The perceptions of female media professionals in Kuwait about their job: an empowerment perspective

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions of women who work in the media in Kuwait—a conservative, male-dominated society. It examines how female media professionals are treated and explores the factors that either encourage or discourage the empowerment of Kuwaiti women working in this field. In-depth interviews were conducted with five female media professionals and academics in Kuwait in order to develop measures of perceptions towards their profession, media organizations, and the general outlook of Kuwait society. The perceptions of a sample of 237 female media professionals were measured using a fifty-one-item questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis shows that the respondents’ perceptions are grouped into eight sets of variables. The results show that, while the respondents feel empowered by education, regulations, and the current lifestyle in Kuwait, their cultural upbringing, self-image, and societal outlook discourage their empowerment.

KEYWORDS:

• Women
• mass media
• Kuwait
• empowerment
• education
• work environment and culture

Notes

1. The interviews were conducted in August 2013 with: Iqbal Al-Ahmad, the first woman editor-in-chief of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA); columnist Naeema Alhay; Dana Alrobaish, TV newscaster at Al-Watan TV; Hend Al-Nahed, founder and CEO of Socialboy.com; and Dr Alyia Al-Matrook, assistant professor of journalism at Kuwait University.

2. Interview with M. Hayat, columnist and TV show host at Al-Rai TV, April 7, 2015 (A. Dashti, interviewer).

3. Interview with J. Kamal, board member of Kuwait Journalist Association (KJA), April 6, 2015 (A. Dashti, interviewer).

4. Interview with M. Hayat, columnist and TV show host at Al-Rai TV, April 7, 2015 (A. Dashti, interviewer).