Women Leadership in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Gender equality is considered as a challenge that human society need to overcome in order for its long term sustainability. This paper looks at the factors that may be barriers to women rise to leadership in Saudi higher education institutions. Education sector is by far the largest employer for Saudi women and is one of the sectors where women should expectedly face minimum barriers to rise to leadership. Saudi government has recently introduced many reforms (under the 2030 vision) which are expected to have a direct impact on women empowerment. This research is one of the very few researches conducted into the impact of the 2030 vision on women leadership in Saudi Arabia.Data for this research was collected using semi structured interviews with Saudi women working in Saudi higher education institutions. Data was thematically analysed. Results indicate that Saudi women have faced a number of barriers in rising to leadership positions but the 2030 vision is expected to lower many of these barriers. Furthermore, this research finds that using direct references towards women empowerment in government policy statements is likely to lead to more effective outcomes in lowering barriers to women's rise to leadership in the Kingdom.

The impact of ongoing westernization on eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in a sample of undergraduate Saudi women

“…It also appears that different cultural issues might have different impacts on eating and body shape, with internalization of western media and economic values being more closely related to body and eating issues than internalization of western political values. This difference might suggest that many women in Saudi Arabia are less engaged with political changes than they are with economic and media changes, as has been concluded from a qualitative study of women working in Saudi higher education settings [63].…”

Determinants of Successful Exclusive Breastfeeding for Saudi Mothers: Social Acceptance Is a Unique Predictor

“…There has been a shift in women's roles in Saudi society from a solely motherhood role to a multirole with higher education, employment status, and socialization [24][25][26][27][28]. A published study found that full-time working mothers' support timing is essential, including acute support, such as establishing a successful latch needed during the first two weeks after delivery and the necessary long-term support to overcome breastfeeding issues [29].…”

A systematic review of succession planning in higher education

“…Although higher education institutions have realized the need for career development for employees yet, the picture is unclear how to cope with this situation in a strategic manner (Davies and Davies, 2010;Gaffney, 2005;Keim and Murray, 2008;Luna, 2010;Middlehurst, 2008;Neefe, 2009;Keller, 2018;Alghofaily, 2019). According to the "Society for Human Resource Management," 32 percent of organizations practiced formal succession planning.…”

“…In particular, the shift toward greater support for females in leadership can be related to increasing discontent with economic circumstances and the attitudes and behaviors of people (Jones et al, 2018). Females faced some obstacles to achieve leadership roles due to job segregation, gender discrimination, race, status, and incompetency (Hodges, 2017;Alghofaily, 2019). Although females entered the labor market, it lacks professional engagement in leadership and management positions (Alaqahtani, 2020)…”

“…Succession planning in higher education is still a new concept and is hardly being addressed in scholarly research (Keller, 2018;Alghofaily, 2019). This is in stark contrast with corporate and business succession planning that has been studied and developed with adequate initiatives, strategic designs, and formal processes for evaluation and control of the programs.…”