Chambers Global 2024: An Increase in the Number of Ranked Women Lawyers Across the Middle East

With the launch of Chambers Global 2024, we have observed a steady but increasingly fast-paced change in the number of high-achieving lawyers from diverse backgrounds. The number of lawyer rankings awarded to women in the Middle East is particularly noteworthy. For example, in this edition of the guide, the total number of ranked women has nearly doubled in the four years since the release of Chambers Global 2020.

For the Middle East as a whole, including in-country rankings and the Middle East-wide tables, women made up 16.7% of the lawyers ranked in the guide in 2023. This year, the regional proportion of ranked women has increased to 18.8%, representing the largest single increase in five years. For comparison, the total number or ranked women across Chambers Global as a whole makes up 22.66% of the guide, a percentage which is also up from 21.5% last year. While it is important to recognise that this figure is well below the 50-50 target for the global legal profession, the increase across all jurisdictions still gives us cause to be positive.

In terms of individual jurisdictions within the Middle East, Bahrain is an important country to focus on because it contains by far the highest proportion of ranked female lawyers in the region. Last year, women made up just over 40% of all our Bahrain rankings, which was already well above the regional average. What is remarkable however is that in in this year’s edition, the Chambers Bahrain rankings reached total gender parity, with 50% of lawyer rankings being awarded to men and 50% to women. Among the island nation’s female lawyers, of particular note is Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, who retains her ranking as an Eminent Practitioner in Bahrain Dispute Resolution and was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 Chambers Middle East Awards.

Other jurisdictions where the proportion of ranked women is notably higher than the regional average include Lebanon, where women represent 24.5% of ranked lawyers – an increase from 22% in Chambers Global 2023 – and Egypt, where the proportion has increased from 18.5% to 19.2%. This comes almost two years since Egypt made headlines for its appointment of a female judge in a case brought before State Council, one of the highest courts in the land.

The United Arab Emirates has consistently performed well above the regional average when it comes to the number of ranked women lawyers. But the country has also seen a notable increase in the overall proportion of female ranked lawyers, which has risen from 19.2% in 2023 to 21.5% in 2024. If we consider the intersection between ethnicity and gender, it should be noted that many of these ranked women lawyers are also expatriate, white Westerners who have moved to the Middle East mid-career, reflecting the broader reality of UAE’s corporate world. We do not have data for the number of Emirati, Arab or non-white female lawyers in partnership roles at major law firms, though it is worth highlighting women such as Lynn Ammar at Cleary Gottlieb and Reem Alsayegh at Linklaters, both of whom are shortlisted for the Rising Star award at the 2024 Chambers Middle East Awards. (Tables for this event, to be held on March 7 at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai, are available to purchase here.)

Other jurisdictions and categories continue to be well below the regional average. However, even in these areas, the number of ranked women has seen some of the most significant increases year-on-year. For example, the Middle East-wide category of rankings continues to be well below the regional average, but the number of ranked women increased from 7.7% in 2023 to 13.7% in 2024. Saudi Arabia has the lowest proportion of ranked women of all the major economies in the Middle East, but nonetheless, it also saw a notable rise in the number of ranked women, from 5.5% in 2023 to 7.5% in 2024.

It is worth remembering that women have only been permitted to practice law in Saudi Arabia since 2013; a decade on, we are now seeing many of the first wave of Saudi women lawyers achieving partnerships at major law firms in the Kingdom. As such, it is no surprise to see the number of Chambers rankings for women lawyers in Saudi has increased sharply over the last two years and this trend is fully anticipated to continue. Trailblazers in the Saudi market include Leen Zaza at Khoshaim & Associates and Sarah Gonem at Z&Co, both of whom retain their rankings in the Saudi Arabia chapter of Chambers Global 2024.

The above data suggests that, whilst there remains considerable work to be done within the legal profession to improve gender equality – particularly at partnership level – and while the Chambers research team can always do more to recognise lawyers from diverse backgrounds, there is a strong, accelerating trend in the improvement of the diversity of our Middle East rankings of lawyers and law firms. We anticipate this trend will continue in future editions of the guide, and working to champion the work of lawyers of all genders and ethnicities will continue to be a priority for the Chambers research team going forward.