When a group of high-flying Emirati women wanted to network with like-minded females, they struggled to find the right platform.

Existing organisations focused on learning how to strike deals, so the group decided to set up their own.

Qiyadiyat (meaning “female leaders” in Arabic), is Abu Dhabi’s first Emirati female leadership platform. It was created last year by a group of friends in management positions to develop, inspire and provide networking opportunities for fellow Emirati working women.

“In the past when Emirati working women got together, they’d have what I call the ‘old conversation’ about family challenges. ‘Oh, your father let you work?’ Or, ‘You got to go to university abroad, how did you manage that?’ Our generation has passed those hurdles,” says Laila Al Hassan, director of communications and PR at Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency and co-founder of Qiyadiyat.

She has been friends with Bodour Al Tamimi, 33, co-founder of Bedashing Beauty Lounge and portfolio manager of an investment house, since school. The pair formed a friendship with the economic analyst Su-ad Yousif, 35, at university – a bond that strengthened as the trio climbed up their respective career ladders. Details