Demystifying

the leaking workforce pipeline: barriers facing female

professionals in the Middle East and East Asia

By

Aisha Alomair

B.Sc., Joint Honors, Mathematics & Computer Science
The University of Birmingham, 2011

Submitted to the MIT System Design and Management Program
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Master of Science in Engineering and Management
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

June 2017


2017 Aisha Alomair. All rights reserved.

The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly
paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium
now known or hereafter created.



Signature of Author:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Aisha Alomair
System Design and Management Program
27 May 2017
Certified by:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Richard C. Larson
Mitsui Professor, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Thesis Advisor
Accepted by:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Joan Rubin
Executive Director, System Design and Management


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 Demystifying the leaking workforce pipeline: barriers facing female
professionals in the Middle East and East Asia
by

Aisha A. ALOMAIR

Submitted to the Department of System Design and Management on June, 2017 in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Engineering and
Management

Abstract
The high levels of female unemployment in majority Muslim countries constitutes significant lost
opportunity on overall economic development. Nations that employ more women enjoy higher
GDPs and a diverse talent pool. There has been little research done on the quality of womens
career paths in these countries. Some nations struggle to push women into the workforce due to
cultural and traditional expectations. In this thesis, we present a survey-based approach to
understanding three barriers that could hinder womens entry to and development in the workforce.
The barriers discussed are barriers to initial entry, barriers to retention and barriers to promotion.
Cross examination of survey results from respondents in Middle Eastern countries and Southeast
Asia have verified the high tertiary educational attainment of women. The results have verified the
struggles of working women obtaining promotions. Working mothers in particular find difficulties
balancing work and household responsibilities, which could affect their retention in the workforce
pipeline. We end the survey analysis by providing recommendations to better strengthen womens
retention and overall job satisfaction. This includes spreading awareness, adding guidelines to
auditing institutions, and establishing new policies to make the workforce a more attractive platform
for women, such as by subsidizing childcare and transportation. We contend that although these
countries have put great efforts in attracting women to the workforce, more systemic female welfare
policies will be needed in order to better capitalize on the valuable human capital asset that women
add to the talent pool.

Thesis Supervisor: Richard Charles Larson

Title: Professor, Institute of Data, Systems and Society

3
 Acknowledgements

Firstly, I am also grateful to my thesis advisor, Professor Larson for his unlimited support. His
wisdom, guidance and prompt assistance throughout the development of the thesis was
instrumental, especially in aid regarding analytical thinking, raising appropriate and meaningful
questions, and exemplifying what it really means to be a systems thinker. Being a graduate student
of yours was a tremendous honor.

My deep thanks and acknowledgements to the valuable help of Lisa Dambrosio. Her
professionalism and patience throughout the structuring of the survey, and the editing and drafting
phases of the thesis were immensely beneficial to the development of this paper. This would not
have been possible without your help.

My gratitude is also extended to my brother, Abdulrahman Al-Omair: Your prompt suggestions and
insightful edits helped in perfecting and sculpting the thesis as it is today. Thank you for
enlightening me with historical perspectives that helped shape the narrative of the thesis.

To my husband, Abdullah Al-Arfaj: Thank you so much for supporting my dreams from thousands
of miles away. Your patience with leaving the kids with me throughout my two years of study have
made us a more resilient and stronger family.

Special thanks to MITs Work-Life Center for providing backup child care when I had difficulties
with meeting assignments. I also thank MITs mental health for their unrestricted attention and
listening to me about my fears, hopes, and dreams. MIT opened its ears, heart and eyes for its
students, and it is a mark of pride for MIT to address issues of mental health with finesse. Being a
single parent of two in a foreign country will have its toll on a brains stability.

Special thanks to the SDM faculty especially Patrick Hale, for believing in me as a candidate for this
program. A special thank you to Maria Brennan for always being there for struggling international
students.

To my family, colleagues and friends whom assisted me with this research and continued to offer
their support and wishes, Thank you.

My sincere gratitude goes towards the Saudi Arabian government for its generosity in granting its
citizens scholarships abroad. It is with the governments assistance that Saudi women have been able
to obtain distinguished degrees in the most prestigious institutions around the world. Thank you my
dear country, I hope to contribute to your development and show my appreciation.

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5
 Table of Contents
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 9
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Sustainable Nation Building ............................................................................................................. 9
The problem with quotas ............................................................................................................... 15
How can we structure womens careers? ....................................................................................... 16
Chapter 2. Country-by Country review ................................................................................... 19
Strong Tertiary Enrollment ............................................................................................................. 19
Gulf States ......................................................................................................................................... 20
Arab States ........................................................................................................................................ 27
East Asian Countries .......................................................................................................................... 29
Cultural Overview .......................................................................................................................... 33
Chapter 3 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 38
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 38
Survey Administration and Sample ................................................................................................. 38
Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................ 40
Table1. Demographics of Respondents by Country ............................................................................. 40
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 44
Synthesis ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Chapter 4: Survey Results & Discussion ................................................................................. 48
Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 48
Barriers to initial Entry ................................................................................................................... 48
Gulf States ..................................................................................................................................... 49
Unemployment in the Gulf States ..................................................................................................... 54
Arab States ..................................................................................................................................... 58
East Asian Countries ....................................................................................................................... 61
Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 63
Barriers to Retention ...................................................................................................................... 65
Childcare ............................................................................................................................................ 66
Arab states ......................................................................................................................................... 68
Job satisfaction .................................................................................................................................. 70
Evidence from Currently Unemployed Women in the Gulf States .................................................... 71
Family Support ................................................................................................................................... 75
Barriers to Promotion ..................................................................................................................... 76
Equal pay for equal work ................................................................................................................... 76
Promotions ........................................................................................................................................ 78
Enhancing Female Welfare ................................................................................................................ 94
Results from Top Earners .................................................................................................................. 98
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 99
CHAPTER 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................ 100
Subsidized Childcare ........................................................................................................................ 100
Subsidized Transportation ............................................................................................................... 102

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 Independent Auditing Authority ...................................................................................................... 105
Limitations & Future Research ...................................................................................................... 106
CHAPTER 6 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 107
CHAPTER 7 Appendices ....................................................................................................... 111
Appendix A Survey ....................................................................................................................... 111

7

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1-EMPLOYMENT CURVES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN SOUTH KOREA (SOURCE:BLOOMBER, 2015) ......................................... 13

FIGURE 2-PERCENTAGE OF SEATS HELD BY WOMEN IN 2015: DATA COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ................................ 15

FIGURE 3-TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING V-MODEL ........................................................................................................ 16

FIGURE 4-LABOR MARKET COMPOSITION IN GULF COUNTRIES ................................................................................................... 21

FIGURE 5-SYSTEMS DYNAMICS FEEDBACK LOOP ON OIL PRICES EFFECT ON GULF ECONOMIES ........................................................... 22

FIGURE 6- DIFFERENCES IN STEM SCORES BY GENDER ACROSS COUNTRIES .................................................................................. 30

FIGURE 7-ENROLLMENT IN STEM DISCIPLINES BY GENDER ....................................................................................................... 31

FIGURE 8-GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX IN ASEAN COUNTRIES ................................................................................................... 32

FIGURE 9-SYSTEM DYNAMICS STOCK AND FLOW DIAGRAM ON GENDER ROLE IDEOLOGY ................................................................ 33

FIGURE 10- PERCENTAGES OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN BASED ON LENGTH OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE GULF STATES ............................. 55

FIGURE 11- REASONS FOR UNEMPLOYED GULF WOMEN NOT RECEIVING A JOB OFFER .................................................................... 57

8

Chapter 1 Introduction
Introduction

Corporations worldwide aim to increase profits and please their shareholders by keeping costs to a
minimum, and, to reach that goal, they have designed the workday to be demanding and physically
taxing. Although this corporate architecture may have been profitable and successful during the
Industrial Era, it may not be as sustainable in the generations to come. Unfortunately, requiring
such a demanding workday puts half of the population at risk of having to choose between their
careers and their personal lives.

Roughly half of every countrys registered births are female, so it is no surprise that including this
half of the population in the workforce would lead to significant financial returns. With over three
billion women entering the global economy in the next decade, tapping into this significant
population and achieving its full potential could have beneficial effects on the global financial status.
Countries that have taken proactive measures to ensure strong developmental pipelines for their
female citizens, from K-12 education to initial employment and throughout their careers, will enjoy a
more educated, healthier, and independent younger generation

Sustainable Nation Building

Countries that foster strong representation of both genders in their workforce will find a flourishing
economic growth trajectory. High female unemployment has therefore been labeled as a threat to
countries where imbalance is the norm, as is the case in many Middle Eastern and East Asian
countries, (Al Kharouf & Weir, 2008). The Global Gender Gap report, an annual report published
by the World Economic Forum ranks countries based on gender equality measures. These measures
include economic participation, educational attainment, political empowerment and life expectancy.
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) measures gender disparity based on three categories namely
labor market participation, empowerment and reproductive health. (UNDP, 2010).

9

Most Middle Eastern and Asian countries fall on the lower end of the Global Gender Gap whereas
the Nordic countries consistently rank at the top as in Table 1 below.

Country of Interest Global Gender Gap Index Rank
Iceland 1
Finland 2
Norway 3
Sweden 4
Denmark 19
Indonesia 88
Malaysia 106
Japan 111
South Korea 116
Qatar 119
United Arab Emirates 124
Kuwait 128
Bahrain 131
Oman 133
Jordan 134
Saudi Arabia 141

Table 1.1- Global Gender Gap rankings- Source: Calculated from the World Economic Forum Report, 2016

Since labor market participation in most Middle Eastern and Asian countries is imbalanced,
enhancements to economic participation will benefit these countries significantly. The countries can
expect substantial increases in GDP since many studies have directly linked higher female labor
participation rates to increases in GDP. A study conducted by Strategy & concluded that raising
female employment to the level of male employment could increase GDP by 5% in the United
States, 9% in Japan, 12% in the UAE, and 34% in Egypt (Strategy &). Based on various studies
conducted in the EU, (Lofstrom (2009)) concluded that if the female-to-male ratio were equally
balanced in Europe, the EUs GDP would increase by 30%.

10

In order to achieve this balance, nations must create conditions that enable women to reach their
maximum potential so that they can contribute socio-economically (Metle, 2002; Mostafa, 2003).

When development policies are gender neutral, they are more sustainable, and, in turn, they lead
more women to participate in nation building because they allow the utilization of all national talent,
regardless of gender, as a tool for growth (Atal et al., 2012).
Although such policies might have an effect to some degree, however, women themselves also need
to be aware of their capabilities, strength, and value to nation building. Khader (2011) states that
women must be aware of their roles and how their presence influences society. He adds that women
currently have limited views of their capabilities. Therefore, skills, capabilities, and talent can
combine into one effort that contributes to the country as a whole.

Countries with low female employment, therefore, need to strongly acknowledge the issue, and they
must work towards finding long-term policies and solutions that ensure pipelines for female
development from K-12 education to the first day of employment. Countries that invest national
funds in the education of women but fail to ensure their successful placement in the workforce have
not gained much return on their investments.

This issue is not easy to address. Unemployment in any country is considered to be a complex socio-
technical issue that requires careful analysis and proper understanding of workforce dynamics, and
female unemployment is even more complex socially and culturally. Corporations are constantly
assessing their gender diversity levels and working to improve imbalances in their workforce
pipelines. In other parts of the world, governments face different cultural challenges in trying to
increase womens attraction to work. Two prime examples of Asian countries that have faced
cultural challenges in increasing womens participation in the workforce are Japan and South Korea;
both happen to be Far East countries also on the lower end of the Global Gender Gap. From the
literature, both countries seem to struggle retaining women in the workforce. Women in Japan and
South Korea are expected to care for the household after marriage.

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Economical trends show that 70% of Japanese women drop out of the workforce after having their
first child (The economist, 2014). South Korea is no different, with similar cultural patterns. We
describe the challenges these countries have faced in detail in the next few paragraphs.

Japan primarily struggles with retaining women in the workforce. A study conducted by Kyodo
News that surveyed 28 of the major Japanese companies showed that of 1,000 women that were
employed, 80% have left or are no longer working in the position they once held. The pipeline
continues to suffer in the developmental stage, as a mere 9% of managers in Japanese companies are
women even though the total participation rate of women in the workforce is over 40%.

In 2003, the Japanese administration set quotas for corporations to target having 30% of board
executive positions held by women. Corporations were unable to fulfill that target, and the
government needed to reduce that quota by half, to 15%. A policy was added in December 2016
requiring corporations to publicly disclose ratios of women to men and to increase women in
management. This policy states that any corporation that employs more than 300 employees will be
required to develop plans for increasing the percentage of women in management and to set targets
that are verified and validated by the government.

Overall, the Japanese government has worked very diligently for 30 years to close the gender gap,
but to date, the targets have not been met. This fact raises the question of how strong an effect the
roles of tradition and culture have on women themselves and their ability to compete alongside their
male counterparts, develop, and flourish in the workplace. The Japanese government made a
substantial policy change by enacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in 1985, and, as a
result of this direct policy input, female workforce participation in Japan has grown by 8.8 million
(Japan Times, 2016).

South Korea has had similar cultural challenges to Japan. The working day has been structured
based on the Industrial Age, with extended hours of work every week. According to the World
Economic Forum, South Korea placed second to Mexico globally in the number of hours worked
every week. Having such a long work day embedded in the overall Korean culture may make it very
difficult for women to balance a career with their personal lives.

12

The South Korean government, fully aware of the benefits of retaining Korean women in the
workforce, has dedicated a ministry tasked with addressing gender equality. The Korean government
has made strong steps to increase womens participation in the workforce that require the drastic
restructuring of the workplace, so cultural resistance will be inevitable.
A well-known term in Korean culture is the M shaped curve, which models the career paths of
women. Women initially enter the workforce at faster speeds than men early in their careers because
men in the same age range serve in the military. However, around the mid-career point, when
women are more susceptible to childbirth, their workforce participation tends to drop, although it
increases slightly later in their careers.

Men, on the other hand, after serving their first two years in the military, begin their careers and
sustain them throughout their lifetime until retirement. Figure 1 illustrates the differences in labor
participation rates over time for women and men. The Korean government has noticed this trend, as
it is working diligently to increase access to on-site childcare at Korean corporations and to ensure
that mid-career women return to their jobs after having children and continue building their
capabilities in the hopes that, at the end of the pipeline, these women may have obtained the
required qualifications and appropriate experience to sit on boards as executives.

Figure 1-Employment curves for women and men in South Korea (Source:Bloomber, 2015)

Culture plays a strong role in adopting changes to the workforce structure. Some cultures initially
resist, continue resisting, and eventually adopt the trend a few decades later.

13

Others witness firsthand the swift implementation of these policies and impose penalties on
organizations that do not comply with governmental initiatives. In particular, the Nordic countries
have enjoyed financial gain and have become a prime model for developing nations by adopting
changes to the workforce structure. It is no surprise why they consistently rank the highest on the
Global Gender Gap index. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland have implanted strong
measures to break the glass ceiling. The most rapid policy change has been achieved by imposing
quotas; Figure 2 shows that the Nordic countries are among the countries in Europe with the
highest percentage of seats on corporate boards held by women.

To describe a specific example, Norway took the lead in the effort to impose quotas in 2003 by
requiring corporations to reserve 40% of their board seats for women. There was strong resistance
initially, and corporations struggled to find these women, recruit them, and feel comfortable with
their presence in the boardroom. In response to this resistance from corporations, the government
enforced the quota by reserving the right to delist companies that failed to meet it. Elin Hurvenes, a
senior Nordic professional executive, stated that men are more likely to hire friends and inner circle
members, like shareholders, who support their interests. She adds that as long as men hold executive
positions, it is most likely that more men will be hired for board positions. Without direct influence
from the government, the push to place more women in executive positions will likely be a struggle
(Hurvenes, 2017).

This example speaks volumes about how much work corporations and governments alike must do
on a professional level to educate women and help them improve their qualifications.

14

 Figure 2-Percentage of seats held by women in 2015: Data courtesy of the European Commission

The problem with quotas

Many critics of quotas have labeled them as a quick fix for gender parity numbers and have argued
that corporations might have to place women that may not necessarily be fit for a board seat in
order to meet the quota. A separate study from the University of Michigan (Ahern & Ditmar, 2012)
finds that corporations initially lost revenue due to hiring female board members because they
lacked the proper experience. These statements clearly point to a need to develop a holistic pipeline
for women starting from their initial entry in the labor market and to further develop their careers
dynamically over time so that when corporations do need women, they are confident in their
capabilities and can guarantee their qualifications. Quotas themselves are not the problem; the
problem instead merely lies in the way in which they were implemented. The instant implementation
of quotas might enforce peaks and valleys across the managerial hierarchy, so that there are many
women in entry positions, very few at the mid-career level and in senior management, and too many
in the boardroom. A balance of women across the levels of management hierarchy can maintain a
healthy pipeline in perpetuity. This fact leads into a very important topic of discussion for this study.

15

How can we structure womens careers?
The creation of human capital is complex, there must be a methodology by which the system is
designed, analyzed, fitted to meet requirements, tested to specifications, and validated until its
dynamic complexity emerges and feedback is generated over time. This feedback is of utmost
importance in allowing an engineer to reevaluate the system and its dynamic complexity and adjust
as necessary. This process is called a V-model in the field of systems engineering.

As system thinkers, we can confidently say that any system, whether it is a physical system (i.e. a
hydro-electric dam), a medical system, a financial system, an educational system, or even a female
workforce pipeline will eventually suffer if proper monitoring, assessment, and validation are not
provided. The question that follows is how the V-model can be applied to womens career paths.
The diagram and cycle in Figure 3 illustrate the traditional systems engineering V-model, and Table 1
provides an outline for applying the V-model to womens career paths.

Figure 3-Traditional systems engineering V-model

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 Level Traditional Systems Engineering
How will this system be developed,
Concept of Operations
operated, and maintained?
What are the needs of the end user?
Users are interviewed in order to
Requirements
form an understanding of what this
system is expected to perform.
What is the framework for this
Detailed Design
system?
The system must undergo the
Integration, Test, and appropriate testing and analysis to
Verification ensure holistic evaluation (i.e., hazard
analysis, risk analysis, etc.).
How can we properly verify that the
system is able to achieve the
System Verification and
requirements, and how can we
Validation
comprehend feedback from the
system?
How can we properly enhance the
Operation and
system to better serve the
Maintenance
requirements outlined?
V-Model Applied to Womens Career Paths
How can we structure womens career paths in a
way that ensures their sustainable growth and
extend this model across the pipeline to
generations of women across all disciplines?
A solution must acknowledge all stakeholders: a
mothers family, her health and mental well-
being, her financial life, her colleagues (both
men and women), how they interact with each
other, and how feedback is provided and value is
added to the organization.
How will a womans career path look? How do
we structure womens career paths in a way that
balances motherhood, marriage, and business?
Who can audit targets, development timelines,
and performance?
HR verifies that women have the qualifications
and training required for placement in decision-
making positions.
Independent third-party authorities audit the
implementation of policies on womens careers
and suggest improvements to womens work-life
balance.

Table 1.2 Traditional systems engineering V-model applied to women's career paths

Without a doubt, acknowledging womens roles in the workplace and working to significantly
increase their numbers across the pipeline is a complex system, with many stakeholders involved. A
detailed study into historical patterns is necessary to understand the dynamics of women in the
workforce. In order to understand how womens career pathways can be better structured, an in-
depth review of all of the progress that has been made in the literature is necessary.

This review allows us to understand the following trends, which we group into three barriers to
womens progression into the workforce:

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a) Barriers to initial employment: These barriers arise when men and women receive similar
educations but women struggle immediately after graduation from tertiary education to enter
the workforce at the rate at which they progressed throughout their education.
b) Barriers to retention: These barriers arise when employment curves show a strong trajectory
for both genders at the entry level but, around the mid-career level, when women usually begin
to plan a family, a significant portion of women leave the labor market, creating a drop in the
employment curve for women.
c) Barriers to promotion in employment: These barriers arise when both genders enter the
workforce in large numbers but, over time, men progress at a faster rate, earning promotions,
raises, and better careers, whereas the female workforce lags behind in terms of promotions
and overall career development.

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Chapter 2. Country-by Country review

In this thesis, we benchmark six countries that have actively pursued increasing womens
participation in the labor market, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Kuwait,
Malaysia, and Indonesia, to better understand the factors that can impact womens workforce
participation. While we would like to review Japan, Korea and the Nordic countries in more detail,
we primarily will focus on the Muslim countries since they share similar religious preferences and
cultural patterns. These countries markets are developing rapidly and are important to the
development of the global economy. As mentioned previously, these countries rank consistently
behind on the The Global Gender Gap Index (WEF, 2017). We group these countries under three
umbrellas according to demographics, geography, and economic status. The first umbrella groups
women from the Gulf states. The second umbrella groups women from Jordan and the final
umbrella groups women from Indonesia and Malaysia. We will continue to refer to these groups
across this thesis to ease reference during comparisons. In this review, we aim to understand the
reasons that womens rapid penetration into the workforce has been delayed in these countries.

Researchers agree that a literature review on women in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
workforce is needed (Omair, 2008). However, before we discuss each of these six countries in detail,
we highlight a very important pattern in these countries, the strong educational backgrounds of
women.

Strong Tertiary Enrollment

An important observation from the overall literature is that women in the Middle East and East Asia
frequently receive academic degrees, advancing in their studies with strong performances, but
immediately after graduation, that strong trajectory ceases to accelerate and eventually experiences a
steep decline. According to (Al Zuabi, 2016), In Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Oman, Jordan,
Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, tertiary education enrollment rates are higher for women than men.
Women with tertiary degrees also achieve higher grades than their male counterparts (Bernard, 2006;
Gonzalez et al., 2008; Karoly, 2010). Despite this high rate of success in education, the same cannot
be said about employment rates.

19

These countries have made generous investments in educating their populations, but the high
unemployment rates for women do not mirror this high investment and therefore represent a loss
on that investment. Across the GCC, women constituted a higher percentage of nationals entering
college. In the UAE, 50% of nationals that were granted scholarships overseas were women
(Nelson, 2004). Women also comprise a higher percentage of those enrolled in all vocational
subjects, such as information technology, except for engineering. In Saudi Arabia, the enrollment
rates for women are highest in medicine and management studies. In Bahrain, 19 out of the 20
schools that achieved the highest grades were girls-only schools. Across the GCC, girls
outperformed boys in STEM subjects. In the UAEs 14 Higher Colleges of Technology, 65% of
nationals awarded distinction with honors in 2006-2007 were women.

With this strong background of educational attainment, it is unclear why a large percentage of
women are unable to become employed, and, if they are employed, are unable to become employed
in jobs that mirror their educational majors. Rutledge (2009) argues that male nationals support their
female counterparts in education much more strongly than they do in employment, especially when
such employment is in the private sector. According to the World Economic Forum, the GCC
countries are highly ranked and surpass even the United States and Switzerland in terms of
educational attainment, but in terms of economic participation, the GCC countries are consistently
behind. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the GCCs largest two economies, yet they fall on the far
ends of the Global Gender Gap Index according to table 1.1.

This discussion brings us to our first research question. Why do the countries considered in this
study continue to face low female employment rates even though significant numbers of their
female citizens hold high-quality tertiary degrees?

Gulf States
Due to demographic and economic similarities, the Arabian Gulf countries have been grouped
together for ease of comparison. Since the discovery of oil in the early 1930s, the Gulf States have
developed rapidly. With this financial development, education flourished, populations surged, and
prosperity stabilized the labor market in the public sector and foreign businesses alike.
Due to the affluence of the Gulf States in the initial years of oil exportation, their labor markets
were designed to pass this affluence on to citizens by granting them high-compensation jobs in the

20

public sector, with strong labor laws that guaranteed their long-term retention and benefits. This
generosity allowed citizens to avoid the brutal demanding jobs that the private sector is usually
known for (World Bank, 2004b; Davidson, 2008a). Although this system initially served as a wealth
platform for citizens of Gulf countries, it is currently experiencing turbulence due to declining oil
prices. The original employment system caused nationals to prefer public sector jobs, leading to
nationals making up over 70% of the public sector workforce and allowing the private sector to be
dominated by expatriates (Rutledge, 2009). Table 2 shows the percentage of nationals in each sector
in each of the Gulf countries. Figure 5 illustrates the complex system dynamics involved in GCC
markets.

Figure 4-Labor market composition in Gulf countries

As mentioned, the GCC countries mainly depend on expatriates to staff the private sector.
Furthermore, nationals who own private sector corporations hire expatriates from South Asian
countries cheaply to earn profits rapidly. The downside of this approach emerges because, when the
public sector shrinks and the public sector is pressured to cut costs and raise attrition rates, nationals
find themselves pushed into a private sector that they were not trained for. Dependence on
expatriates is also costly in terms of funds wired abroad.

According to the (World Bank, 2015) $100 Billion leaves the GCC annually in the form of
remittances, and that money is never recycled back into their economic circles. Furthermore, the

21

Gulf States private sectors are limited for the most part to basic services such as retail, food and
beverages, and leisure.
There is yet no pressure for innovation and competition in advanced economical avenues or
services such as manufacturing, IT, engineering, and consulting, which makes relying on trained
expatriates a non-option for companies that work in light industries or manufacturing.

The GCC countries, fully aware of the detrimental effects of overdependence on expatriates and an
oil-based economy, began swift nationalization efforts in the hopes of placing more nationals in the
private sector. However, nationals dislike the private sector because it provides poor compensation
package options, is not considered a real career, and is considered culturally inappropriate (Harry,
2007). At the same time, private firms find nationals to be costly to please and to maintain (Al-Ali,
2008). Moreover, private corporations consider nationals to be vocationally unprepared for the roles
of the private sector, as the expatriates were.

Figure 5-Systems dynamics feedback loop on oil prices effect on Gulf economies

Compounding this severe imbalance between the private and public sector, male nationals
discouraged women from seeking employment in the private sector. Although this may have seemed
like a reasonable preference when oil prices were high, it is no longer sustainable for one family
member to maintain the lifestyle that the culture has become accustomed to.

22

The plunge in oil prices has caused the prices of goods and services, the cost of private education,
and domestic helpers salaries to rise. If oil-dependent businesses suffer, the employees suffer,
budgets are cut, salaries are lowered, and household income shrinks.
The country cannot easily survive a recession with half of its talent unemployed. One way to raise
GDP in this difficult situation is by incorporating unemployed women in the labor force.
The GCC has made strong efforts to employ women in greater numbers, beginning with generous
educational scholarships granted unconditionally to its citizens. In the following sections, we
compare these efforts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a nation with bountiful resources, which include not just oil and natural gas but also
the potential of its human capital. Saudi Arabia has a population of over 31 million as of 2016, with
70% of its workforce in the public sector and the remaining 30% in the private sector. Of those
private sector workers, only 16% are Saudi nationals, whereas the rest are expatriates. As the country
introduces its ambitious Vision for 2030 to transition from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-
based economy, one of the big questions is how to push more Saudi nationals into the private
sector, which can be a breeding ground for startups, incubators, high-tech firms, and industrial
services.

A detailed review of the Saudi workforce reveals that only 22% of women are working. Saudi
Arabias GDP could increase significantly in the next 14 years if more women are encouraged to join
the workforce. With over 60% of the Saudi population under 21 years old, the upcoming generation
is tech-savvy, ambitious, and anticipating a bright future. Saudi women constitute 48% of the
population, 51% of university graduates, making them the prime target for job creation and potential
contributors to increases in GDP.

Another challenge in Saudi Arabia is the high proportion of expatriates in the private sector. Saudi
Arabia has been generous in terms of education, providing unlimited scholarship opportunities both
locally and abroad.

23

Table 3 shows that Saudi Arabia has a large and growing educational budget. As a result, Saudi
Arabia graduates 250,000 Bachelors degree holders annually, but it struggles to employ more than
40% of them.

Year Education Budget (Billion U.S.D)

2008 $28.12
2009 $32.62
2010 $36.63
2011 $ 45.18
2014 $56.56

Table 2.1-Annual education expenditure in Saudi Arabia, Source: (Alshahrani,2014)

Saudi Arabia is the second highest in remittance sending globally and in 2015, the World bank
estimated that expatriates remitted $37 billion outside Saudi Arabia. (Hamiz, 2017) This figure is
over a third of what the GCC countries lose annually in remittances due to expatriates We see
similar patterns in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in terms of expatriates gaining significant shares of the
private sector and low female employment rates.

The United Arab Emirates

As mentioned above, the UAE is similar to its neighboring Arab states in terms of human capital.
75% of UAE university students are women, but after graduation only 15% of these women are
employed full time. (Marmenout & Lirio, 2014). Referring back to the three employment barriers
outlined in the introduction, the female workforce in the UAE suffers the most from the retention
barrier.

The UAE also faces the challenge of a high proportion of expatriates in the private sector. An oil-
rich country, the UAE first discovered oil in early 1971 and has enjoyed tremendous growth
economically for a generation. Due to its flourishing economy, expatriate workers flocked to the
UAE to build businesses, creating a diversified society with over 200 nationalities. As rapid as this
development was, it caused the nationals to be marginalized, and in 2012, nationals comprised about
0.4% of the private sector workforce.

24

Policy had a strong role in enforcing nationalization efforts, as, for example, in the banking sector,
where banks are held to a quota system that is based on an incremental percentage of nationals
annually. In 1999, this system was put into place since the banking sector was an important sector
for employing Emiratis. In order to meet the target, banks needed to increase Emirati representation
at a 4% annual increase. The prime target was for nationals to occupy 40% of the banking workforce
but it currently hovers around the 35% mark. Multinational corporations are hesitant to hire
nationals due to their lack of vocational training and the difficulty of pleasing the nationals, and the
nationals themselves also prefer the public sector.

As in Saudi Arabia, unemployment is a challenge for both genders, but it is especially acute in the
female population due to the high tertiary rates of education that these women have achieved.
Certain social complications add to the challenges facing Emirati women. Because expatriates
constitute the majority of the population in the UAE, a high birth rate among nationals is
encouraged by the government and is further encouraged by nationals and their families. A study
conducted by Omair (2010) concluded that women encounter gender-based barriers in their career
development that vary depending on the social status of the family. Further focus groups formed by
Marmenout and Lirio (2014) on 18 Emirati women working across various organizations identified
four key challenges for women pursuing careers in the UAE. They are societal norms that limit
career pursuits, the reconciliation of family planning with career pursuits, the prioritization of family
and home, and maintaining modesty relative to men in earnings and career progression. Hodgson et
al. (2015) study social marketing and its effect on the female workforce and conclude that the UAE
is distinct in its open economic model and attractive business platform, which has significantly
helped encourage nationals to liberalize their social values and which, as a result, has had a direct
effect on the lifestyles of women. The authors add that government intervention was a prime factor
in female workforce enhancements in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

25

Kuwait
Among all of the Arab countries, Kuwait has the highest female employment rate of 45% (Coleman
& Abdelgadir, 2014). We aim to understand in this literature review why Kuwait had success in
pushing more women into the workforce and what the implications may be for nearby GCC and
Arab states. Kuwaits high female employment rate can be attributed to many reasons. Chief among
them is the establishment of a coeducational institution, Kuwait University, as early as 1965.
According to Alzuabi (2016), Kuwaiti women are moving towards modernization much more
quickly than women in the other Gulf countries. The pipeline of Kuwaiti women, however, although
strong in terms of initial entry, is not as strong in terms of leadership positions.
He adds that the Kuwaiti talent pool will remain underutilized if Kuwaiti women cannot be raised to
leadership levels. Similar to Jordanian law, Article 7 of Kuwaits constitution recognizes the principal
of equality among its citizens regardless of race, origin, language, or religion.

As in many Gulf countries, oil played an important role in Kuwaits development. After the
discovery of oil in Kuwait, the economy improved, and Kuwaiti women enrolled in school and
worked side by side with men instantaneously.
According to the literature, in 2009, Kuwaiti women occupied 8.55% of leadership positions in the
public sector and 6.5% of those in the private sector. To date, womans employment has
skyrocketed to 54.3% in the public sector. The tertiary education pattern is no different in Kuwait,
where 70% of college undergraduates are women.

The literature implies that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had a strong impact in energizing women to
step forward in rebuilding the country. According to (Zuaibi,2016) women took part in resisting
occupying forces, and in recognition for their efforts, a conference in Jeddah in October 1990
granted women the constitutional right to equality in decision-making processes and equal powers in
the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government (Fayeq, 2001). Kuwaiti nationals felt
an urgent need to rebuild and heal their country after the invasion, so they ensured that every citizen
had an equal opportunity to contribute to this rebuilding and, thus, moved to enshrine this value in
policy, where it was easy to propagate and make claims on behalf of women if needed.

26

Kuwait is also significantly smaller and more geographically uniform than most of the Arab states,
and, therefore, the spread of education was much swifter than in its neighboring GCC states.
Entrepreneurship is strong in Kuwait, with both genders contributing significantly to the private
sector. Despite all of the previous milestones reached, however, Kuwaiti women are still lagging
behind in terms of leadership positions.

Arab States

Jordan
In 2004, the national development of human rights noted that womens low workforce participation
rates imposed a high cost on Jordanian economic development, especially in the private sector
(Khalaf et al., 2015). Jordanian research has highlighted the significant effect of the low participation
rate of women in the workforce as a cost to Jordans economy, especially when a significant portion
of women are well educated, leading to the underutilization of human resources (Peebles et al., 2007;
Moghadam, 2013).

Womens workforce participation is lower in Jordan for several reasons. Compared to other Middle
Eastern countries, Jordan has one of the highest costs of living (Al Qadi & Gharib, 2012). As a
result, women with lower incomes may not see the value of working away from home, as the costs
of childcare are far greater than the potential net earnings from working. Traditional cultural
restraints in Jordan also affect the retention of women in the pipeline, according to Sawalha (1999).
Women in Jordan are most likely to leave their jobs after marriage, since marital relationships are a
priority for men and women in Jordan.

Nevertheless, Jordanian law is very protective of womens labor participation and rights. According
to the literature, Jordan has protected women through the regulation that all Jordanians are equal
by law and have the right to assume public office and the right to work. In 1996, a national
committee was developed to increase female support within governmental and non-governmental
sectors, and the Jordanian Womens Union (JWU) was formed. Some policies that were initially
intended to help women, however, ended up causing discrimination instead (Council, 2008).

27

For example, Jordanian law includes a detailed summary on childcare, pregnancy, and paid maternity
leave. However, since these policies are enforced by law, corporations abuse them by choosing to
hire men due to the higher costs of hiring women. Table 4 showcases the laws and regulations for
women in the Jordanian workforce.

Category Jordanian Labor Laws

Law no (8) of the 1996 labor code forbids the firing of pregnant women after the
sixth month of pregnancy and of working mothers during their maternity leaves.
Maternity leaves were increased from 60-90 days.
Pregnancy and
The 1996 labor code requires the private sector to grant maternity benefits to
maternity leaves
female employees. Article 70 states that ten weeks of maternity leave should be
taken before or after delivery, and it is illegal for women to work during the first six
weeks after delivery.

The 1996 labor code provides female employees who have worked in
establishments for ten weeks or more the right to one years leave without pay for
childcare purposes.
Article 71 grants a working mother the right to a total of one hour per day to nurse
Childcare
her children for a period of one year after delivery
regulations
Article 72 requires employers with a minimum of twenty married women to
provide a nursery and qualified childcare worker to care for children under four
years old if there are at least ten children

Table 2.2 Jordanian labor laws relevant to pregnancy and childcare

These Jordanian labor laws were passed in good faith to protect the interests of working women.
Although these policies seem to provide strong protection, they can be used against women by
providing reasons to avoid offering women positions in a corporation. Since a corporation needs to
budget for daycare if it hires more than 20 women, it may work hard not to exceed that head count
so that it does not incur more costs. By Jordanian law, women are granted a full year of voluntary
maternal leave to look after her children.

Having such an extended option may target mothers as intermittently unavailable. This could lead
employers to overlook mothers as project managers since placing household duties over the

28

corporate job may significantly delay the completion of projects, and, therefore, important work may
be assigned to men instead.

We conclude that there is a need for more gender-neutral policies and a methodology to incentivize
pay for childcare where the government pays subsidies to assist small- to medium-sized corporations
with maternity benefits

Khalaf et al. (2015) conducted a study interviewing a focus group of five Jordanian women from
difference career paths and marital statuses as well as the JWU. According to the general manager of
the JWU, there are two main factors that affected Jordanian womens participation in the workforce:
traditional cultural restrictions and political reasons. According to her, Women present 52% of
Jordanian society. Accordingly, half of our society is inoperative in the production process, and
surprisingly that by the increasing level of women education and the rate of turnout on education,
women still represent 14% of the Jordanian workforce. She adds Marriage sets some
responsibilities on women, so that all the work distribution may be against women Therefore,
marital status in Jordan is considered to be an important factor in retention. Moghadam (2013) states
that social perceptions differ for single and married women in Jordan. The conclusion of the
interview and the IE framework developed by Khalaf et al. (2015) is that internal factors are
interconnected and cause ripple effects within the pipeline of women. Female employees in Jordan
leave the workforce likely due to a lack of motivation and productivity. In the interview, women
themselves openly stated that being a mother is their primary job and that any role outside the home
is secondary (Majcher-Teleon & Slimene, 2009)

East Asian Countries

We group Malaysia and Indonesia to ease comparison under one umbrella. Both countries are largely
Islamic but are non-Arabic speaking, and both have large developing populations with a high
percentage of female penetration in STEM-related education. An important observation to note is
that womens average STEM scores were significantly higher in Malaysia and Indonesia than those
of than their male counterparts as early as grade 8, as shown in Table 5.

29

 Figure 6- Differences in STEM scores by gender across countries

Malaysia
Similar to the previous countries discussed earlier, Malaysia also lacks a strong literature on female
workforce analytics. The literature shows that the Malaysian female workforce increased during the
1970-1990s but experienced a sharp decline afterwards. In 2008, the female labor force participation
rate was around 45%, which is the lowest by far in comparison to other Southeast Asian countries.
In a national survey conducted in 2008, 4.7 million women labeled themselves out of the labor
force, and, of them, 3 million cited housework as the reason behind their unemployment
(Malaysia, 2009).
The Human Resources Ministry stated that Malaysia has an untapped idle workforce of around 1.5
million women who have difficulty being employed due to various cultural constraints. According to
a study conducted by Frank and Olsen, 2008 who interviewed 80 Malaysian women, some women
mentioned that women are largely expected to conform to traditional gender roles whereby the
husband is the head of the house and has the final say with respect to his wifes employment
(Abdullah & Noor, 2008). Recent efforts to find workaround solutions to increase female
employment rates have included corporations establishing telecommuting jobs.

30

A questionnaire survey conducted by Abdulazeez Hamsa et al. (2016) on a population of 64,000
female workers in Malaysia, representing a quarter of the nations workforce and comprising women
in the financial, baking, real estate, education, and telecommunication sectors, led to interesting
results. More than half of the women were married, and 43% of them had children who require
childcare. In addition to the burdens of childcare, a high percentage of respondents indicated that
they were responsible for caring for elderly parents as well. We find a pattern of high educational
attainment in Malaysia as well, with over 67% of respondents holding Bachelors degrees, a quarter
holding Diplomas, and around 5% relying on a high-school education. Despite such a high rate
tertiary education, the nations economy could suffer due to low retention rates of women in the
workforce.

Indonesia
Indonesia, a populous country with tremendous potential for economic growth, has an annual
grown at a rate of 2% over the last five years (BPS, 2013). The pattern of a high rate of tertiary
education found elsewhere holds for Indonesian women as well, as they outperform their male
counterparts in some subjects, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 7-Enrollment in STEM disciplines by gender

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In addition to economic growth, new policies have been put into effect to push more women into
the workforce in Indonesia. Chief among them is the implementation of the Equal Employment
Opportunity strategy (MMTRI, 2005). This strategy is primarily intended to achieve gender equality
in the workplace. Despite political efforts to close the gender gap in Indonesia, the womens
employment rate is still stagnating at 37%. This gender gap has affected Indonesias placement on
the Gender Inequality Index, and Indonesia is one of the lowest-ranked Asian countries, as shown in
Figure 8.

Figure 8-Gender Inequality Index in ASEAN Countries

There is a substantial literature on the dynamics of womens employment in Indonesia. Pinagara and
Bleijenbergh (2016) outline a dynamic systems model of the various factors that affect womens
employment. Building on a standard human resources-based model illustrated in Figure 9, a factor
called Gender Role Ideology (GRI) significantly shifted the dynamics for women seeking diversified
roles in the economy. According to the authors, state and political efforts have very little effect on
societal ideology, according to which women in Indonesia are expected to have a stellar education,
perform well in tertiary schooling, and then remain in the household to care for her children and
spouse. The GRI factor has a negative impact on the hiring rate for women, which in turn increases
the hiring rate for men and implies more men into the Indonesian workforce.

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 Figure 9-System Dynamics stock and flow diagram on Gender Role Ideology

The results from the model are significant and compelling; the authors predict that without
significant changes to gender ideology, womens employment rates will remain the same in the
decade to come, stabilizing at an equilibrium of 38%. The authors suggest stronger implementation
procedures in addition to national policies to stimulate womens hiring rates. Since societal ideology
in the model is at 10% strength, the authors quantitatively prove that if the GRI shifted to 0.5,
womens employment would reach a high of 50% by the end of the next decade, increasing female
penetration in the labor force.

Cultural Overview
The countries studied are all Muslim majority countries, and all equally members of the international
Organization of Islamic Cooperation of 1969. Comprehensively, 50 countries have Islam is the
dominant religion. Each of these countries, however, have differing customs, traditions, ways of life,
understanding of religious tradition, and cultural dynamics. Each country interprets religion
differently, some more orthodox than others. In many instances, tradition enforces a patriarchal
view that fuels segregation policies and outlooks.

From an anthropological perspective, it is important to note that all Gulf States derive their political
elite, legitimacy to rule, and authenticity from their histories as closely knit tribes, where concepts
such as family honor, chivalry, and alliances built or broken by marriage dominated the political
landscape. Such methods were required in order to ensure the tribes survival, growth, in the harsh,
desert environment that has featured little in the way of sustainable flora and fauna if sedentary.

33

The way of life to survive mandated certain traditions and practices, such as honoring guests and
travelers, a strong core and extended family network, and a mentality that focused on the needs of
the many over the needs of the few.

Males dominated the sphere of life that frequently led to small-scale raids against other tribes,
making patriarchy less of a choice and more of a necessity. This culture depended on men from the
onset to care for the family (core and extended), protect the clans name and property, as well as
make alliances that protect and expand the reach and influence of said clan. All these factors bled
into the formation of the GCC States as they developed into the mold of the modern Nation State,
as political and social elite in said countries are overwhelmingly from powerful clans that married
into one another. This is usually called the Nomadic perspective.

This was not only the case for GCC States, but featured in Arab States in varying degrees of severity
depending on the availability of arable land, which by itself promoted a more city-based mentality
and ethos (closer to the modern Nation State). Jordan, for instance, is closer in state and family
tradition to GCC countries than Iraq or Egypt, which have more arable land. In said cases, the
availability of arable land and agriculture led to a mentality closer to the modern Nation State,
usually features pseudo-feudalistic nobility such as the Pashas of Egypt and landowners in Iraq. In
such societies, patriarchy thrived under different reasons closer to the socio-political realities of
Europe.

If some Arab States stood at the balance between the Nomadic mentality and the Farmer mentality,
the East Asian States took to Farmer mentality completely. The populace of said countries were
inhabitants of fertile islands, where lush vegetation was available around the year, and survival had
much less difficulties.

With the onset of the global industrial age and the discovery of oil, dynamics have shifted. The
overall wealth platform has also shifted with the Gulf States holding significantly larger GDPs than
the East Asian States and with this wealth the tribal culture itself has not changed. This influx of
wealth eased life in the GCC States. If males found themselves a state of economic prosperity, they
are more likely inclined to ask their wives to stay at home and tend to the house, as her efforts are
not necessary to fulfill their familys needs.

34

Based on the degree of wealth in families, women with rich families may not seek employment for
that same reason today. However, families who consistently face difficulty making ends meet
frequent encourage women to take up employment while observing the familys integrity and honor,
such as by observing the proper Islamic dress code, mannerisms, and taking jobs where women
traditionally work (namely in medicine and education).

We also see variations in countries that interpret Islamic instructions of segregation directly (namely
no privacy between strangers of different genders) and therefore enshrine them into policy, and
countries that have different understandings and leave such decisions at the family level and not the
state level. For example, we see that women and men in Malaysia and Indonesia (although from
overwhelmingly Muslim countries) communicate, discuss, and work with one another rather directly
and comfortably in work and in the public sphere. This statement may not hold in women of the
Gulf states. A minority of women in these countries said they feel comfortable if a non-related male
approaches them in a direct manner with a conversation or request. Although the younger
generations have significantly opened up-partly due to generous overseas scholarships- in
comparison with the elder generations, a cultural boundary between women and men still holds and
it could restrict womens ability to be employed, remain in her career, or advance in it.

The more men and women on both ends are educated, however, the less severity appears in
communication between them. There are many working models of corporations in the Gulf
countries that hire women and men whom work together side by side and demonstrated an
astounding degree of success. Women in said corporations have earned patents, held leadership
positions in engineering fields and present on a perioral basis their work to board members and
conferences abroad. An important factor in the race to closing the gender gap is population size. We
see in Kuwait a success story, where the University of Kuwait and its Parliament (The National
Assembly) is not segregated, and this has had its effect on womens employment and ability to
communicate with men.

In a survey conducted by the (Oxford consulting group 2015), women from Saudi Arabia
overwhelmingly (70%) prefer working in female only environments. If women work with males,
they are required to wear the religious covering-the Abaya (a full-body cloak).

35

Some women chose to cover their faces with a Niqab (an article of cloth of the same texture of the
Abaya put over the face), while others retain the Abaya and hijab alone. It primarily depends on a
womans understanding of religious tradition, her family, and of which Islamic Sharia school they
follow. The more supportive a womans paternal family line is (grandparents, fathers, brothers and
husband), the higher chance it is for her success in entering and remaining productively in the
workforce of her country.

However, we see in a Gulf state like Kuwait an auspicious development pattern. Kuwaiti policies are
traditionally Islamic yet adequately blend Islamic observance with civil and national progress. Kuwait
seems to be a success since women early on, as early as the 1950s entered the political arena, where
clearly visible in Kuwaiti society and film.

During the Iraqi invasion, female Kuwaiti petroleum engineers worked to ensure production while
Kuwaiti men were defending the country. The strong presence of Kuwaiti women throughout the
history of Kuwait has contributed to the very reason Kuwait holds a high rank in Arab States (let
alone Gulf States) of the Global Gender Gap Index. Supporting factors in Kuwaits story was that
its structure as a state allowed quick change; its population is small and its geography is uniform.

Being a small, costal state, education spread quickly and yielded social and economic results over few
generations. The speed of moving from one region to another in the small country is quick enough
to proliferate and integrate new ideas, and establish new traditions. Saudi Arabia has a different
structure; the peninsula is mostly dominated by the state, which has regions in mountains, hills,
coasts, and great swaths of deserts where no-one lives.

Transportation is usually by plane or car as railroads are not optimally utilized, and different cities
spread across different climates. This results in vastly differing standards of wealth, economic
expectations, education, culture, and even dialect, which makes assimilating change an arduous
process, even with the spread of modern technology.

In the remainder of this thesis, we aim to understand these important factors that influence
womens decisions to pursue or end their careers. It is of utmost importance to this study to
investigate why women leave their corporate jobs and are no longer seeking employment.

36

We address this question further in the following section. We need to raise questions that will help
demystify why women are likely to find themselves unemployed in the population of interests, or
how corporations and decision makers alike can better understand the barriers to retain women in
the workforce.

37

Chapter 3 Methodology
Introduction

Across the literature, strong educational attainment for women has been substantiated in all of the
countries of interest. Women across most academic fields perform strongly and obtain degrees at
higher rates than their male counterparts. However, the literature also supports the claim that
women are underrepresented in the corporate structure. An extensive literature is available to
substantiate the claim that economic loss is possible if these countries fail to increase their female
employment rates, but the literature does not investigate the daily interactions that the primary
stakeholders, women, experience in the workforce and at home. There is very little discussion in the
literature about the structure of the working day for women in these countries, how quickly women
are promoted in their jobs, or how career paths for women are designed by their employers to
properly meet their aspirations and carve a sustainable future for them from entry level positions to
a seat on the board.

To understand these factors, a survey has been structured and made accessible to women of the
population of interest. This survey will serve as the primary data collection method of this paper. It
will contain questions that will help explain what barriers prevent or delay women from entering the
workforce post graduating from a tertiary institution. The survey will quantify the relationship
between how much they earn and therefore spend on transportation and childcare while balancing
their careers. The results from this study will be bucketed under three groups and benchmarked to
understand the variations across these countries and how each group can benefit from the other in
terms of policy making, career structure and female welfare.

Survey Administration and Sample
An online survey of womens experiences in the workforce was conducted using the Qualtrics
platform. Women are the population of interest in this study, and, therefore, the survey was
restricted to women and was designed to remove male respondents at the beginning of the
questionnaire. Because a large portion of the target population was from Arab-speaking countries,
the survey was professionally translated into Arabic. Translating the survey was strongly beneficial,
as 61% of respondents chose to complete the questionnaire in Arabic. The Qualtrics platform was
useful for respondents with little access to a computer.

38

According to the report generated by the Qualtrics software, 91% of respondents completed the
survey using a mobile device, and just 9% took the survey with a laptop or computer.

Survey Language Choice SAMPLE PERCENT

ARABIC 61.52%
ENGLISH 38.48%

Total (N = 1101) 100%

Table 3.1 Percentages of responses by language choice

Nevertheless, the survey does have some limitations. This study would have significantly benefited if
the survey had also been translated into Malay and Indonesian, but, due to time limitations, this
additional translation was not possible. Like any online-based survey, this study may suffer from not
reaching women who have little access to the internet and those who have little contact with the
original survey distribution points, since the survey distribution primarily depended on volunteers
responding to and sharing the survey. This survey can also suffer from selection bias.

The project was reviewed by MITs Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects
(COUHES), and IRB approval was granted. From November 2016 to February 2017, pilot versions
of the study were crafted and fielded to determine if the survey was too complex or if it caused
confusion among respondents.

From March 1, 2017 to April 15, 2017, the survey was distributed primarily through both
professional and non-professional social media networks. To reach the greatest number of
participants, the survey was posted on professional network groups across all industries and
academic groups and was distributed among the alumni groups of various universities, hospitals,
scholarship programs, retiree networks, and groups of stay-at-home mothers. Flyers and posters
were designed with a Twitter link to follow to participate in the survey, and these flyers were
distributed to the attendees of a prominent human resource conference in the Middle East.

39

The main benefit of this method was rapid response accumulation. The population of interest was
drawn from women across the globe, and the survey, an anonymous link, had unrestricted
dissemination and could easily be shared across mobile, laptop, or email platforms. The total
number of respondents was 3,153. Only responses with a completion rate of over 70% were
included in the analysis, so 2,152 responses were excluded as a result, and the 1,001 remaining
responses were used for data analysis.

Questionnaire

After clicking on the anonymous link that was distributed, participants initially read a COUHES
consent notice providing them with a choice to either agree with the notice and continue the survey
or disagree with the notice and exit the survey. Following this initial step, the survey asked
participants about their gender, at which point women would proceed to complete the survey, and
mens surveys would be terminated. The survey questions were designed to guide the participants
through three stages. The full survey structure can be found in the appendix for reference.

In the first stage, titled The first group of questions are about you, participants were asked to
select their country of residence and highlight whether they were nationals of their selected country.
Further questions in this section included age group, marital status, and number of children
requiring childcare.

In the second stage, titled The second group of questions are about your education,
participants were asked about their educational attainment, their GPAs associated with every degree
they obtained, and their areas of specialization as well as whether they obtained their degrees abroad.
The final stage was The final set of questions are regarding your work experience.
Participants initially identified themselves as self-employed, unemployed, or employed and then,
based on their response, were branched to appropriate questions about their work experiences.

Table1. Demographics of Respondents by Country

We created four groups of respondents to ease data analysis. Table 7.1 shows respondents from
Gulf States, Table 7.2 shows respondents from non-Gulf Arab states, Table 7.3 shows respondents
from East Asian countries, and Table 7.4 shows respondents from countries other than the three

40

groups mentioned above. Since these countries do not fall into one of the primary populations of
interest, their responses are excluded from this analysis and could be used for future research.

Table 3.2 Respondents from the Gulf States

Country Percentage of (N) %

Bahrain 1.59%
Kuwait 2.01%
Qatar 0.67%
Saudi Arabia 68.68%
United Arab Emirates 0.34%
Oman 1.42%
Total N Survey sample = 1194 (Gulf-states respondents sample = 893)

Table 3.3 Respondents from the Arab States

Country Percentage of (N) %
Jordan 4.10%
Lebanon 0.59%
Total N Survey sample = 1194 (Arab-states respondents sample = 57)



Table 3.4 Respondents from East Asian Countries

Country Percentage of (N) %

Indonesia 4.10%
Malaysia 0.75%
Total N Survey sample = 1194 (East-Asian respondents sample = 63)

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Table 3.5 Respondents from all other countries

Country Percent of total sample (%)
Afghanistan 0.25%
Algeria 0.08%
Australia 0.34%
Barbados 0.08%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.08%
Brazil 0.08%
Burundi 0.08%
Cameroon 0.08%
Canada 0.42%
China 0.08%
Hong Kong (S.A.R.) 0.08%
India 0.50%
Ireland 0.17%
Japan 0.08%
Luxembourg 0.08%
Kazakhstan 0.08%
Pakistan 0.08%
Portugal 0.08%
Seychelles 0.08%
Somalia 0.08%
South Africa 0.08%
Switzerland 0.08%
Thailand 0.08%
Turkey 0.17%
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2.35%
United States of America 8.79%
Zimbabwe 0.08%

Table 3.6 Sample Characteristics from populations of interest

Table 3.6 in the following page summarizes the characteristics of the population of interest based on
age, employment status, educational attainments and Marital status.

42

 Question Category Group 1(GCC) Group 2 (Arab) Group 3 (East Asia) Total

National of the Yes 89% 100% 95% 89.30%

Country?
No 11% 0% 5% 10.70%
Total N 891 57 63 1011
24 and under 12% 0% 26% 12.35%
25-34 48% 33% 60% 47.60%
35-44 21% 39% 11% 21.70%
Age Group
45-54 14% 21% 3% 13.60%
55-64 5% 7% 0% 4.40%
65+ 0% 0% 0% 0%
Total N 893 57 62 1012
Employed 55% 81% 71% 57%
Employment Status Self-employed 9% 12% 24% 10%
Unemployed 36% 7% 5% 32.70%
Total N 893 57 63 1013
High School Diploma 9% 2% 5% 8%
Some college but no degree 4% 0% 5% 4%
Educational
Bachelor's degree 62% 30% 56% 60%
Attainment
Master's degree 17% 14% 29% 18%
Doctorate (Ph.D.) or M.D. 8% 54% 5% 10%
Total N 893 57 62 1009
Single 30% 33% 58% 32%
Married 63% 63% 40% 62%
Divorced 19% 2% 0% 5%
Marital Status
Widowed 1% 0% 0% 1%
Engaged 1% 0% 2% 1%
N/A 0% 2% 0% 0%
Total N 892 57 62 1011
Degree Obtained Yes 30% 54% 46% 32.40%
Abroad? No 70% 46% 54% 67.60%
Total N 774 56 56 886
Do you have Yes 56% 60% 18% 53.90%
children? No 44% 40% 82% 46%
Total N 892 57 62 1011
One child 28% 21% 27% 27.60%
Two children 24% 15% 36% 24.10%
Number of Children
Three children 16% 24% 18% 16.50%
in need of care
More than 3 children 17% 21% 0% 17.30%
None 14% 21% 18% 14.50%
Total N 499 34 11 544

43

Data Analysis

The data was analyzed using Qualtrics professional Data Analysis tool. The data was filtered and
categorized based on country. Due to survey length and complexity, responders whom have
answered fewer than 70% of the questions asked were removed from the final sample size. The
survey was entirely voluntary and participants were not required to answer every question they were
confronted with. Since participants had the option to skip any questions they did not wish to
answer, most of the sample N result will not be uniform in every table.
Synthesis
Table 8 shows the sample characteristics of our populations of interest, and we observe variation
across the three groups. In terms of age, we see that the Gulf states group and the Malaysian group
are younger on average than the Arab states group, whose age distribution is more widespread with
an equal representation of early-career, mid-career, and late-career ages. Looking at employment, we
find that in Gulf states group, the GCC countries, a higher percentage of women are unemployed
compared to the Arab states group and the East Asian group. With respect to marital status, 63% of
women in the Gulf and East Asian sample are married, and the divorce rates in the Gulf states
sample are significantly higher than those in the other two. Specifically, in the Gulf states sample, the
divorce rate is around 19%, which closely resembles the finding in the literature that Kuwait has a
20% divorce rate and Saudi Arabia has a 25% divorce rate (Sidiya, 2010). In the East Asian sample,
more than half of women are single. These results may suggest that women in the GCC countries
marry at earlier ages than women in the remaining groups. Moreover, the expatriate rates in the
GCC countries are significantly higher than those in the other groups, and this finding is also
supported by the literature.

Tertiary education is well represented in all three groups, with the majority of respondents holding a
bachelors degree, roughly 20% holding a masters degree, and 10% holding a Ph.D. Women in the
Arab and East Asian sample have a higher percentage of degrees earned abroad than women in the
GCC countries. Finally, we see that women in the Arab states have more children than the
remaining two groups, and the East Asian group has the least number of children. It is worth noting
that women in the Gulf states depend on private nannies to care for their children more than
daycare, whereas women in the Arab states sample depend on daycare more than private nannies.

44

Women in the East Asian sample depend on family and friends to take care of their children and are
less dependent on private nannies and daycare centers.

The types of industries that each country group depends on are also important. The primary sources
of revenue for the GCC countries, are oil exploration and production and gas, which means there is
a large public sector but a very slim private sector. With respect to the Arab states, the primary
industries are pharmaceuticals, services, and some light manufacturing and tourism, which dominate
the private sector more so than the public sector, which is limited to education, transportation, and
agriculture. In East Asia, we see a more industrial and stronger manufacturing sector, with equal
representation of petrochemical products, scientific instruments, software products, and automotive
products. In this group, 70% of respondents work in the private sector, with roughly 30% working
in the public sector.

Percentages of tertiary degree holders as a STEM field

With respect to major choice at the tertiary education level, we find strong variations across the
three groups. In the Gulf states sample, most of the female respondents hold tertiary degrees that
are not STEM-related, with roughly a quarter of women holding a STEM degree. In the Arab states
sample, on the other hand, more women are STEM degree holders (42.86%), and only slightly more
than half of respondents do not hold STEM degrees. This ratio is even more balanced in the third
group of East Asian countries, where women are the closest to equally likely to hold either a STEM
degree or a non-STEM degree.

Degree Major Group 1 (GCC) Group 2 ( Arab States) Group 3 (East Asia)
STEM-Related Degree 25.8% 42.86% 46.44%
Non-STEM Related Degree 74.16 % 57.14% 53.56%

Table 3.7 Percentages of degree holders as a STEM field

45

Percentages of Women in Gender Segregated Jobs

Next, considering the level of segregation in the workforce, we see strong variations across the three
groups. In the Gulf states group, most of the female respondents work in woman-only occupations.
This result is significantly different from that for than the remaining groups, where a mixed gender
workforce is the norm. We see in the East Asian sample that nearly all women work in mixed gender
environments. Also, the Arab states sample is more similar to the East Asian sample in terms of a
gender-balanced workforce than it is to the Gulf states sample

Workforce Gulf States Group Arab States Group East Asia Group
Gender Segregated 52.47% 4.34% 2.27%
Not Segregated 47.53 % 95.65% 97.73%

Table 3.8 Percentages of women in gender segregated jobs

Over half of Gulf states women in our respondent sample are segregated from men. This is due to
different workforce environment policies in the Gulf states from the remaining two groups. To a
foreign observer, the variations in Islamic conformance to gender segregation might be confusing.
For example, statistically the largest Muslim population in a single state is in Indonesia, a nation
home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims. By the same token we find this country with the highest in
numbers of Muslims around the world and yet gender segregation is limited to mosques and certain
schools. This is a far different account from how segregation operates in the Gulf states and
especially in Saudi Arabia where it occupies every aspect of life from schools to corporations to
banking centers, cashier registers and in retail. This is partly due to government laws issued explicitly
in Saudi Arabia and implicitly in customs and traditions in other countries such as the United Arab
Emirates. The most obvious difference in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is that gender
segregation is enforced by policy in Saudi Arabia and enforced only in education in the U.A.E.

46

Transportation Methods for Women
Table 3.9 showcases the various methods of transportation that women utilize to report to work.
We see a more equal distribution across methods of transportation in the East Asian group, whereas
women in the Arab states group mostly drive themselves to work, and the majority of women in the
Gulf States utilize a personal driver to get to work.
Across all of the groups, we see a small percentage of women using public and corporate
transportation. This result may suggest that incentivized transportation is not heavily supported by
employers. Women were given the option to select all the methods that apply and therefore the
results may not cumulate to 100%

Transportation Method Gulf States Group Arab States Group East Asia Group
I drive myself to work 7.38% 71.74% 57.14%
Personal Driver 66.60 % 10.87% 16.67%
Ride-Sharing Services 16.19% 0% 19.05%
Public Transportation 1.23% 4.35% 14.29%
Corporate Transportation 5.12% 2.17% 9.52%
Walking 2.46% 4.35% 11.90%
Family drives me to work 26.02% 8.70% 9.52%

Table 3.9 Transportation method by Group

47

Chapter 4: Survey Results & Discussion

Overview

This chapter mainly discusses the results from the survey and benchmarks the country groups based
on the three primary barriers to womens progression in the workforce defined above: initial entry,
retention, and development of women along the workforce pipeline. We see from the literature that
all of these countries have a strong educational pipeline such that women successfully complete K-
12 education and subsequently perform well at the tertiary level. However, following the completion
of tertiary education, we see various leaks in the workforce pipeline. This chapter aims to better
understand the reasons behind these leaks and what can be done to mitigate them in the context of
the three barriers. Barriers to initial entry are barriers that women experience immediately after
graduating from a tertiary institution, such as lack of appropriate jobs, lack of resume building skills,
and budget constraints, that can slow their initial entry into the workforce. The other two types of
barriers are more related to womens time in the workforce (retention) and the quality of their career
and overall job satisfaction (development). Understanding the barriers behind retention and
development can be pertinent to policy making and sustainable nation building for these countries.
For each of these barriers, we discuss five intuitive results from the survey across the three groups of
countries.

Barriers to initial Entry

The survey included a question that aimed to quantify the waiting time between obtaining a graduate
degree and becoming employed. We discuss the results across the three groups to understand the
barriers to initial entry.

Table 4.1- Responses to the question Since you obtained your most recent degree, how quickly
post graduating did you become employed by group

Gulf- States Arab non-Gulf East Asian
Immediately upon graduating 33.13% 52.17% 43.18%
1-2 months 8.23% 13.04% 31.82%
3-6 months 25.93% 13.04% 18.18%
More than one year 27.78% 17.39% 2.27%
I dont remember 4.94% 4.35% 4.55%
Table 4.1 Responses to how long women waiting before being hired by group

48


Looking at the results for the three groups, we see that more than half of women in the Arab Non-
Gulf states sample did not spent time searching for jobs after graduating. Women in East Asian
countries experienced fewer barriers to initial entry as well, with two-thirds of women finding
employment within the first two months after graduation from tertiary education. Women in the
Gulf States experienced the longest wait times, with the majority waiting between three to twelve
months to become employed following graduation from a tertiary institution and only a third of
women finding employment immediately after graduating.

We aimed to understand the reasons some women wait a long time to find employment by asking a
follow-up question to employed women: On a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being highest, to what extent do you
think each of the following is a challenge for women to find a job in your industry? In the following sub-
sections, we describe the responses across each of the three country groups.

Gulf States

Since mid-2014, oil prices have severely dropped from over $120/barrel to just over $30/barrel,
causing a financial crisis in countries with oil-dependent economies, such as the Gulf States.
Plummeting oil prices can have an instant effect on corporate budgets, causing hiring freezes and
cuts in project funding. Since all the Gulf countries rely primarily on oil production and exports as a
revenue source, it is no surprise that those who seek employment attribute the challenges of finding
employment to corporate budgets. In our survey, women from the Gulf States were asked which
factors they believed caused barriers to entering the workforce, and the results have been broken
down to show the variation in responses by industry. Table 4.2 shows that respondents from the
Gulf States in the energy industry mostly agree that the economic recession has put the biggest strain
on employment.

49



Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my
18% 18.% 25% 15.9% 22.7% 44
industry
Lack of professional networks and
associations in my area 18% 29% 27% 6.8% 18% 44
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 9% 18% 27% 20% 25% 44
Economic recession and budget constraints 4.5% 15% 25% 32% 22.7% 44
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 15.9% 38% 22% 11% 11% 44

Table 4.2 Responses of women in Energy in the Gulf states about barriers of initial entry

According to the literature, the private sectors are small in most Gulf States, and their profits
primarily depend on selling services to the public sector. There are few private sector corporations in
the Gulf States that sell services on a global scale; therefore, we expect a ripple effect of these hiring
freezes on most industries in the Gulf States. For example, in Table 4.3 below, women in the
medical services field were asked the same question about challenges finding employment, and their
responses differ slightly from those of respondents in the energy sector. Women in the medical
services industry identify personal delays (family support, childcare) as a challenge for women to find
jobs in the industry. However, as in the energy sector, most respondents in the medical services
sector strongly agree that the economic recession and budget constraints caused challenges in
obtaining a job.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my industry 22.9% 21.8% 26% 17% 11% 87
Lack of professional networks and associations in
29.% 18.6% 24% 19.7% 8% 86
my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 15% 15% 33.7% 24% 11.6% 86
Economic recession and budget constraints 11% 9% 37.9% 21.8% 19% 87
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 26.4% 24% 27.5% 17% 4.6% 87
Table 4.3 Responses of women in the Gulf states in the Medical services field about barriers to initial entry

50

We see different results for the engineering and IT services sector in Table 4.4. Women did agree
that budget constraints caused difficulty in entering the workforce in this sector. However, most
respondents also identify the lack of opportunities for women as a challenge for women to enter this
sector. It is also worth noting that respondents also felt that women had fewer connections in this
field, which is mostly dominated by men. As a result, many respondents strongly agree that lack of
professional networks poses a barrier to entry for women. Women in engineering and IT also feel
that applicants in the field lack CV/resume building skills. Thus, women trying to enter the
engineering and IT fields are in need of greater vocational training and soft skills.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my
8.33% 12.50% 33.33% 25.00% 20.83% 24
industry
Lack of professional networks and
12.50% 12.50% 29.17% 29.17% 16.67% 24
associations in my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 20.83% 16.67% 12.50% 29.17% 20.83% 24
Economic recession and budget constraints 16.67% 20.83% 29.17% 12.50% 20.83% 24
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 8.33% 29.17% 33.33% 25.00% 4.17% 24
Table 4.4 Responses from women in the Gulf in Engineering about barriers to initial entry

Table 4.5 presents interesting results for women in academia. It is worth noting that most of the
responses from women in the Gulf States are from the academic sector, primarily because it is highly
gender segregated. However, because of the high saturation of the academic pipeline, budget
constraints, and an economic recession, we find that academia is no longer a sustainable sector for
women to excel and find a good source of income. Most respondents have labeled the academic
sector as a sector with low upward mobility that is overly saturated with women and can no longer
accommodate more applicants. From the survey data, therefore, we see that lack of professional
networks, personal delays, and CV/resume building have very little to no effect on womens ability
to enter the academic sector.

51

 Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total
challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my industry
17.8% 17% 27% 22.7% 14.85% 202
Lack of professional networks and associations in
my area 24% 23% 26% 18.4% 7.46% 201
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 19.5% 15% 28% 20% 17.5% 200
Economic recession and budget constraints 10.5% 13.5% 30.5% 20.5% 25% 200
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited
27% 30.5% 31.5% 8% 3% 200
Table 4.5 Responses from women in the Gulf States in Academia about barriers to initial entry

We next consider the consulting services industry. As shown in Table 4.6, women who aim to find
jobs in this industry mostly face personal delays. It is worth noting that the consulting services
industry requires consultants to work a significantly greater than normal number of hours per week
in the Gulf countries. For example, the eight-hour day required for the energy sector or the six-hour
day required in the academic sector are both significantly less than the ten-hour work day required
for the consulting sector. Moreover, consultants are expected to travel most of the time, which
might pose a challenge for working mothers in the Gulf. In addition to personal delays, respondents
agree that the consulting industry favors applicants with strong relationships to professional
networks and associations. Such connections require time and skills to develop, which might be
difficult for women entering this industry in the Gulf States, especially those women who prefer
gender segregated workplaces.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my 10% 15% 35% 10% 30% 20
industry
Lack of professional networks and associations 10% 10% 35% 30% 15% 20
in my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 25% 10% 15% 35% 15% 20
Economic recession and budget constraints 10% 10% 35% 15% 30% 20
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 20% 30% 15% 20% 15% 20

Table 4.6- Responses from women in the Gulf states in Consulting about barriers to initial entry

52

 Financial services are strongly intertwined with the energy industry since most of their clientele are
employees of oil companies and most of their investments are from employees in the energy sector.
We therefore see a direct relationship in Table 4.7 between economic recession and challenges for
women to find jobs in the financial services industry. Women are faced with personal delays as well,
since family members might advise women against entering the banking workforce because the
financial services industry does not compensate as well as the energy industry.

Question N/A Not a Could be Is a Is a big Total

challenge a challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my industry 14.8% 29.6% 29.6% 7% 18.5% 27

Lack of professional networks and associations in 11% 37% 25.9% 18.5% 7% 27

my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 14.8% 7% 29.6% 37% 11% 27

Economic recession and budget constraints 18.5% 3.7% 33% 22% 22% 27

CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 11% 37% 29.6% 11% 11% 27
Table 4.7 Responses from women in the Gulf states in the Financial services industry about barriers to initial entry

In the architecture and construction industry, the two primary challenges, as seen in Table 4.8, are
lack of professional networks and budget constraints. The architecture industry in the Gulf States is
male dominated, so most construction associations rarely employ women. In addition, most women
avoid entering these fields because they are male dominated and, thus, may be an uncomfortable
venue for them to pursue their careers. Respondents in this sector did not label CV/resume building
skills as a challenge, and very few labeled personal delays as a problem.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my industry 16.6% 0% 50% 16.6% 16.6% 6
Lack of professional networks and associations in 16.6% 16.6% 33% 33% 0% 6
my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 16.6% 0% 66% 0% 16.6% 6
Economic recession and budget constraints 0% 0% 33% 16% 50% 6
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 16.6% 33% 33% 0% 16.6% 6

Table 4.8 Responses from women in the Gulf states in Architecture about initial barriers to entry

53

Similar to the Energy and financial services industry, we see women who work in the Government
services industries in the Gulf states, agree mostly that the fall in oil prices have caused the biggest
challenges for women to obtain jobs.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total
challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my 8% 21% 35% 19.7% 15% 71
industry
Lack of professional networks and 21% 17% 27% 15.7% 18.5% 70
associations in my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 18.5% 21% 28.5% 17% 14% 70
Economic recession and budget constraints 7% 12.8% 31% 20% 28.5% 70
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 24% 27% 27% 7% 14% 70

Table 4.9 Responses from women in the Gulf states in Government services about barriers to initial entry

Unemployment in the Gulf States

The data collected from the survey showed that the largest number of unemployed women were
from the Gulf States, around 325 respondents. From this data sample, around 30% of those women,
141 of them were never employed. For the remaining respondents, 57% of them voluntarily
resigned. These women were asked a series of additional questions about their unemployment,
including what they believed was the primary reason behind their unemployment, how long they
have been unemployed since completing their tertiary education, whether or not they have been
actively searching for a job, and if they have received job offers. Since the questions start to branch,
we can expect fewer response samples as shown in the next few paragraphs.

54



Figure 10- Percentages of unemployed women based on length of unemployment in the Gulf states

Figure 10 shows that roughly a quarter of survey respondents have been unemployed for more than
three years, which is a considerably long time.
We find from the results in Table 4.10 that women in the Gulf States indicate that childcare is the
primary obstacle hindering them from an active search for a job. The lack of good working
environments and a need for education on how to search for a job were also cited frequently. We
find that transportation and individual qualifications might also pose barriers for women to re-enter
the workforce. This highlights the need for more vocational training for women in the Gulf states.
Previously employed, were in the workforce and are no longer employed

55

Question N/A Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Total
Disagree Agree Respondents
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Childcare is a struggle 24.58% 13.56% 12.71% 15.25% 33.9% 118

Transportation is a struggle 12.39% 27.43% 10.62% 14.16% 35% 113

A family member influences my decision to remain 44% 21.85% 11.76% 9.24% 12.6% 119
unemployed
Lack of good working environments 15.13% 17.65% 19.33% 14.29% 33.6% 119

My qualifications might not meet current job standards 9.73% 20.35% 17.70% 10.62% 41.5% 113

Very few opportunities for coaching me on how to start a 24.58% 17.54% 20.18% 7.02% 41% 114
job search
Table 4.10 Women's beliefs in the Gulf states about reasons that have led to their unemployment

When asked about the job offers they received and their reasons for turning them down, women
mostly agreed that the jobs did not host a comfortable work environment, as shown in Table 4.11.
Other reasons cited were a low pay package and difficulty finding suitable childcare alternatives.
Women strongly disagreed that family support was an obstacle or that transportation posed a
problem in their quest for employment.

Not Neither Agree or Strongly
Question Disagree Agree Sample Size
Applicable disagree Agree
The pay package was low 8.3% 16.6% 36% 8% 30% 36
The work day was long 17% 17% 17% 22.8% 25.7% 35
The job required travel or a move to a
47% 17.6% 14.7% 11.7% 8.8% 34
different city
Childcare is an issue 51% 8% 5% 16% 18.9% 37
A family member influenced my
44% 13.8% 16.6% 16.6% 8% 36
decision to reject the job
The position does not meet my interest 16% 8% 35% 2.7% 37.8% 37
The work environment for the job
24% 10.8% 10.8% 21.6% 32% 37
seems uncomfortable

Table 4.11 Reasons for women in the Gulf states for turning down the job offers they received

56



Figure 11- Reasons for unemployed Gulf women not receiving a job offer

The survey asked unemployed respondents who did not receive job offers why they were not
successful in their applications. Around 40% of women mentioned that few job openings for
women was the primary reason that they did not receive an offer. Since these respondents are from
the Gulf States, this result suggests that gender-segregated industries limit the number of job
openings for women. The previous analysis for Arab and East Asian states shows that women in
those countries do not find a lack of job openings to be a challenge since gender segregation is not
as strong in those countries as in the Gulf countries. The second most commonly cited reason that
applicants did not receive an offer was hiring freezes, which can be substantiated by the ripple effect
that falling oil prices has had on the region. Very few women stated that struggling with CV/resume
acceptance was an issue or that their qualifications did not match the job description. Around 10%
of respondents stated that expatriates might be preferred over nationals, especially expatriate
women, since they cost less to employ and are more vocationally prepared. This hypothesis is
heavily supported by the literature.

57

Arab States

Next, we investigate the barriers to initial entry across industries in the Arab states. There were few
responses from the retail, architecture and construction, and consulting sectors. It is worth
highlighting that most non-Gulf Arab states do not have energy-dependent economies, and,
therefore, we have not gathered many responses from the energy sector. Most of the responses from
the Arab states were from the medical services, engineering and IT services, and academic sectors.
The Arab states that we study also have thriving tourism industries, but very few challenges to enter
that workforce have been noted in the data provided.

Answer Percentage %

Energy (Oil & gas,....) 0%

Medical Services [Hospitals, Clinics, Pharma..] 4.35%
Engineering & IT services 8.7%
Retail Sector 0%
Educational Sector [Academic, Research..] 71.7%
Consulting Services [Management Consulting...] 2%
Financial Services [Banking, Commerce...] 0%
Architecture & Construction 0%
Other, please specify 13%
Total Sample respondents 46
Table 4.12 Percentages of Arab women respondents by industry they work in

While we have a very small sample size for women in the medical services industry in the Arab
states, we see a difference between the Gulf States and the Arab states samples in terms of the
results from respondents in the medical services industry. As shown in Table 4.13 respondents in
the Arab states identify the primary challenges for women entering the medical services industry as
poor CV/resume building skills and personal delays. Specifically, personal delays imply that either
family support or childcare is lacking, so one of these could be the primary reason that women may
encounter difficulty in finding employment in this industry.

58

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total
challenge challenge Challenge Challenge
Very few job openings for women in my 33.3% 50% 0% 0% 16.6% 6
industry
Lack of professional networks and 16.6% 50% 33.3% 0% 0% 6
associations in my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 16.6% 16.6% 16.6% 50% 0% 6
Economic recession and budget constraints 0% 16.6% 16.6% 16.6% 50% 6
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 0% 33.3% 16.6% 50% 0% 6
Table 4.13 Responses from Arab women in the Medical services industry about barriers to initial entry

A majority of respondents disagree that there are few job openings for women in the medical
services industry. In the engineering and IT services industry, most respondents in the Gulf States
identify the lack of professional networks and personal delays as the primary barriers to entry. In the
Arab states group, the responses are very different. Table 4.14 shows that respondents from Arab
states believe that the economic recession and budgeting constraints have limited womens entry
into the engineering fields. Since our sample size in this industry from the Arab states is extremely
small, these results need to be interpreted with some caution.

Question N/A Not a Could be a Is a Is a big Total

challenge challenge Challenge Challenge

Very few job openings for women in my 50% 0% 25% 0% 25% 4

industry
Lack of professional networks and 50% 0% 25% 0% 25% 4
associations in my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 0% 25% 0% 25% 50% 4

Economic recession and budget constraints 0% 0% 0% 75% 25% 4

CV/Resume building knowledge was 0% 50% 25% 25% 0% 4

limited
Table 4.14 Responses from Arab women in Engineering about barriers to initial entry

The literature highlights that most corporations in Jordan consider hiring women to be costlier to
the organization due to Jordanian labor laws mandating that firms that employ more than twenty
women must construct on-site childcare and provide caregivers.

59

 In male-dominated industries, such as engineering and IT, the survey results match this finding from
the literature.

Another challenge that respondents have identified is child rearing and its rising costs. On the other
hand, most respondents strongly disagree that a lack of professional networks or limited CV/resume
building skills poses a challenge for women to obtain engineering jobs.

Next, considering the academic field in Arab states, Figure 4.15 shows that respondents mostly
identify economic recession and budget constraints as the primary reason that it is difficult for
women to enter the academic sector, followed by personal delays.

Neither Agree or Strongly

Question N/A Disagree Agree Total
Disagree Agree
Very few job openings for women in my industry 15.15% 39.39% 27.27% 15.15% 3.03% 33
Lack of professional networks and associations in
9.09% 27.27% 36.36% 15.15% 12.12% 33
my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 3.03% 15.15% 30.30% 33.33% 18.18% 33

Economic recession and budget constraints 6.06% 15.15% 24.24% 36.36% 18.18% 33

CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 12.12% 33.33% 30.30% 21.21% 3.03% 33
Table 4.15 Responses from Arab women in Academia about barriers to initial entry

The academic sector depends on national funding, which is dependent in part on financial support
from other countries (reference). Although the Arab states themselves are not primarily oil-
generating economies, they have depended for a great number of years on financial support from
the neighboring Gulf countries, which are oil-dependent (Alsharif, 2017). Jordan is not rich in
natural resources but, instead, primarily depends on knowledge-based industries such as engineering
and IT and tourism. Thus, Jordan is significantly raising its cost of living in an effort to repay its
international debts, which will make it harder for its citizens to make a living. Most of the nationals
in the Arab states prefer working in the neighboring Gulf countries, where the pay is more stable
and the cost of living is lower.

60

 East Asian Countries

Similar to our analysis in the Arab states, our gathered sample in East Asia is very small and when
broken down by industry we see only a handful of results. Nonetheless, this may serve as a platform
for future research. Analyzing barriers of entry for East Asian women, we see that women in the
Gulf States and the Arab states may have faced similar barriers to entry because the two groups of
nations share economic interests, East Asian countries face different initial barriers to entry. Across
the industries discussed below (Academia, Manufacturing and Medical services), respondents
disagree that job openings are scarce, suggesting that job openings are not gender limited in this
region, unlike in the Gulf States, where certain industries might lean towards a more gender-
segregated workforce.

Most East Asian economies are knowledge-based and are highly dependent on services, exports, and
a growing private sector. Therefore, employees in the public sector may face greater budget
constraints than those working in the private sector. For example, in the academic and healthcare
sector, respondents from East Asia identified budget and economic constraints as the primary
challenge facing female entrants, as shown in 4.16 and 4.17

Neither Agree or Strongly

Question N/A Disagree Agree Total
Disagree Agree
Very few job openings for women in my industry 28.5% 28.5% 42.8% 0% 0% 7
Lack of professional networks and associations in my
28.5% 14% 28.5% 28.5% 0% 7
area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 42.8% 0% 14% 42.8% 0% 7
Economic recession and budget constraints 28.5% 14% 14% 14% 28.5% 7
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 28.5% 28.5% 28.5% 0% 14% 7

Table 4.16 Responses from East Asian women in Academia about barriers to initial entry

Question Neither Agree or Strongly Total
N/A Disagree Agree
Disagree Agree
Very few job openings for women in my industry 16.6% 0% 50% 33% 0% 6
Lack of professional networks and associations in my area 16.6% 50% 16.6% 16.6% 0% 6
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 0% 0% 50% 50% 0% 6
Economic recession and budget constraints 0% 0% 33% 50% 16.6% 6
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 16.6% 0% 33% 33% 16.6% 6

Table 4.17 Responses from East Asian women in the Medical services about barriers to initial entry

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However, in the financial services industry in East Asia, we see different barriers. While we have
only 3 responses from women in this industry, our data shows that personal delays seem to the
primary barrier at the point of initial job entry, followed by lack of professional networks and
associations.

Neither Agree or Strongly

Question N/A Disagree Agree Total
Disagree Agree
Very few job openings for women in my industry 0% 33% 33% 33% 0% 3
Lack of professional networks and associations in
0% 33% 33% 33% 0% 3
my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 0% 0% 33% 0% 66.6% 3
Economic recession and budget constraints 33% 33% 0% 33% 0% 3
CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 33% 33% 33% 0% 0% 3

Table 4.18 Responses from East Asian women in the Financial services about barriers to initial entry

Most of the responses gathered from East Asian countries where women working in manufacturing.
According to Table 4.19 below, most respondents have disagreed that jobs are scarce in this industry
or that there was limited ability in CV/resume building. However, the majority of women have
agreed that personal delays such as childcare would cause as a barrier to entry in this field.
Neither Agree or Strongly
Question N/A Disagree Agree Total
Disagree Agree

Very few job openings for women in my industry 12.5% 43.7% 25% 12.5% 6% 16
Lack of professional networks and associations in
6% 25% 37.5% 18.7% 12.5% 16
my area
Personal delays [Family support, Childcare] 6% 18.7% 31% 18.7% 25% 16

Economic recession and budget constraints 6% 12.5% 43.7% 25% 12.5% 16

CV/Resume building knowledge was limited 12.5% 37.5% 25% 18.7% 6% 16

Table 4.19 Responses from East Asia women in Manufacturing about barriers to initial entry

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Summary

In the Gulf States, we see a variety of barriers for women to enter the workforce, but the majority of
respondents identified the falling oil prices as a direct cause for difficulty finding employment. Most
respondents have also identified lack of family support and weak vocational training as challenges.
In industries that are primarily male dominated, we see a stronger need for women to develop
professional networks and associations to increase their representation in these fields. One
respondent commented on what could be the barrier to entry Sadly working opportunities are less
for females as majority of the job application advertisements I see are for males.

Gender segregation may have an effect on the low representation of women in the engineering and
IT and architecture and construction fields, which might compound the difficulty for women to
break the barriers to entry in these sectors. One respondent commented that The separation
requirements by law deter employers from hiring women and prevent women from learning and
another Gulf woman commented According to government laws, women are not allowed to sit
side by side with men in the workplace in Saudi Arabia. Our existence in the office is against the law
and therefore impedes on our productivity.

From the data provided by respondents in Arab countries, on the other hand, women in these
countries do not necessarily lack professional networks or vocational skills and training. On the
contrary, their education portfolios and skills are exemplary. However, the data matches the
literatures claim that women are costlier to hire due to certain economic constraints, and falling oil
prices have hurt womens chances to enter the sectors discussed. Albeit costly, woman from the
Arab states have commented on the necessity of providing the appropriate care of children. One
respondent commented Having proper child support covered will increase the chance of having
more women involved in employment. Additionally, the cultural expectations of women restricted
to the household in the Arab states has also hindered their entry. One woman from the Arab states
sample commented The culture in my country is the main obstacle, wives are expected to take care
of kids, cook and clean.

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Analyzing responses from East Asian women, we see different opinions. None of the respondents
have mentioned gender segregation or the costs of childcare as a difficulty. Instead they have
labelled the structure of the working day and low awareness levels of womens responsibilities as
barriers. One respondent from the East Asian countries commented I think being a career woman
is great beside being a wonderful wife and mother. I hope all males understand our situation and
show more appreciation. We just simply want to help males not over stand them. Another woman
commented Employers need to consider long working hours for married female employees

We rank the top three barriers to entry according to frequency of occurrence for each group in
Table 4.20.

Group 1 (Gulf States) Group 2 (Arab States) Group 3 (East Asia)
Barriers To Entry

Budget Constraints Budget Constraints Lack of Professional Networks

Few job openings for women

Personal Delays Personal Delays
due to gender segregation

Limited CV/Resume
Personal Delays Limited CV/Resume Building
Building

Table 4.20 Summary of the top three barriers to initial entry across the three groups of interest

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Barriers to Retention

Much of the literature has raised concerns about retaining women in the workforce after their initial
entry. Throughout the literature, there is a consistent pattern of womens lifecycles in the workforce
being described as short, intermittent, and unstable. The term mommy track was coined to label
expecting women and mothers as lower-grade employees. This attitude is most likely due to women
prioritizing children and household duties over new projects, complex tasks, and commitments
within their organizations. Over time, frequent disengagement and extended leaves might cause
management to withhold new opportunities from overburdened women, and, eventually, women
might feel that their male counterparts advance at much faster rates. This slow rate of advancement
in turn ultimately affects womens pay, workday quality, and overall job satisfaction. Collectively,
women might find that outsourcing childcare duties and household work costs more than what they
earn and, as a consequence, might decide to leave the workforce.

In this section, we investigate what barriers could cause women to leave the workforce or think
seriously about leaving the workforce across various industries in the three groups of interest. We
supplement our hypotheses with tables formulated from the data gathered in the survey. We ask
currently employed women across all three groups about their average monthly salaries, followed by
a series of questions about what percentage of their salary goes to child care costs and costs of
transportation to and from work. Next, we ask a series of questions about their job satisfaction
levels and whether or not they think seriously about leaving their jobs. We ask unemployed women
who were previously employed about the reasons they left the workforce and for how long they
were employed. Overall, we are interested in the most common barriers to retaining women,
including childcare and job satisfaction.

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Childcare

The literature indicates that many women do not profit from their monthly salaries because a high
percentage of their income is spent on child-related costs. Table 4.21 summarizes data from women
across all three groups on what percentage of their monthly salaries is spent on childcare. The
majority of women in the Arab states spend over a third of their monthly earnings on childcare costs
alone. Women in the Gulf States follow, with roughly half allocating more than a quarter of their
salaries to childcare. Women in East Asia vary greatly, as fewer women spend as much as the first
two groups do on childcare.

Gulf- States Arab non-Gulf East Asian

More than 30% 39.25% 57.14% 0%
21%-30% 15.89% 9.52% 50%
10%-20% 20.09% 19.05% 0%
Less than 10% 11.21% 0% 33.33%
0% (family care) 10.75% 9.52% 16.67%
0%(Employer pays) 2.8% 4.76% 0%

Table 4.21 Childcare expenditure as a portion of monthly salaries from the population of interest

Regardless of how much women pay for childcare; a very low percentage of women receive
incentivized childcare in all three groups. This result speaks volumes to the lack of support from
governments and employers to provide financial assistance programs to care for children while
women are productive at work. The rising costs of childcare place a burden on many working
families, and subsidizing childcare has many benefits towards employee productivity and long-term
retention

We next ask women in all three groups whether or not they frequently think of leaving their jobs.
With the assistance of the Qualtrics software, we break the results down by the percentage of
monthly income spent on childcare, and we see important results. Women in Gulf States who spend
more than 30% of their monthly income on childcare mostly agree that they frequently think of
leaving their jobs, as shown in Table 4.22

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 Answer Percentage
0% [ Childcare is paid by my employer] 2.8%
0% [my family care for my children] 10.75%
less than 10% 11.21%
10%-20% 20.09%
21%-30% 15.89%
More than 30% 39.25%
Total Sample Size N respondents 214

Table 4.22 Percentages of expenditure of women's salaries on childcare in the Gulf states

The biggest percentage of the 214 women from the sample size gathered from the Gulf states pay
more than a third of their salaries on childcare, around 40% of them. If we combine the prior group
whom pay more than a quarter of their salaries on childcare, we find that collectively over a half of
women from the Gulf states in our sample contribute a quarter of their salaries on childcare alone.
We break the results of Table 4.22 by asking women if they frequently think of leaving their jobs.

Question 0% [ 0% [my family care for less than 10%-20% 21%- More than
Childcare is my children] 10% 30% 30%
paid by my
employer]
Strongly Disagree 0% 9% 33% 26% 29% 24%
Disagree 25% 27% 20% 23% 14% 29%
Neither agree or disagree 50% 18% 16% 14% 8% 13%
Agree 25% 31% 29% 26% 35% 19%
Strongly Agree 0% 9% 0% 9% 11% 14%
Total respondent sample 4 22 24 42 34 83

Table 4.23 Gulf women's expenditure on childcare and how this affects their retention

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 Arab states

Around 21 women from the 57 respondents in the Arab states group have answered this question.
Over 57% of those women spend around a third of their salaries on childcare alone.
How much of your monthly income is spent on childcare

Answer Percentages
0% [ Childcare is paid by my employer] 4.76%
0% [my family care for my children] 9.52%
less than 10% 0%
10%-20% 19%
21%-30% 9.5%
More than 30% 57%
Total Sample Size N respondents 21

Table 4.24 Percentages of expenditure of women's salaries on childcare in the Arab states

We break the results by how frequently they thinking of leaving their job. This will help us
understand to what extent this financial burden would hinder their retention.

Question 0% [ Childcare is 0% [my family care for less 10%-20% 21%-30% More than
paid by my employer] my children] than 30%
10%
Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 25% 50% 18%
Disagree 0% 50% 0% 50% 50% 9%
Neither agree or 100% 0% 0% 25% 0% 9%
disagree
Agree 0% 50% 0% 0% 0% 54%
Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%
Total respondent 1 2 0 4 2 11
sample

Table 4.25 Arab women's expenditure on childcare and how this affects their retention

While we have a very small sample of respondents from the Arab states, according to Table 4.25
however, it is telling that 63% of this small sample size who pay more than a third of their salaries
do indeed think very frequently that they wish to resign.

68

We see a similar pattern as in the Gulf states, where the more women spend on childcare, the more
strongly they feel about leaving the workforce.

Is important to note overall that the culture in the Arab world expects women to burden the costs
of childcare if they chose to be employed and not their husbands, since childcare is primarily the
responsibility of the mother. This is why rarely do husbands contribute to childcare expenses.
(Pourmohammdi, 2015)

Very little data is available for East Asian countries because fewer women pay for childcare in the
sample that we have collected than in the other two groups. We recommend that future research
would be more beneficial regarding working East Asian women, how much they spend on childcare
and how this affects their retention.

69


Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is imperative to retaining women in the workforce. The more likely an employee is
timely rewarded for their efforts and work ethic, the more satisfied they are and the more hopeful
their outlooks toward a better position in the future at their place of work. In order for corporations
to retain women in the workforce, they must evaluate the overall job satisfactory levels for women.
Amongst other factors, being promoted could be a factor that strengthens the chances of women
retained in the workforce. We ask the sample respondents how many times they have been
promoted and perform an analysis on every group of interest. We first perform this analysis on
respondents from the Gulf states. We can see from Table 4.26 below, more than half of women
from the Gulf states sample have not been promoted. Roughly a quarter of respondents have been
promoted once and the remaining quarter being promoted two or more times.

Answer Percentage

None [ same as initial hiring position] 51.33%

Once 23.82%

Twice 12.53%
Three or more times 12.32%

Total Respondents Sample 487

Table 4.26 Gulf women responses to "Since being employed, how many times have you been promoted"

We perform a cross tabulation of women who think frequently of leaving the workforce broken
down by number of promotions, and we see relevant results. The more promotions are granted to
women, the more satisfied they are within their jobs, and the less likely they are to leave, as shown
for the Gulf States in Table 4.27. A portion of respondents from the Gulf states have mentioned
that they are not given promotions due to the structure of their job as a private company. They
mention since the corporation is private and is primarily focused on making profit, salaries are
constant and are not subject to increase. One woman from the Gulf commented I quit my job
because of the depression I have developed. The lack of promotions, unsupportive management and
poor human resource policies have led to my resignation.

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Question None [ same as initial hiring position] Once Twice Three or more times

Strongly Disagree 19% 27% 20% 25%

Disagree 20% 21% 22% 30%
Neither agree or disagree 18% 10% 20% 15%
Agree 27% 27.6% 30% 18%
Strongly Agree 15% 13% 6% 10%
Total 243 112 59 59

Table 4.27 Relationship between number of promotions and frequency of Gulf women thinking about resigning

Evidence from Currently Unemployed Women in the Gulf States

The survey also asked unemployed women whether they had been employed at any point. In the
Gulf States, over 65% of currently unemployed respondents were previously employed and left their
jobs. The survey then asked how long they had been employed, and a third of them were employed
for less than one year, 28% were employed for between one to three years, and 42% were employed
for more than five years. Over 55% of women left the workforce voluntarily, 9% were asked to
resign, roughly 3% were terminated, and 26% were retirees. Since being unemployed, 43% of
women have not been actively searching for a job, and just 28% of women have been actively
searching. The remaining 28% who chose not applicable were mostly retirees.

We then asked two important follow-up questions. The first was:

On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, how strongly do you feel the following reasons were
for you to leave your former position?

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Question Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly Total
(1) (2) disagree (4) Agree Responses
(3) (5)
My job did not fulfill my career aspirations 23.9% 8% 21.8% 15.6% 30% 96
A family member influenced my decision to resign 61% 6% 9% 6% 16% 96
My former job exerted mental or physical stress that I
15.6% 13.5% 21.8% 8% 40.6% 96
could not cope with
My financial status did not improve with my former job 22% 5% 18% 11% 42% 95
I have struggled with my former management in terms of
22% 11.5% 20% 11% 34.7% 95
career development
My former position required me to stay away from home
20.6% 13% 17.5% 12% 36% 97
for a long amount of time
I was not promoted as fast as I had hoped in my former
16% 10% 12.5% 8% 52% 96
job
Transportation was a daily struggle 16% 11% 20.8% 7% 43.7% 96
Childcare was a daily struggle 16% 12% 10% 14% 46% 97

Table 4.28 Gulf women's responses about why they resigned their former positions

As shown in Table 4.28, a large percent of respondents (45%) indicated that their former jobs did
not meet their career aspirations, and a similar percent cited the inability to improve their financial
status at their former jobs. Roughly a quarter of women agreed that certain family members
influenced their decisions to leave and that their former jobs exerted intolerable pressure.

Table 4.28 shows that more than a third of women agreed that they struggled with their former
management in terms of job development. This result suggests that professional business training is
lacking on either the management side or with the women themselves, a conclusion that is also
supported by womens comments that training and leadership are qualities their management often
lacks. Women also indicated that their former positions required them to stay away from home for
extended periods of time. Finally, another difficulty facing these women was finding appropriate
childcare, as 60% of them agreed that childcare was a daily struggle and was a factor contributing to
their unemployment.

72

We asked women from the Gulf states that were previously employed and are currently unemployed
if they are actively searching for a job. According to the results in Table 4.29, over 40% of
unemployed women from the Gulf (136 women) stated they are not actively searching for a job
since being unemployed.

Answer Percentage
Yes 28.30%
No 43.40%
Not Applicable 28.30%
Total sample respondents 318

Table 4.29 Unemployed Gulf women's responses to "Since being unemployed, have you been actively searching for a job

Arab States

After the thorough analysis of responses from the Gulf states, we shift our analysis to the Arab
states to see if there are similar patterns regarding promotion frequency and retention. Table 4.30
below shows how many times women from the Arab states sample have been promoted.

Answer Percentage
None [ same as initial hiring position] 41.30%
Once 26.09%
Twice 17.39%
Three or more times 15.22%
Total Respondents 46

Table 4.30 Arab women's responses to "Since being employed, how many times have you been promoted"

Similar to the Gulf states analysis, we break down the results from Table 4.30 by asking women if
they think frequently of leaving their job. Table 4.31 showcases results from respondents in the Arab
states. Although our sample size in the Arab states, around 44 women, is significantly less than in
the Gulf states and may not necessarily resemble the reality in the Arab states, we see that women
who have not been offered any promotions feel most strongly about leaving the workforce.

73

Based on the percentage values displayed in the table below, we see that women who have been
promoted more than once feel less strongly about leaving. This result closely resembles the analysis
in the Gulf states.

Question None [ same as initial hiring position] Once Twice Three or more times
Strongly Disagree 11% 8% 25.00% 42%
Disagree 29% 33% 37% 28%
Neither agree or disagree 17% 16% 12% 14.29%
Agree 29% 41.67% 25% 0%
Strongly Agree 11% 0% 0.00% 14%
Not Applicable 17 12 8 7

Table 4.31 Arab women's responses to the effect of their promotion on retention

East Asia

Table 4.32 below shows how many times women from the East Asian states sample have been
promoted.
Answer Percentage

None [ same as initial hiring position] 62.79%

Once 18.60%
Twice 6.98%
Three or more times 11.63%
Total 43
Table 4.32 Frequency of promotions amongst the East Asian women sample

Six women from Table 4.32 have opted not to answer the second question. For the remaining 39
women who have responded to the second question, we see similar results in East Asian countries,
but on a stronger scale. Women who have been promoted at least once strongly disagree that they
ever think of leaving their current jobs. Women who have been promoted more than once have very
different responses from women who have never been granted a promotion, who frequently think
of leaving their jobs. Overall, women from Indonesia felt more satisfied in their workplaces than in
the remaining countries. One respondent commented The glass ceiling concept does not apply in
Indonesia too much. There are many female entrepreneurs and CEO's here which is surprising since
we are in the largest Muslim population in the world. It may be useful to add that Indonesia ranks
highest in the Global Gender Gap index amongst all the Muslim majority countries.

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Question None [ same as initial hiring Once Twice Three or more times
position]
Strongly Disagree 4% 14% 33% 20%
Disagree 16% 71% 33% 60%
Neither agree or disagree 29% 0% 33% 0%
Agree 37% 14% 0% 20%
Strongly Agree 12% 0% 0% 0%
Not Applicable 24 7 3 5

Table 4.33 East Asian women's responses to promotions affecting their retention

From the data provided across all three groups, we conclude that there is a strong relationship
between the number of promotions granted and the ability to retain women. After conducting a
thorough analysis on unemployed women in the Gulf and in the Arab states, we rank the top three
barriers for retaining women in the workforce in order of relevance as finding high quality and
affordable childcare, low job satisfaction levels due to slow upward mobility, this section does not
include data on women from East Asia. Very little data from women in East Asia is available
because they have fewer children, different modes of transportation, and different workday
structures. From the data gathered in this thesis, it appears that women from the East Asian sample
doe not struggle retaining themselves in the workplace as much as the sample from the Gulf and
Arab states.

Family Support

We also investigated whether family support might be an issue for retaining women, but the survey
data found that women in the Gulf States had little issues with family support during their careers.
We conclude that family support does not strongly pose an obstacle to retaining women or to
womens reentry into the workforce. After conducting a thorough analysis on unemployed women
in the Gulf and women in the Arab states, we rank the top three barriers for retaining them in the
workforce in order of relevance are: finding high quality and affordable childcare, low job
satisfactory levels due to slow upward mobility and the structure of working day.

75

Very little data has been provided by women in East Asia due to women in that group having less
children, different modes of transportation and different workday structures.

Barriers to Promotion
Equal pay for equal work

Are both genders paid equally at your place of work?

In some parts of the world, unequal pay is a barrier to womens development in the workforce.
However, the majority of women across the three groups analyzed in this study have generally
indicated that pay is equal for both genders. Based on the results in Tables 4.34, 4.35 and 4.36 we
see variations across the three tables. More than half of respondents from the Gulf states confirmed
that pay is equal with 18% of women stating otherwise. A quarter of the respondents from the Gulf
states group was not aware whether there was a pay gap between genders in their place of work or
not.

Gulf states

Answer Percentage
Yes 56%
No 18.7%
I don't know 25%
Total Sample N 486

Table 4.34 Women's beliefs about equal pay across industries in the Gulf States

This result is very different from women in the Arab states group where over 80% of women stated
that pay is equal for both genders. A mere 6% of women stated otherwise and just 13% were
unaware if there was economic inequality at their place of work.

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Arab states

Answer Percentage

Yes 80%
No 6.5%
I don't know 13%
Total Sample N 46

Table 4.35 Women's beliefs about equal pay across industries in the Arab States

When we look at responses from the East Asian group, over 72% of women have agreed that pay is
equal with no women stating that pay was unequal and about 27% stating they were unaware
whether or not both genders were being paid equally for equal work.

East Asian states
Answer Percentage

Yes 72.7%
No 0%
I don't know 27%
Total Sample 44

Table 4.36 Women's beliefs about equal pay across industries in East Asia

Based on this result it appears there is a lack of awareness about the pay gap that could exist in these
countries. A significant portion of women were not aware whether or not they were compensated
equally with men in their place of work. We conclude that there is a need for awareness programs
for women to ensure that compensation levels are not subject to gender biases and hopefully not
pose a barrier to womens development in the workplace.

77

Promotions

The systematic rise of an employee through her organization is of the utmost importance to job
satisfaction and productivity. However, the overall sensitivity of the workplace, interactions and
dynamics among employees at every level of the organization, and external changes influencing the
industry financially or politically make it challenging to comprehend which factors are the ultimate
cause of the slow development of female professionals in the workplace. Many researchers in the
field of human resources face difficulties determining the set of skills that guarantees that employees
will earn promotions, and identifying an absolute set of factors that directly leads to promotions is
unheard of. However, the survey data could assist in understanding the common factors that women
across these three groups believe helped them earn their promotions or, for those who were not so
fortunate, the obstacles that they believe hindered their development. For the three populations of
interest, we will analyze the number of promotions that women have earned by industry and age and
will relate, if possible, their reasons for their promotion by industry and skills.

Gulf States

First, we analyze industries in the Gulf States, which are primarily energy-dependent. 487 women
from the Gulf states have answered both questions. We see in Table 5.4 that women in the academic
sector have the lowest rate of promotion. Most women in the academic sectors of these countries
have attributed the lengthy promotion cycles to their inability to obtain more advanced degrees
because promotions in the academic sector are attributed to the number of papers published and the
number of advanced degrees obtained. According to respondents comments, women who work in
private sector academia feel the most discrimination, as there are no promotions in their contracts,
and they must depend on the annual salaries originally agreed upon. One respondent from Academia
commented In the public academic sector in Saudi Arabia both genders are paid equally. However,
women are not allowed to hold any managerial positions over male faculty. For example, a
department that has both male and female employees can never be managed by a female employee.
So even if initially they are paid the same, men get into more managerial positions, also get more
chances for consulting outside the university allowing them therefore for a higher encore at the end.
In my institute which is the oldest in the country, we never had a female dean, female department
head, or even a female program director. As long as there are men working at that department, men
will always lead, will always make the decisions, and will ultimately be paid more.

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 Question Energy Medical Engineering Retail Educational Consulting Financial Architecture Government
(Oil Services & IT Sector Sector Services Services & Services
& [Hospitals, services [Academic, [Management [Banking, Construction
gas,....) Clinics, Research..] Consulting...] Commerce...]
Pharma..]
None 61% 36.7% 33% 33% 52% 50% 74% 83% 55.7%
Once 22.7% 22.9% 37.5% 33% 26.6% 5% 22% 0% 21%
Twice 9% 20.6% 20.8% 33% 9.8% 15% 3.7% 0% 11%
Three or more 6.8% 19.5% 8% 0% 11% 30% 0% 16.6% 11%

Total Sample 44 87 24 3 203 20 27 6 70

Table 4.37 The frequency of Gulf Women's participants promotion by industry

The data in Table 4.37 also indicates that promotion cycles are likely shorter and more frequent in
engineering and IT services and in the consulting industry. The energy sector is relatively slow to
promote based on the data, but the fact that current oil prices are unstable may extend promotion
cycles.

In Table 4.38, we show the results of a further analysis of womens promotions by age group to see
how strong a role age plays in promotion cycles, and we see a strong link. It appears that the time
frame in which a woman is granted multiple promotions is between the ages of 40-45. In the Gulf
States, women in the early to mid-career stages are typically not granted promotions until much later
in their careers.

For women who are naturally competitive and appreciate swift advancement, this slow upward
movement might cause frustration. We see that women have had three or more promotions by the
time of their retirement, around 50 years of age. It is worth noting that overall in the Gulf States,
rates of promotion are relatively low compared to the large sample size in the data. This finding
could suggest that frequent promotions are not common and might be a privilege for some women
rather than most women. However, the analysis provided on barriers to retention shows that women

79

who are less frequently promoted think more seriously about leaving their jobs than those who have
been promoted at least once.

Question 24 and under 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

None [ same as initial hiring 89% 59% 41.8% 17% 25% 0%

position]
Once 7.8% 25.9% 24% 25.8% 12.5% 0%
Twice 0% 11.8% 20% 6.9% 12.5% 0%
Three or more times 2.6% 3% 13.9% 50% 50% 0%
Total 38 254 129 58 8 0

Table 4.38 Gulf Women's promotion frequency by age

Another reason Gulf woman might not find themselves promoted easily in the Gulf states could be
their overall lack of complying with the standard cultural social capital. This social capital, or what
many women jokingly label it as Vitamin W or shortcut for Wasta an Arabic noun which refers
to intermediaries that have prestige and connections. These wastas are pretty much able to hire
anyone in need and influence their rank within an organization, easing promotions in absence of
proper auditing. Most connections in the Gulf with such power and wealth are often men and
mingle with men. One respondent from the Gulf sample, who happens to be also a researcher
commented I have had my dissertation to a closely similar topic. It was about women career
trajectory in a mixed working environment. The results were interesting as in women do find
progression opportunities in the workplace but is conditioned on whether a female has a
postgraduate degree and a strong connection system

Due to the fact that social gathering is normally segregated then most likely men will be able to take
advantage of the wastas more than women. It is such cultural methods like Vitamin W that could
disrupt a hard working qualified woman to be promoted such as this respondent which commented
There is no fixed system that does the evaluation for the employees. They promote the employees
as they want not based on the qualifications of the employees Another woman commented Being
successful is all about who you know in the industry, I have no contacts and therefore I had no
luck.

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 A third responded confirmed the argument by commenting in Arabic The big problem that
(Wasta) has an affective role in my country. This phenomenon is heavily supported by the literature
(Hodgson, 2015) and can be a cause for private sector employers to avoid hiring nationals from the
Gulf.

Next, we asked respondents in the Gulf which factors might have hindered their promotion, and the
results can be seen in Table 4.39 women in the financial services, energy, and medical services fields
agree that budget resources are the main factor hindering their promotion. Women in various
industries indicated that their short length of service at their current positions could have played a
role in their slow development.

Please select the reasons why you believe have prevented you from currently being promoted

Question 24 and under 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Punctuality at work 2.27% 0.89% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Budget resources 11.36% 19.20% 12.86% 22.22% 0% 0%
Short Length of service at my current 63.64% 29.91% 17.14% 11.11% 50% 0%
position
Highly competitive environment 0% 5.80% 1.43% 0% 0% 0%
Individual qualifications (degree, 4.55% 7.59% 5.71% 11.11% 0% 0%
certifications...)
Few open positions for promotion 13.64% 23.66% 37.14% 33.33% 0% 0%
Conflict with management and colleagues 0% 0.45% 4.29% 0% 0% 0%
Total respondents sample 34 148 53 9 2 0

Table 4.39 Gulf women's beliefs about why they were not promoted by age

The analysis then turns to women who have been granted at least one promotion. The survey asked
these women what factors had the most influence on their ability to get promoted. We analyzed
their responses by industry, and the results are intriguing. It appears that there are certain elements
for success in one industry that might not necessarily work in another.

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 For example, women in the energy industry, over 82% mostly agree that their professional
appearance and their public speaking ability or presentation skills carve the way for their success in
their career, as shown in Table 4.40

On a scale from 1 to 4 with 4 being highest, please indicate how strongly the following factors
influenced your promotion

Question NA strongly disagree disagree agree Strongly agree Total
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at 11.76% 5.88% 5.88% 52.94% 23.53% 17
time]
Ability to network and communicate with 5.88% 11.76% 5.88% 35.29% 41.18% 17
colleagues and management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 0% 5.88% 11.76% 29.41% 52.94% 17
Professional certifications and training portfolio 5.88% 5.88% 17.65% 35.29% 35.29% 17
Length of service at your organization 17.65% 11.76% 5.88% 35.29% 29.41% 17
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your 17.65% 11.76% 17.65% 35.29% 17.65% 17
organization's goals
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 0% 5.88% 0% 52.94% 41.18% 17
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress 5.88% 5.88% 5.88% 64.71% 17.65% 17
code, ..etc)
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations 17.65% 0% 17.65% 47.06% 17.65% 17
within the workplace
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 41.18% 0% 23.53% 17.65% 17.65% 17
Table 4.40 Responses from Gulf Women in the Energy sector on their success factors on being promoted

In the medical services industry, proper communication and networking ability with colleagues and
management was chosen as the primary factor for a successful career, as shown in Table 4.41

Question strongly Strongly
NA disagree agree Total
disagree agree
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time] 18.18% 7.27% 0.00% 60.00% 14.55% 55
Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and
7.27% 5.45% 3.64% 69.09% 14.55% 55
management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 10.91% 5.45% 3.64% 58.18% 21.82% 55
Professional certifications and training portfolio 18.18% 5.45% 9.09% 50.91% 16.36% 55
Length of service at your organization 12.73% 10.91% 16.36% 45.45% 14.55% 55
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your organization's goals 18.18% 9.09% 23.64% 43.64% 5.45% 55
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 14.55% 7.27% 12.73% 56.36% 9.09% 55
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, ..etc) 14.55% 7.27% 25.45% 41.82% 10.91% 55
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the workplace 14.55% 5.45% 16.36% 54.55% 9.09% 55
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 23.64% 16.36% 32.73% 20.00% 7.27% 55
Table4.41 Responses from Gulf Women in the Medical services industry on their success factor on being promoted

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 With respect to the engineering and IT industry, work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks
and ability to deliver cost-effective solutions were the two primary reasons women cited for being
promoted, as shown in Table 4.42. It is worth noting that women in the engineering and IT industry
also attributed to their promotions to working overtime or in remote locations, whereas women in
the energy industry did not consider extended work hours to be a factor in their promotions.

Question NA strongly disagree disagree agree Strongly agree Total

Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time] 31.25% 6.25% 12.50% 37.50% 12.50% 16

Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and 12.50% 0% 6.25% 43.75% 37.50% 16
management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 6.25% 0% 6.25% 31.25% 56.25% 16

Professional certifications and training portfolio 6.25% 0% 43.75% 37.50% 12.50% 16

Length of service at your organization 18.75% 0% 25% 50% 6.25% 16

Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your 12.50% 6.25% 0% 37.50% 43.75% 16
organization's goals
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 25% 6.25% 0% 31.25% 37.50% 16

Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, 18.75% 0% 18.75% 43.75% 18.75% 16
..etc)
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the 18.75% 0% 6.25% 50% 25% 16
workplace
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 37.50% 6.25% 12.50% 31.25% 12.50% 16
Table 4.42 Gulf women responses from Engineering Services on their success factor that led to their promotion

In Table 4.43, we see a clear path to promotion in academia. The longer women work, and the more
individual qualifications and degrees they earn, the quicker their upward mobility throughout the
academic sector. As in the energy sector, working for extended hours or in remote locations has
little effect on womens advancement in the academic sector.

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Question NA strongly disagree agree Strongly Total
disagree agree
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time] 31.96% 3.09% 8.25% 36.08% 20.62% 97
Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and 24.21% 4.21% 7.37% 36.84% 27.37% 95
management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 18.75% 4.17% 7.29% 36.46% 33.33% 96
Professional certifications and training portfolio 11.46% 6.25% 5.21% 48.96% 28.13% 96
Length of service at your organization 22.92% 3.13% 11.46% 45.83% 16.67% 96
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your organization's 29.17% 3.13% 13.54% 40.63% 13.54% 96
goals
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 25.00% 3.13% 10.42% 36.46% 25.00% 96
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, ..etc) 31.25% 3.13% 11.46% 37.50% 16.67% 96
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the 28.13% 5.21% 8.33% 38.54% 19.79% 96
workplace
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 41.67% 8.33% 12.50% 19.79% 17.71% 96

Table 4.43 Gulf women in Academia and their responses on success factors that led to their promotion

In the consulting industry, although we have a small sample size for women, we see different
expectations for employees. Table 4.44 shows that employees are expected to innovate in finding
solutions for the business and to save their firms as much money as possible during that process.
Consequently, the length of service does not necessarily contribute to the promotion cycle. To some
degree, presentation skills and public speaking ability are imperative to consultants in order to
properly communicate with their teams and clients. Overall, it appears that the quality of the product
is the main driver of promotions in the consulting services industry.

Question strongly
NA disagree agree Strongly agree Total
disagree
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time] 10 % 0% 10% 70% 10% 10
Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and management 0% 0% 0% 70% 30% 10
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 10% 10% 0% 50% 30% 10
Professional certifications and training portfolio 10% 20% 0% 60% 10% 10
Length of service at your organization 10% 10% 10% 50% 20% 10
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your organization's goals 10% 0% 0% 70% 20% 10
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 20% 0% 0% 40% 40% 10
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, ..etc) 10% 10% 0% 50% 30% 10
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the workplace 10% 0% 10% 30% 50% 10
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 20% 0% 30% 20% 30% 10
Table 4.44 Gulf Women in Consulting and their success factor on being promoted

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 Finally, with respect to the financial services industry, most women identified punctuality at work as
the primary reason behind their promotion, as seen in Table 4.45. This result could very well be
attributed to greeting clients and ensuring the prompt completion of assigned tasks before the end
of the working day. Additional important factors include the employees work ethic.

Question strongly Strongly
NA disagree agree Total
disagree agree
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time]
14.29% 0% 14.29% 57.14% 14.29% 7
Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and
28.57% 0% 14.29% 42.86% 14.29% 7
management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 0.00% 0% 14.29% 28.57% 57.14% 7
Professional certifications and training portfolio 14.29% 0% 28.57% 42.86% 14.29% 7
Length of service at your organization 42.86% 0% 0.00% 42.86% 14.29% 7
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your organization's
14.29% 0% 42.86% 14.29% 28.57% 7
goals
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 14.29% 0% 14.29% 57.14% 14.29% 7
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, ..etc) 42.86% 0% 14.29% 42.86% 0% 7
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the
14.29% 0% 14.29% 57.14% 14.29% 7
workplace
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 28.57% 28.57% 14.29% 28.57% 0% 7
Table 4.45 Gulf Women in Financial Services and their success factor on being promoted

An interesting insight for women working in Government services that the ability to manage conflict
and hostility in the workplace was the prime skill that could propel a woman to be promoted. In
table 4.46 below over 81% of respondents have agreed to that. Additionally, over 90% of
respondents agreed that prompt delivery of tasks was also imperative.

Question NA strongly disagree agree Strongly Total

disagree agree
Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at time] 12.90% 3.23% 19.35% 45.16% 19.35% 31
Ability to network and communicate with colleagues and management 9.68% 0.00% 3.23% 54.84% 32.26% 31
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 9.38% 0.00% 0.00% 56.25% 34.38% 32
Professional certifications and training portfolio 22.58% 0.00% 19.35% 38.71% 19.35% 31
Length of service at your organization 6.45% 3.23% 22.58% 54.84% 12.90% 31
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your organization's goals 19.35% 0.00% 6.45% 54.84% 19.35% 31
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 16.13% 3.23% 0.00% 54.84% 25.81% 31
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress code, ..etc) 28.13% 3.13% 15.63% 40.63% 12.50% 32
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations within the workplace 18.75% 0.00% 0.00% 65.63% 15.63% 32
Availability to work overtime or in remote locations 28.13% 0.00% 18.75% 31.25% 21.88% 32
Table 4.46 Gulf Women in Government Services and their success factors on being promoted

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Many respondents from the Gulf survey have commented that females overall lack of
professionalism in the workforce was the main reason management overlook them for promotion
opportunities. It appears that there is an overall unprofessional image painted by the culture with
one biased brush. One respondent commented Females are less professional than males.
Additionally, one HR female professional commented Being a Saudi female working in HR,
specifically recruitment, I believe any setbacks in females' work situation is usually a cause of: lack of
CV building knowledge and overall career guidance, and lack of learning opportunities earlier in life
(e.g. weak education/English language proficiency). The prior mentioned points apply to both males
and females. In addition, I would add for females: misconceptions about the availability of suitable
job opportunities and about the fairness of the recruitment process, embracing cultural
misconceptions and believing that they are entitled to work less hard than their male colleagues with
no valid reason (i.e. maternity/family commitments). The latter points in my opinion majorly affect
the image of females in the workplace. Another respondent from the Gulf stated Females are not
taken very seriously at work. We believe more professional associations for women on a national
level are needed to elevate womens strong contribution to a professional workforce. We elaborate
more on this in Chapter 5, recommendations.

Arab States

Next, we analyze the factors driving promotion in the Arab states. Overall, according to Table 4.47,
promotions are more frequent across all industries except the academic sector, which is mostly a
subset of the public sector. It appears that women in the engineering and IT services and medical
services industries have done relatively well over their careers in terms of promotions. To formulate
a conclusion regarding barriers to advancement in the Arab states, the data is broken down by age
group.

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 Question Energy Medical Engineering Retail Educational Consulting Financial Architecture Other,
(Oil & Services & IT services Sector Sector Services Services & please
gas,....) Construction specify
None 0% 50% 25% 0% 45 % 0% 0% 0% 33 %
Once 0% 0% 25% 0% 24 % 100 % 0% 0% 33%
Twice 0% 50% 0% 0% 18% 0% 0% 0% 16.6%
Three or more times 0% 0% 50.00% 0% 12% 0% 0% 0% 16.6%
Total 0 2 4 0 33 1 0 0 6

Table 4.47 Number of promotions by industry in the Arab states sample

Table 4.48 shows how many promotions women in the Arab states have been granted over their
careers by age group. We notice that a greater proportion of women in the middle of their careers
has never been promoted. A small fraction of women has been promoted at least once in their early
careers, and this number gradually increases as women age. This data also shows that in comparison
with women in the Gulf States, women in the Arab states might retire later, around 55 years.

Question 24 and under 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

None [ same as initial hiring position] 0% 60% 44% 10% 33% 0%
Once 0% 26.6% 22% 30% 33% 0%
Twice 0% 6% 16.6% 40% 0% 0%
Three or more times 0% 6% 16.6% 20% 33% 0%
Total 0 15 18 10 3 0

Table 4.48 Frequency of promotions in the Arab States sample by age

Women who have never been granted a promotion were asked which factors they believed hindered
their chances at a promotion. The results were then categorized based on industry, as shown in
Table 5.16. Women in engineering and IT services, retail, and consulting services indicated that few
open positions for promotion were the primary hindrance. Respondents in the academic sector
indicated that budget restrictions have slowed down their rate of promotions. This result is
consistent with the original claim that women in the academic sector might face budget constraints
as a barrier to initial entry. It is important to note the small sample size available for analyzing
reasons why women cited they could not be promoted in Arab states.

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There was no data from Arab women in the Energy, retail, Architecture or Consulting services
industry. The greatest number of responses were from the Academic sector. We list the data below
in Table 4.49

Question Educational Sector [Academic, Research..]

Punctuality at work 0.00%
Budget resources 11.76%
Short Length of service at my current position 35.29%
Highly competitive environment 5.88%
Individual qualifications (degree, certifications...) 0%
Few open positions for promotion 5.88%
Conflict with management and colleagues 11.76%
Total sample respondents 14

Table 4.49 Arab women's beliefs on why they have not been promoted in Academia

For women that have been granted at least one promotion, we analyze their reasons for their
promotions by industry. Due to the small sample size in most industries we will only be analyzing
the Academic sector. We raise the need for future research about Arab womens promotion in other
industries as it will help complement the analysis we provide for women in Academia.

We see different reasons for promotion in the educational sector, as shown in Figure 49. Women
strongly agreed that professional certifications (degree, publications) were directly linked to their
promotions, followed by work ethic and proper communication with colleagues and management.
We see similarity among women in the Gulf States and women in the Arab states in the academic
sector, as women in the Gulf directly identified their length of service as a cause for their promotion.
For those women in the Academic sector from the Arab states that have been fortunate to be
promoted, we summarize the results of their responses below.

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Question Punctuality Ability to Work Professional Length of Ability to Presentation Professional Ability to Availabil
at work network and ethic and certifications service at deliver cost- skills and appearance manage ity to
[coming communicate prompt and training your effective public in the conflict work
and with delivery portfolio organizatio solutions for speaking workplace and overtim
leaving colleagues of n your ability (dress code, hostile e or in
work at and assigned organization' ..etc) situations remote
time] management tasks s goals within the location
workplace s
NA 16.67
11.11% 11.11% 0% 0% 5.56% 16.67% 5.56% 11.11% 16.67%
%
Strongly
disagree 11.11% 0% 5.56% 5.56% 0% 0% 5.56% 5.56% 11.11% 5.56%

Disagree 16.67
16.67% 16.67% 5.56% 0% 27.78% 22.22% 22.22% 33.33% 16.67%
%
Agree 44.44
27.78% 22.22% 27.78% 27.78% 27.78% 33.33% 27.78% 27.78% 33.33%
%
Strongly 16.67
Agree 33.33% 50% 61.11% 66.67% 38.89% 27.78% 38.89% 22.22% 22.22%
%
Total 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

Table 4.50 Arab Women's beliefs on the success factors behind their promotion in Academia

East Asia

Finally, we perform the same analysis for the East Asian countries, and the results are displayed in
Table 4.51. The results differ considerably for this group. First, the medical services industry seems
to have significantly slower and less frequent promotion cycles in East Asia than in the Gulf and
Arab states. The academic sector seems to be consistent across all three groups in terms of slow
upward mobility. The engineering and IT services industry seems to progress significantly faster in
East Asian countries than does its counterpart in the Arab states.

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 Question Energy (Oil Medical Engineering Retail Educational Consulting Financial Architecture Manufacturing
& gas,....) Services & IT Sector Sector Services Services &
[Hospitals, services [Academic, [Management [Banking, Construction
Clinics, Research..] Consulting...] Commerce...]
Pharma..]
None 0% 83% 42.8% 0% 71.4% 0% 66.6% 0% 75%
Once 100% 0% 42.8% 0% 14% 50% 0% 100% 6%
Twice 0% 16.6% 14% 0% 0% 50% 0% 0% 0%
Three or more times 0% 0% 0% 0% 14% 0% 33% 0% 18.7%
Total 1 6 7 0 7 2 3 1 16

Table 4.51 Frequency of promotion in the East Asian women sample by industry

The results are further broken down by age to understand the relationship between the employees
age group and number of promotions. Across all three groups, women in East Asia seem to be
promoted at younger ages and at faster rates than women in the Gulf and Arab states. Table 4.52
shows that most promotions occur for women between the ages of 30-40, which is roughly mid-
career. In the Gulf and Arab states, by contrast, most women receive no promotions within that
career stage.

Question
24 and under 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
None [ same as initial hiring position] 75% 60% 50% 0% 0% 0%
Once 16.6% 24% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Twice 0% 8% 16.6% 0% 0% 0%
Three or more times 8.33% 8% 33% 0% 0% 0%
Total 12 25 6 0 0 0

Table 4.52 Frequency of promotions in the East Asian sample by group

The study then asks East Asian women which factors they believe have hindered their promotion.
Table 4.53 shows their responses. Women in the medical services industry highlighted conflict with
management and colleagues as a barrier to their advancement. In the financial services industry and
in architecture and construction, respondents indicated that the highly competitive working
environment affected their visibility for a promotion. In the engineering and IT services and
academic sectors, women believed that budget constraints hindered their development.

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 Answer Percentage

Punctuality at work 3.85%

Budget resources 11.54%
Short Length of service at my current position 46.15%
Highly competitive environment 15.38%
Individual qualifications (degree, certifications...) 7.69%
Few open positions for promotion 26.92%
Other, please explain 15.38%
Total sample size N 26

Table 4.53 Reasons women cited for not being promoted in the East Asian sample

For women who have been granted at least one promotion, we see common factors across most
industries in East Asia. Table 4.54 shows the success factors for promotions generally across
industries. For example, women in consulting indicated that working overtime and in remote areas
was crucial to their promotion, whereas women in the academic sector cited their length of service
as the primary reason behind their promotion.
Unlike in the Gulf States, punctuality at work might have little effect on the number of promotions a
woman in East Asia receives during her career. Some respondents commented that Poor hospital
management and unsupportive direct supervisors were reasons behind they were not promoted.

Question NA strongly disagree disagree agree Strongly agree Total

Punctuality at work [coming and leaving work at
time] 0% 20% 20% 46.67% 13.33% 15
Ability to network and communicate with
0% 0% 6.67% 46.67% 46.67% 15
colleagues and management
Work ethic and prompt delivery of assigned tasks 0% 0% 6.67% 26.67% 66.67% 15
Professional certifications and training portfolio 0% 0% 33.33% 60% 6.67% 15
Length of service at your organization 6.67% 0% 33.33% 60% 0% 15
Ability to deliver cost-effective solutions for your
0% 0% 13.33% 73.33% 13.33% 15
organization's goals
Presentation skills and public speaking ability 0% 0% 6.67% 80.00% 13.33% 15
Professional appearance in the workplace (dress
0% 13.33% 33.33% 46.67% 6.67% 15
code, ..etc)
Ability to manage conflict and hostile situations
within the workplace
0% 0% 13.33% 66.67% 20% 15
Availability to work overtime or in remote
0% 0% 20% 73.33% 6.67% 15
locations

Table 4.54 Factors in getting promoted across all industries in the East Asian sample

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Are there any visible gender biases?

The literature has mentioned that women might feel discriminated against in the workplace and may
be bypassed for opportunities due to gender biases. We asked women across all groups if there were
visible gender biases in their workplace. From Table 4.55, 4.56 and 4.57 below we see women from
the Gulf states feel the most bias, with around 40% of women agreeing that there are visible gender
biases in the workplace. This result slightly differs from women in the Arab states group, where
around 38% of them agreed. However, we see women in East Asia strongly disagree any gender
biases in the workplace. However, a great number of women in all groups have indicated that their
male colleagues do not take their special circumstances, such as childcare, dropping children off at
school, and taking care of elderly parents, into consideration. Special workshops are required to
educate male colleagues and management on how to communicate with women and relate to the
various situations that occupy their days following the end of the workday.

In addition, woman have mentioned managerial inequality. For example, a Saudi women commented
Where I work, even though females would have the same position as a male counterpart in the
male section, they are not equal. Men need to agree to anything even though they should be equal
but in separate sections! So males have an authority, even though we have our own authoritative
staff. Another medical employee, also from Saudi Arabia commented Females should have same
opportunities as men whatever is the type of work, for me as a medical worker there was much
differentiation between males and females where the community has not accepted a female health
provider yet.

Access to training and professional mentors?

The majority of women across the three groups responded that they have the same access to training
and professional mentors in their organizations as their male counterparts. We see around 20% of
women in the Gulf states disagreeing, 17% of women from the Arab states disagreeing and a mere
15% from the East Asian sample disagree. Overall, we conclude that access to training is not a
barrier to advancement.

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 One respondent commented A medium is needed where those of us women who've made it to
leadership positions can share with others & give back. Also their needs be an installment of self
entitlement, motivation etc. for women beginning at the youngest age possible.

Statement Strongly Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly Total

Disagree disagree Agree

I have access to the same professional training &

certifications as my male counterparts 5.13% 9.45% 6.78% 38.19% 36.96% 470
I have access to professional mentors in my organization
5.58% 13.84% 10.12% 45.25% 21.07% 464
I am aware and familiar with the labor law in the country
where I work in 3.92% 14.85% 11.96% 48.87% 19.38% 480
I have the opportunity to implement my work
independently from start to finish 6.40% 14.05% 11.16% 42.77% 23.76% 475
There are visible gender biases in my place of work [Males
are preferred in opportunities, etc] 12.78% 25.15% 15.26% 24.74% 14.64% 449

Table 4.55 Frequency of Gulf women's agreement to gender inequality in the workplace

Statement Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Total

Disagree agree or Agree responses
disagree
I have access to the same professional training & certifications as my
0% 6.5% 4.35% 36.9% 52% 46
male counterparts
I have access to professional mentors in my organization 0% 17% 23.9% 28% 28% 46
I am aware and familiar with the labor law in the country where I work
0% 6.5% 17% 36.9% 39% 46
in
I have the opportunity to implement my work independently from start
to finish 0% 13% 8.7% 41% 36.9% 46

There are visible gender biases in my place of work [Males are preferred
21.7% 19.5% 19.5% 28% 10.8% 46
in opportunities, etc]

Table 4.56 Frequency of Arab women's agreement to gender inequality in the workplace

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 Statement Neither
Strongly Strongly
Disagree agree or Agree Total
Disagree Agree
disagree
I have access to the same professional training & certifications
2.5% 5% 10% 30% 50% 39
as my male counterparts
I have access to professional mentors in my organization 0% 15% 12.5% 42.5% 25% 38
I am aware and familiar with the labor law in the country
0% 20% 25% 42.5% 10% 39
where I work in
I have the opportunity to implement my work independently
from start to finish 0% 10% 5% 50% 32.5% 39
There are visible gender biases in my place of work [Males are
12.8% 58.9% 17.9% 2.5% 5% 38
preferred in opportunities, etc]

Table 4.57 Frequency of East Asian women's agreement to gender inequality in the work place

Enhancing Female Welfare

The survey asked women to indicate which policies they believe would significantly enhance
womens welfare in the workplace. The results were then categorized according to country groups,
and we find that the results vary significantly between the Gulf States and the other two groups.
Women in the Gulf States indicated three primary changes that would benefit women: subsidized
childcare, subsidized transportation, and auditing the implementation of labor laws.

A high percentage of women responded that they are aware of the labor laws in their country, which
is a big difference from the existing literature. For example, Khalaf et al (2015) stated that women in
the Arab states know very little about their legal rights. This result could suggest that women have
quickly learned to recognize their legal options. Women in the Gulf States identified a need for men
to be granted paternity leave, which at present is usually one working day. In Nordic countries, by
contrast, fathers can spend up to twelve weeks with their newborn children. Finally, women in the
Gulf States also indicated that maternity leave should be lengthened, and, like paternity leave,
maternity leave is also significantly shorter in the Gulf States than in Europe. Tables 4.58 and 4.59
below showcase the lengths of paid maternity and paternity leaves in the countries mentioned in this
study.

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 Country Paid maternity leaves in weeks
Saudi Arabia 10 weeks
Kuwait 10 weeks
United Arab Emirates 12 weeks
Qatar 7 weeks
Oman 7 weeks
Bahrain 8 weeks
Jordan 10 weeks
Malaysia 8.5 weeks
Indonesia 12 weeks
Japan 44 weeks
South Korea 52 weeks
Sweden 142 weeks
Denmark 32 weeks
Norway 78 weeks
Iceland 136 weeks
Finland 143 weeks


Table 4.58 Length of paid maternity leaves in weeks in countries of interest Source (OECD, 2017)

Country Paid Paternity leaves in weeks
Saudi Arabia One working day
Kuwait No paid leave
United Arab Emirates 3 working days
Qatar No paid leave
Oman No paid leave
Bahrain One working day
Jordan 3 working days
Malaysia 1 week
Indonesia 2 working days
Japan 52 weeks
South Korea 52 weeks
Sweden 13 weeks
Denmark 2 weeks
Norway 10 weeks
Iceland 13 weeks
Finland 6 weeks

Table 4.59 Duration of paid paternity leaves in weeks in countries mentioned in the thesis Source: (OECD,2017)

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 Table 4.60 shows the results of the same analysis for the Arab states. Unlike women in the Gulf
States, women in the Arab states do not see incentivized transportation as directly related to
enhancing their welfare since most women in the Arab states drive themselves to work. This fact is
significant because most women in the Gulf States commute to work using a personal driver, which
adds extra expenses.

Neither
Strongly Strongly
Question Disagree agree or Agree Total
Disagree Agree
disagree
Incentivized childcare (Employer pays for childcare) 15.99% 6.42% 12.22% 11.34% 54.03% 794
Incentivized transportation (Employer pays for transportation) 9.96% 8.07% 14.00% 14.00% 53.97% 793
A quota for women in management (i.e., 40% of executives on the board
must be women) 11.66% 9.51% 26.24% 20.15% 32.45% 789
Being represented by an independent national organization for women in
12.33% 13.47% 28.46% 19.19% 26.56% 787
the workplace
Longer maternity leaves 6.82% 7.58% 18.43% 18.18% 48.99% 792
Options to work part-time or at home 9.97% 7.58% 15.66% 17.80% 48.99% 792
Paternity leaves (spouses stay at home supporting their wives) 20.53% 11.41% 23.19% 15.84% 29.02% 789
Auditing the implementation of labor laws in the organization 7.35% 9.00% 25.86% 23.83% 33.97% 789
Increased awareness about female welfare to males (colleagues and
9.80% 9.16% 18.58% 21.25% 41.22% 786
management)

Table 4.60 Gulf women's responses to which added programs could enhance female welfare in the workplace

On the other hand, women in the Arab states prefer options to work part-time or at home, and a
percentage of women in the Arab states believe that having set quotas for women in management
may help enhance womens overall welfare in the workplace. Table 4.61 displays their frequency of
agreement to each added program.

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 Strongly Neither agree or Strongly
Question Disagree Agree Total
Disagree disagree Agree
Incentivized childcare (Employer pays for childcare) 9.43% 0% 11.32% 28.30% 50.94% 53
Incentivized transportation (Employer pays for
transportation) 3.77% 3.77% 16.98% 32.08% 43.40% 53
A quota for women in management (i.e., 40% of
7.55% 7.55% 24.53% 39.62% 20.75% 53
executives on the board must be women)
Being represented by an independent national
organization for women in the workplace 7.69% 13.46% 32.69% 26.92% 19.23% 52
Longer maternity leaves 3.77% 7.55% 11.32% 22.64% 54.72% 53
Options to work part-time or at home 1.89% 5.66% 13.21% 20.75% 58.49% 53
Paternity leaves (spouses stay at home supporting their
11.32% 13.21% 15.09% 22.64% 37.74% 53
wives)
Auditing the implementation of labor laws in the
3.85% 9.62% 23.08% 30.77% 32.69% 52
organization
Increased awareness about female welfare to males
5.88% 3.92% 19.61% 33.33% 37.25% 51
(colleagues and management)

Table 4.61 Arab women's responses to which added programs could enhance female welfare in the workplace

Women in East Asia have different opinions about what policies may enhance womens welfare, as
shown in Table 4.62. Most women in East Asia believe that educating their male colleagues about
women in the workplace and strong consideration of their personal circumstances to be the best
catalysts for advancing womens overall welfare in the workplace. Options to work part-time or at
home and longer maternity leaves were also frequently cited. Women in the Arab states sample felt
the most strongly about the need for paternity leaves with over 60% agreeing. Women in the Gulf
states, around 45% of them felt the same need for their spouses to co-care for their newborn
children. Around a half of women in East Asian states agreed as well. With respect to female welfare
policies, subsidizing transportation was not as frequently cited by women in East Asia as it was by
women in the Gulf States.

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Question Neither Total
Strongly Strongly
Disagree agree or Agree
Disagree Agree
disagree
Incentivized childcare (Employer pays for childcare) 9.26% 7.41% 14.81% 35.19% 33.33% 54
Incentivized transportation (Employer pays for transportation) 5.66% 7.55% 26.42% 24.53% 35.85% 53
A quota for women in management (i.e., 40% of executives on the 5.66% 15.09% 28.30% 24.53% 26.42% 53
board must be women)
Being represented by an independent national organization for 5.66% 20.75% 26.42% 28.30% 18.87% 53
women in the workplace
Longer maternity leaves 3.77% 7.55% 15.09% 32.08% 41.51% 53
Options to work part-time or at home 3.77% 1.89% 13.21% 16.98% 64.15% 53
Paternity leaves (spouses stay at home supporting their wives) 7.69% 9.62% 19.23% 26.92% 36.54% 52
Auditing the implementation of labor laws in the organization 5.66% 11.32% 26.42% 30.19% 26.42% 53
Increased awareness about female welfare to males (colleagues and 3.77% 9.43% 16.98% 41.51% 28.30% 53
management)

Table 4.62 East Asian women's agreement to added programs that could enhance female welfare in the workplace

Results from Top Earners

To get a sense of how much women were earning, we asked participants to select the closest match
to an average monthly salary range. The driver behind this question was to investigate how to propel
women to advance financially. Since this was pertinent to this study, we analyzed data from women
who earned the highest salaries. From the data gathered in the study, it appears that 2% of
respondents were top earners or executives in their field. This low percentage suggests that it is
more difficult for women to reach top-earning positions.

Of these top earners, 80% work in mixed gender workplaces, so women who work in women-only
workplaces might find it difficult to earn more pay. In addition, 90% of these women were working
in the medical services sector, which is a thriving industry in Gulf States but is less thriving in East
Asia. In terms of marital status, 68% of top earners were married, 5% were divorced, and 26% were
single. It is worth noting that 42% of them are Ph.D. holders. These women were mostly in the 35-
44 age group, so they were approximately mid-career, and they spent more on transportation than
on childcare.

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When asked about entrepreneurship, 85% of the top earners responded that they were not
interested in any type of entrepreneurship and were fully dedicated to their careers. Most
importantly, this group denied the lack of gender biases, inequality, or unfair treatment in the
workplace.

Conclusion

Professional women feel like they need to be better understood in terms of corporate treatment and
overall welfare. The results from women across all three groups as to what policies they would like
to see implemented are summarized in Table 4.63 and ranked in order of priority.

Gulf States Group Arab States Group East Asia Group

Womens Welfare

Options to work part-time or Options to work part-time or at

Subsidized transportation
at home home

Educating male colleagues about

Subsidized childcare Longer maternity leave
womens welfare

Auditing the implementation

Quotas for women in
of labor laws in the country of Longer maternity leaves
management
work

Table 4.63 Summary of women's preferences rank for welfare programs by group

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CHAPTER 5 RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that policy makers consider the three barriers
outlined in the previous sections and build upon respondents requests to enhance womens ability
to balance their work lives with their responsibilities at home. In addition, significant changes to the
system, such as increasing womens access to public transportation and leveraging technology in the
workplace to grant women more flexible options to work from home or part-time, could improve
womens experiences in the workforce. All respondents have shared common concerns that seem to
hinder their advancement and opportunities to become leaders in their careers. In this chapter, we
describe some of the specific recommendations in more detail.

Subsidized Childcare
The costs of raising children have increased worldwide, and this inflation has created a burden on
mothers, who must choose between remaining in the workforce or leaving. It is therefore
recommended that additional policy changes be made to restructure maternal payment procedures.
The literature suggests that in all countries of interest, strong labor law policies are in place to
protect the interests of women. However, these laws are subject to misinterpretation and do not
always achieve their intended goals.

In particular, there is a need for sustainable policies so that financial obligations towards women,
such as establishing daycares or providing paid maternity leave, are not solely the responsibility of
the corporations hiring these women. These financial liabilities will eventually induce corporations to
search for cheaper alternatives to women, leaving men as the only option. Obligating a single entity,
be it the employee, the employer, or the government, to pay the costs of childcare and maternity
leave can be a single point of failure. A system is needed where payments are covered partially by the
employer and partially by the government. This way, if one entity experiences a financial crisis,
women do not necessarily find themselves under pressure to continue working.

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Many naysayers object to subsidizing childcare, since having children can be a personal choice.
However, most, if not all, corporations pay for health insurance. Health insurance, although
mandatory, is costlier, and the cost increases with age, with longer payment cycles.
On the other hand, lifecycles for childcare payments are shorter, ending after approximately four
years of life; cost less over time; and eventually save an organization the costs of losing an employee
and hiring another.

The costs of losing an employee can be significant. Many researchers have calculated the costs of
downtime and its impact on organizations. Downtime does not necessarily imply technical failures; it
can also mean that absent or tardy employees, including men who have sick family members or
children, are not immediately available for production. According to a study conducted by the
Bureau of Labor and Industries at Oregon, childcare related issues are the most causes for employee
absenteeism. The study adds that specifically on-site childcare is a valuable tool for employee
recruitment and retention. A senior executive at Intel commented on the study Every dollar we
spend on childcare saves three dollars on employee absenteeism, turnover, and work disruption
caused by childcare problems (BOLI ,2015)

Thus, ensuring peace of mind for employees by providing backup or on-site childcare, elderly care,
and extended leave is much lower cost than dealing with an organizational crisis. Subsidizing
childcare is cheaper and more profitable in the long term. These results have been proven in the
Nordic countries, which enjoy high GDPs, short workdays, and significantly more women in the
workforce and which pay generously for childcare and extended maternity and paternity leaves.
One woman from the Gulf states responded I only want to mention how it is very stressful having
to leave my baby at home with a strange woman only because our employer and organization does
not care enough. All childcare centers close at 11:30 am, this is why I think frequently of resigning
though I love my job a lot. Another participant commented Paying for childcare isnt enough.
There should be a place in the same organization if there is a large number of women working to
support breastfeeding and lower the transportation expenses

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 Subsidized Transportation

Many women in the Gulf States who spend a large portion of their salaries on transportation such
as ride-sharing technologies think seriously about leaving their jobs. As shown in Table 5.1, women
who agreed and strongly agreed that they think of resigning constituted a third of responses, and just
14% disagreed. Women who depend on their families to drive them to work also tended to agree.

Question Strongly Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly Agree Total

Disagree disagree
Family drives me to work 16.80% 21.60% 18.40% 26.40% 16.80% 125
Personal driver 23.05% 20.56% 20.69% 24.92% 10.59% 321
Ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft...etc) 7.69% 20.51% 23.79% 33.33% 15.38% 78
Public Transportation 16.67% 33.33% 33.33% 16.67% 0.00% 6
Walking 25.00% 8.33% 24.67% 33.33% 8.33% 12
I drive myself to work 38.89% 16.67% 8.33% 19.44% 16.67% 36
Corporate transportation (Bus, corporate
16.67% 45.83% 4.17% 20.83% 12.50% 24
car)
Other, please explain 0.00% 9.09% 9.00% 45.45% 36.36% 11

Table 5.1 Gulf women's responses on the likelihood of their resignation by transportation method

Question Family drives me to Personal Ride-sharing Public I drive Corporate Total

work driver services (Uber, Transportation myself to transportation (Bus,
Lyft...etc) work corporate car)
0%, I don't spend any 38.84% 43.80% 3.31% 0% 3.31% 3.31% 121
less than 10% 18.58% 50.88% 16.37% 0.88% 7.08% 3.54% 226
10%-20% 11.46% 60.94% 12.50% 0.52% 5.73% 5.21% 192
21%-30% 17.86% 44.64% 21.43% 5.36% 3.57% 5.36% 56
More than 30% 20.83% 58.33% 8.33% 0% 12.50% 0% 24

Table 5.2 Gulf women's expenditure on transportation by transportation method

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 Table 5.2 shows that women in the Gulf seemed to spend most of their transportation
budgets on their personal drivers if the driver was not shared with a family member, in
which case women paid less than 10% of their monthly earnings. However, most women
that paid around a quarter of their salaries spent their budget on ride-sharing services.
Without a doubt, subsidizing transportation will ease financial stability for women in the
workforce.

In comparison to women in the Gulf States, women in the Arab states; who primarily drive
themselves to work, rely less on ride-sharing technologies, and they did not see
transportation as an issue related to their retention, as indicated by Table 5.3

Question Strongly Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly Not Total

Disagree disagree Agree Applicable
Family drives me to work 25% 0% 0% 0% 50% 25% 4
Personal driver 20% 20% 0% 60% 0% 0% 5
Ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft...etc) 0% 50% 0% 50% 0% 0% 2
Public Transportation 20% 0% 20 % 40% 0% 20% 5
Walking 0% 0% 50% 0% 0% 50% 2
I drive myself to work 15% 36% 18.18% 18.18% 6.06% 6.06% 33
Corporate transportation (Bus, corporate
0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 1
car)
Other, please explain 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% 0% 2

Table 5.3 Arab women on the likelihood of resigning by transportation method

Family Ride-sharing I drive Corporate

Personal Public
Question drives me services (Uber, myself to transportation (Bus, Total
driver Transportation
to work Lyft...etc) work corporate car)
0%, I don't spend any 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 1
less than 10% 4% 8% 4% 4% 76% 0% 25
10%-20% 10.53% 10.53% 0% 10.53% 57.89% 0% 19
21%-30% 0% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 5
More than 30% 25% 0% 0% 25% 50% 0% 4

Table 5.4 Arab women's expenditure on transportation by transportation method

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 Table 5.4 shows transportation expenditures by transportation type in Arab states. Women
in Arab states have a significantly lower rate of relying on personal drivers, and few women
rely on corporate transportation or their families driving them to work.

Finally, in East Asian countries, there was no direct relationship between how much women
paid and frequently think of leaving their jobs. Table 5.5 showcases a breakdown of how
much women in East Asia pay as a portion of their monthly earnings on methods of
transportation; those who use ride-sharing services and personal drivers are more likely to
spend more than 30% of their income on transportation.

Ride-sharing I drive Corporate

Family drives Personal Public
Question services (Uber, myself to transportation (Bus, Total
me to work driver Transportation
Lyft...etc) work corporate car)
0%, I don't spend any 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 75% 4
less than 10% 4.76% 9.52% 9.52% 9.52% 57% 0% 21
10%-20% 9.52% 14.29% 19% 9.52% 42.8% 0% 21
21%-30% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 2
More than 30% 10% 20% 20% 20% 10% 10% 10

Table 5.5 East Asian women's expenditure on transportation by transportation method

104

Increased Awareness of Womens Role in Society

Based on respondents comments, more workshops are needed to educate male colleagues and
management about the daily responsibilities of women, from marriage to pregnancy and
childrearing. Women have noted that most of their male colleagues are unaware of their difficulties
in balancing their work and personal lives. In addition, many respondents indicated that their
management underestimates their abilities in the workplace even though their individual
qualifications are comparable to those of their male colleagues.

On the other hand, there is also a need for more professional bodies to educate women on how to
deal with conflict in the workplace. It is imperative that women develop a level of professionalism to
express their opinions or disagreements in productive methods. Women in top-earning positions
cited proper communication with their colleagues and management as the key to obtaining pay.

Independent Auditing Authority

Finally, many women have highlighted that labor laws need to be audited within organizations to
ensure compliance. The daily pressures of a corporate job might cause managers to overlook
womens needs to leave or to report to work more flexibly. Women in the Gulf States clearly have
difficulties from a transportation standpoint. Therefore, an independent authority should be
constructed to communicate with organizations and women alike to ensure flexible timing. These
authorities should be completely independent from the organization to ensure no conflict of
interest. Professional bodies with independent budgets and management that communicate directly
to ministries of labor can recommend enhancements to female workforce pipelines and can measure
progress on an annual basis. Additionally, these bodies can report quotas of women across different
career stages to the ministry to understand which career stages require more representation of
women.

105

Limitations & Future Research

This study is by no means conclusive. The sample gathered is a convenience sample since the
majority of respondents were women who were frequent users of social media, are more active
participants in their countries and are connected to bigger networks of women. Therefore, this
sample cannot be a representative sample from any of the regions. We recommend that the
provided results are interpreted with some caution.

Further research is necessary to better understand and quantify the rates at which women are
promoted compared to their male colleagues and on a global scale. More data is needed from the
employer side and what they contend with, this may help clarify which degree employers responses
match what women experience.

This thesis could also have benefited if the questionnaire had been distributed to a greater number
of countries and translated into other languages, but due to financial and time limitations, the Arabic
and English versions had to suffice. Moreover, asking respondents to indicate the city where they
worked could have assessed to a greater detail which cities are more industrious and faster moving
than others. Further research is needed to analyze womens working conditions and welfare at
different points of their lives. Additional studies are needed to benchmark womens retention and
advancement after graduation, marriage, childbirth, in the middle of the career, later in the career,
and shortly before retirement. Shadowing women in their careers at every milestone would further
clarify to organizations and policy makers how to establish sustainable pipelines for women.

106

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World Bank. (2004). Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Women in the Public
Sphere. Washington DC: World Bank.

World Bank, 2016 Migration and Development report

http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/661301460400427908/MigrationandDevelopmentBrief26.pdf

World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Index report accessed April 30, 2017
http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/

Times of Oman, 2015 http://timesofoman.com/article/66069/Oman/Health/Guarded-optimism-

on-introducing-paternity-leave-in-Oman

The Economist, 2014 http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21599763-womens-lowly-status-

japanese-workplace-has-barely-improved-decades-and-country accessed April 27, 2017

The Oxford Consulting Group, 2015 Maximizing the employment of Saudi Females
http://www.oxfordstrategicconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Maximising-Saudi-
Female-Employment-.pdf
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CHAPTER 7 Appendices

Appendix A Survey

Q1 Dear Participant:

Thank you for participating in our study! This survey is offered in both English and Arabic. For
Arabic, please select "Arabic" from the drop-down menu at the top right corner of this page.

The Institute of Data, Systems and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is
conducting a study to understand females experiences in the workforce better. By
participating, you understand the procedure listed in this notice and you consent for MIT to
publish these findings in current and future research.

This survey is multiple choice and will take around 10 minutes of your time. You may skip any
questions you are not comfortable with answering and you may end the survey at any time.

To thank you for your time, participants who complete the survey will be entered into a
drawing for: Four $50 gift cards from either Visa or Amazon (winners choice); The survey is
voluntary, and you can answer as many or as few questions as you like. The data are
confidential, and any time data is used it will be presented in a way that individual respondents
cannot be identified. If you would like to be entered in the draw, kindly enter your email
address at the end of the survey, your email address will not be shared with any other party
and will remain confidential. For any issues, kindly reach out to the author: omaiaa0p@mit.edu

Q2 to proceed with the survey, please agree with the notice above
m Yes, I understand and agree to participate (1)
m I do not wish to participate (2)

Q3 Please select your gender
m Female (1)
m Male (2)

Q4 What is your current employment status:
m Employed by an organization (1)
m Self-employed (2)
m Unemployed (3)
m Have never been employed (full-time student, no work experience) (4)

111

Q5 The first group of questions are about you : In which country do you currently reside?

Q59 Are you sponsored by a company or university to complete your degree?
m Yes , fully sponsored (1)
m Yes, partially sponsored (2)
m No, self-sponsoring my education (3)

Q60 Do you have a clear career path post graduation?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q6 Are you a citizen of the country you currently live in?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

112

Q7 Please chose your age group
m 24 and under (1)
m 25-34 (2)
m 35-44 (3)
m 45-54 (4)
m 55-64 (5)
m 65+ (6)

Q8 Please indicate your marital status
m Single (1)
m Married (2)
m Divorced (3)
m Widowed (4)
m Engaged (5)
m N/A (6)Q9 Do you have children?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q10 How many children do you currently have whom require childcare?
m None (5)
m One child (1)
m Two children (2)
m Three children (3)
m More than 3 children (4)

Q11 Next, the following group of questions are about your education :

Q12 The highest level of education attained:
m High School Diploma (1)
m Some college but no degree (3)
m Bachelor's degree (4)
m Master's degree (5)
m Doctorate (Ph.D.) or M.D. (6)

113

Q13 What was your average graduating Grade Point Average (on a 4.0 Scale)
m Less than 2.5 (1)
m 2.5-2.9 (2)
m 3.0-3.39 (3)
m 3.4-3.6 (4)
m 3.7 or greater (5)
m I don't know (6)

Q14 What was your G.P.A. from each degree?
Less than 2.5
2.5-2.99 (2) 3.0-3.39 (3) 3.4-3.69 (4) 3.75-4.0 (5)
(1)
Undergraduate
m m m m m
G.P.A (1)
Graduate
m m m m m
G.P.A (2)

114

Q15 What was your major?
m Science [ Biology, Chemistry, Physics..] (1)
m Engineering [Chemical, Petroleum, Mechanical...] (2)
m Information Technology [ Information Science, Computer Science..] (3)
m Mathematics [ Pure, Applied..] (4)
m Medical Sciences [Including Nursing..] (5)
m Management & Business Studies [HR..] (6)
m Other, please specify (7) ____________________

Q16 Have you obtained a degree from studying abroad [In a different country from your
country of nationality] ?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q17 In addition to your status, are you pursuing an educational degree?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q18 You have indicated you are also pursuing an educational degree, which of the following
best describes your current educational status?
m Full-time student (on-campus) (1)
m Part-time student (on-campus) (2)
m Distance student (Commute to school) (3)
m Studying for a degree online (4)
m Working towards a professional certification (6)
m Other, please explain (5) ____________________

115

Q19 The next group of questions are regarding your current job :

Q20 Since you obtained your most recent degree, how quickly post graduating did you become
employed?
m Immediately upon graduating [No time waiting] (1)
m 1-2 Months (2)
m 3-6 months (3)
m More than one year (4)
m I don't remember (5)

Q21 How long have you been in your current position?
Years (1)
Months (2)

Q22 Which Industry do you currently work in?
m Energy (Oil & gas,....) (1)
m Medical Services [Hospitals, Clinics, Pharma..] (2)
m Engineering & IT services (3)
m Retail Sector (4)
m Educational Sector [Academic, Research..] (5)
m Consulting Services [Management Consulting...] (6)
m Financial Services [Banking, Commerce...] (7)
m Architecture & Construction (8)
m Other, please specify (9) ____________________

Q23 Which sector do you work in?
m Public Sector (1)
m Private Sector (2)
m Non-profit organization (3)
m Other, please explain (4) ____________________

Q24 Which of the following best describes the working environment of males and females in
your organization :
m Males and females work together in the same building (1)
m Males and females work in separate buildings (2)
m Males and females do not collaborate in any shape or form (3)
m I don't know (4)

116

Q25 Are both genders paid equally at your place of work?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)
m I don't know (3)

Q26 Since being employed, how many times have you been promoted?
m None [ same as initial hiring position] (1)
m Once (2)
m Twice (3)
m Three or more times (4)

117

Q27 Please select the reasons why you believe have prevented you from currently being
promoted, select all that apply
q Punctuality at work (1)
q Budget resources (3)
q Short Length of service at my current position (2)
q Highly competitive environment (4)
q Presentation and public speaking ability (5)
q Individual qualifications (degree, certifications...) (6)
q Inability to work overtime or in remote locations (7)
q Few open positions for promotion (9)
q Conflict with management and colleagues (10)
q Other, please explain (8) ____________________

Q28 On a scale from 1 to 4 with 4 being highest, please indicate how strongly the following
factors influenced your promotion:

118

 strongly Strongly agree
NA (1) disagree (3) agree (4)
disagree (2) (5)
Punctuality at
work [coming
and leaving m m m m m
work at time]
(1)
Ability to
network and
communicate
with m m m m m
colleagues and
management
(2)
Work ethic
and prompt
delivery of m m m m m
assigned tasks
(3)
Professional
certifications
m m m m m
and training
portfolio (4)
Length of
service at your
m m m m m
organization
(6)
Ability to
deliver cost-
effective
solutions for m m m m m
your
organization's
goals (7)
Presentation
skills and
public m m m m m
speaking
ability (8)
Professional
appearance in
the workplace m m m m m
(dress code,
..etc) (9)

119

 Ability to
manage
conflict and
hostile m m m m m
situations
within the
workplace (5)
Availability to
work overtime
m m m m m
or in remote
locations (10)


Q29 What is the average monthly salary of your occupation in $U.S. (approximation is fine) ?
m less than $2,000 (1)
m $2,000-$3,999 (2)
m $4,000-$7,999 (3)
m $8,000-$15,999 (6)
m $16,000-$29,999 (4)
m $30,000 or more (5)
m I don't know (7)

Q30 How much of your monthly income is spent on childcare?
m 0% [ Childcare is paid by my employer] (1)
m 0% [my family care for my children] (2)
m less than 10% (3)
m 10%-20% (4)
m 21%-30% (5)
m More than 30% (7)

Q83 What is your primary method of childcare?
m Daycare centers (1)
m Private Nanny (domestic helper,..) (3)
m Neighbors and friends (4)
m Other, please explain (5) ____________________

120

Q31 How much of your monthly income is spent on transportation to and from your job?
m 0%, I don't spend any (1)
m less than 10% (3)
m 10%-20% (4)
m 21%-30% (5)
m More than 30% (6)

121

Q32 What are your methods of transportation to work [select all that apply] ?
q Family drives me to work (1)
q Personal driver (2)
q Ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft...etc) (3)
q Public Transportation (4)
q Walking (5)
q I drive myself to work (6)
q Corporate transportation (Bus, corporate car) (7)
q Other, please explain (8) ____________________

122

Q33 On a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being highest, to what extent do you think each of the
following is a challenge for women to find a job in your industry:
0 (1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5)
Very few job
openings for
m m m m m
women in my
industry (1)
Lack of
professional
networks and m m m m m
associations in
my area (2)
Personal
delays [Family
m m m m m
support,
Childcare] (3)
Economic
recession and
m m m m m
budget
constraints (4)
CV/Resume
building
m m m m m
knowledge
was limited (5)


Q34 Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the below statements:

123

 Neither Not
Strongly Strongly
Disagree (2) agree or Agree (4) Applicable
Disagree (1) Agree (5)
disagree (3) (6)
I see myself
holding an
executive
position m m m m m m
within my
organization
(1)
I have access
to the same
professional
training &
m m m m m m
certifications
as my male
counterparts
(3)
I have access
to
professional
m m m m m m
mentors in my
organization
(4)
I am aware
and familiar
with the labor
law in the m m m m m m
country
where I work
in (6)
I have the
opportunity
to implement
my work m m m m m m
independently
from start to
finish (7)

124

 There are
visible gender
biases in my
place of work
m m m m m m
[Males are
preferred in
opportunities,
etc] (2)
I think
frequently of
m m m m m m
leaving my
current job (5)


Q35 Please indicate how supportive the following people are to you in your career:
Very little Very
No support (1) Neutral (3) supportive (4)
support (2) supportive (5)
Immediate
Family
members m m m m m
(Parents,
siblings) (1)
Extended
family
members m m m m m
(Cousins,
uncles..) (5)
Spouse
(Husband, m m m m m
finance..) (2)
Close Friends
m m m m m
(3)
Professional
Colleagues and m m m m m
networks (4)
Management
in my
m m m m m
organization
(9)

125

Q36 In addition to your current job, are you running a business as well?
m Yes (1)
m No (3)

Q37 Have you considered starting your own company?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q38 You have indicated that you do not wish to start your own company, on a scale from 1 to 5
: with 5 being highest and 1 being lowest, which of the factors have influenced your decision?
1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5 (5)
I don't have
the money to
m m m m m
start a
company (1)
Starting your
own company
is not
m m m m m
considered a
career in my
culture (2)
It's too risky
and I cannot
m m m m m
afford the risk
(3)
I have a stable
job and I feel
m m m m m
that it is
sufficient (4)
There is a lack
of support and
knowledge
about how to m m m m m
start a
business in my
culture (5)
Its a
commitment
and I don't m m m m m
have the time
(6)

126

Q39 If you were to start a company, which field would it be in?
m IT Startups (website design, network support, e-services..) (1)
m Culinary Arts (fine dining, baking, catering..etc) (2)
m Retail (Apparel, fashion, electronics..) (3)
m Consulting (Medical, Management..) (4)
m Specialty Services (Photography, Event planning..) (5)
m Other, please specify (6) ____________________

127

Q40 Have you ever been employed at any point?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q41 Which of the following best describes your case of unemployment:
m Voluntarily Resigned (1)
m Asked to resign (2)
m Terminated (3)
m Took an extended leave (4)
m Retired (5)

Q42 How long have you been employed for?
m less than 6 months (1)
m 6 -12 months (2)
m 12-36 months (3)
m 3-5 years (4)
m More than 5 years (5)

Q43 On a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being highest, how strongly do you feel the following reasons
were for you to leave your former position?

128

 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (4) 4 (5) 5 (6)
My job did not
fulfill my
m m m m m
career
aspirations (1)
I had too many
responsibilities m m m m m
at home (2)
A family
member
influenced my m m m m m
decision to
resign (3)
My former job
exerted
mental or
physical stress m m m m m
that I could
not cope with
(4)
My financial
status did not
improve with m m m m m
my former job
(5)
I have
struggled with
my former
management
m m m m m
in terms of
career
development
(6)
My former
position
required me to
stay away m m m m m
from home for
a long amount
of time (7)
I was not
promoted as
fast as I had m m m m m
hoped in my
former job (8)

129

 Transportation
was a daily m m m m m
struggle (9)
Childcare was
a daily struggle m m m m m
(10)


Q44 On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being highest, please indicate how strongly the following
personnel were supportive to you when you first started your company
0 (1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5)
Banks (loans,
assistance
m m m m m
programs...)
(1)
Family
m m m m m
members (2)
Former
m m m m m
colleagues (3)
Government
grants
(Incubators,
m m m m m
startup
workshops..)
(4)
Non-profit
organizations m m m m m
(5)
Friends (6) m m m m m
Venture
capitalist firms m m m m m
(7)


Q45 What was the biggest hurdle for you when starting your company

Q46 What was the biggest milestone you have achieved in your current company

130

Q47 You have indicated you previously worked in a corporate job and now currently running
your own business, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being highest, how strongly have the following
factors improved for you since you shifted careers:
Has not
improved 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5) 5 (8)
(1)
Work-life
m m m m m m
Balance (1)
Financial
m m m m m m
Status (2)
Mental
health m m m m m m
status (3)
Social status
m m m m m m
(4)
Personal
satisfaction m m m m m m
(5)

131

Q48 Since being unemployed, have you been actively searching for a job?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)
m Not Applicable (3)
Q49 On a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being strongest, please indicate how strongly the following
reasons have been for you not to seek a job:
NA (1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5)
Childcare is a
m m m m m
struggle (1)
Transportation
m m m m m
is a struggle (2)
A family
member
influences my
decision to m m m m m
remain
unemployed
(3)
Lack of good
working
m m m m m
environments
(4)
My
qualifications
might not
m m m m m
meet current
job standards
(5)
Very few
opportunities
for coaching
m m m m m
me on how to
start a job
search (6)


Q50 How long have you been actively searching for a job?
m less than 6 months (1)
m 6-12 months (2)
m More than a year (3)
m 1-3 years (4)
m More than 3 years (5)

132

Q51 Since searching for a job, have you received a job offer?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q52 On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being strongest, how strongly do the following reasons concern
you about the offers you have received
0 (1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5)
The pay
package was m m m m m
low (1)
The work day
m m m m m
was long (2)
The job
required travel
or a move to a m m m m m
different city
(3)
Childcare is an
m m m m m
issue (4)
A family
member
influenced my
m m m m m
decision to
reject the job
(5)
The position
does not meet m m m m m
my interest (6)
The work
environment
for the job
m m m m m
seems
uncomfortable
(7)

133

Q53 You have indicated that you have not yet received a job offer, which of the following do
you feel have been setbacks for your job application process? (Select all that apply)
q Few job openings for women (1)
q Have not passed a job interview (2)
q Hiring freeze and budget constraints (3)
q Under qualified for the position (4)
q Overqualified for the position (5)
q Other nationalities are preferred (6)
q Struggled with CV/Resume acceptance (7)
q Other, please explain (8) ____________________

Q54 Have you thought about starting a company of your own?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)

Q55 On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, please indicate how strongly the following
reasons affect your decision of starting your own company
1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5 (5)
I don't have
the money to m m m m m
start (1)
I lack the
knowledge to
m m m m m
start my own
company (2)
I feel that I will
have very little
support if I
m m m m m
chose to start
my own
company (3)
I don't have
the time to
commit to m m m m m
running a
company (4)
Its too big of a
risk and I
m m m m m
worry that I
will fail (5)

134

Q56 Which of the following categories would your company fall in to:
m IT Startups (website design, network support, e-services..) (1)
m Culinary Arts (fine dining, baking, catering...etc) (2)
m Retail (Apparel, fashion, electronics...) (3)
m Consulting (Medical, Management) (4)
m Specialty Services (Photography, Event planning..) (5)
m Other , please type (6) ____________________

Q57 On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being highest, how strongly do you feel the following
policies will have a direct effect on enhancing female welfare in the workplace

135

 0 (1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5)
Incentivized
childcare
(Employer pays m m m m m
for childcare)
(1)
Incentivized
transportation
(Employer pays
m m m m m
for
transportation)
(2)
A quota for
women in
management
(i.e., 40% of m m m m m
executives on
the board must
be women) (3)
Being
represented by
an independent
national m m m m m
organization for
women in the
workplace (4)
Longer
maternity m m m m m
leaves (5)
Options to
work part-time m m m m m
or at home (6)
Paternity leaves
(spouses stay at
home m m m m m
supporting
their wives) (7)
Auditing the
implementation
of labor laws in m m m m m
the
organization (8)

136

 Increased
awareness
about female
welfare to
m m m m m
males
(colleagues and
management)
(9)
Q58 Are there any comments you would like to share regarding your work experience or your
personal business experience that would help us learn more about female's in the workplace?

Q61 Thank you very much for participating in this survey! If you would like to enter your email
address for a chance to win a $50 gift card, please enter it in the following text box.

137