This research paper investigates female perceptions of female leadership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where, particularly recently, state feminism has supported women’s occupation of leadership positions. It thus explores how state feminism’s portrayal of the ideal woman in leadership has impacted Emirati women’s perceptions of female leaders. A survey comprising 350 female Emirati students was undertaken, and results were supported by interviews. Findings suggest that although 93 percent of respondents “wanted to” or “probably wanted to” be leaders, they nevertheless endorsed “sexist” stereotypes and legitimizing myths. These contradictions are due, most likely, to ambivalent messages disseminated by the state and by society at large about female leaders. This research postulates that, while women have gained more agency in the public sphere through occupying leadership positions, their own perceptions and portrayals of acceptable gender roles are complex and ambivalent.

本研究报告调查了阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）女性对女性领导力的看法），尤其是在最近，州女权主义为妇女占领领导职位提供了支持。因此，它探讨了国家女权主义对领导中理想女性的刻画如何影响阿联酋女性对女性领导者的看法。进行了一项由350名阿联酋女学生组成的调查，结果得到了访谈的支持。调查结果表明，尽管93％的受访者“想要”或“可能想要”成为领导者，但他们还是赞成“性别歧视”的成见和合法化的神话。这些矛盾最有可能是由于国家和整个社会散发的关于女性领导人的矛盾信息。这项研究假设，尽管女性通过担任领导职务而在公共领域获得了更多的代理权，