Human resource managers advancing the careers of women in Saudi Arabia: caught between a rock and a hard place

Tlaiss, Hayfaa A.; Al‐Waqfi, Mohammed A.

doi:10.1080/09585192.2020.1783342

Cited by 31 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Some studies adopt institutional theory to examine individuals' discriminatory behaviors in the literature. For instance, a recent study in gender research adopts institutional theory and its three pillars to examine reducing gender discrimination and developing women's careers in the Saudi Arabian context (Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020). The underlying rationale for adopting institutional theory as an appropriate lens in this study is that exclusion and inequities have a complex and intertwined nature and that different pillars, as used by this theory, could shed light on this complexity (Aydın and Özeren, 2018).…”

Section: Rq1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey

Aras¹,

Kabadayi

Özeren

et al. 2021

JSM

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Purpose This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to refugees’ exclusion from health-care services. More specifically, using institutional theory, this paper identifies regulative pillar-, normative pillar- and cultural/cognitive pillar-related challenges that result in refugees having limited or no access to health-care services. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on both secondary research and empirical insights from two qualitative fieldwork studies totaling 37 semi-structured meso-level interviews, observations and focus groups in three Turkish cities (Izmir, Ankara and Edirne), as well as a total of 42 micro-level, semi-structured interviews with refugees and migrants in one large city (Izmir) in Turkey. Findings This study reveals that systematically stratified legal statuses result in different levels of access to public health-care services for migrants, asylum seekers or refugees based on their fragmented protection statuses. The findings suggest access to health-care is differentiated not only between local citizens and refugees but also among the refugees and migrants based on their legal status as shaped by their country of origin. Originality/value While the role of macro challenges such as laws and government regulations in shaping policies about refugees have been examined in other fields, the impact of such factors on refugee services and well-being has been largely ignored in service literature in general, as well as transformative service research literature in particular. This study is one of the first attempts by explicitly including macro-level factors to contribute to the discussion on the refugees’ access to public health-care services in a host country by relying on the institutional theory by providing a holistic understanding of cognitive, normative and regulative factors in understanding service exclusion problem.

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Section: Rq1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey

Aras¹,

Kabadayi

Özeren

et al. 2021

JSM

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“…Yet workforce localization policies in general, and the Saudi Nitaqat programme in particular, have potentially profound implications for women's labour market participation (Rutledge et al , 2011; Rutledge and Al Shamsi, 2016; Tlaiss and Elamin, 2016; Waxin and Bateman, 2016). Nitaqat has contributed to increased feminization of employment in the private sector, in the context of broader government efforts, including the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, to advance the position of women (Alfarran et al , 2018; Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020; Tlaiss and Elamin, 2016). The women's employment rate has increased in Saudi Arabia – to 22% in 2019 (World Bank, 2019) – although it remains one of the lowest in the world.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of the restrictions that once applied to employing women, including the obligation that a woman must receive permission from a male guardian before she can be hired, have been lifted. HR managers in Saudi firms have changed “organizational structures and cultures by pushing forward gender-equity policies as well gender-friendly HR practices” (Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020, p. 7).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper investigates the implications for gendered power relations at work of Nitaqat , a workforce localization policy established in Saudi Arabia in 2011, which mandates a quota system to regulate the employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector. It does so in the context of the Saudi Arabian government's aim, expressed in its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, launched in 2016, to modernize and diversify the country's economy, including commitments to increase women's labour force participation and promote gender equality (Thompson, 2017; Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The implications of workforce localization policies, including Nitaqat , for women's employment in Gulf states have attracted increasing scholarly attention (Rutledge et al , 2011; Rutledge and Al Shamsi, 2016; Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020). Drawing on Bradley's (1999) conceptualization of gendered power, and based on case study research undertaken in two firms, the main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate how state workforce localization policies – the Saudi Nitaqat program in this case – can affect gendered workplace relations in private sector settings where women workers have hitherto been absent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Workforce localization, women workers and gendered power relations in Saudi Arabian private sector workplaces

Albelali

Williams

2021

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PurposeThe paper investigates the implications for gendered power relations at work of Nitaqat, a workforce localization policy operating in Saudi Arabia which, by regulating the employment of Saudi nationals in private sector firms, has stimulated greater feminization of employment.Design/methodology/approachBased on an interpretivist, phenomenological research approach, rich qualitative data were collected in two case study organizations – a retail company and an architectural firm. The mixed-method design involved in-depth interviews with managers and women workers and extensive non-participant observation.FindingsIn exploring gendered power relations in Saudi private sector workplaces under the Nitaqat regime, the paper highlights the importance of patriarchal power. However, increased feminization of employment provides women workers with access to power resources of their own, producing complexity and variation in gendered workplace power relations.Originality/valueDrawing on Bradley's (1999) relational conception of gendered power, the paper illuminates how a Nitaqat-inspired feminization of employment, by increasing firms' dependency on women workers, has influenced the dynamics of gendered power relations in Saudi workplaces.

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Unlocking Opportunities: How Women Navigate Informal Networks in Saudi Arabia's Evolving Workplace

Ali,

AlQahtani,

Mrabet

2024

Thunderbird Intl Bus Rev

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In the context of the Arab countries of the Middle East, Wasta informal networks predominate in the business environment. While historically women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had limited access to informal networks, recent socio‐economic changes have had a positive impact on women's participation in the workplace. This research explores the use of Wasta informal networks by women in the context of the new Saudi workplace based on 26 interviews conducted with Saudi professional women. The findings highlight that, due to the changes in the formal institutions, which in turn impact informal institutions, women are generally afforded more direct access to networks, enabling them to attain jobs and progress their careers. The research also contributes to informal network literature by distinguishing between Wasta (negative practice) and other forms of informal networks (positive/beneficial practice). Suggestions are offered to policymakers, managers, and women practitioners to navigate the use of informal networks and Wasta.

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Human resource managers advancing the careers of women in Saudi Arabia: caught between a rock and a hard place

Cited by 31 publications

References 36 publications

Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey

Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey

Workforce localization, women workers and gendered power relations in Saudi Arabian private sector workplaces

Unlocking Opportunities: How Women Navigate Informal Networks in Saudi Arabia's Evolving Workplace

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