This woman leader is redefining the way the UAE government innovates and serves
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Not long ago, renewing a license or filing paperwork meant endless queues. Today, Abu Dhabi says it can be done in minutes. In 2024, the UAE government completed more than 173 million digital transactions, with over 57 million beneficiaries accessing more than 1,400 services. Programs like the Zero Bureaucracy initiative have reduced unnecessary procedures and cut processing times by at least 50 percent, while AI-driven systems now automate work permit issuance, significantly reducing paperwork.
Women play a key role in designing and leading these reforms, helping shape services that are inclusive, efficient, and responsive. Their contributions are quietly transforming government functions and demonstrating how leadership and innovation can go hand in hand in building a modern, accessible emirate.
The Department of Government Enablement (DGE) is at the core of these advancements, which collaborates across government entities to streamline services and foster innovation. The DGE’s initiatives aim to enhance efficiency and build a future-ready workforce. Women are increasingly at the forefront of these efforts, leading projects and shaping policies that ensure services are inclusive and responsive. Their involvement highlights the impact of diverse leadership on how government operates and residents experience public services across the emirate.
Her Excellency Ruba Al Hassan , Director General of Strategic Affairs and Future Foresight at DGE, shares the vision behind these reforms and the ways women are helping build a more efficient, future-ready government.
DEFINING GOVERNMENT ENABLEMENT
Hassan describes government enablement as giving every Abu Dhabi government entity the tools and capabilities to serve faster, smarter, and more intuitively, with people at the center. “We’re the team behind the teams, building the shared systems, platforms, and capabilities that connect the ecosystem,” she says.
She sees the DGE’s mission as transforming not just technology but also the way government thinks and works. In less than two years, the department has focused on five essentials: unifying services for a seamless experience, accelerating the shift to an AI-native government, enabling data-driven policy, building a future-ready workforce, and creating a government that anticipates needs before people even have to ask.
Abu Dhabi has ambitious goals of becoming a leader in government innovation and efficiency. Still, one of the most significant structural barriers has been adopting new technologies quickly, without leaving people behind. AI can deliver huge efficiency gains only if the systems work for everyone. Hassan adds, “At DGE, we combine advanced technology with inclusive design. Our Abu Dhabi TAMM platform brings over 1,300 public and private services into a single AI-enabled hub. That means fewer steps, faster processing, and access in your language, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a new resident, or a retiree renewing a license.”
Rather than simply swapping old systems for new ones, services have been redesigned around the rhythm of people’s lives.
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
The pace of technological change can make even the most forward-looking policies outdated almost overnight. For Hassan, staying ahead requires foresight and adaptability. “We stay ahead by being proactive, not reactive. My team in Strategic Affairs and Future Foresight constantly scans global trends, emerging technologies, and shifting social behaviors to build strategies that evolve as the world changes,” she says.
She cites the Emerging Trends Report on Talent Management 2024–2040 as a concrete example. “It identified 16 major shifts, from AI recruiters to the rise of the neo-generalist, and found that 92 percent require immediate action. We are already translating these insights into policy, replacing outdated KPIs with adaptive measures and piloting extended reality for immersive training workshops. Our strategies are living frameworks, not static documents.”
Technology alone, however, does not drive effective governance. Data and evidence are equally crucial. “Data is the backbone of smart policy. Our Bayaan platform, a 96% accurate admin-based census, gives real-time visibility into demographic and economic trends,” she says.
Bayaan’s insights, Hassan explains, translate into tangible planning decisions. “When Bayaan confirmed that Abu Dhabi’s population passed four million, we used that insight to plan infrastructure before bottlenecks appeared, from schools to hospitals. It lets us see where demand will grow, spot risks before they become complaints, and allocate resources where they’ll have the most impact.”
Even as the government embraces innovation, Hassan emphasizes that stability and trust remain essential. “Stability and trust are the foundation. Innovation is how we protect and grow them. Technology is the tool, but people are the constant.”
This philosophy is embedded in DGE’s approach to inclusivity. Alongside AI-powered platforms like TAMM, the government maintains traditional access channels, from dedicated phone lines to in-home visits. “More than 20,000 employees across Abu Dhabi Government are being upskilled in AI, data literacy, and emerging tech so that trust in public services grows, not erodes, as we innovate,” she says.
ENCOURAGING INNOVATION
Balancing innovation with proven practices is central to DGE’s approach. Hassan explains, “Without DGE, 40-plus government entities would build digital platforms in silos, duplicating effort and fragmenting services. We unify them across shared platforms, from finance to HR, so innovation benefits the entire system.”
This collaborative approach underpins the AED 13 billion Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy, which targets 100% sovereign cloud adoption, full digitization and automation of processes, and a 30% reduction in processing times. “It’s not about replacing what works. It’s about strengthening it so it’s faster, more consistent, and ready for the next decade,” Hassan adds.
Sustainability is equally integrated into long-term planning. “Sustainability is built into the way we operate,” she says. Moving more than 1,300 services onto TAMM has saved 63.5 million sheets of paper and over 7,000 native trees yearly, while avoiding 185,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. It has also eliminated 25 million in-person visits annually, cutting travel emissions and saving time for residents.
“For us, this isn’t a side project,” Hassan emphasizes. “It’s part of a bigger vision: using technology to make government both more efficient and more responsible to the planet.”
THE PRIORITY
Public feedback and community engagement are central to shaping DGE’s strategic priorities. Hassan observes, “People’s expectations are shaped by the best private-sector experiences.”
From streaming apps that know your taste to food delivery platforms that remember your order, public services now have to meet that same level of personalization and speed. “AI helps us do that,” she notes. The TAMM AI Assistant, recently named the world’s best e-Government initiative by the UN-backed 2025 WSIS Prizes, has already handled 1.4 million cases and 700,000 multilingual conversations, achieving a satisfaction rate above 92%. “That’s feedback in action,” Hassan says.
But technology is only part of the story. Inclusivity and diversity are embedded in future government services and policies. “We start with the people delivering the services,” she adds. Over 20,000 government employees have been trained in AI and data science, alongside leadership development and well-being programs. In the latest leadership cohort, more than half were women, a deliberate step to build a diverse pipeline for senior roles. “Equity isn’t a box we tick; it’s a lens we apply at the design stage so policies work for everyone from the outset.”
This focus extends to nurturing young Emirati talent. DGE cultivates a culture that attracts and retains them in strategic, future-focused roles. “We create a merit-based culture where young Emiratis feel trusted to lead from day one,” Hassan says. “They get personalised feedback and cross-government collaboration opportunities so they can grow quickly.”
The ethos carries beyond DGE itself. The Mawaheb platform, for example, uses AI to match Emirati job seekers with opportunities across the public and private sectors, while offering upskilling programs. “It’s about making sure talent doesn’t just enter the system. It thrives in it,” Hassan emphasizes.
CELEBRATING EMPOWERMENT
The UAE has made remarkable strides in female representation in leadership, yet gaps remain. In the AI era, it is not enough for women to simply “be in the room.” They must shape the policies, technologies, and industries defining the next century.
Today, two-thirds of the public sector workforce is women, with a growing number stepping into leadership roles. This progress reflects the vision of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the nation’s Founding Father, who believed empowering women was essential to building the UAE. The remaining challenge is ensuring women are equally represented in future-critical fields such as AI, advanced manufacturing, and climate tech—and that they are decision-makers, not just participants.
At DGE, over half of the participants in leadership development programmes are women. “We’re building that pipeline deliberately so that in 10 years, we’re not celebrating representation, we’re celebrating the results of the policies and innovations they’ve led,” Hassan explains.
Empowerment, she notes, is never complete. The UAE’s record is exceptional, from the Emirates Mars Mission, where 80% of the science team was female, to leadership parity in the Federal National Council, but momentum matters.
The country remains committed to ensuring women have the opportunities, resources, and support to lead at every level.
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