Employers’ perception of women workers in Oman and the challenges they face

Abstract

Purpose The participation and productivity of women in Oman’s labor force are very low and heavily skewed toward the government sector. There are few women in the private sector and the reasons for this are not well-known. The challenges that women workers face specifically in the Arab World are worth understanding from a participation and policy perspective. The purpose of this paper is to explore employers’ perceptions of women workers and the major challenges they face in Oman in the context of government efforts to develop the female workforce in this Middle East region. Design/methodology/approach Data collected by interviewing the top executives (employers) from 28 organizations in two major cities in Oman were analyzed qualitatively, grouped into emerging themes, triangulated, and discussed. Findings The results indicated that employers, in general, are impressed by women workers in Oman. However, they identify a number of challenges women face. This study synthesized and grouped employers’ perceptions of these challenges in the following categories: women’s natural and physiological composition, their attitude at work, post-marital challenges, socio-cultural barriers, nature and place of work, organizational preparedness and governance, biases or prejudices of employers, and work-life balance (WLB) issues facing them. Practical implications This study suggests that since female participation in the government sector in Oman is substantial, women can also be attracted to work in the private sector if policies are formulated to safeguard their interests. Originality/value There is an absolute dearth of studies about female participation in the Omani workforce; this study is one of the pioneering efforts. Whereas the extant literature on WLB issues represents mostly the western perspective, this study highlights the major WLB issues in Oman and fills some important gaps between the West and the Middle East by focusing on women, WLB, and policies triangle.

Perceived work‐life balance: Exploring the experiences of professional Moroccan women

“…The findings of the interviews uncovered that WLB collectively means the same to all participants, one that enables the participants to fulfill both personal and professional roles without the overwhelming feeling of stress and anxiety. This understanding is consistent with findings across various other studies in western and traditional cultures (Belwal & Belwal, 2017; Karkoulian, Srour, & Sinan, 2016; Semlali & Hassi, 2016) supported by the desire to excel and prosper equally in attaining personal and professional goals.…”

“…Women working in healthcare professions were more likely to suffer emotional exhaustion and burnout than their male colleagues (Elbarazi, Loney, Yousef, & Elias, 2017). Belwal and Belwal (2017) found in their study of Omani women workers, that although employers were impressed with the performance of women workers, these workers still faced WLB issues in the workplace. In this study, the employers stated that their women employees rarely raised formal complaints about WLB issues in the workplace, although they did do so informally.…”

Socio-Cultural Constraints in Protecting Child Rights in a Society in Transition: A Review and Synthesis from Oman

“…Regardless, Omani society still has a high birth rate (Dorvlo et al 2006 ) though more recently there is a gradual decline (Roser 2020 ) Overall, women in Oman have experienced increased socioeconomic empowerment through employment, but they are concurrently expected to fulfill the traditional role of mother (Amzata et al 2017 ). In terms of child-rearing practices and bonding between child and caregiver in the Arabian Gulf countries, there is evidence to suggest that women’s divided attention between their traditional roles of ‘homemaker’ and member of the workforce (Belwal and Belwal 2017 ) may affect the quality of parenting. It may be posited that the increase in women’s economic participation without simultaneous changes in the division of household tasks results in work-family conflict and increased stress in the household (Cerrato and Cifre 2018 ).…”

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“…Quality of work life is ensured by the opportunities provided by a job for the general well-being of employees, work–home interface, good working conditions, job-career satisfaction and increased personal empowerment and skills (Swamy et al , 2015). It would inevitably lead employees to lowered turnover intention, absenteeism and grievances (Belwal and Belwal, 2017). An empirical analysis by Jabeen et al (2018a, 2018b) found that quality of work life has a direct impact on the job satisfaction, turnover and productivity of Emirati female working in public-sector organizations.…”

“…Similarly drawing on Institutional Theory, Al-Asfour et al (2017) explored the experiences of employed Saudi female and reported that a significant number of prominent societal and organizational structural and attitudinal barriers exist to their advancement in the workforce. Indeed, several studies across the Arab world (Belwal and Belwal, 2017; Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011; Haghighat, 2013) have highlighted the widespread attitudinal and structural barriers to female employment and the firmly embedded gender hierarchies in everyday organizational practices. In Lebanon female physicians and nurses confirmed gender discrimination at workplaces and the absence of family-friendly policies that assist working professionals in achieving work–life balance (Jamali et al , 2008).…”