A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Women's enactment of leadership in a heavily gender-marked Islamic context: An exploration within the United Arab Emirates
Tekijät: Alhadhrami A, Goby VP, Al-Ansaari Y
Kustantaja: Emerald
Julkaisuvuosi: 2018
Lehti:International Journal of Organizational Analysis
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
Lehden akronyymi: INT J ORGAN ANAL
Vuosikerta: 26
Numero: 4
Aloitussivu: 728
Lopetussivu: 747
Sivujen määrä: 20
ISSN: 1934-8835
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-08-2017-1206
Tiivistelmä
Purpose Diverse cultural contexts with their distinct enactments of traditional gender inequity present unique constraints for female leaders. In Western contexts, the Christianity-inspired principle of equality of all humans remains a latent principle operative toward greater gender egalitarianism. This paper aims to examine female leaders within an Islamic context devoid of such espoused equality in which gender differences are enshrined in culture and law.Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires based on the Competing Value Framework were developed and completed by 145 leaders and 365 employees from UAE companies. The salient findings of these responses were explored in six subsequent focus group discussions.Findings The study reveals no difference in how women perform leadership, except in terms of brokering skills in which women are perceived as superior to their male counterparts. Focus group discussion participants ascribed this difference to the Islamic benevolent sexism dynamic of according women greater respect, which facilitates their access to higher management.Originality/value This pioneering perspective of female leaders in a context of overt and sanctioned cultural and legal gender disparity contributes to scholarship on female leadership through a non-Western lens.
Purpose Diverse cultural contexts with their distinct enactments of traditional gender inequity present unique constraints for female leaders. In Western contexts, the Christianity-inspired principle of equality of all humans remains a latent principle operative toward greater gender egalitarianism. This paper aims to examine female leaders within an Islamic context devoid of such espoused equality in which gender differences are enshrined in culture and law.Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires based on the Competing Value Framework were developed and completed by 145 leaders and 365 employees from UAE companies. The salient findings of these responses were explored in six subsequent focus group discussions.Findings The study reveals no difference in how women perform leadership, except in terms of brokering skills in which women are perceived as superior to their male counterparts. Focus group discussion participants ascribed this difference to the Islamic benevolent sexism dynamic of according women greater respect, which facilitates their access to higher management.Originality/value This pioneering perspective of female leaders in a context of overt and sanctioned cultural and legal gender disparity contributes to scholarship on female leadership through a non-Western lens.
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