Women's careers in the Arab Middle East

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine how women academics from the Arab Middle East enact their careers with reference to double-bounded contexts: academia as an institution encoding organizational career scripts and gender as another institution encoding specific gender roles. It is hoped that this cross-cultural perspective would broaden the understanding of careers beyond the economically advanced industrialized countries and better inform the current debate on the boundaryless career model. Design/methodology/approach -The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. It draws on one-to-one interviews with 23 female academics in early, mid and late careers, working in research universities in the Arab Middle East region. Findings -The choice of academia as a profession is mainly driven by the subjective perception of an academic career as a calling, the lack of attractiveness of other career options in the region, and the appeal of the flexibility of academic work. Furthermore, the findings highlight both organizational (lack of mentoring and university support) and cultural factors (Islam, patriarchy, and family centrality) that shape/bind women's careers choices and patterns allowing thus for a better understanding of local constraints to the boundaryless career view in the Arab Middle East context. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the boundaryless career theory development by addressing one of its major shortcomings, namely the lack of attention to context. It provides fresh insights from the Arab Middle East to the ongoing debate whether careers are boundaryless and subject to individual agency or whether careers are shaped by wider institutional factors and support existing calls in the literature to conceptualize careers at the intersection of several influencing factors.

A Conceptual Model of Work-Family Balance Among Qatari Adults

“…The priority of family and interdependence of work and family observed diverges from the predominant "separate spheres" perspective evidenced in WEIRD contexts but is consistent with findings from other collectivistic cultures (Thein et al, 2010;Yang et al, 2000). Moreover, our findings parallel findings from other studies in middle eastern cultures indicating that family is the premier institution of daily life (Afiouni, 2014;James-Hawkins et al, 2017). Family is fundamental in Qataris' decisions about career, particularly women's, and that family finances predominantly influence their decision to work (Golkowska, 2014;Lopez, 2015).…”

Implications of Religion, Culture, and Legislation for Gender Equality at Work: Qualitative Insights from Jordan

“…The very idea that a woman could be witness or could inherit anything at all in her own right was astonishing. (Armstrong, 1992: p.191) However, despite the Islamic teachings towards gender justice, there is a dominant patriarchal lens in MMCs, which forces working women to struggle more than men (Afiouni, 2014). For example, many people in Arab countries perceive females as mothers and housekeepers (Dougherty, 2010), which in turn leads to adverse stereotypes and unequal treatment within organizations.…”

“…For example, Marlow (1997) argues that after Prophet Muhammad, Islamic scholars began to rationalize the tribal system, which led in turn to a deviation from the textual flexibility of the Quran, as interpreted by Muslims, that supports gender egalitarianism (cited in Syed and Van Buren, 2014). Therefore, in reviewing the theoretical studies from the Middle East and MMCs on religion and gender relations, Syed and Van Buren (2014) note that there are partial counter-views that emphasize egalitarian practices of Islamic theology and conjunction with patriarchal interpretations and practices which affect women in organizations by imposing them to act in an accepted way in the society (Afiouni, 2014).…”

Career experiences of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields: A systematic literature review

“…The workplace landscape in the contemporary world is fast changing as a result of various changes that have taken place in society at the economic, social, political, educational, and global levels (Afiouni, 2014;Arthur & Rousseau, 1996;Hall, 1996). This landscape shift prompts the need to rethink the meaning of careers and the current context of work (McDonald & Hite, 2018).…”