Arab women's path to senior management: A case study from United Arab Emirates banking sector.

摘要

Women in senior management positions are a minority in the global organization structure, yet some women have reached the executive level of organizations. The purpose of the qualitative instrumental case study was to explore the nature and significance of key societal, organizational, and individual factors that actively enable the career success of women in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) banking sector. The study involved examining the perceptions of 12 women at the higher and middle management levels at different banks in the UAE through interviews to explore their experiences, beliefs, and perceptions regarding what factors are critical to enabling the career success and development of women in organizations. The analysis of the data from the interviews revealed the following themes on achieving career success for women in the Middle East: (a) success factors as a female senior manager include personal characteristics, (b) work--life balance, (c) persistence regardless of the obstacles, (d) committing to long hours while aspiring to a senior management level, (e) geographically and functionally mobile, (f) organizational culture support, (g) the role a manager has played in career advancement, and (h) women use formal and informal networking to advance careers. This study recommended that future research should include further investigation for the potential societal, organizational, and individual factors that enhance the workforce gender mix in the Middle East and allow more women influx into the senior management levels.