woman leadership

Women, Management and Globalization in the Middle EastAuthor(s): Beverly Dawn MetcalfeSource: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 83, No. 1, Women, Globalisation and GlobalManagement (Nov., 2008), pp. 85-100Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25482355 .

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Journal of Business Ethics (2008) 83:85-100 ? Springer 2008

DOI 10.1007/sl0551-007-9654-3

Women, Management and Globalization

in the Middle East Beverly Dawn Metcalfe

ABSTRACT. This paper provides new theoretical insights

into the interconnections and relationships between

women, management and globalization in the Middle

East (ME). The discussion is positioned within broader

globalization debates about women's social status in ME

economies. Based on case study evidence and the UN

datasets, the article cnrtiques social, cultural and economic

reasons for women's limited advancement in the public

sphere. These include the prevalence of the patriarchal

work contract within public and pnrvate institutions, as

well as cultural and ethical values which create strongly

defined gender roles. The discussion examines the com

plexities of conceptualizing women's equality and

empowerment in Islamic states. The paper reveals that

there have been significant achievements in advancing women in leadership and political roles, but that there are

still institutional and cultural barriers embedded in busi ness systems. Linking feminist, development and man

agement theoretical strands a development framework is

proposed which is sensitive to the Islamic Shar'ia

encompassing government, organization and individual

level strategies. It is suggested that scholars should inte

grate literatures from gender and management, develop

ment and Middle East studies, and in particular that

critical scholars of gender and organization should con sider the interrelations of the national and transnational in

critiques of contemporary global capitalism to understand the complexity of women and social change in the ME.

KEY WORDS: women, globalization, Middle East, management, transnational feminisms, empowerment

Introduction

As the societies of the Arab ME confront the process of globalization, incorporating pressures for demo cratic change, social justice and trade development, no issue today offers a more formidable challenge for governments than the unequal status of women. Since the 1970s examination of women's role in the

ME has often dominated in representations of political and economic transformations as evidenced in The Iranian Revolution, current debates about constitutional democracy in Iraq and the Taliban regimes in Afghanistan. Yet, it is only recently that

women's contribution to trade and development is being addressed (Acker, 2005; Noland and Pack, 2004). The Arab Human Development Report 2003 argued that the full empowerment of Arab women, recognizing their right to equal participation in politics, society and the economy, as well as to education and other means of building capabilities was a significant aspect of the region's future development in a global society (Metcalfe, 2006, 2007; World Bank, 2003a, b, c; World Bank, 2005).

The eradication of gender inequalities and the empowerment and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public life are a global concem (Walby, 2005). For example, modemization has transformed women's opportunities in the UK and USA, yet women's active participation in political life and congress remains relatively low. A great deal of

women-in-management literature has examined the barriers which limit women's social and economic development, yet these substantive writings are lar gely positioned within western and developed cultural spaces (for example USA Powell, 2000). The limi tations that hinder women's progress in organiza tions are well documented, including the persistence of gender stereotypes (Powell, 2000; Reskin and Padavic, 1994; Walby, 1990); biases in recruitment and selection practices (Dickens, 1997; Hamrs, 2002; Powell, 2000; Truss, 1999); and few female role models (Davidson and Burke, 2004; Powell, 2000). Scholars have also noted how organizations are gendered and reproduce unequal power relations (Heam et al., 2006; Legge, 2004). Only recently have scholars in management and organization



86 Beverly Dawn Metcalfe

behaviour examined gender issues within developing or transitional countries or regions (for example

Budwhar and Debrah, 2004; Metcalfe and Afanas

sieva, 2005). While there wiU be some common

concerns that men and women may share globaUy, it

is important to examine the specificities of socio

cultural and political processes and their impact on

gender systems (Fagenson, 1993; PoweU, 2000; see

also Roald, 2001). It is, however, the ME countries where the gap

between the rights of men and women is the most

visible and significant, and where resistance to wo

men's equality has been most chaUenging (Mernissi,

1991; Metcalfe, 2007; Moghadam, 2005; UNIFEM,

2004). Women face discrimination in both the

economic and social spheres, and many women do

not enjoy equal rights as citizens (CAWTAR, 2001;

Seikaly, 1994; World Bank, 2003a). Women are not

aUowed to vote in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait.

Although women's rights organizations have

repeatedly raised the issue, not one country in the

Arab region has a law that makes domestic violence a

criminal offence (UNIFEM, 2004). Arab women are

significantly under-represented (or entirely absent) in senior executive positions in politics, public administration and legal systems and professional roles in the private

sector. Yet, women are chal

lenging the prevailing social ethics which require that they define their self-identity in the home

sphere and eschew a career. In addition to the

change that women face in their local communities,

their status is affected by transnational feminisms and

global political developments. The emergence of

extremist Islamic organizations presents a threat to

the gains women have achieved as weU as to the

possibilities of reform (Badran, 2005; UNDP, 2003). The politicization of Islam seriously complicates the

advocacy of equal rights (Badran, 2005; Esposito,

2005). This is not to suggest, however, that Islam

represents ethical value systems that undermine

equality between men and women, rather, as the

paper wiU argue, that Islam has been used in global discourses to reinforce patriarchal social and work

systems.

This paper contributes to the scarce knowledge that currently exists on the position of women in

management and leadership in the ME. Through the

integration of literatures in gender, management and

ME studies the focus wiU primarily be on unveiling

the socio-cultural, economic and institutional barriers

that limit women's advancement, as weU as docu

menting the progress that has been achieved by women in politics and the professions only in the last

few years. The paper presents a framework which can

be used to evaluate women's progress in leadership and management incorporating government,

organization and individual level strategies. Signifi

cantly, the model recognizes that the gender regime in Islamic states is based on sex difference (Dickens,

1997; Legge, 2004; Liff, 1996; Walby, 1990). The

underpinning arguments presented suggest therefore

that we cannot examine women's public position

without connecting to broader socio-cultural debates

relating to Islam and gender.

Gender, globalization and work

The Arab world is diverse economicaUy, sociaUy,

historicaUy and politicaUy. Yet Arab people are

linked in a variety of ways. The great majority are

linked by common language (Arabic), religion (Is

lam) and cultural identity and heritage (Ahmed,

1998; Ali, 1995, 1999; UNIFEM, 2004). Global

ization processes and economic opportunities remain

uneven, between countries, within countries and

between individuals (Acker, 2005; UNIFEM, 2004;

World Bank, 2003a, b, c). The region continues to

face social transformations, demographic shifts,

economic waves of affluence as weU as civil strife

(Ali, 1999; Noland and Pack, 2004; Norris and

Ingleheart, 2002). Consistent with the contradictory nature of globalization the impact on women

has been mixed (Walby, 2005; Pfeifer and Posusney,

2003). One feature of economic globalization has

been the generation of jobs in export processing, free

trade zones and world market factories as weU as e

commerce and finance, especiaUy in oil/gas-rich economies such as Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Labour market policies such as Emiritarization,

Omanization, Bahrainization and Saudiazation have

also created job opportunities in public administra

tion for women (Adler, 2004; Moghadam, 2003,

2005). In addition, foUowing international trends

there are signs of increased entrepreneurial devel

opment amongst women especiaUy in Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain (Basma, 1999; Carter and Weeks, 2002;

Tzanntos and Kaur, 2003).



Women, Management and Globalization in the Middle East 87

Development scholars stress that globalization overaU has tended to increase inequality between

men and women as manifest, for example, in the

'feminization of poverty' and gendered international

divisions of labour (Walby, 2005; World Bank,

2005). Women are still likely to be paid less than

men, have lower literacy levels, and are less likely to

be represented in government and senior public administration roles (Acker, 2005; World Bank,

2003c). ParadoxicaUy, structural adjustment

programmes associated with liberalizing markets and

finance flows have often have led to declines in

public expenditure in social services such as health

and education, and have increased insecurity for

many where many women are employed (Pyle and

Ward, 2003). It should be stressed that it is usually the better educated and younger women, rather than

the poorest women, who benefit from economic

integration and globalization (UNIFEM, 2004;

Walby, 2005).

Nonetheless, heightened transnational feminist

dialogue, the mobilization of women's networks and

the requirement of ME societies to expand into new

markets have made gender a salient issue and placed women's empowerment on

policy agendas of inter

national organizations and national governments

(Edwards and KuriviUa, 2005 Hearn et al., 2006). In

the foUowing sections, we detail more closely how

globalization is shaping gender regimes that disad

vantage women at the structural, cultural and indi

vidual identity levels. We draw on Acker's theoretical

framework of inequality regimes which examines the

interrelations of practices, processes, actions and

meanings that result in, and maintain, gender

inequalities in organizations (2006, p. 443). Although Acker's approach is positioned within western orga nization analysis the approach is valuable since it

acknowledges that inequalities are interconnected to

the surrounding society, politics, history and culture.

Gendered work structures

zAcker argues that gendered occupational structures

have caused inequalities in organization hierarchies and

limited women's opportunities (Acker, 2005, 2006). These limited opportunities are particularly prevalent for women in the ME, for while globalization has

transformed economic opportunities for women in the

Arab ME, the rate of women's labour market partici

pation is stiU the lowest in the world (UNIFEM, 2004;

Wirth, 2001). Table I provides selected data for Arab

countries and the USA and UK relating to women's

labour participation rate, the GEM ranking, the

number of women professional and technical workers, women's current

participation in cabinet and the year

women received the right to vote.

The Arab countries can be divided into three

categories, depending on their labour and natural

resource endowments: labour-abundant and natural

resource-rich countries, labour-abundant and natural

resource-poor countries and labour-importing and

natural resource-rich countries (UNIFEM, 2004). The rate of women's participation in the work force

tends to be higher in countries with abundant labour

and relatively limited resources such as Egypt, Leb

anon, Morocco and Tunisia, as opposed

to countries

that are abundant with labour and rich in resources

such as Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. There is a

high degree of gender and occupational segregation with the majority of Arab women working in the

service sector and in the public sector where social

security exists (UNDP, 2003; UNIFEM, 2004). This is more pronounced in oil-rich countries. GCC

countries that are endowed with natural resources

which import labour, however, show high rates of

women's participation. Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar

are the three countries with the highest levels of

women's employment.

Women's current labour participation rate in the

Arab region has seen tremendous increases of late

(UNIFEM, 2004; Wirth, 2001; World Bank,

2003b). The percentage of female labour participa tion for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) increased 47% between 1960 and 2000. This masks

the vast differences across countries. During the

period between 1960 and 2000 Bahrain's women's

labour participation increased by 668%; Kuwait's

486%; the United Arab Emirates 548%; while

Yemen's female labour participation increased only 15%. (World Bank, 2003b). Moghadam (2005)

argues that in many countries this labour market

growth is largely attributable to the 'feminization of

public employment'. ME occupational structures are

strongly gendered with the majority of women

employed in health, education and social care. There

is also evidence of vertical segregation with women

concentrated in lower level roles (World Bank,



00 00

TABLE I GEM in selected Arabic Middle East countries

2005

(compiled from Human Development Report 2005)

Country GEM Seats in Ministerial positions, Female economic Female legislator Profess Tech Women received

parliament (%) actual number activity rate managers (%) workers (%) right to vote UN 2005 UNIFEM (2004)

UK 18 17.9 3 (1924) 53.5 33 54 1918, 1965 USA 12 14.8 5 (1952) 59.6 46 55 1920, 1965

Bahrain 68 7.5a 4 (2000)c 34.5 21 10 19 1973a 2002 ^

Egypt 77 4.3 3 (1962) 30 9 31 1956 ?

Saudi Arabia 78 0 0 22.4 18 31 6 - ^

Jordan - 7.9 1 (1982)e 28.1d 24 - 1974 ?j

Oman - 7.8 6 (1995) 20.3 17 1994, 2003 |

Kuwait - 0 5 (1996) 36.2 23 0 - 2005b * UAE - 1 2 (1996) 32.1 13 8 25 - f Qatar 1 3 (1996) 42.6 15 1999 J.

_ r^

aAccording to the constitution in force (1973) aU citizens were equal before the law but women were not aUowed to cast their vote until the national referendum held in February 2001 which approved the National Charter. Women were nominated in the national elections in 2002 but none was appointed.

On 16 May 2005 parliament voted a law granting women the right to stand for election.

cNew constitution being finalized provides women right to vote but they have not voted yet.

The Jordan economic assessment report by the World Bank (2005) estimates the real figure is somewhere between 12 and 26%.

eJordan first appointed a woman a ministerial position in 1980. Since then

there

has always been female representation on the cabinet. The current Minister of

Planning and International Cooperation is Suhair Al Ali.

Data obtained from personal knowledge. The date in brackets indicates the first year a woman was appointed minister. It should also be noted that in a number of states a woman's ministerial position is attributable to her royal birth, for example Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al Ali in Qatar,

Minister of Economic Planning Sheikha Lubna al-Qassemi in UAE.




2003c, 2005). In some countries women are also

barred from certain professions, for example archi

tecture, some fields in medicine and engineering

occupations (Bahry and Marr, 2005; Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia, 2003). While women's work opportunities may be lim

ited, education advances have been dramatic. Wo

men's university participation has grown rapidly in

some countries over the last 5 years. According to

figures for enrolments in 2004 there are now more

women than men in the universities in Jordan (60%), Bahrain (66%) and Qatar (76%) (Bahry and Marr,

2005; UNIFEM, 2004) and an equal number of

women registered in Saudi Arabian universities in

2003 (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2003). However,

education systems still sustain gender stereotypes

directing women into 'appropriate' professional and

female education programmes in social work and

education (World Bank, 2003c, 2005). Women's development in politics has been signifi

cant in the last few years, although the results in Table I

reveal that increased labour market participation in the

USA and UK has not necessarily increased the number

of women political representatives. Indeed, Oman

currently has more women in ministerial positions than

do the UK and USA. Wmle not aU countries have

given women the vote (Saudi Arabia and UAE) women have accessed power and decision-making

roles and have strongly advocated women's rights, have

suggested changes to legal codes and have served as a

role model for women across ME states. A key figure is

Sheikha Lubna al-Qasami who was appointed Minister

of Economy and Planning, the first woman in UEA

history to be appointed at that level. She is unusual

compared to other female political representatives in

the ME as she was educated in the US, is not married

and does not plan to marry. Other key female figures hold primarily stereotypical female political roles

including Fatima Balooshi at Social Affairs and Dr.

Nada Haffad at Health in Bahrain's governing body. Nonetheless, these figures are quite dramatic since less

than 10 years ago there was virtuaUy no female political

representatives in the Arab states at aU.

Gendered employment practices

Gendered organization theorists have shown how

organizing process and practices produce class and

gender inequalities (Acker, 1992). In the majority of

Arab states women's right to work is granted (for

example Jordan Constitution 1952; National

Charter 2001, Kuwait Constitution 1996; Bahrain

National Charter 2001); however, the interpretation of labour laws is guided by urf (custom) and Shar'ia

law which reflect the need to protect women and

create a moral work environment. As such,

employment protection legislation is limited and

does not cover sexual discrimination, since dis

crimination is perceived as being embedded within

Shar'ia law. Labour market structures and employ

ment regulation frameworks support gendered work

practices at the organization level in several ways.

Tax, business loans and employment-related benefits

are often channelled only through men, preventing women's entrepreneurship development. Even

women's banking services require a male relative or

husband as executor (El-Azhary, 2003; Kandoyti,

1996). In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar oil companies support gender segregation by subsi

dizing sex-separate offices and educational facilities.

This spatial organizing structure in itself limits career

choices for women (Kandoyti, 1996; Moghadam,

2005; see also Budhwar et al, 2002). Metcalfe

(2006) found in sex-segregated organizations in

Bahrain and Oman that there were limited funds for

skills development for women since training budgets were largely allocated to men, especiaUy if the

training was tied to a professional or higher degree. A further study examining gender and HRM

relationships in the ME found that that equal

opportunities or diversity issues did not constitute

part of general HRM procedures since equality was

considered as being constituted within the guidelines of Islamic Shar'ia (ILO, 1998; Metcalfe, 2007). These gendered HRM practices have been found to

be prevalent in western organization policies too (see Truss, 1999).

Important factors limiting women's progression are the recruitment and HR practices of private sector organizations in the Arab region. There is

reluctance by private sector institutions to employ women partly due to social norms and partly due to

additional costs that may be incurred for maternity

provisions (Al-Lamki, 2000; Kingdom of Bahrain

and ILO, 2002; Wirth, 2001). It should be noted,

however, that women themselves prefer to work for

public agencies since the working conditions and




benefits are often more favourable (Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia, 2003; Wirth, 2001).

Gendered cultural practices

While the above outlines the structural barriers that

limit women's opportunities there are also embed

ded cultural practices that define gender roles in very

particular ways. Gender, work and social relations

are governed by a traditional patriarchal structure in

ME states (Al-Lamki, 2000; Walby, 1990; World

Bank, 2003a). This attributes a higher value to job roles and abilities to dominant masculinities (Acker,

1992). Women's most important role, according to

the society, is as a homemaker and mother, while the

man's responsibility is to support and protect the

wife and the family. The man is considered the head

of the household even in cases where the woman

makes large contributions to the family's income.

Hence, women enjoy limited, if any, recognition, for their contribution to the family, and are often

seen as legaUy, financiaUy and sociaUy dependent on

men (World Bank, 2003b, p. 9). In addition, there is

a code of modesty that rests on the dignity and

reputation of the woman, with restrictions on

interactions between men and women and anchored

in family laws based on Shar'ia law as already indi

cated (complied from UNDP, 2003, 2005; World

Bank, 2003a, b). This is supported by the dominant

cultural practice of qiwama (protection), which

requires that men must 'protect' a woman's honour

and sexuality. Within an Arabic cultural context,

however, the concept does not denote superiority of

men over women (Roald, 2001; UNIFEM, 2004,

pp. 59?60). Notwithstanding this, the consequence

of this is that women tend to get married younger

and have children earlier (UNIFEM, 2004). There are also restrictions that are imposed on

women which limit their mobility within their

country (for example Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,

Kuwait), as weU as women having to obtain per

mission to travel overseas from their husband or

guardian (for example Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia,

Egypt). These cultural practices create gendered work relations and organization

structures and

sustain sex-segregated work spaces and, likewise,

sex-segregated occupations.

Difference, Islam and identity

While the foregoing discussion has reviewed struc

tural and cultural processes that influence gender

relations, one important aspect that needs unravel

ling is the religious context in the ME. It has been

argued that religion is one of the many factors that

can contribute to the formation of national culture,

and which, through national culture, may influence

management processes and individual subject posi tions (Tayeb, 1997). Islam has remained an impor tant source from which the cultural fabric of Arab

society gained its patterns (AU, 1995). The role of

Islam plays a significant role in shaping economic

and social and identity relations.

The importance of Islam as a social and organizing influence is shown in research which examines how

the Qu'ran and Hadith provide a moral framework

which guides the behaviour of aU men and women.

The achievement of the 'weU being' (falah) of aU

men and women (AU, 1995, 1999; Ahmed, 1998) is

an underlying philosophy in aU human activity and

communications. The concepts of unity (itihad),

justice (adalah) trusteeship (khilafah) have a signifi cant bearing on ethical behaviours in management and organization relations (Rice, 1999; Rice and

Al-Mosawi, 2002). ME scholars also note that the

Qu'ran is explicit in identifying the different but

complementary roles of men and women (Ahmed,

1998; Roald, 2001). A recurring theme is the equal but different identities of men and women:

And the male is not like the female (Surah, The Family

of Imran 3:36)

And everything we have, is created in pairs, that you

may remember (Surah Scattering of Winds, 51:49)

The prevalence ofthe embedded different subjec tivities of men and women is revealed in recent

research which reaffirmed the engrained belief in the

differences of men and women and the public roles

that they perform. The Women Affairs Committee of

the Democratic Arab-Islamic Wassat Society (2002) in Bahrain found that over 60% of the female popu

lation did not support female political candidates

because they felt that women did not possess appro

priate skills to participate in politics, had limited

political knowledge and awareness, as weU as ques

tioned whether women's role in politics could detract




from women's role in caring for the family (Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 2004; Kingdom of

Bahrain and United Nations, 2003). These gendering

processes are an integral part of an individual's sense

making practices regarding their own and others

professional and work identities (Acker, 1992, 2006). The commitment to difference as a social and

organizing principle is perhaps best encapsulated by

reviewing the status of Arab countries signed up to

the United Nations CEDAW convention. Of the 22

Arab League states, 16 have ratified or acceded to

CEDAW although most have stated reservations

(see Table II). Arab states argue that they are not

against the principles of CEDAW but wish to

maintain their commitment to Islamic Shar'ia. This

stresses that men and women be treated differently, not unequaUy. As UNIFEM state this stance 'may be

a reflection of equity considerations rather than

biases against women' (2004, p. 26). Feminist eco

nomics scholars note, however, the different but

equal philosophy is difficult to sustain as 'differences

are too entwined with power and resources' (Wal

by, 2005, p. 374). While many ME women are embracing funda

mentalist precepts that would ostensibly identify women's role as positioned in the family, others are

remoulding Islamic traditions, finding Islam as a

vehicle for rebellion against existing political (male)

authority (Ahmed, 1998; Badran, 2005; Roald,

2001). As Amat-al-Aleem Alososwa, the first woman

to be appointed to a ministerial position in Lebanon

commented: 'women's rights are human rights

are

Islamic rights' (Badran, 2005, p. 22). There is thus

great debate and discernment amongst feminist

scholars and Islamic scholars about the empowering and disempowering effects of Islamic philosophy.

A key chaUenge presented by feminist scholars is

that women's individual subject positions are largely related to the limited knowledge of women's rights as

citizens (Moghadam, 2005). A major problem for

women in the ME region is a lack of information

about women's leadership and women's global

TABLE II

Selected Arab States and CEDAW accession and reservations compiled from United Nations Datasets 2004

State Date Date Art 2 Art 7 Art 9 Art 15 Art 16 Art 29 Total

of signature of ratification _ reservations

(a-g represent respective paragraphs)

Jordan 3/2/80 1/792 Ratify 9/2 15/4 16/1 (c) (d) (g) 3

Algeria 22/5/96 Accession 2 9/2 15/4 16 29/1 5

Iraq 3/8/86 Accession 2 9/19/2 18 29/1 4 Kuwait 2/9/94 Accession 7(a) 9/2 16/1 (?) 4 Lebanon 21/4/97 Accession 9/2 16/1 (c) (d) (f) (g) 3

Egypt 16/7/80 18/9/8 Ratify 2 9/2 6 29/1 4 Saudi Arabia 7/9/2000 7/9/2000 9/2 29/1 2 Bahrain 18/6/02 18/7/02 Accession 2 9/2 15/4 16 29/1 5 UAE UAE has not signed CEDAW

Article 2: Condemns discrimination against women in all forms and agree to pursue all appropriate means to eliminate it

(particularly incorporating principle of equality in laws and actions). Article 7: Political and public life (voting and participation in public office and NGO). Article 9: Nationality of mothers to be passed to children.

Article 15: Women's equality with men before the law.

Article 16: Equality of rights in marriage and family relations.

Article 29: Settling of disputes by arbitration or International Court of Justice. aSaudi Arabia has made a

general reservation against the CEDAW convention as foUows: 'In case of contradiction

between any term of the Convention and the norms of Islamic law, the Kingdom is not under obligation to observe the

contradictory terms ofthe Convention' (See UNIFEM, 2004).




achievements. They also lack knowledge and access to

independent women's advocacy organizations. Fur

ther, while women's advocacy in most regions exists,

many are tied to government or Islamic societies.

Independent women's groups are not permitted to

operate openly without some measure of government

control in the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia for

example, and in Bahrain and Oman they face strict

controls over membership (Bahry and Marr, 2005).

Women's progress and development in the Middle East

The foregoing discussion has highlighted that glob alization and women's economic and social progress is

multi-faceted and complex. While there are barriers

inherent within governance systems, labour market

structures, as weU as women's individual subject

position themselves, there have been remarkable

advancements in women's overaU status of late

(Kandoyti, 1996; Moghadam, 2003). The UN Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 sparked a global commitment to the empowerment of women

everywhere and drew unprecedented international

attention. The internationalization of discourses on

equality, empowerment, autonomy, democratiza

tion, participation and human rights has been taken on

by women's organizations and governments around

the world (Acker, 2005; Moghadam, 1997). The

adoption of the United Nations CEDAW protocol on

gender equity as already highlighted by many ME

states represents the countries' commitment to social

and economic change (see Table II on CEDAW

Accession). AU Arab states adopted the MiUennium

Development Goals (MDGs) which emphasize gen der equality and the empowerment of women (Acker,

2005; UNIFEM, 2004). In the foUowing sections we

provide a critique of women's progress, especiaUy in

management and leadership positions in the ME. The

analysis includes institutional developments, organi zation initiatives and women's individual attempts to

secure political agency and representation through the

growth and activities of women's professional devel

opment organizations and NGOs. We draw attention

to the variation in gender machineries, women's

political representation as weU as consider transna

tional governance institutions such as the United

Nations and ILO.

Women and institutional development

While detailed critique of the democratic structure

and governance systems is beyond the scope of this

paper (see Esposito, 2005 for an exceUent summary)

many ME states have made significant efforts in

improving institutional frameworks that can tackle

inequalities (Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 2004;

UNIFEM, 2004; World Bank, 2005). FoUowing the

Beijing conference which caUed for countries to

develop National Action Plans (NAP) for women,

the majority of ME states have established inde

pendent women's ministries or sections to ensure

that women's issues are included in public policy

planning and development (see Table III). These

bodies advocate the empowerment of women in a

range of areas including economic empowerment, social empowerment, legal rights awareness, capacity

building for women as weU as working to incor

porate gender mainstreaming principles in aU aspects of public administration and policy planning. An

objective of these units is also to start the process of

data coUection on women's work and status in their

regions in order that they benchmark progress and

can prepare gender-sensitive development plans

(UNIFEM, 2004). In Egypt as part ofthe Women at Work Programme,

equal opportunity units were established in 32 min

istries to ensure equality between men and women, in

addition to ensuring that women's constitutional

rights in the workplace were observed. In addition the

establishment of a Women's Business Resource Centrehzs

provided administrative, research and marketing

support to women seeking to start smaU business. In

the year 2005 the centre provided consultations to

1240 women, conducted 247 feasibility studies of

smaU enterprises and ran a series of seminars and

training sessions targeting university graduates and

entrepreneurship development (Metcalfe, 2007). A

major success has been the establishment of The E

Marketing Support Centre, which was created to help women running smaU businesses acquire the skiUs they need to promote their products on the Internet (Egypt Council for Women, 2006).

In Bahrain the Supreme Council For Women was

established under the decree ofthe National Charter

and exists to: 'define and lead the women's move

ment to equip women to take up their rightful role

in the society, establishing constitutional and civil




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mechanisms for the development and empowerment of women in Bahrain' (Supreme Council for

Women). The Secretary General Lulwa Al-Awadi of

the Council was given the rank of Minister in

December 2004. It is headed by Sheikha Sebeeka

(first wife of Sheikh Hamad), and while there have

been some moves towards assisting women in

leadership programmes such as the creation of a

Royal University (established October 2005) for

women's leadership and community training and a

Crown Prince Leadership Programme which is to

tackle issues of sustainable competitive advantage for

Bahrain, the majority of the council's efforts have

focused on upholding women's role in the family as

part of a commitment to the foundations of an

Islamic state (Metcalfe, 2006). While the establishment of women's councils

represents a significant development, it should be

highlighted that any social changes that may transform

gender relations are governed by an Islamic gender

regime which is aligned with Shar'ia law. The King dom of Saudi Arabia Human Development report states that there is commitment to the: 'Expansion of

work opportunities for women by opening new fields

of employment in conformity with Islamic Sharia'

(2003, p. 112). In Jordan The Jordanian National

Council for Women has declared its commitment to

empowering women while preserving the country's

religious and social identity (World Bank, 2005). The

Jordanian national strategy focuses on the empower ment of women in six fields, including legislation, economics, society, education and health. Their

commitment stipulates any women's strategy should:

...be consistent with the Jordanian constitution, Jorda nian national charter, Islamic Jurisprudence, values of

Arab and Muslim society, principles of human rights,

aspiration to progress and development, regional and

international agreements (Jordanian National Strategy for Women, 1993 in Metcalfe, 2006).

The charter further declares that the strategy should promote cohesion of the family and portray an image of women as partners of men in society.

Women and international organizations

The creation of institutional and governing frame

works, however, also requires support and cooperation




from business partners. There is some evidence that

MNCs located in the ME region are supporting women's advancement in the public sphere. SheU

and General Electric, for example, are promoting women in business through Businesswoman and

Entrepreneurship of the Year awards (Metcalfe,

2006). These awards provide women leaders with

recognition and status and help chaUenge cultural

and gender stereotypes about women's role in

business (Adler, 2004; Carter and Weeks, 2002). SheU and General Electric have also established a

women's ME network to help foster and support

knowledge transfer and learning. Their current HR

strategies also provide for building diversity objec tives into long-term succession planning. It should

be noted, however, that the majority of MNCs tend

to employ female international staff at middle and

senior levels rather than local female staff.

Contrary to this, evidence from various studies of

gender and work in the global economy revealed

that MNCs' commitment to an equality philosophy in regional subsidiaries is uneven, and that MNCs

are more likely to perpetuate inequalities between

men and women (Pyle and Ward, 2003; Zanani and

Jensons, 2003; see Hearn et al., 2006). Indeed,

Edwards and KuriviUa (2005) highlighted that

globaUy there was a great deal of ambiguity about

equality and diversity policies and their HR strategic

approach in regional subsidiaries was one of political and social expediency.

A good example is that current government

policy in Saudi Arabia advocates part-time work for

women as this 'suits the special circumstances of

many women' (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2003,

p. 112). MNCs, however, are reluctant to reform

employment systems since part-time arrangements

are not a common feature of work practices in ME

states. This highlights the ways in which transna

tional processes and local specificities intertwine

(Walby, 2005). A reluctance by MNCs to tackle sensitive local

organization and managerial cultural practices that are

at odds with their global corporate philosophy has meant that women's advancement in business has

been increasingly supported by international agencies such as the ILO and UN (Hearn et al., 2006; Metcalfe,

2007). This is significant since it is international

organizations that are providing the lead in social and

equality transformations. An example is the micro

start initiative in Bahrain that has been able to help more than 2000 low-income entrepreneurs in the

Arab region since 1998. The programme was funded

with US$1 miUion from the government of Bahrain

and US$ 500,000 from the UNDP. The Alexandria

Business Association (ABA) is playing a key role

in Bahrain's Micro-start Project as an international

micro-finance service provider (see Basma, 1999;

UNIFEM, 2004).

Women's leadership and entrepreneurial development

A number of important achievements have been

made by women in the sphere of leadership and

entrepreneurial development. In just 5 years the

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce grew from having no female members to 1785. Dr. Lulwa Mutlaq,

Vice-President of the Arab Banking Co-operation, was voted as President of the Bahrain Management

Society, a predominantly male organization in the

Gulf (Metcalfe, 2007). In Saudi Arabia the Chambers

of Commerce and Industry (CO) are setting up female provisions to assist entrepreneurial develop

ment including information and advice with business

start ups and finance and legal counselling. In addi

tion Chambers of Commerce are expanding provi sions for specialist women's training, including inter

alia: banking, finance, public relations, managing smaU enterprises, and the management of social

services (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2003). The

Princess Basma Resource Centre in Amman Jordan

provides similar services (Metcalfe, 2006). At the regional level the OECD's Centre for

Entrepreneurship has been assisting women's entre

preneurship training in Morocco and Turkey. The

World Bank has established a development project Investment Climates and Women's Entrepreneurship

which is part of a larger gender project in the Middle

East and North Africa (MENA) (World Bank, 2005) which is assessing the opportunities for women

entrepreneurs in MENA client countries to promote women's entrepreneurship.

Women's organizations

A contributory factor to women's leadership devel

opment is the growth of women's organizations




(CAWTAR, 2001; Roald, 2001). At the grassroots levels women's organizations have been playing a

pivotal role in transforming social relations (Badran,

2005). Women's organizations have grown steadily in the last decade especiaUy in the Gulf region

(Moghadam, 1997). A few of these social networks

as highlighted above have been supported by orga nizations. The majority of women's organizations in

the ME, however, have grown from transnational

feminist movements and increased political con

sciousness about women's role in society (Acker,

2005; Badran, 2005; Walby, 2005). Global feminists

are bound together by a common discourse of

globalization and are developing a feminist organi zation praxis that relies on coalition and network

building (Acker, 2006; Walby, 2005). While a great deal of women's organizations concentrate on pro

moting traditional female roles such as child care,

health education and religious education (for

example the UAE Women's Federation founded by Sheikha Fatima), there are an increasing number that

are dedicated to advancing women in politics and

leadership roles. Specifically these organizations contribute to women's development in progressive

ways through provision of literacy programmes,

raising legal awareness about employment and per sonal status rights, providing training programmes for work-related skiUs as well political participation

(for example Bahrain's Women's Society). Other

organizations unite professional women and offer a

development forum for enhancing women's

knowledge and skills.

The Jordan Forum for Women and Business' vision is to

'empower women's participation in all social,

cultural, legal, business and economic development in Jordan, through education, advocacy, network

ing, training and professional support' (World Bank,

2005). In addition, the Bahrain Businesswoman's

Society (BBS) was recently successful in acquiring

funding from UNIFEM to support entrepreneurial

development skills training (Metcalfe, 2007).

Many women's organizations, however, cannot

be managed independently and are often subject to

government checks or are tied to a religious party

(CAWTAR, 2001). Women's organizations are also

shaped by the nature of existing political regimes, for

example an

independent women's organization

movement in the context of political repression. It is

important to appreciate also that most of women's

organizations are united predominantly by their

middle-class background and their commitment to

retain and expand their civic rights (Bahry and Marr,

2005; Moghadam, 1997).

Advancing women in leadership and management in the Middle East

The evidence in this paper has highlighted that there

are globalizing pressures that are shaping specific forms of gender and economic relations at the

societal, organization and individual identity levels.

A unifying theme of these pressures is the principle of Shar'ia law, albeit having slightly different inter

pretations in specific regions. That is, one conse

quence of globalization processes in the ME has been

to make salient Islamic cultural values in shaping

gender and work systems. Islam is a unifying cultural

resource that forms a community of practice and

assists in the formation of organization practices and

individual subjectivities at institutional, organization and individual identity levels (Acker, 2006; Ahmed,

1998; Ah, 1995).

Acknowledging this is important in mapping a

way forward to further assist women's empower

ment in the ME. An important consequence ofthe

foregoing discussion is that development initiatives

in Islamic states should advance the rights of women

as well as recognize the importance of family in

society. Family policies work to develop sustained

and efficient family support systems and open up women's choice (Acker, 2005; Walby, 2005). A key development

area then is to help

women be able to

combine work and family responsibilities, and this

has been the primary characteristic of the develop ment of equal opportunity policies in western

nations (Dickens, 1997; Hakim, 1996). There has been more than one way of conceptu

alizing the nature of and route to gender equality. At

least three major types of approach can be identified:

equality through sameness (equal opportunities or

equal treatment), through equal valuation of differ ence (special programmes), and the transformation of

gendered practices and standards of evaluation (Liff,

1996). The first model is one in which equality based on sameness is fostered, especially where women enter

previously male domains, and the existing male norm

remains the standard (Acker, 1992). The second is one




in which there is a move towards the equal valuation

of existing and different contributions of women and

men in a gender-segregated society. The third is one

where there is a new standard for both men and

women, that is, the transformation of gender relations

(Liff, 1996; Walby, 2005). Within the ME states the

approach is clearly one of difference, and in valuing the

equal but different roles and abilities of men and

women. An Islamic lens would thus support the

development of women and management strategies that value sex differences, acknowledging that men

and women may require different policy frameworks

to enable equal participation in the public sphere

(Hakim, 1996). Managing difference and the legiti

macy of women's needs are an important political tactic in fostering social and economic transformation

(Hearn et al., 2006; Zanani and Jansons, 2003). That

is, women's unity is not essentialized but constructed

in relation to the organization of social and economic

relations (Liff, 1996; Hearn et al., 2006). The debates on the conceptualization of gender

equality are informed by ongoing analysis of the

processes of changes in gender relations. In particular there is a question of the extent to which progress for women is closely associated with economic

development as contrasted to democraticaUy inspired social and civil society development (Acker, 2006).

Here global critiques of empowerment are relevant.

While acknowledging that empowerment as a con

cept is fluid and variable according to social context, there is consensus about women having the ability to

have options and power and control over resources

(Longwe, 1997). The importance of sufficient wel

fare regimes and access to productive

resources are

necessary requirements to foster empowerment ini

tiatives in business spheres. However, the mobili

zation and coUective action of women to chaUenge

inequalities is also necessary. Significantly, women

should consider themselves as not only able to define

self-interest and choice, but also be entitled to make

choices (Longwe and Clarke, 1994 in Malhotra

et al., 2002). This conscientisation (Longwe, 1997) and

awareness raising or agency focus as a locus of

empowerment is not to undo the responsibilities of

governments and multilaterals in creating enabling factors to empower women, but to counter the fact

giving women greater control over resources has not

always led to the promotion of women's' interests.

As Malhortra et al. argue: 'Without women's indi

vidual or coUective ability to recognize and utilize

resources in their own interests, resources cannot

bring about empowerment' (2002, p. 9). Table IV represents a development model that

focuses on capacity building initiatives for women's

leadership advancement on three levels. To ensure

women's economic security, there is a need for an

enabling institutional, legal and regulatory frame

work to facilitate women's access to economic

resources. At the government level a key concern for

women's organizations has been legislative measures

that prohibit gender-based discrimination in the

workplace since this is largely inadequate in most

Arab states (Moghadam, 1997). There also need to

be reforms in educational policy to include provision for women in vocational, professional and entre

preneurial activities. This requires some of the

women's administrative bodies in Arab states to give

equal emphasis to the work as weU as the private

sphere. The implementation of these institutional

changes would require a greater number of women

in public administration roles through gender inte

gration and empowerment planning. This is one area

where Arab states are actively promoting women's

leadership and there is current debate about whether

TABLE IV

Women, learning and leadership development

Organization Government Individual

Diversity and EO policies Legislation Women's networks

- local

Learning and knowledge transfer Active role of women's councUs and international

Support women's networks Development and training and Commitment to lifelong

CoUaborations and enterprise development support for vocational provision learning

with Chambers of Commerce Entrepreneurship support Political participation

Political empowerment




quotas are a viable way forward (Badran, 2005;

UNDP, 2005; World Bank, 2003c). In terms of economic planning there is a

requirement for government agencies to consider

the effect of trade policies on women and to ensure

that gender mainstreaming principles are incorpo rated in trade agreements to support women's

economic opportunities (Walby, 2005). It is vital to

understand macroeconomics from a gender view

point and to encourage women's participation in

economic policy and decision making. To ensure women's economic advance in man

agement and the professions, there is a need for

organizations to support general empowerment ini

tiatives in the ME through the integration of

equality principles in HR planning and generaUy

through promoting discourses of equality. The

expansion of social and professional organizations,

supported by business institutions referred to earlier

in this paper, would provide opportunities for

women to share knowledge and assist women's

movement in important business networks.

However, it is not just about recruiting and pro

moting women in organizations. There is also a need

to involve individual women in social and political forums within community networks (Badran, 2005;

Langwe, 1997). The globalization of concepts and

discourses of human rights, and the activities of

women's organizations, NGOs and INGOs have

supported the development of transnational feminist

networks and as argued in this paper stirred feelings for

acquiring new knowledges, new rights and new

opportunities. Reaffirming the commitment to

women's agency we would stress women be involved

as agents of change rather than be recipients (Malhorta et al., 2002). Acquiring knowledge and understand

ing of gender relations and the ways in which these

relations may be changed is important for women to

move forward (Moghadam, 2005). Developing a

sense of self-worth and a belief in one's ability to

secure desired changes and the right to control one's

life are skiUs that need to be fostered.

Conclusion

In this paper we have explored the relationship between women, management and globalization in

the ME. It was shown that women face social and

organizational barriers in the labour market and

through gendered organization and cultural practices. In addition women have mobUity restrictions placed on them which limit training and career choice op tions. Sex-segregated work practices

as weU as sex

segregated social relations in many Arab societies limit

women's potential for advancement in the public

sphere.

It was also highlighted, however, that women

have made significant gains in politics, leadership and

management roles of late, and that Arab states were

committed to social change and reform, albeit

within the framework of an Islamic gender order. A

significant factor contributing to women's advance

was grassroots women's organizations which had

supported women's empowerment through raising

literacy levels, making provisions for business pro

grammes as well as supporting entrepreneurial

development.

The difficulties that many women face in the ME

are similar to other women in many parts of the

world. However, there are opportunities and con

straints for women attributed to gender within their

culture. Both men and women believe that Islam

defines gender and family roles and responsibilities and these are taken very seriously. Women's groups,

governments and organizations advocate the inter

face between the Islamic and universal construction

of human rights and stress the family as a foundation

of an Islamic state (Badran, 2005; UNIFEM, 2004). The implication is that Western experiences may

not provide the most appropriate model with which

to improve women's economic and social status in

the ME. The priorities of western women, day care,

abortion rights, higher pay and economic equality with men are of less significance to women who are

struggling for elementary rights to vote, to have

access to education programmes, to work of any

kind and to an end of sexual discrimination. While

feminist issues are only now being recognized, reli

gion is still an important regulator of everyday life

and of a source of female identity. A development model proposed that a difference equality strategy,

acknowledging the importance of the family, was

the most appropriate way forward to develop women's management and leadership capabilities

targeting institutional mechanisms, as weU as

women's individual agency. It should be high

lighted, however, that an Islamic cultural lens, while




advocating difference between the sexes, should not

be linked to ideas of subordination and deference.

Islam is an aU-embracing concept depicting human's

relationship to God and represents a programme of

life (Ahmed, 1998). The analysis presented suggests therefore that we cannot understand the complexity of gender and globalization processes without con

necting to broader social and economic changes

relating to the rights of women in Islamic nations.

Notes

These phrases refer to the labour market policies of

the Gulf States which aim to graduaUy decrease their

reliance on expatriate labour and increase the number

of local nationals employed.

The GEM -

gender empowerment measure is a

composite indicator that captures gender inequality in

three key areas: Political participation and decision

making, as measured by women's and men's percentage

shares of parliamentary seats; Economic participation

and decision-making power, as measured by two indi

cators -

women's and men's percentage shares of posi

tions as legislators, senior officials and managers and

women's and men's percentage shares of professional

and technical positions; Power over economic re

sources, as measured by women's and men's estimated

earned income (UNIFEM, 2004). Two terms are used to refer to law in Islam, Shar'ia

and Fiqh. Shar'ia refers to God's divine law detaUed in

Qu'ran, Sunnah and the sayings and doings of Moham

med (Hadith). Fiqh refers to scholarly efforts to inter

pret Shar'ia (Ahmed, 1998). These extracts are taken from Abdel HaUeem's

(2004) new English translation of the Qu'ran which is

considered exemplary in Islamic scholarship.

There is ongoing debate about the definition and

measures of empowerment and the generaUy accepted

view is that individuals should have the ability to make

strategic life choices (Malhorta et al, 2002).

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Business School,

Liverpool Hope University,

Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK

E-mail: [email protected]



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