Born and raised in one of the cultural hubs in the UAE, namely, Sharjah, Moza Al Dahak Al Shamsi went through her childhood and youth driven by curiosity and desire to learn. She got inspired by her father who introduced a computer into their home, she got fascinated from that time.
Every time a key was pressed the obstacles erected before female youth were dismantled and what was perceived as limitations became opportunities on a journey not many dare to undertake.
Moza Almuhairi’s story portrayed the meaning of a nation embracing and supporting diversity and being an advocate of equal opportunities in order to encourage talent and creativity among the young generation. This powerful lady of technology also speaks out her career story from being an initial computer programmer to being in charge of large-scale IT operations in the country and proving that Emirati women are unstoppable and dominate all the sectors of the UAE.
“It was always fun for me to learn and read from my childhood I loved discovering things at a very tender age,” she becomes emotional thinking about her childhood.
One of those occasions was when her father bought a computer into their home one day. “It was a milestone in my life.”
She says she was Nine years of age and this was around 1997. She felt that this new addition to the family was absolutely as alien to her as she felt at first; it was as alien to them as this and yet was as interesting.
“This is commonly said about the computer and its impact; the computer brought a wealth of opportunities.”
Every time she got to deal with its different uses, she somehow fell in love with the use of technology.
“I took up the role of preparing documents and presentation for my elder sisters and teachers.”
From this initial interest, she was later able to develop a real passion for the field of technology to define her educational and career path. “That was the seed that shaped my passion about what technology is or is not able to do – in terms of helping people or changing those around them,” she continued.
“My sisters were also also into computer science.”
Her eldest sister started it in 1994 by joining a computer science course, while the other sister Dr Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak is now the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment.
Getting the entry level job of a computer programmer in 2011 was one of the major turning points for her especially in an area of work that did not regularly employ women of Emirati origin. “There were no many Emirati women programmers,” says Moza, she felt that she was under pressure by society and wondering what she was doing while programming?
Her journey started with the Sharjah Government’s Department of Housing where she started her first big full-fledged automation project.
“In the first six some months, they were implementing an automation project, moving from manual to an automatic system,” she said.
“I was one of the pioneers in the IT section, it was a very small team but I know that our inputs were very large, we embraced a lot of challenges and invested a lot of efforts towards the development of the system.”
It became the cornerstone of the entire department and the project that signaled a change for her and the plus speed of work.
Speaking of the tough early points of her career, Moza stressed that mentoring should be engaged.
“To name two, I think the biggest drawbacks were self-skepticism and the absence of role models to admire at the time,” she says.
She also faced a problem of lack of resources while at the early stages of her career and was hard to find role models.
“Today, many women in the UAE are empowered, and the access to knowledge is much easier than before- If you want to learn data, you can do it or even get specific training or even full blows on You-tube whereas before knowledge was scarce.”
But as she continued her studies she met many inspiring personalities, she mentioned, for instance, Dr Aisha Bin Bishr who was heading Digital Dubai at the time. Other personalities that influenced her life was Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, the first female UAE minister in 2004.
Her decision to relocate to Abu Dhabi in 2021 created many possibilities which she could embrace. “It felt like a gift because I was really interested in exploring a career into the media,” Moza adds.
Meaningful job opportunities and flexible working: and finally, moving to Creative Media Authority that promotes the creative industry in Abu Dhabi was another step that let her apply her knowledge in digital transformation in the media industry.
“It’s a really exciting time for CMA as we are playing the holistic role of managing the customer journey from cumbersome manual interactions to value delivery to the customer,” say Moza.
“We are also executed in several projects in cloud computing, infrastructure, networks and information security.”
But as she establishes herself as a pioneer in the industry, Moza also becomes aware of the burden that she has on her as a woman in an otherwise boy’s club.
“Sometimes, when young Emirati women join the organization, they don’t feel empowered,” she mentions, and to counter this she encourages the young women and mentors them ensuring they achieve what they desire.
“I like these talks because I can actually go into their heads and see how they operate,” she says.
Speaking about the change in women’s positions in the UAE, Moza speaks about the ‘mind-blowing progress’ that has been achieved within the years.
“It makes me feel proud. We’ve witnessed how the journey has been to show and up to today,” she affirms in the interview and appreciates the progress of Emirati women in leadership roles and technology, and that has filled her with great optimism.
“This gives us hope to look forward to come cause you don’t always get to have those moments.”
“The leadership of the UAE has provided women with so many opportunities, whether in government, leadership positions, or specialized sectors like oil and gas,” she adds.
“Additionally, government regulations supporting women, particularly mothers, through effective policies have also played a major role because they allow women to balance their family and career without compromise, and the balance is truly supported.”
Looking ahead, Moza visualizes a future where women continue to surpass in technology.
For young Emirati girls navigating their careers, Moza has a message: “Don’t put limits on yourself. Speak up without fearing that your voice won’t be heard. It’s your opinion, and you owe it to yourself to express it. And keep learning, because a day without learning something new is a day lost.”