Predicting women's job satisfaction with personal demographics: evidence from a Middle Eastern country

Abstract

While there has been extensive research investigating the antecedents of women's job satisfaction, the majority of it has focused on Western women in developed countries. This study explores the job satisfaction of women in a developing, Middle Eastern country context through an assessment of personal demographics and their relative contributions to objective and subjective aspects of job satisfaction among women managers. More specifically, we looked at the impact of age, education, tenure, marital status and religious affiliation on the objective and subjective job satisfaction levels of 346 women managers in the services industry in Lebanon. Results indicate that job satisfaction is related to age, religious affiliation and tenure, but not to marital status and education. The implications of this study are then discussed, along with limitations and suggestions for future research.

Antecedents of Job Satisfaction in Saudi Arabia: Impact of Industrial Sector

“…A significant percentage of respondents (54%) reporting about abuse of Human Resource Management practices. This study's results call for private sector organizations to make significant changes to their human resources practices in order to improve job satisfaction and job performance (Ahsan et al, 2009;Tlaiss & Mendelson, 2014).The results also confirm Mellahi (2007)argument that some private sector employers exploit and abuse their workers. This problem may be aligned to the comparatively higher in both large and small organizations in private sector as compared to public sector.…”

Between the traditional and the contemporary: careers of women managers from a developing Middle Eastern country perspective

“…These cultural values create specific social expectations for both genders and stereotypes about what a man and woman can or cannot do. Although previous studies suggest that Lebanon is more liberal than neighboring Arab countries regarding gender roles (Sidani 2005;Dirani 2006), studies that look at women's careers confirm the salience of gender discrimination and its negative consequences for women's advancement in Lebanon (Tlaiss and Mendelson 2014).…”

“…In other words, in the absence of any legal support such as the affirmative action in the USA and employment equity in Canada, the salient organizational practices further support this discrimination; an aspect which distinguishes the experience of Lebanese women from their Western counterparts. Indeed, several studies suggest that Lebanese women experience gender discrimination in recruitment, performance appraisals and promotions, while men dominate decision-making positions (Jamali et al 2005(Jamali et al , 2006Tlaiss and Mendelson 2014). The notion of discriminatory organizational cultures and practices in Lebanon has been identified by Tlaiss and Kauser (2010).…”

“…They also reported that the prevailing culture within Lebanese organizations accepts and promotes the ideal of 'think male, think manager', which significantly limits a woman's chances of establishing strong networks or wasta and career progression. This status quo provides insights into why women managers feel that their work is often undervalued, they are unsatisfied with their promotions and salaries and feel discriminated against (Tlaiss and Mendelson 2014). Hence, while one can argue that women in Western countries also experience institutional discrimination, scholars suggest the experiences of women in AME contexts are further aggravated by economic instability, the absence of legal support in terms of government imposed rules and regulations, and a patriarchal, masculine culture that strengthens gender stereotypes and discrimination (Tlaiss and Kauser 2010;Tlaiss and Mendelson 2014).…”

“…In particular, there is little research exploring women's career paths in the developing countries of the Arab Middle East (AME) region. 1 Notwithstanding the growing number of studies in this region that looked at women issues (Metcalfe 2007;Hutchings, Lirio, and Metcalfe 2012), many research efforts have primarily focused on exploring the challenges that women face in their career advancement (Jamali, Sidani, and Safieddine 2005;Tlaiss and Kauser 2011a), the glass ceiling (Jamali, Safieddine, and Daouk 2006;Tlaiss and Kauser 2010) or women's lack of satisfaction with their careers (Tlaiss and Mendelson 2014). Therefore, research explaining the actual career paths of Arab women managers and how their careers unfold amidst the frequently referred to gender discrimination and institutional inequalities and challenges is virtually nonexistent.…”