Women in business leadership

Abstract

This scholarly study is the first to compare business leadership in the Arab Gulf states in terms of the presence of female managers in various positions. It documents the status of women leaderssenior executives and managers-through a quantitative gender analysis of 2805 private and publicly listed companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The study details the positions women hold within organizations and analyzes and compares these by country, business classification, company size, and ownership. The contribution to cross-cultural management is that these data on gender composition in the workforce highlight the low participation of women in business leadership as an issue. Furthermore, the study provides knowledge for crosscultural managers about cultural attitudes toward women's economic participation in this geographical area. The research offers helpful insights and important implications for government leaders in these countries as well as for educators, practitioners, and scholars who work to help prepare and advance women to leadership within this region.

Collegiate Women in Saudi Arabia: Leading Collectively for the Development of Self, Others, and Society

“…This particular finding has not previously been described in the literature. One explanation for this is might be that collegiate women of this study are aware of the challenges they might face in terms of unemployment of college-educated women, as well as the underrepresentation of women in leadership in the country (GASTAT, 2016a(GASTAT, , 2016b(GASTAT, , 2017a(GASTAT, , 2017bKemp et al, 2015). Further research should be done to investigate and understand the relationship between college student leadership development and career development and readiness.…”

“…For example, in 2006, women in Qatar represented a little over 40% of the total unemployment population (Dubai Women Establishment, 2011). Moreover, a recent study revealed that, compared with other Arab Gulf countries, Qatar has one of the lowest percentages on women leaders overall with 3.6% (Kemp et al, 2015). Similarly, while women in the UAE are faced with unemployment challenges, the 2009 unemployment rate of college-educated women was approximately 14% (Kemp, 2013).…”

“…Similarly, while women in the UAE are faced with unemployment challenges, the 2009 unemployment rate of college-educated women was approximately 14% (Kemp, 2013). Kemp et al (2015) Kemp, 2013;Kemp et al, 2015). Third, women in the UAE face social, cultural, and educational challenges that are analogous to those faced by women in other Arab Gulf countries (Metcalfe, 2007(Metcalfe, , 2011, such as Saudi Arabia.…”

“…Third, women in the UAE face social, cultural, and educational challenges that are analogous to those faced by women in other Arab Gulf countries (Metcalfe, 2007(Metcalfe, , 2011, such as Saudi Arabia. focused on understanding the current progress and experiences of women and leadership (Kemp et al, 2015;Madsen, 2009aMadsen, , 2010bMetcalfe, 2011;Wright & Bennett, 2013).…”

“…Madsen (2009bMadsen ( , 2010a Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) to document the status of women leaders and the positions they hold. While the study was comparative in nature and had its limitations (Kemp et al, 2015), it is the only known scholarly study that was conducted on these countries. Therefore, this sub-section presents an overview of the only known leadership development program in the literature for young women across the Arab Gulf countries.…”