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 leaders—senior 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 cross-cultural 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.
Introduction
Identification of the presence (or absence) of women in leadership is critical for its impact on management within any country (Miroshnik, 2002). However, there are few extant studies of women in leadership in countries within the Middle East region, even though Zahra (2011:18) has suggested that the Middle East is actually “fertile ground” for this type of scholarship. The Arab Gulf states constitute an important area to study within that region for three reasons: an emerging economy, a labor force composed of multiple nationalities, and gender inequality (Ngunjiri and Madsen, 2015).
The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of women in leadership positions—senior executive and management roles—in private companies in six countries: the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study explored the placement of women within national and international organizations (e.g. board members, chief officers, vice presidents, top managers, and division or unit heads) and analyzed and compared them by country, business classification, company size, and ownership.
Data regarding the numbers and percentages of female managers and leaders in Arab Gulf states are rare, and detailed position-specific data are essentially nonexistent (WEF, 2014). An analysis of the position of women is necessary to support effective cross-cultural management of a multicultural workforce in emerging economies (Fischer et al., 2005). It is critical to identify the presence (or absence) of women managers and leaders within countries and companies in order to understand the present position of women and to motivate change toward women’s equality within organizations (Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011). Hence, we have designed a study to fill this data gap, and to provide a foundation for tracking the progress of women in business leadership in the Arab Gulf states and to move the conversation forward for academics and practitioners alike (Aguirre et al., 2011; Khilji, 2003).
Management of women and women as leaders in the cultural context
The countries in the Arab Gulf states were chosen for study because of their shared cultural similarities and as a context for cross-cultural management (Metcalfe, 2011). The private business sector within this geographic area is reliant on a multicultural labor force composed of citizens and expatriates (or guest workers) (Miroshnik, 2002). The population of these countries is skewed by labor force requirements, whereupon gender inequality becomes the context. Women are in a minority in the overall population for each country, and two countries, Qatar and the UAE, have more than double the number of men to women (WEF, 2014). In the UAE, there is a higher percentage of expatriates than citizens (Zeffane and Kemp, 2012), 44 percent of the population in Oman is expatriate (National Center for Statistics and Information, 2014: 62), and in the KSA, the restrictions on working women causes heightened dependency on an expatriate male workforce (Elamin and Omair, 2010). These high levels of male expatriates in each country reduce the pool of women available for the labor force (Berrebi et al., 2009)
Many countries and regions around the world have made progress in past decades in terms of women holding senior management positions. For example, one industry report by Grant Thornton (2013) highlighted the top 10 countries for women in leadership, with 32 percent to 51percent of women in these top positions, but only one Arab Gulf country was listed (i.e. the UAE, 11 percent). Other reports highlight the stark differences between countries and regions for women’s equality, and, although progress has been made, women are still underrepresented in senior positions, particularly within business across the world (Ngunjiri and Madsen, 2015). The cultural context for women’s economic participation and leadership positions in the countries of the Arab Gulf states is explored in this literature review.
A framework of factors that influence women’s leadership
We recognize that not all women in the workforce in these countries are Arab or Muslim, but we concentrate our review because of its impact on gender equality in a cross-cultural management context. There is not one particular type of woman in the Middle East, and as Moghadam (2003: 10) confirmed, “women are themselves stratified by class, ethnicity, education and age.” There are differences between the countries that lead to consideration of women in organizational leadership independently (e.g. Al Gharaibeh, 2011 (Bahrain); Al-Suwaihel, 2010 (Kuwait); Berrebi et al., 2009 (Qatar); Elamin and Omair, 2010 (KSA); Goveas and Aslam, 2011 (Oman); and Omair, 2010 (UAE)). Scholars continue to warn about the risks of creating assumptions about people by categorizing individuals, countries, or regions, and researchers continue to do so for the purpose of exploring variables that may extend insights into phenomena being studied.
Metcalfe and Mutlaq (2011: 342) provided a framework that gives structure to the critical internal and external factors that impact women’s leadership participation in the region. They argued that a number of gender-based social processes influence women’s participation in leadership roles. They highlighted seven critical factor categories, with their associated processes, which impact the presence of women in employment. Subsequently, these factors also impact the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women into leadership positions:
Patriarchy: Centers on concepts such as honor and power, freedom of choice, family and marriage, and education.
Government and policy: Includes the limitations of female representation in government, social and sexual discrimination protection, and child care.
External market conditions: Includes the impact of the Arab Gulf states now having more highly educated women than men, the size of the immigrant workforce, criticism of gender quota debates, and the public sector as more conducive employment for female citizens.
Religion: Focuses on Shari’a law and clerical authorities having great influence on the public sector, in which women nationals are more likely to be employed.
Personal motivators: Overall salaries for female employees are lower than those of males; however, benefits are higher in the public sector than in the private sector, including better career development and more flexible work hours.
Private sector perceptions and concerns: Includes women’s compensation being viewed as supplementary in a household, women employees being seen as more costly (e.g. maternity leave), and the expectation that women are more likely to leave for better opportunities or for family reasons. Two prevalent assumptions are that men are preferred to women for leadership roles and that there are inadequate skills between indigenous job seekers and foreign labor.
Tribal origins: Wealth and power in communities are organized through male networks, and women’s social status is connected to their family position.
This seven-point framework provides a useful approach for considering the complex dynamics of influences on the participation of women in leadership roles.
To understand the multifaceted dynamics that impact the participation of women as employees, managers, and leaders, we must highlight a number of external factors. There is no question that a broad range of economic, legal, political, and social factors brings complexity to the role of women in the region. Although progress has been—and is being—made, one report stated, “Arab women on the whole are still less economically and politically empowered than women in other parts of the world” (Dubai Women Establishment, 2011: 15). In addition, understanding choices at the individual level can also be particularly challenging because of the numerous complexities inherent in women’s backgrounds and leadership journeys (Gallant and Pounder, 2008). These internal factors include culture, traditions, religion, values, backgrounds, education, work–family issues, self-concept, gender barriers, expectations, previous opportunities, and perceived future opportunities (Kemp et al., 2013; Metcalfe, 2011). Clearly, these internal and external factors overlap; for example, culture influences women intimately at the individual level, and it influences national policies within each country and cross-cultural management practices in private organizations.
Women as leaders within the cultural context
Scholars from various disciplines (e.g. economics, education, and management) have conducted studies over the past century to better understand leadership and its effective development for individuals and organizations (Bass, 1990; Jogulu and Wood, 2006). Although leadership studies with a focus on women did not emerge until the 1970s (Jogulu and Wood, 2006), steady progress has since deepened our understanding of leadership as a complex gender-related phenomenon. There is acknowledgment that the leadership development of both women and men is important for business success in developed and emerging markets (Ngunjiri and Madsen, 2015). Yet studies about developing women leaders in many countries are only just beginning to surface, particularly in emerging economies (Hoteit et al., 2011).
There is still much to be understood around the dynamics of women in senior leadership in all countries around the world, but this is particularly true in regions that have a history of oppression for women. These include topics related to stereotypes, hostile and subtle biases, and ineffective laws and policies within countries and companies, to name a few (e.g. Longman and Madsen, 2014; Ngunjiri and Madsen, 2015; WEF, 2014). For instance, gender roles are more rigidly defined in a society considered “masculine” than in one believed to be “feminine” (Fischer et al., 2005; Miroshnik, 2002). Religion is a critical factor in the region, and Kabasakal and Bodur (2002: 48) stated, “Islam defines the roles that men and women fulfill and create a masculine society, where men are more dominant in many facets of life.” These beliefs manifest in attitudes toward women working outside the home, to what extent women are expected to remain as homemakers and roles they can perform in the public domain (Farrell, 2008). Women starting companies in typically male-dominated industries (e.g. the industrial and technological disciplines) remain extremely low, although women entrepreneurs have been found in a range of business classifications (Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011).
The corporate values and policies of a multinational parent company are adapted to fit with the local workforce setting, which has repercussions for the recruitment and promotion of women to leadership positions (Fischer et al., 2005; Khilji, 2003). For instance, van Nimwegen et al. (2004) found few women in a UAE company’s workforce, a replication of the low rate for women’s labor participation in that country. One particular gender (female) continues as unequal, where the values of national culture are replicated within private organizations in representation of male as leader (Fischer et al., 2005). In a study, that included Omani and other Arab women, Neal et al. (2007: 310) found a “pan Arab” perception of leadership that supported a traditional approach of patriarchal leadership based on cultural values. Traditional attitudes toward women, more suited to the domestic sphere and less to leadership, thus flow from society into workplace practice in the Arab world (Tlaiss, 2013).
The consequence is that, according to latest analysis by the International Labour Organization (ILO) (2013: 37), “massive gender gaps in employment rates remain in South Asia, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa where women are far less likely to be employed than their male counterparts.” The societal beliefs about women and attitudes toward women’s roles in Arab Gulf states are issues for cross-cultural management that impact on gender equality in workforce participation and leadership. Cross-cultural management practices in the organization (e.g. recruitment, retention, and promotion) relate directly to the preparation and advancement of women as leaders in the workplace (Neal et al., 2007).
Reporting women’s economic participation and leadership
The paragraphs that follow, highlight published findings (albeit limited) on the overall gender gap, labor force participation (LFP) rates, women’s employment status in the public and private sectors, and female labor within various business classifications. One general way to look at progress for women in these countries is by considering the results of The Global Gender Gap Report 2014 (WEF, 2014), which ranked all six of the Arab Gulf states near the bottom of this list of 142 countries, that is, among the lowest for gender equality. These rankings are based on gender variations focused on economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. All of these elements either directly or indirectly affect the number of women in the workforce and in leadership roles (Moghadam, 2003).
Metcalfe (2011) stated that there is evidence of vertical segregation in the region, that is, women being concentrated in lower positions, a phenomenon that continues even when women remain with the same organization for an extended period of time (Omair, 2010). Also, a Dubai Women Establishment (2011) report documented the low percentages of women on corporate boards. In all six countries, there is a higher percentage of women in lower level roles (“professional and technical workers”) when compared with senior levels (“legislators, senior officials, and managers.”) (WEF, 2014). The LFP data provide insight into a narrow pipeline of potential female managers and leaders in Arab Gulf states.
Despite women’s high levels of education and improved economic participation, Aguirre et al. (2011) reported that only about 36 percent of women in the six countries work outside the home, as compared to about 75 percent of women in countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Employment rates have increased dramatically in Qatar and the UAE, and to a lesser extent in the KSA and Oman, yet, according to a private company report, female LFP remains nearly half that of the world average (Al Masah Capital Limited, 2012). LFP for females stands at 27 percent in these countries although, between 2001 and 2010, approximately 1.5 million women joined the labor force—an increase of 83 percent (Al Masah Capital Limited, 2012). In only three countries, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, was the LFP (female to male ratio) just over 0.50 (WEF, 2014). In Bahrain, the female LFP rate was only one-third (Pillai et al., 2011), and the LFP ratio (female to male) was only 0.25 in KSA, as compared to 1.23 males to females in the population (WEF, 2014).
Higher percentages of women work in the government/public sectors; for example, in 2009, Saudi women accounted for less than 1 percent of the private sector workforce (Aguirre et al., 2011). Al Marzouqi and Forster (2011) stated that, in the UAE, there has been a growing level of participation in the private sector but that only 6–7 percent of female Emiratis work in that sector. Further, although Oman recently reported a 17 percent increase in national women working in the private sector, the National Center for Statistics and Information (2011) reported there was still a much lower percentage of female Omanis employed in the private sector (19 percent) compared to the public sector (43 percent). Therefore, it stands to reason that more women will occupy departmental and senior leadership positions in the public sector than in the private sector.
The report (WEF, 2014) and other reports have highlighted the investments in women’s education in past decades, and in every Arab Gulf state, women outnumber men in enrollment for tertiary education, but it also notes the limited success of integrating women into the economy, particularly to the private sector and for leadership positions. We have reviewed the academic literature and business reports that relate to the employment and leadership status of women. We have discovered that there is most definitely a paucity of literature and data about women employed in the private sector in the Arab Gulf states and wider Middle East region.
The requirement for data about women managers in this cultural context
There is a necessity for data about women’s presence/absence in the labor force to support effective cross-cultural management in the private sector of the Arab Gulf states. Other than previously stated, we could not locate studies that document the numbers and/or percentages of women in specific management and leadership positions within the private sector. There is also a lack of data on women in senior and departmental leadership in different business classifications or according to company size. Furthermore, it is important to highlight two elements when analyzing data on women in the workforce of these countries.
First, the population and employment figures within the context are skewed because there are usually fairly equal numbers of females and males in a national population, but there is also a high percentage of expatriate male workers (Zeffane and Kemp, 2012). A number of researchers (e.g. Kemp, 2006, 2010; Madsen, 2010a, 2010b) have conducted qualitative explorations of the lifetime development, perspectives, and leadership experiences of women in business, education, and government in the region. Others (e.g. Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011) have explored the experiences of women working in a particular industry and the influence of cultural norms on female participation. In addition, a few regional (e.g. Al Masah Capital, 2012; Dubai Women Establishment, 2011; Gallup, 2011; WEF, 2014) and country-specific reports (e.g. National Center for Statistics and Information, 2011) have released some general descriptive data on the presence of women in the workforce.
Second, government policies are aimed at expanding the private sector and increasing the numbers of citizens employed in the public and private sectors. These economic policies are referred to in the literature and government reports as Omanization, Emiratization, and Saudization (Zaffane and Kemp, 2012). Some countries specifically note that more indigenous females must be hired in order to increase the percentage of nationals employed in all sectors (Mansour, 2008). Even with the strong cultural norm of the importance of women being home with their children, during the past decade leaders in the individual countries have implemented employment policies and legal changes in support of women in the workforce. One such policy is an opening of educational opportunities for women, leading to a heightened level of educated women available for the labor market in the Arab Gulf states (Burden-Leahy, 2009). The ILO (2013: 81) stated, “young women that decide to participate [in the workforce] are even worse off, facing unemployment rates, … especially among the Gulf countries.” Researchers (Gallant and Pounder, 2008; Hoteit et al., 2011) have also discussed the impact of this substantial increase in women’s educational attainment as one influence on the high unemployment rate for women.
While many of the governments in these Gulf countries have increased encouragement and support for women to obtain college degrees, the efforts do not appear to have yet been translated into significant changes in organizational policies and managerial practices to recruit, retain, and promote females into positions of influence. Obviously, cultural aspects definitely provide complex and compelling dynamics for the employment of women, and many data are required to understand these dynamics.
Hypotheses about women in business leadership in this cultural context
In this section, we offer hypotheses about gender differences in managerial positions to contribute to cross-cultural management scholarship. Theoretical frameworks and research studies often categorize countries differently in the region, yet results are often generalized as representing the Middle East, an Arab Cluster, particular countries, or the Arab Gulf states. Clearly, differences exist among each of these countries (however categorized) in terms of economic, legal, political, and social environments. This suggests the following hypothesis:
Although we cannot find literature that compares the numbers and percentages of women employed in publicly traded versus privately held companies because these companies are open to international scrutiny, it seems that publicly traded companies may be more vigilant in hiring and promoting women. This leads to the following hypothesis:
As in other societies, employment in these countries is “strongly gendered with the majority of women employed in health, education and social care” (Metcalfe, 2011: 134). Some publications (e.g. Farrell, 2008; National Center for Statistics and Information, 2011) have, however, also highlighted the higher number of women employed in the banking industry. It would follow that the percentage of female employees, managers, and leaders in types of businesses associated with men (e.g. industrial and construction fields) would also be low. Thus, the data suggest the following hypothesis:
The literature does suggest at least some differences among these six countries for women in senior positions because of societal values and influences, government policies, and organizational practices; hence, we expect there will be differences between countries in terms of the variables within the present study. Therefore, based on previous research, we propose the following hypothesis:
Cultural values affect women’s inclusion and status in organizations in the Arab Gulf states, which can be changed in the future through skillful cross-cultural management. However, any such change will need to begin with data about the status of women in the workforce currently.
Research methods
This study is based upon data available from Zawya, an important source of Middle East business intelligence that contains various components, including detailed profiles of companies (Zawya, 2013). It tracks information about companies in a database that is accessed through paid subscription in a university library. The list of possible data categories includes the following: (1) country (including the six countries in our study); (2) location of investments; (3) sector/industry; (4) ownership type; (5) company size (number of employees and financial data); and (6) profile, officers, and news.
When we accessed these data, in 2012, the Zawya database contained 13,927 privately owned companies for the six countries, and the group is further classified into publicly listed (5 percent) and private (95 percent). Just under a quarter of these companies (24 percent) employed at least 300 employees (10 percent publicly listed and 90 percent private), which were the criteria for our study. We included both categories of companies (i.e. ownership) as a variable in our study. We analyzed 2805 companies, which were 80 percent of all companies employing 300 or more employees, and 20 percent were not included because basic data on these companies were unavailable. In all, the final sample included 315 publicly listed (11 percent of sample) and 2486 private companies (89 percent of sample), with four companies missing. In sum, we used the data from all companies within the six countries that had 300 or more employees and that had basic data to meet our criteria. The analyzed companies represent 20 percent of all companies in these countries.
The final sample includes nearly all the publicly listed companies employing more than 300 employees (96 percent) and more than three-quarters of the private companies employing more than 300 people (78 percent). The number of companies analyzed from each country varied widely relative to country size: Bahrain (n = 121), KSA (n = 1125), Kuwait (n = 295), Oman (n = 122), Qatar (n = 185), and the UAE (n = 957). The number of companies analyzed by number of company employees is as follows: 300–499 (n = 787), 500–999 (n = 667), 1000–2499 (n = 658), 2500–4999 (n = 297), 5000+ (n = 305), and missing (n = 91). Finally, company numbers separated by business classification are as follows: industry (n = 1287), sales (n = 359), services (n = 184), finance (n = 170), hospitality (n = 365), technology (n = 183), transport (n = 251), and missing (n = 5).
We prepared the data for analysis manually, creating variable categories for analysis and appropriately coding raw numbers. The most challenging aspect was determining the number of managers and leaders in the variety of categories. The database included names of senior personnel divided into board members, top managers, key officers, and heads and managers. The name data also included role designation (i.e. departmental responsibility). Research assistants were able to determine the gender of individuals, as many were designated by titles such as “Mr”, “Ms”, or “Mrs”, and the titles Sheikh and Sheikha, respectively, also signify males and females in the region. Some individuals were designated by “Dr”, and in yet other cases, there was no title given or the individual was designated by their royal status, which is common to both genders, for example, HH (His or Her Highness) or HE (Her or His Excellency). For the data on individuals whose gender was not obvious, research assistants from the region checked company web sites, consulted a professional network (LinkedIn), and determined gender based on their knowledge of regional names.
We tested hypotheses 1 and 3 using nalysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe follow-up tests; hypothesis 2 compares private and public companies, using an independent t-test; and hypothesis 4 was tested using Pearson, one-tailed correlation. The dependent variable for hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 is the proportion of female employees to overall number of employees in the firm. Hypothesis 4 assesses the proportion of female employees to the total number of employees in companies of various populations.
Results
Data revealed the positions female leaders hold within organizations (e.g. board members, chief officers, vice presidents, top management, and division or unit heads). We sorted the results into pertinent categories: business classification, number of employees, and ownership. The numerical results are shown in tables that highlight position, business classification, the number of company employees, and ownership, and descriptive text outlines each hypothesis and its associated findings.
Position
Table 1 provides a snapshot of female business leaders in organizations within companies by position. Data for each country in the study show the raw numbers and percentages of female leaders in each of eight senior leadership and 12 departmental leadership positions (see Table 1 for position details). Overall, the public relations (PR), government, and liaison/external relations category have the highest percentage of women (14.1 percent) across the six countries, followed by human resources (HR; 12.5 percent) and marketing (9.7 percent). The lowest numbers of women leaders occur in operations (1.5 persons), chief officers (1.5 percent), and information technology (1.5 percent) positions. Country-specific percentages show that the UAE (5.1 percent) and Kuwait (4.9 percent) have the highest percentage of women leaders overall, while Qatar (3.6 percent) and KSA (2.5 percent) have the lowest. Across all Arab Gulf states, 3.1 percent of present senior company leaders and 5.2 percent of departmental company leaders are female (3.7 percent combined). ANOVA and other statistics were run on each of the 20 specific positions, but results increased the probability of type I error and were too numerous to include in this article.
Position—percentage of female business leaders in organizations within GCC companies.
Note: KSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE = United Arab Emirates; GCC = Gulf Cooperation Council; CEO = chief executive officer; CFO = chief financial officer; COO = chief operations officer; HR = human resource; IT = information technology; PR = public relations.
Hypothesis 1 examined the percentage of women in senior and departmental leadership positions and tested whether there would be a difference between Arab Gulf states. Hypothesis 1a is supported (F = 12.140, p ≤ 0.000) using ANOVA. Scheffé follow-up tests reveal that Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar have a significantly higher percentage of women in senior leadership than does the KSA (p ≤ 0.05). Oman and the UAE were not significantly different from other countries. Hypothesis 1b is narrowly supported (F = 2.223, p ≤ 0.049) using ANOVA. Scheffé follow-up tests, however, did not show how the countries were different from one another at a p ≤ 0.05.
Ownership
Table 2 highlights the numbers and percentages of female business leaders in both publicly traded and privately held companies. Totals show that women comprise 3.4 percent of senior and departmental leaders in privately held companies, and 4.2 percent of leaders in publicly traded companies are women. The UAE (5.7 percent) and Kuwait (5.5 percent) top the publicly traded company list, while Bahrain (3.0 percent) and the KSA (2.7 percent) post the lowest percentages in that category. Women leaders in privately held companies range from 4.6 percent (Oman) to 2.5 percent (KSA).
Ownership—female business leaders in GCC companies.
Note: KSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE = United Arab Emirates; GCC = Gulf Cooperation Council.
Hypothesis 2 tests whether there are significantly higher percentages of women in senior and departmental leadership in publicly listed than privately owned companies. An independent t-test shows there is no significant difference in the average percentage of women in privately held and publicly listed companies (t = 0.593, p ≤ 0.554). Hypothesis 2a is not supported; however, hypothesis 2b is supported. An independent t-test reveals that a significantly higher percentage of women occupy departmental leadership positions in publicly listed companies (7.10 percent) than in privately owned companies (5.19 percent; t = −2.168; p ≤ 0.030).
Business classification
Table 3 provides a look at the raw numbers and percentages of female business leaders in each country and business classification. Totals show that the highest percentages of company female leaders (senior and departmental combined) were found in pseudo services (7.2 percent) and hospitality (5.1 percent), while technology (3.5 percent) and industry (2.5 percent) had the lowest percentages (see Table 2 for business classification details).
Business classification—female business leaders in GCC companies.
Note: KSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE = United Arab Emirates; GCC = Gulf Cooperation Council; IT = information technology.
Hypothesis 3 argued that there would be a significant difference in the percentage of women in senior and departmental leadership positions by industry classification. Hypothesis 3a was supported (F = 13.991, p ≤ 0.000) using ANOVA. Scheffé follow-up tests reveal that there are significantly more women in senior leadership positions in services than in manufacturing, technology, finance, transport, sales, and hospitality (p ≤ 0.05). There are also significantly more women in hospitality and services than in manufacturing (p ≤ 0.05). Hypothesis 3b was also supported (F = 4.255, p ≤ 0.000) using ANOVA. Scheffé follow-up tests failed to show how the business classification differed at the 0.05 level of p.
Table 4 highlights the numbers and percentages of female business leaders classified according to country and the number of company employees; the latter appear in categories of 300–499, 500–999, 1000–2499, 2500–4999, and more than 5000 employees. Although the grouping with the highest overall percentage of female leaders appears to be in the smallest companies—and the lowest percentages occur in the largest companies—significance was not found.
Number of company employees—Female business leaders in GCC companies.
Note: KSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE = United Arab Emirates; GCC = Gulf Cooperation Council.
Hypothesis 4 argued that there would be significantly positive relationship between the size of the organization and the percentage of women in senior and departmental leadership positions within companies. The correlation between the percentage of female senior leaders and the size of the organization is not significant (r = 0.008, p = 0.696). This suggests that there is no relationship between the total number of company employees and the numbers of senior female executives. Hence, hypothesis 4a is not supported. The relationship between the number of female departmental leaders and the size of the organization is also insignificant (r = −0.007, p = 0.708). Therefore, hypothesis 4b is not supported, there was no relationship found between size of the organization and the number of women in departmental leadership positions. We ran further tests assessing hypotheses 4a and 4b because of concerns that there might be a nonlinear relationship with the numbers of female executives. ANOVA was used to see whether there were differences between the average numbers of women in each category. As with the original correlations, we found no significant differences. Ultimately, there is no support for hypotheses 4a and 4b.
Discussion
Not surprisingly, these data show that there are fewer women than men employed in management positions in companies within the six countries and that women are substantially underrepresented in senior roles. This study finds that females hold 5.2 percent of the top department leadership positions within the 2805 companies we analyzed, while a lower percentage (3.1 percent) of female representation appears in the ranks of senior company leaders, and there is a combined total of 3.7 percent female leaders in companies in our sample. In comparison, one recent private company report (Grant Thornton, 2012) stated that although 21 percent of employees in senior management roles globally are women, this is far from ideal, and change needs to occur. Writers of the White House Project Report (Wilson, 2009) argued that the United States has a dismal 18 percent of women in senior leadership positions. Obviously, these percentages are substantially higher than those results from our companies. When the countries are considered individually, overall percentages (2.5 percent to 4.9 percent) still range substantially below the percentages of women leaders in other developed world regions.
In terms of comparisons between these countries, the results confirm that there are significant differences between a least some of the countries in terms of overall percentages of women in senior and departmental positions, with KSA and Qatar having the lowest percentage of the six countries. We suspect that the reasons are cultural and economic, with KSA and Qatar culture remaining more traditional than others. Because of this, fewer women aspire to and are promoted to leadership (Elamin and Omair, 2010; Le Renard, 2012). Gas and oil production is highly important to these countries and is an industry employing few women. In addition, citizens are more likely to take roles in the public (government) rather than private sector (Bahry and Marr, 2005; Mansour, 2008). Although our study is the first to highlight the presence of women in the majority of leadership positions, the Dubai Women Establishment (2011) Outlook document reports were between 0.01 percent and 2.7 percent females on corporate boards in the six Arab Gulf states in 2007. Our study actually found higher percentages, which range from 1.9 percent (KSA) to 4.4 percent (Bahrain). However, caution should be used in such comparisons because the study populations and samples are substantially different.
We were also not surprised to discover that more female leaders are in the services (e.g. education, government, and health care) and hospitality classifications than in industry (e.g. agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and mining) and technology. This is also the case in a majority of countries across the globe whether the cause is innate interest, socialization, company cultures and practices, or something else (Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011). For example, there are major efforts in the United States to increase the number of women graduating from programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2013). If there are fewer women with degrees in STEM fields, fewer women will be in the pipeline for management and leadership positions in these types of businesses.
Arab Gulf states vary on the customs, laws, policies, and practices related to women working directly with men (Elamin and Omair, 2010). Hence, it is interesting that many senior roles for women are found in countries and disciplines (e.g. marketing and HRs), where women can more freely work with men. We speculate such roles could be held by non-Muslim and, therefore, expatriate women. Our findings also highlight the heightened presence of female employees and managers in the PR, government, and liaison/external relations business classification. However, it is important to note that we are not confident that this position includes PR in the marketing sense; in the UAE, for instance, it can be an assigned position that primarily handles visas and other liaison responsibilities with the government.
There appears to be no pattern in terms of the percentage of female leaders and the size of company (i.e. employee numbers). One may expect there would be more women in smaller companies (i.e. 300–499) and fewer in larger ones (i.e. 5000+); however, this is not statistically supported in our study. Al Marzouqi and Forster (2011) and various reports (e.g. GEM, 2014) have noted increases in women entrepreneurs, including some within the Arab Gulf states. However, companies with fewer than 300 employees are not included in this study. If they were, we would expect to see higher percentages of women leaders in small businesses across the region. Interestingly, pure percentages do demonstrate a pattern (see Table 3). Another explanation could be that larger companies would be more likely to be global companies and would, therefore, be more vigilant in creating a more diverse workforce, as is found in more emerging economies.
We analyzed data on the private sector in terms of ownership (private or publicly traded) by position, and overall, there are more women (4.2 percent) in publicly traded companies than in private (3.4 percent). Interestingly, in our study, we found significantly more women in departmental leadership roles in publicly traded companies (7.1 percent vs. 5.2 percent). Again, it is important to note that this study only included companies with 300 or more employees. However, we do know that there are more women leaders in the Arab Gulf states, as well as across the world, who work in smaller businesses, including family owned private companies (Davidson and Burke, 2011). We expect that the percentages for women in these data, particularly for privately held companies, would be much higher if smaller companies would have been included (Joseph and Slyomovics, 2001).
As previously mentioned, there has been limited research in past years on women in business, management, and leadership in the Arab Gulf states. Therefore, credible literature is unavailable to do accurate comparisons between women in top and departmental leadership roles in past decades with the results we have shared in this article. However, it is clear, even with the low percentages of women in these positions we have reported, that progress has been made in recent years with the percentage of women moving into these roles (Al Masah Capital Limited, 2012; Metcalf and Mnoumi, 2011; WEF, 2014). There is little doubt that the high levels of education among the current and future generations of women in these countries will translate into increased percentages in management and leadership roles in all sectors (Kemp, 2013; Madsen, 2010a; McKinsey and Company, 2014). In addition, the increased exposure to media, particularly social media, has and will continue to impact social change efforts toward gender diversity in the region (Kanter, 2013; Le Renard, 2012).
Although our study focuses on the current status of women in the Arab Gulf states, it is important to provide insight into possible explanations of the phenomena at hand. Metcalfe and Mutlaq’s (2011) framework does provide a helpful structure to understand the critical internal and external factors—gendered social processes—that have, through decades and centuries, influenced these findings. Although our study did not directly explore the seven critical factor categories (previously described) that influence women’s leadership participation in the region, past literature has demonstrated their impact on the presence of women in the workplace and on the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women.
These data make it clear that cross-cultural management in private companies in the Arab Gulf states is dependent on revisiting employment policies related to the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women. This may include the use of a range of flexible working arrangements as well as innovative career development strategies specifically designed for women in keeping with cultural limitations and opportunities. Increased awareness training for international managers and local workers can acknowledge cultural values and then work toward gender equality within working practices. A cross-cultural management focus, on understanding the value of women in the corporate environment, can work strategically to extend choice and increase the value of the company’s talent pool.
Limitations
The study has three primary limitations. First, the majority of companies did not submit complete profiles. For instance, less than 10 percent of the companies analyzed had financial information, so we were unable to run statistics on performance variables that would have provided deeper insight into our area of study. Second, because of this, much of the statistical analysis provided was descriptive in nature; fortunately, ANOVAs and t-tests did provide some comparison analysis. This type of quantitative data would have been nearly impossible for researchers to gather in other ways (i.e. qualitative approaches) for a number of reasons. There was limited access to women in employment due to their small numbers and limited funding for research to contact each of the 2805 companies in the region to collect more detailed information. Third, it is also important to note that this study used self-reported data provided to Zawya by individual company representatives, and self-reported data often has reliability concerns. Even with its limitations, the Zawya database continues to provide the best quantitative data in the region to study the presence of female leaders within companies.
Future research directions
Attention continues to be critical in terms of academic research and publication, particularly because women’s employment and progress to senior positions has important economic and social implications globally. One of the strengths of this article is the data we were able to collect about women in the Arab Gulf states. While the data are difficult to obtain and very rare, it is self-reported by the companies and single source, introducing a potential common method error in our empirical work. We are hopeful that future research will validate our findings. Further research needs to be conducted on the variables in this study (i.e. position, business classification, industry, and company size), as well as other related constructs (e.g. company policies, leadership development programs and opportunities, and specific numbers of nationals and expatriates). Other demographics such as age, marital status, and education level could also provide insight as well as attitudinal data on work life and family. We also recommend that more in-depth, complex quantitative data be collected on companies so that more advanced comparison and relationship statistics can also uncover new insights. In addition, exploring the details of successful company equality can be valuable for proactive company leaders who desire to maximize profits through more diverse teams. We also recommend qualitative studies designed to understand the experiences of women leaders and their career pathways for advancement within their own cultural contexts.
Conclusions
The contribution is made to data on these gender differences in the private sector within the Arab Gulf states, between countries, across industries, in publically listed and private companies, and size of organization. The specific contribution to cross-cultural management research is the snapshot we have provided of the presence and progress of female business leaders that provides a baseline from which to compare in future years. Overall, we believe that understanding the current state of affairs for women in leadership roles—and comparison among countries—is critical for tracking movement toward a more enriching and equitable workforce environment. Our data provide increased understanding of the current state of affairs within the private sector, both publicly traded and privately owned, which is a starting point for future data benchmarking and research. Clearly, there are substantially fewer women in management and leadership roles than men whether data are analyzed by business classification, company ownership, positions, or company size. Our data can be compared to the literature on women’s leadership in the public sectors, as mentioned previously. In addition, our findings add to the knowledge about the leadership of women in the private sector and are also a catalyst for further investigation on that sector. Women in the Arab Gulf states are becoming more educated and are joining the workforce in greater numbers. However, the increase of women in leadership roles is slow in the private sector. Hence, research on women and leadership in the region is of great import. This is the first known scholarly study, comparing women in business leadership in the Arab Gulf states, in various positions by business classification, company size, and ownership. This study provides helpful insights and important implications for government leaders in Arab Gulf countries as well as for educators, scholars, and practitioners who work to help prepare and advance women to leadership.