation of women in highly leveraged, highly valued executive roles. Korn Ferry data drawn from more than 700 companies in the country and 25,000 globally show that females represent only 10 per cent of the UAE executive workforce. What’s more important and telling for the future is that those female executives receive an average of 15 per cent less pay than male executives.

Why? It’s not because of intentional or institutional discrimination. It’s that most women executives tend to be on career paths that are limited and companies aren’t doing enough to fully leverage and unleash the potential of women in key executive positions and roles of influence.

What our data shows is that women executives tend to be found in cost-centre or business support roles, such as human resources communications and marketing. They are far less likely to be found in critical business and revenue generating positions that command higher salaries and have stronger influence in driving strategy and direction of the business. That’s where the opportunity and gender pay gap comes from.

The country is taking a number of progressive steps to promote overall gender equality, attacking the issue with strategies that integrate higher education and regulatory policy. But real change needs to come from the private sector, particularly from companies that have the most to lose if they don’t come up with new, proactive ways to compete for, retain and develop a workforce with the skills and diversity needed to sustain growth in the economy of the future.

Gender equity is no longer a fairness issue. It’s a smart, strategic, economic and business development strategy.

Increasing female participation in executive roles that are central to future business growth and success is critical to bridging the talent gap that will mean the difference between winning and losing in the future of work.

Suellen Tomlinson is Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry.