Being and Becoming a Leader: Arabian Gulf Women Managers’ Perspectives

Abstract

This study examines the challenges and opportunities of Kuwaiti, Emirati and Qatari female managers at themajor milestones of their career paths, and also explores their perceptions of Arab women leadership competencies. Questionnaires responses of 84 Kuwaiti, 47 Emirati and 43 Qatari female lower/middle managers were used, and 63 of them were interviewed. The findings of the three samples were similar, and they indicated that the main barriers were formal and informal gender-discrimination practices, trivialization of female skills and scholarship, difficulty in accessing certain professions and cross-gender social network and support. Lack of ‘formal’ mentoring systems and female role-models were considered of a lesser value compared to the difficulty in accessing significant social network at work. Balancing work and life responsibilities was not as a major problem as in the West. Male relatives were often perceived as either major hindrances or great help. The respondents perceived themselves as high-potential employees who were as assertive and competitive as their male counterparts, and relatively more cooperative and androgynous leaders. They also saw themselves as more cooperative, competitive, assertive and career-oriented than the average Arabian Gulf working woman. The respondents did not see the average working woman in a stereotypical way, except for the notion that ‘women lack workplace political savviness’. Mostly, the findings were consistent with regional and international literature, however patriarchy, gender-biased legal and organizational systems and dictated traditional gender-roles augmented the career challenges of Arabian Gulf women. The findings were discussed within the region’s socio-political context.