Structural accommodations of patriarchy: Women and workplace gender segregation in Qatar

Abstract

As the institutions of classic patriarchy erode in Qatar, women are entering the labour force in growing numbers. It is argued that women's need to work in societies historically characterized by classic patriarchy causes them to enact strategic accommodations that signal their feminine respectability and conformity to male domination. We find the Qatari context to be characterized by structural rather than individual accommodations of patriarchy. State institutions and several employers have made available gender‐segregated workplaces that facilitate women's employment while maintaining many elements of patriarchy. Using semi‐structured interview data with university‐aged Qatari women, we examine attitudes towards employment, specifically those related to gender mixing in the workplace. Young women's narratives reveal complex schemas regarding the acceptability of gender mixing, which depends on characteristics of the working woman, characteristics of the men with whom she must interact in the workplace and the spatial organization of the workplace itself. Women's protection of their reputations, critical to maintaining their families’ support and their own marriageability, emerged as a key motivation for limiting interactions with men. The preference for gender‐segregated workplaces reveals Qatari women's continued subscription to the patriarchal bargain — they constrain their behaviour in return for protection from male kin.

Young Adult Women’s Aspirations for Education and Career in Qatar: Active Resistance to Gendered Power

“…The Qatari government has encouraged Qatari national women to pursue higher education through reforms to the educational system, including the national university (Felder & Vuollo, 2008). The presence of men in educational environments, however, has hindered educational opportunities for women who are uncomfortable with or not allowed to study in mixed-gender environments (Krause, 2009;Salem & Yount, 2019). Gender-segregated universities have been a structural mechanism by which Qatar and other countries in the Gulf have expanded women's opportunities for higher education while sustaining the prevailing gender norm of keeping men and women physically separate (Krause, 2009).…”

Behind a Masculine Space: The Experiences of Women in Male-Dominated Environments in the State of Qatar

“…Moreover, women tend to encounter many difficulties in adapting to the male-dominated field's intercultural environment. With all these points said, it would indirectly influence their capability to do tasks and work-related outcomes (Salem &Yount, 2019) Despite these hindrances of women working in a male-dominated field, several employers are making an effort to attract more women in the organization while maintaining many patriarchal elements. The majority of institutions are trying to eliminate the idea of gender stereotypes, specifically in the public sector workforce in Qatar; how Filipino women are entering the labor force in growing numbers and are acclimating to harsh working environments (Salem &Yount, 2019).…”

Nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives on participation in national policy development, review and reforms in Ghana: a qualitative study

“…Evidence shows that various power dynamics within the health sector hinder the participation of nurses in policy development [6]. Patriarchy is a power dynamic which operates with the principle of male dominance which relegates women directly or indirectly into the background [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In the African patriarchal context where women are mostly disadvantaged [14][15][16][17], the gender role of women in society may have an impact on the way nurses, majority of whom are women, are involved in policy development.…”