Negotiating space for women\u27s academic leadership within the Arab Gulf States

The case study university was established for women’s education by federal decree of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 1990s. It was selected as it has a high percentage of women leaders. That situation is unusual, particularly in the male dominated socio-cultural environment of the Middle East. Regional statistics on women in academia are analysed in this chapter, and an interpretation of interviews with female leaders at the university is presented. Three themes of best practices were identified: women leading change within the specific academic context of the case study university (CSU); recruitment, retention, and promotion policies that support women’s leadership; and the mitigation of influences from the socio-cultural environment. These best practices in the CSU enabled the negotiation of space for women’s academic leadership

Exploring leadership communication in the United Arab Emirates: Issues of culture and gender

This study aims to identify what makes a successful leader in the UAE within the paradigms of leadership styles and leadership communication. In order to do this, we explore, and potentially challenge, a number of the existing leadership stereotypes that are germane to the region, along with the stereotypical discourse strategies that have been associated with the ways in which men and women enact leadership. We wanted to find out if Emirati nationals would prefer the type of discursive leadership that has been associated with women leaders, that is transformational leadership and collaborative communication, or if they would prefer the discursive leadership that has been stereotypically associated with men in equivalent positions, that is laissez-faire, transactional or paternalisticleadership styles, together with the use of a direct and competitive style of communication. Our findings show that a Western understanding of leadership may be too strictly delineated to account for leadership styles in the Gulf, and also that leaders in the region may effectively draw on a combined set of communication strategies that have been stereotypically attributed elsewhere to male and female leaders

Organisational team : modern and postmodern perspectives of primary health care

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Oman\u27s Labour Force: An Analysis of Gender in Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of affairs in the Sultanate of Oman for the presence (or absence) of women in senior and managerial roles in private companies. The study also investigates where women are located within the organisations (e.g. as board members, chief officers, vice presidents, top management, division or unit heads). Design/methodology/approach This is a quantitative study that analysed gender in the largest 122 private and publicly listed organisations in Oman. The study is based on data available from the Zawya database that tracks information about companies in the Middle East and North Africa region. Findings Women are employed in Oman in small numbers when compared with the number of men. Women remain extremely underrepresented in senior roles in Omani organisations currently. Women are found slightly (but not significantly) more in departmental management roles (particularly in human resource management, marketing/communication, public relations, and project management) and in the transport and finance industries. Research limitations/implications The Zawya database did not contain complete data on each company analysed. Hence, this is a descriptive study and lacked advanced statistical techniques for comparison and relationship analysis. Practical implications This study increases the academic knowledge on international issues in gender and management. The study also provides insights for government leaders, educators, and scholars who work to help prepare women for leadership in this region. Originality/value This is one of the first scholarly studies conducted on the presence of women in senior positions and management within Oman. It adds value as it is the first study to compare gender in management across roles, industrial classification, size of company, and ownership

Influences of cultural orientations on Emirati women’s careers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how cultural orientations influence Emirati women’s career development. Drawing on the cultural theories of Hofstede (1980, 2001) and House et al. (2004), the authors investigated the cultural orientations of a sample of 19 women in the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted to collect life history data about women’s early lives, education and employment. Findings The findings identify three themes that influenced the participant’s careers: family influence on careers, individual-level attitudes toward education for careers, and workplace career development. Research limitations/implications Limited by the small sample of 19 female national participants that implies further international study is required to extend this research. Practical implications The business application is that social values, beliefs and norms can be leveraged for women’s career success. Social implications Policymakers are guided on key factors that influence Emirati women’s careers from a cultural perspective. Originality/value The study makes a unique theoretical contribution in a model that shows: cultural dimensions are interrelated, cultural values and practices are interdependent, and cultural orientations vary between women and men

Teaching Notes: Noor Dubai: managing blindness In developing countries

Dr Manal Taryam, the Chief Executive Officer was discussing with Ms Shurooq Al Banna, Marketing Specialist, the achievements and challenges faced at Noor Dubai over the past 3 years. The problem facing these decision-makers is the prioritization of their resources to support logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and educational issues