Gender and Human Resource Management in the Middle East

Written by: Rachel Wells

This blog post is based on The International Journal of Human Resource Management article “Gender and Human Resource Management in the Middle East” by Beverly Dawn Metcalfe.

Women as Top Talent

As more women enter the workforce it has become an increasing concern that women in workplaces encounter a glass ceiling. The text refers to a glass ceiling as discriminatory practices that have prevented women and other protected-class members from advancing to executive-level jobs (85). This is especially true in the Middle East where Islamic values affect women's work experiences and Islam shapes gender and HRM policies.

This issue of gender and HRM polices in the Middle East is important because of the increasing support for equality between men and women in the workplace. There is also a growing importance of women's employment in the Middle East. As the economy in Middle Eastern states grows and changes, there is a greater need for government and organizations in the Middle East to integrate with government and organizations in different countries. “It is shown that Islamic banking, finance and insurance services offer significant growth potential in the global market, and that these sectors are likely to require female labor” (Metcalfe 56).

Study

Beverly Dawn Metcalfe is a Senior Lecturer in HRD, International Development at University of Manchester. Her study is based on an assessment of 53 survey responses and 27 interviews. All the survey and interview participants were female professionals from Arab states who currently work in Bahrain, and attended career development workshops. Out of the 102 attendees to the workshops, twelve had PhDs, 20 percent had postgraduate qualifications and 33 percent had professional level qualifications (Metcalfe 62).

The results identified key barriers to career development. Survey respondents identified child care responsibilities, limited female role models, and business culture and the limited support of organizations for women’s work as barriers (Metcalfe 62). Interview data identified the lack of HR policy planning relating to women and equal opportunities, limited training and development opportunities for women, and the significance of Islam in a work environment including Islamic dress as barriers (Metcalfe 63).

HR Policies

Two common means the text says are used to “break the glass” are: (1) allow for alternative work arrangements for employees, particularly those balancing work/family responsibilities, and (2) establish formal mentoring programs for women. But in the Middle East flexible work schedules or part-time work is not encouraged. For example, in Bahrain women are given eight weeks unpaid maternity leave, but are expected to look after the children and not return to work. Those that do return to work are given about a one hour reduction in work hours. As for mentoring programs, it would be difficult for organizations to implement formal ones because of a lack of female professionals to act as mentors. In Bahrain, most mentoring opportunities are often built on informal female relations and networks. Not through organization support (Metcalfe 68).

Metcalfe states that the lack of equal opportunity policies reflects the equal but different philosophy underpinning Islam. This philosophy holds men and women as equals, and respects and values the different, not lesser, skills and characteristics of women managers. Islam is so strongly embedded in the workplace that some organizations in Bahrain support sex-segregated work spaces (Metcalfe 64). However, this philosophy does place massive constraints on women's career development, especially relating to training and development. Because of this philosophy most training opportunities are given to men before women, if offered to women at all.

Conclusion

It is hard to tell if HRM policies in the Middle East will ever change to give women equal opportunities. It is something that probably won’t change for a long time, if at all. But I do think it is important for students to be well informed about HR related issues that are going on in other parts of the world. Learning about these issues gives you a greater understanding of things that we do and have here in America like equal employment opportunity laws and regulations, affirmative action plans, and Title VII.

Metcalfe, Beverly Dawn. “Gender and Human Resource Management in the Middle East.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 18.1 (2007): 54-74.