Women’s career development in an Arab Middle Eastern context

ABSTRACT

This study examines women’s perspectives on requirements for enabling their access to senior leadership roles in the under-researched context of the Arab Middle East. It draws on an approach that utilizes qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with academic women working in Saudi Arabia higher education. The findings of this study reveal several culturally responsive strategies for supporting the advancement of women into leading positions within higher education. Also, the study demonstrates how women in Saudi higher education learn to resist patriarchal power structures and gender discrimination, and to develop their own strategies for negotiating those issues. In addition, the results provide evidence of the academy’s importance as an institution that works collaboratively with the government to develop women’s careers. The originality of this paper is its contribution to the limited knowledge that currently exists on women’s career development in the Arab Middle Eastern context. This study also will benefit human resource departments and human resource development practitioners with knowledge regarding the intertwining of social forces with university practices, and gender-related issues, which in turn affect women’s positions in the academy. Additionally, the study suggests that human resource development practitioners should establish policies and practices with respect to gender-related equity issues that could have a positive impact on wider national human resource development systems, and potentially open more opportunities for positive career development for women.

KEYWORDS:

• Career development
• leadership
• women
• higher education
• Arab Middle East
• Saudi Arabia

Notes

1. Saudi Vision 2030 is a plan that aims to build a sustainable economic future for the kingdom by reducing its dependence on oil and to diversify its economy, as well as introducing structural reforms to improve the efficiency and transparency of the public sector, including health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism. Also, the Saudi Vision 2030 goals included reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing the nonoil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products. One aim of Saudi Vision 2030 is to provide equal economic opportunities for both men and women and to increase women’s participation in the workforce from 22% to 30%. This measure is designed to reap the benefits of the high percentage (over 50%) of female university graduates. Yet Saudi Arabia is still considered a very traditional and conservative country. The social structure has not changed at the same rate as its economic structure. (For more details see McKinsey 2016; Saudi Vision 2030 2018).