Career Development International

Saudi women’s work challenges and barriers to career advancement

Ahmed Al-Asfour, Hayfaa A. Tlaiss, Sami A. Khan, James Rajasekar,
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Ahmed Al-Asfour, Hayfaa A. Tlaiss, Sami A. Khan, James Rajasekar, (2017) "Saudi women’s work
challenges and barriers to career advancement", Career Development International, Vol. 22 Issue: 2,
pp.184-199, doi: 10.1108/CDI-11-2016-0200
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22,2
184
Received 17 November 2016
Revised 8 March 2017
Accepted 13 March 2017
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Career Development International
Vol. 22 No. 2, 2017
pp. 184-199
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1362-0436
DOI 10.1108/CDI-11-2016-0200
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1362-0436.htm
Saudi women’s work
challenges and barriers to
career advancement
Ahmed Al-Asfour
Department of Business, Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, South Dakota, USA
Hayfaa A. Tlaiss
College of Business, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Sami A. Khan
Department of Human Resource Management, King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and
James Rajasekar
Department of Management, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Abstract
Purpose – Few studies have explored the work challenges and career barriers faced by women in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Drawing on Institutional Theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the
experiences of employed Saudi women through in-depth interviews.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a phenomenological qualitative approach drawing
on 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Saudi women.
Findings – The findings reveal a significant number of prominent societal and organizational structural and
attitudinal barriers to the advancement of Saudi women in paid employment. Among others, these barriers
include a lack of mobility; the salience of gender stereotypes; gender discrimination in the workplace; limited
opportunities for growth, development, and career advancement; excessive workload caused by a lack of
family-work balance; and gender-based challenges related to dealing with pregnancy.
Research limitations/implications – Despite the contributions of this study, it also has limitations,
particularly the convenience sampling approach and the focus on the KSA. The small sample size means that
the findings cannot be generalized to all women employed in Saudi Arabia and should be generalized within
Saudi Arabia and other Arab societies only with caution.
Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding of work challenges and barriers of Saudi
women in the workforce. It provides fresh insights to the issues surrounding women in Saudi Arabia and the
need to address them in order to provide support for their career advancement.
Keywords Gender, Qualitative research, Career development, Saudi women, Work experiences
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Despite the global interest that women’s careers have attracted, knowledge regarding the
careers of women in the Arab world is minimal. Many scholars’ research agenda targets
understanding the careers of women in the USA and European countries, giving little
attention to women in the developing countries of the Arab region. Even amid growing
interest in Arab women, most studies focus on specific countries, such as Lebanon (Tlaiss
and Dirani, 2015; Tlaiss, 2014b) and the United Arab Emirates (Tlaiss, 2013, 2014a), with
scant research specifically on women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Despite the
commonalities across the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), each nation has
its own contextual realities and unique characteristics that warrant separate study to gain
insight into country-specific settings (Sidani and Gardner, 2000), especially the experiences
of women in each country. This research gap prevents understanding, not only the
experiences of Arab women but also the interplay between women’s careers and the social
processes and organizational structures. This lack of knowledge also negatively influences
 the improvement of human resources management (HRM) in the region (Tlaiss and Saudi women’s
Dirani, 2015), which is already lagging in comparison to other regions. Advancing work
understanding of the workplace and employment challenges women face in the KSA could challenges and
enable HRM departments to improve the work experience of Saudi women by promoting
more women-friendly work environments, policies, and procedures. barriers
Accordingly, scholars have called for more empirical studies exploring women’s careers
across the individual, organizational, societal, and cultural levels within the Saudi context 185
(Al-Asfour and Khan, 2014). In an attempt to respond to these calls for empirical,
country-specific research on this topic, this exploratory study explores the barriers and
challenges that employed Saudi women face in the context of local patriarchal social and
cultural values and institutional and organizational inequalities. To achieve these objectives,
this study draws on Institutional Theory (INT) to describe how cognitive-cultural, normative,
and regulatory factors affect the unfolding of women’s careers and the barriers they face
(Tlaiss, 2013). In-depth interviews with 12 Saudi Arabian women investigate their perceived
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challenges, including possible discriminatory policies and the lack of support. The following
sections first give an overview of the Saudi context and the workplace experiences of Arab
women and Saudis in general. Then, the theoretical framework, methodology, and findings are
presented. The fifth and sixth sections discuss the findings and implications, concluding with
suggestions for future studies.

The context: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the largest GCC country by geographic area, population, and size of the
economy. The KSA shares borders with Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates,
Oman, and Yemen and is connected to the Kingdom of Bahrain by a causeway. The KSA’s
population was estimated to be 30.8 million in 2014, an increase of 2.6 percent from 2013
(Arab News, 2015). In 2014, the KSA had a gross domestic product (GDP) of SAR 2.82 trillion
($1 ¼ SAR 3.745) and per capita GDP of SAR 91,700 (Arab News, 2015). The KSA ranked as
the second-highest GCC country, after Qatar, on the 2014 Human Development Index.
The KSA’s ranking on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) has improved in recent years, rising
to 56 of 156 countries, with a GII value of 8.284. In the field of education, more women
complete high school but still lag behind men (60.5 vs 70.3 percent high school graduation
rate). Regarding political participation, women hold 19.9 percent of parliamentary seats.

Theoretical framework: INT in the Saudi Arabian context

To explore the employment experiences and challenges faced by Saudi Arabian women,
this study adopts INT (Scott, 2014), which has been widely used in career-related studies on
women in the Arab world (see e.g. Tlaiss, 2014a, b). INT is built on the premise that
institutions are multi-faceted, durable social structures that demonstrate a high level of
resilience and provide support, meaning, and stability to social life (Scott, 2014). Institutions
use norms and rules as guidelines for social behavior and are composed of
cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulatory pillars (Scott, 2014). The cultural-cognitive
pillar refers to the interpretations of the national culture and traditions within institutions
and the role of social structures in promoting socially acceptable behavior. Arab societies,
especially, have long been described as masculine, setting specific, strictly defined, and
distinct gender roles (Hofstede, 2001). According to Al-Asfour and Khan (2014), Saudi
women struggle to pursue careers outside the homes amid widespread gender stereotypes
that place value upon their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives. Tlaiss (2013) argues
that these cultural values and social expectations regarding what women should and should
not do hinder their advancement. Furthermore, in this collectivist society which makes
group conformity paramount and expects individuals to adjust their personal and career
aspirations to maintain social order, women who choose to pursue careers outside the home
 CDI are often perceived as socially deviants who challenge cultural traditions. Despite the
22,2 impressive strides Saudi women have made in increased educational attainment and
workforce participation (Al-Ahmadi, 2011), Tlaiss and Elamin (2016) report that
Saudi Arabia retains a highly conservative approach to social and gender issues as
women continue to cluster in traditionally “feminine” areas of education and the economy,
such as the humanities, arts, teaching, and health care. Furthermore, given their education
186 level, women’s workforce participation remains modest (Achoui, 2009), at a mere 20 percent
of the total Saudi workforce (Central Department of Statistics and Information, 2014).
The majority of employed Saudi women work in less shameful (Harry, 2007) sectors, such as
education, health services, and public service (Alselaimi and Lord, 2012). The education
system in the Arab world also plays a role in limiting women’s career advancement.
Calvert and Al-Shetaiwi (2002) suggest that the main factors affecting women’s employment
in technical and vocational fields, as seen by managers, arise from the structure of technical
and vocational educational institutions in Saudi Arabia rather than women’s preferences or
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social pressures.
The traditional values and discriminatory gender stereotypes that hinder the careers and
advancement of Arab women in general are reinforced in Saudi society by the Wahhabi
school of thought. The KSA’s official main religion is Islam, and Islamic law, called Sharia in
Arabic, guides life. Although Islam plays a very important role in its followers’ personal and
professional lives (Tlaiss, 2013, 2014a), the impacts of socio-cultural values and traditions on
Saudis, especially women, also cannot be taken lightly. To explain further, Sharia law does
not forbid women from economic and political participation and permits them to work in
certain sectors, but the workforce participation rate of Saudi women is among the lowest in
the region as Islamic teachings reinforce gender differences, granting men pre-eminence and
authority over women. For example, in financial responsibility, husbands are solely
responsible for providing for their families’ needs (Kazemi, 2000). According to Sidani (2005),
a traditional Islamic discourse, represented by the Wahhabism, dominates the Arabian
Peninsula and adheres to Muslim orthodoxy and the traditions of early Islam, rejecting all
innovations of later times. This approach to Islam forbids men and women unrelated by
blood or marriage from interacting outside the presence of a male from the woman’s family.
Women may leave their homes and work only if accompanied by a male guardian, which
limits their work activities to sex-segregated settings. Alselaimi and Lord (2012) argue that,
although Islam grants women the right to work outside the house, conservative groups in
Saudi Arabia forbid the mixing of the sexes and support segregated workplaces in an
attempt to prevent Saudi women from being influenced by the lifestyles of their western
counterparts who have different values and priorities. Accordingly, a growing number of
scholars (Elamin and Omair, 2010; Hamdan, 2005) argue that Islam per se is not responsible
for the disadvantaged status of Muslim women in the Arab world; instead, the confusion
between Islam and culture and the adoption of conservative interpretations of Islamic texts
are to be blamed.
These constraints, along with the limitations that Islamic law puts on the economic
sectors in which women may work, significantly contribute to the low workforce
participation of Saudi women, at almost 20 percent (Human Development Report, 2015).
These socio-cultural and Islamic values and traditions also have strong influences within
the organizational realm. In the regulatory pillar, or the norms, beliefs, obligations,
and standards of behavior (Scott, 2014), Saudi socio-cultural values not only produce a set of
norms and beliefs that govern the behavior of women but also organizational structures and
cultures have internalized these discriminatory views into norms and rules governing
women’s careers within organizations. Indeed, several cross-country studies across the Arab
world, including Saudi Arabia (Tlaiss, 2013, 2014a, b), highlight the widespread attitudinal
and structural barriers to women’s employment and the firmly embedded gender
 hierarchies in everyday organizational practices. According to Ramady (2010), Saudi culture Saudi women’s
and society are reflected internally within organizations as organizational norms and work
culture prohibit men and women from mixing in the course of employment. Gender challenges and
inequalities are heavily institutionalized in Saudi organizations. For example, although
women make up more than 50 percent of the workforce in the education sector, they are barriers
perceived as incapable of performing management roles and are excluded from decision-
making positions and deanship by virtue of their gender (Alselaimi and Lord, 2012). 187
Regarding organizational cultures, Elamin and Omair’s (2010) study of Saudi men’s
attitudes toward working women confirms the salience of gender stereotypes and the
traditional division of labor in Saudi organizations. Elamin and Omair (2010) show that the
cultures of local companies promote gender stereotypes and conservative interpretations
of Islam, contributing to the creation of gender-segregated work environments and
establishing patriarchal organizational cultures based on gender stereotypes and
organizational structures that limit women’s professional development. These findings
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are further supported by Al-Ahmadi (2011) who, in a survey of more than 160 Saudi women,
finds that structural challenges, especially those associated with the centralization of
decision-making processes and women’s lack of authority and empowerment, are the main
challenges facing women in the KSA.
Gender discrimination is further promoted by the rules and laws that act as control
mechanisms, as explained by the regulatory pillar (Scott, 2014). Despite the initiatives of
successive Saudi governments to increase women’s educational level and workforce
participation (Achoui, 2009; Al-Asfour and Khan, 2014), Saudi labor law has no control
mechanism supporting gender equality. As claimed by Tlaiss (2014b), the absence of
regulatory support reinforces organizations’ discriminatory practices and hinders women’s
career advancement.

Arabic women in the workplace

The patriarchal, collectivist, and masculine nature of the Arab world negatively influences
the careers of Arab women in the KSA and the rest of the world, posing numerous
challenges and barriers to employed women. According to Madsen (2010), these challenges
are mostly related to workplace culture and include employer bias, discrimination,
stereotyping, limited training and development opportunities, discriminatory organizational
policies and practices, negative perceptions of women’s professional capabilities and
commitment, difficulties establishing interpersonal relationships at work, and a lack of
mentoring and coaching support and family-friendly programs. Another set of challenges
stems from general societal factors and includes work-family role conflicts, patriarchal
systems, cultural and religious gender codes, limited career-advancement opportunities,
cultural barriers to the acceptance of women in managerial roles, exclusion from informal
networking processes, and a lack of family support and concern for equal opportunity,
among others (Kattara, 2005; Tlaiss, 2014a, b).
Many researchers have found that the current systems employed in organizations
worldwide impede women’s advancement within them (Hopkins et al., 2006; Omair, 2008).
Despite global efforts to eliminate gender discrimination in recent years, additional efforts
are still needed, especially in the Arab world when women face a multitude of barriers
(Abalkhail and Allan, 2015). Recent studies on this topic highlight that Arab women
must have social status and family connections to advance their professional careers
(Omair, 2010). Moreover, Abdalla (1996) finds that Kuwaiti and Qatari professional men and
women support assigning women to sex-segregated roles in the workforce. Another study
of under-represented Emirati women in the information technology (IT) sector in United
Arab Emirates finds that cultural and familial factors prevent many young Emirati women
from choosing their own careers and that negative gendered attitudinal assumptions about
 CDI women still dominant the local IT sector (Al Hassan and Forster, 2011). Bagchi-Se (2010)
22,2 concludes that the advancement of women to executive and managerial positions in the
cyber security industry is important to promote gender equity and meet the needs of the
market. Relative to their male counterparts, women with high education have low
participation in the labor market, and those who want to join the labor force encounter high
levels of unemployment (Hamdan, 2005). In a study on female managers in Oman, Kemp and
188 Madsen (2014) find that employment policies need to be revisited to increase the
recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in the Omani private sector.
The issues facing women in the Saudi workforce are similar to those in other Arabic
countries in many ways. Binti et al. (2014) find that Saudi Muslim women’s commitment to
family, limited access to professional training and development opportunities, and lack of
informal networks, mentoring systems, and organizational support, along with gender
bias and male employees’ failure to take women seriously, are important factors hindering
women’s career advancement. Ezzedeen and Ritchey (2009) suggest multiple career
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advancement and career-family balance strategies as important solutions for Saudi women’s
career development, including professional and personal support, value systems, and
life-course strategies, such as ordering of career and family, negotiating spousal support,
and deciding whether to have children.
Despite these challenges and lack of opportunities, many Saudi women perceive themselves
as successful and celebrate their achievements in the present work environment. Vidyasagar
and Rea (2004) find that gender differences and other impediments in Saudi society did not
prevent female doctors from advancing to higher positions or junior female doctors from
experiencing professional success. Many western companies operating in the KSA proactively
seek to empower women to scale the corporate ladder by offering more opportunities for female
leaders, allowing flexible work schedules, creating leadership development programs,
organizing mentoring programs, and forming corporate women’s networks (McDonagh and
Paris, 2012). These measures have greatly assisted women employees in GCC countries,
especially Saudi Arabia. Kemp and Madsen (2014) recommend a range of flexible working
arrangements, such as part-time employment, flexible working hours, and teleworking, and
facilitation of promotional opportunities to retain GCC women in the workforce for longer.

Methodology
Qualitative research includes many approaches to studying the meaning of social
phenomena within participants’ natural setting (Gay and Airasian, 2003). In this research,
a phenomenological approach was used given the researchers interest in understanding the
lived experiences of Saudi women and reflecting on their meanings (Patton, 2002).
This approach allows researchers the freedom to choose a topic of personal and social
significance. Phenomenology explores lived experiences and how they are structured,
analyzing the perspective of the individuals experiencing the phenomenon (Merriam, 2002).
This approach requires selecting a topic that represents an interest of the researcher, or the
project will not be satisfying (Seidman, 2006). Qualitative phenomenology research thus
gives a voice to those unheard, in this case, Saudi women.

Data collection and sample

Conducting research with female participants is challenging and nearly impossible in
Saudi Arabia. Given the difficulty of obtaining a conventional sample, convenience
sampling, which depends on referral sampling based on the participants’ networks and
connections, was used. The researchers leveraged their personal connections to identify
employed women and contact potential interviewees. Through phone calls and emails,
the potential interviewees were informed about the overall objective of the study and
assured of the confidentiality of their responses. In total, 12 in-depth interviews were held
 with Saudi women employed in a wide range of industries. The participants held college Saudi women’s
degrees, including both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. Table I outlines some of the work
personal and organizational demographic information of the interviewees. challenges and
Despite the relatively small sample size, the interviews were stopped only when saturation
was achieved. All the interviews were conducted by phone, and the anonymity of the barriers
participants was protected (all the excerpts used in this study are identified only with numbers).
The interviewers encouraged the participants to discuss their work challenges and other 189
problems related to their career advancement. The interviews were conducted mostly in Arabic,
with some English used to define terms or concepts when needed. On average, the interviews
lasted 50-60 minutes. To encourage openness, they were not tape recorded, although notes were
taken. During the interviews, the participants appeared keen to share their perceptions.
The questions asked in the interviews were formulated based on the literature review
and the stated goal of the study. Open-ended questions were used to permit the maximum
flow of information. Representative questions included “Tell me about challenges you have
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faced in your career so far?” and “How would you describe your work environment?”
The same questions were used with all the participants. The interviewer also asked probing
questions to guide and steer the interviews to the main purpose of the research.

Analysis
Each interview transcript was analyzed in two phases. First, the transcripts were translated
into English, and the translations were reviewed to ensure their accuracy. Second,
the transcripts were read repeatedly to code the data and identify relevant themes. Under
the thematic analysis approach, the interviews were systematically coded and recoded
paying attention to details about work challenges and barriers to career advancement.
Content analysis based on the frequency of occurrence of themes was performed to identify
recurring themes which emerged from the data.

Findings
This study investigated the workplace challenges and barriers faced by Saudi women.
The stories of the female participants have not been represented in many earlier studies.
Therefore, the perspectives examined here could serve as a starting point for researchers
and professionals working in the areas of gender studies, HRM, and human resources
development (HRD) in Saudi Arabia. The study findings reveal a number of challenges and

Years of working
Name Age Marital status Employment sector Education level Occupation experience

1 27 Married Government Bachelor’s Teacher 3

2 28 Married Government Bachelor’s Teacher 4
3 30 Married Private Master’s Nutritionist 4
4 25 Single Government Nursing diploma Nurse 2
5 28 Married Private High school Office manager 6
6 38 Married Government Bachelor’s Teacher 13
7 36 Married Private Nursing diploma Nurse 7
8 39 Married Private Nursing diploma Nurse 9
9 34 Married Non-for-profit Associate Kindergarten 10
teacher aide Table I.
10 31 Married Government Bachelor’s Assistant 8 Personal and
school principle professional
11 29 Married Private Associate Accountant 5 demographics of
12 26 Engaged Private High school Retail/cashier 1 Saudi women
 CDI barriers that merit consideration. The themes identified in this study include the following:
22,2 a limited range of job and career-advancement opportunities, excessive workload caused by
a lack of family-work balance, challenges related to pregnancy and women’s mobility, a lack
of equity, and gender discrimination in the workplace.

Limited range of job and career-advancement opportunities

190 Occupational constraints are evident in the participants’ stories. The women interviewed
explained that they are restricted to working in traditionally female-oriented fields in the
private and public sectors. Although the interviewees are allowed to work at different
shopping centers and other organizational settings, they felt that they still did not enjoy the
same access to quality jobs and careers as men. One participant (8) states, “even though
I received my nursing degree several years ago, opportunities to achieve a more advanced
position are not available.” Another participant (2) states, “I have become a teacher, and
I could try to become a principal, but something higher, like a superintendent, is almost
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impossible for a woman in Saudi Arabia.” The limitations of jobs for women are well known
among those who live in Saudi Arabia or have an understanding of its cultural and religious
contexts. One participant (6) states, “I am not trying to criticize anyone, but we have limited
opportunities for jobs and careers. In the kingdom, female employees are restricted to a
number of occupations that the government feels are permissible.”
These restrictions create a sense of limitation in Saudi females. For example,
a participant expresses the following thoughts:
(3) There are not many Saudi females who are merchants. Khadijah, the wife of the Prophet
Mohammed (peace be upon him and his progeny), was a merchant. She was and is an example to
Muslim women all around the world. In Saudi Arabia, women do not have many opportunities to
become merchants. The ability to travel freely in the kingdom and neighboring states to buy and
sell is very limited for women without a Mahram (male guardian). We have to depend on a Mahram
to drive and travel with us. I feel that these constraints prevent women from becoming merchants,
among many other occupations. I believe that change will take some time; it is not going to happen
in a day, but slowly, women will become involved in all kinds of businesses, locally, regionally, and
internationally. All we need are the leeway and some opportunities to use our full potential.
Another interviewee opines the following:
(4) Our religion (Islam) has encouraged women to work in all fields, and there is nothing in the
Quran or from the traditions of the prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) that prevents
women from working. Society and traditional cultures tend to create limitations for women and
how well we can advance in our jobs. For example, Megawati Sukamoputri in Indonesia was the
first Muslim female president in Islamic history, and Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan was the first
Muslim female prime minister. So we have potential that can be used to help with the development
of our country. However, the jobs offered to women in Saudi Arabia are limited and do not offer
many opportunities for career advancement. It is unheard of to see a female manager of a company.
As far as I know, there is no CEO of a public organization in Saudi Arabia who is female, and there
are no indications that this will change anytime soon.
These excerpts reveal the interviewees’ desire for independence and autonomy which seem
to be nonexistent in their cultural contexts. Nevertheless, most interviewees, despite
highlighting the difficulty of finding jobs and pursuing careers, express optimism in the
government’s reform efforts and understanding of the length of time needed to empower
women in the workplace.

Excessive workload caused by a lack of family-work balance

Role conflict is identified as an important issue for working women. The participants
discuss the difficulties balancing work and family responsibilities. Even when many women
 start to work outside the home, they retain responsibility for household matters. Saudi women’s
A representative statement is as follows: work
(5) I accepted a job to help support my family financially, but later I found out that my challenges and
household responsibilities – teaching my children, cooking, cleaning, and other chores—did barriers
not decrease.
Researcher: Did you get any support from your husband or try to hire a helper (maid)?
191
Participant: Yes. We also tried to hire a maid, but it takes a while to get a visa. Society still expects
these chores to be performed by females. Also, we live in an apartment, and we do not have an extra
room, so this adds to the challenge of balancing family and work.
Another interviewee describes the sacrifices working mothers make to support their families:
(9) Working mothers have many factors to consider in order to succeed in their marriage and
work. In Saudi society, like many other Arab societies, the woman is still considered to be the
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backbone of the family in well-known norms and expectations. In order to have a balance
between family and work, a working woman needs a supportive husband and children. Without
their support, it is almost impossible for a woman to juggle all of her duties. The husband’s
supporting role needs to be tangible, meaning that he needs to actively and proactively be there
to help his wife and children.
Given the societal expectations that women are responsible for their homes, in addition to
having careers, the participants describe experiencing burnout due to excessive workload.
One interviewee (6) explained that “it feels that a person needs to always balance two things
at the same time as both (family and work) are important.” Another participant (7) states
that the “in-house family responsibilities are all on me, and I have to work. This is too much,
[…] but I have to do it to help support my family.” It should be recognized that most Saudi
women face predetermined societal expectations of their role as their children’s primary
caregiver. The women in this study are also expected to support their husbands and
children and play a central, internal role keeping the family intact, which becomes a
challenge for Saudi women working outside the homes.

Challenges related to pregnancy and women’s mobility

Childbearing and pregnancy are also major concerns for the interviewees. Saudi women’s
fertility rate decreased from 3.39 percent in 2007 to 2.89 percent in 2014, but this high
fertility rate remains a matter of concern in the KSA (Central Department of Statistics and
Information, 2015). Some women decide not to have children temporarily, however,
are aware that childbearing is regarded as an important, fundamental step for building a
family. A number of the women interviewed report difficulties throughout the pregnancy
and in the performance of their job duties after pregnancy. One interviewee states the
following:
(11) After going to work for the first few months of my pregnancy, I started getting tired, so I asked
for a few days off here and there. My employer did not like this. I explained that this was my first
pregnancy and promised to do better, but after a while, my employer asked if it would be better for
me to leave the job and come back after the baby was born or at a later time. No promises were
made that, when I came back, I would have my job back. Considering that it is very difficult to find
another job, I stayed at my job.
Another interviewee shares:
(1) I tried to stay at my job until the day before labor. It was very difficult, especially when my
doctor informed me that I would need a caesarean section. I knew then that I would need to take off
a longer time for my body to go through the recovery and healing. Although my employer
promised to work with me, I felt the discomfort this caused him.
 CDI Rather than accommodating women workers, some employers ask that women quit their
22,2 jobs and reapply in a year or so. One respondent (5) explained that “we could do our jobs if
the workload became a little less.” Employers in the KSA find it easier to ask women to leave
their jobs and hire other employees because there is a ready supply of women seeking work
in the Saudi labor market.
A lack of mobility is another great impediment restricting Saudi women’s workforce
192 participation. The Saudi women interviewed report difficulties with transportation while
working outside the home. Saudi women are not allowed to drive and have no choice but to
rely on private drivers, husbands, brothers, sons, or other close male relatives to take them
to and from work. The BBC (2015) reported on female activists who protested by breaking
the law and driving throughout Saudi Arabia. This did not go unnoticed by other working
women in the KSA, but the government made it clear that there would be repercussions for
women who did so. One interviewee (12) describes, “In 2012 and 2013, many Saudi women
tried to drive cars without the government’s permission, some of these women received
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warnings from the government.”

Another interviewee relates:
(9) I had to hire a driver to take me from home to work and back six times a week, but when my
driver left for vacation, I had to ask my husband and other family members to take me to work.
This support was not always available, so sometimes, I missed work or arrived late. My employer
did not appreciate my being late or absent. I received comments and verbal threats that my job was
at risk. It would be nice if I could take my car to work whenever I wanted without waiting for
someone to give me a ride. I am optimistic that women will be able to drive one day and be able to
do their chores without waiting for a male to drive us around. When will this happen, I do not know
but, Inshallah (God willing), soon.
Women’s mobility has been an important issue in Saudi society and at times has attracted
the government’s attention. The government, though, believes that the country is not
ready to permit women to drive. One interviewee (2) recalls that, “a few years ago, I joined
a social media campaign to encourage the kingdom to allow us to drive, but after a while,
the momentum died.” Another interviewee (10) states, “there is no law preventing me
from riding a bike or a horse in the street, but I cannot drive a car. This is the irony
of it all.” However, given the constant discussion of this issue by many stakeholders in the
KSA, one might wonder whether, sooner or later, the efforts to allow women to drive
will be successful.

Gender discrimination and a lack of equality in the workplace

When asked whether Saudi women face gender bias or other forms of discrimination in the
workplace, the interviewees gave interesting answers confirming gender discrimination.
Some responses are as follows:
(5) Yes, there have been some discriminatory incidents, but they have been based on nationality.
I work in the nursing field, and often, patients will bluntly ask if there is a foreign nurse
that can help them instead of me, a Saudi. There exists mistrust in the quality of work
that a nurse like me can do. Some people believe that foreigners can do a better job than
locals, and this creates favoritism, which, in turn, discriminates against local employees,
especially women. I have seen this not only in nursing but also on other occupations as well.
There needs to be a change in the mindset of Saudis, male and female, of how they view their
fellow citizens.
Another interviewee gives a strong answer:
(3) It is a load of nonsense and ironic at the same time that Saudi males will not speak with Saudi
women but will speak and work with foreign females much more freely. I understand that this
could be due to cultural practices, but we deserve better treatment. I want to move up the ladder of
 my organization, but I cannot do that if I cannot speak with my fellow workers and demonstrate Saudi women’s
my credentials and potentials. Even though this is the current status, it could change in the future. work
Who knows?
challenges and
Despite these negative impacts from society and culture on women in the workplace, barriers
the participants feel that they have a future in employment. The participants are optimistic
in this regard, as explained by one participant (7): “There are more women working in the
private and public sectors, and sooner or later, many of the obstacles will slowly disappear.” 193
Some interviewees believe that many of the traditional cultural perspectives supporting
male dominance in the workplace will slowly fade away, permitting more economic
participation by Saudi women. This will not happen, though, without the continuous
support and creation of jobs and careers for women by the Saudi government.

Discussion
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The responses of the Saudi women interviewed in this study highlight a number of barriers
and challenges that hinder their career advancement. These findings clearly indicate that a
complex web of stressors impacts Saudi women at both home and work, including
limited job and career-advancement opportunities, excessive workload caused by a lack of
family-work balance, challenges related to pregnancy and mobility, a lack of equity,
and gender discrimination in the workplace. Moreover, the interviewees suggest that Islam
per se cannot be blamed for these barriers. Although Islamic religion and culture are
inseparable in most Muslim countries, the study participants could distinguish between
what they perceived as Islamic obligatory duties and as social and cultural norms and
expectations for women. Although scholars such as Ismaeel and Blaim (2012) describe
discrepancies between normative Islamic work-related values and Muslims’ actual practices,
the women in the present study accept Islamic values and attempt to work according to
Islamic law and government rules. One can argue that the Saudi interviewees’ adherence to
the teachings of their religion is motivated by the normative pillars of Saudi Muslim society
and the social obligation to obey Islamic teachings taken for granted. Nevertheless,
the dominant normative systems in organizations often reflect the larger social-cognitive
elements of Saudi society hinder women’s progress.
This research supports some previous findings, such as Abdalla’s (1996) claim that
women face excessive work challenges, but many of these will pass away. Although
conducted many years ago, Abdalla’s (1996) study aligns with the respondents’ view that
many workforce challenges in Saudi Arabia will gradually fade. Mostafa (2005) also
supports Abdalla’s (1996) finding that attitudes toward women in the workplace are
becoming less traditional. At the same time, some studies confirm the patriarchal views of
Saudi males. Elamin and Omair (2010) find that the majority of Saudi men hold traditional
attitudes toward women working. Some studies on working women suggest that the
difficulties of combining work and family are one reason for the high rate of professional
workers who are mothers leaving the workforce (Leber Herr and Wolfram, 2012;
Stone, 2007). Al-Asfour and Khan (2014) describe a lack of representation of Saudi women in
the workforce. It is important to stress that the Saudi women interviewed in this study
experienced difficulties managing their work and family duties, particularly to avoid role
conflict and balance work and family duties. However, the strength of the study participants
also manifested in their persistence to succeed at work and home, expressed in their
voices as they answered the interview questions and replied to the probing questions.
The participants’ ability to succeed at work and home speaks to their perseverance and
motivation to contribute to economic development.
Previous studies attributed the high rates of women leaving the workforce to the lack of
flexibility provided by their employers. Regardless of whether attitudes toward working
 CDI women have changed or remain traditional, the present study indicates that Saudi women
22,2 who work for organizations that are sensitive to their work challenges and create
career paths for them will experience greater employee loyalty. Smith (2006) suggests
that a nationally recognized, workplace-training intervention that addresses many
workplace barriers to empowering women is needed. Cultural barriers can be removed by
acknowledging women’s skill at their work; attitudinal barriers can be eliminated
194 by improving women’s confidence, self-esteem, and comparative status; the qualifications
barrier can be overcome by creating pathways to higher education and motivation
to continue learning; and institutional barriers can be ended by offering flexible
employee-attendance policies (Smith, 2006).

Conclusions and implications

The current study provides a unique opportunity for an in-depth investigation of the
societal and economic issues faced by working women in the KSA. The ability to collect
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information generally neglected in quantitative research provides great insight into these
issues. The stories on Saudi women’s work challenges and barriers to career development
are rarely documented in the academic literature. This study is among the few examining
Saudi women in the workforce. The interplay among women’s expected role in Saudi society
based on social-cognitive systems and traditions, ongoing changes, and the possibility for
future progressive laws is evident in the participants’ answers. This research, therefore,
indicates that, although its explicit purpose was to better understand women’s work
challenges and barriers to career advancement, researchers need to increase knowledge of
the role of and the impacts of the socio-cultural values in the KSA’s normative and
regulatory pillars. Saudi women’s agency deserves attention given their willingness to
persist and persevere despite the numerous challenges and barriers the interviewees
discussed. The women participating in this study did not allow their challenges to
overwhelm them and continued to work, driven by a strong will to succeed.
From a theoretical perspective, this study is the first to use INT in the context of KSA
and in research on employed women in this setting. The findings demonstrate the
importance of exploring the careers of women within the local contexts in which they
operate. The study findings also highlight the role of social-cognitive systems in
Saudi Arabia and the obstacles that salient gender stereotypes pose to women’s
advancement. As well, Saudi socio-cultural values are reflected within the organizational
environment and, through the normative systems they promote, emerge as further
barriers to women’s career progress.
Furthermore, the findings have important implications for Saudi policy makers,
multinational companies, HR departments, academic researchers, and other stakeholders
seeking to institutionalize solutions to help female employees overcome these challenges
and barriers. For government agencies and policy makers in Saudi Arabia, the study
findings confirm the salience of gender discrimination within organizations and the need to
create tailored policies that are sensitive to the working environment of Saudi women and
enable them to contribute more effectively to national development. The study participants
highlighted the lack of governmental support and the absence of regulatory norms
prohibiting gender discrimination within organizations. Therefore, the regulatory
authorities in the KSA could support the progress of Saudi women by enforcing gender
neutrality laws within organizations so that hiring decisions, promotions, and training and
development opportunities are decided based on merit, not gender. Furthermore, Saudi
women need employers to provide more flexible working hours, part-time and
telecommuting working arrangements, and support during pregnancy and child-rearing
(Kemp and Madsen, 2014). Support for work-life balance and quality of work-life practices
are key factors in facilitating women’s gainful employment. Work-life balance serves as a
 recruitment strategy, improves employees’ working relationships, and increases their Saudi women’s
self-esteem and health. When employees have time to focus on what is important to them, work
they have greater control over their personal and professional lives, increasing their challenges and
productivity (Haley et al., 2005; Khan and Agha, 2013).
In addition, the HRM departments of international and local companies need to pay barriers
considerable attention to making more inclusive workplaces for female employees and
creating structures that facilitate HRM practices that promote a female-friendly 195
work environment. Numerous measures can be implemented to create a friendlier work
atmosphere for female workers. For example, as a solution for the mobility problem, HRM
departments could propose purchasing buses to transport female employees to and from
work. HRM departments could also reorganize women’s work duties to permit
telecommuting, a compressed workweek, or job sharing. Given the importance that Saudi
society attributes to women’s role as mothers, HRM departments could create on-site
day-care facilities to allow working women to more conveniently attend to their maternal
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duties. HRM departments could hold training sessions to equip women with tools to better
manage their excessive workload and achieve work-life balance. Ultimately, it is the role of
HRM departments to create fair recruitment, selection, promotion, and assessment processes
that promote gender equality rather than discrimination to motivate women and help grow
their careers. Saudi HR managers can play a more strategic role as change agents promoting
gender equality within their organizations by modernizing policies and procedures to ensure
that women are given opportunities to succeed.
For academic researchers, the study findings reveal that the work challenges and
career-development barriers encountered by women in Saudi and western countries differ.
However, some similarities can be seen, particularly the challenges and barriers to career
development faced by Saudi women and women in other Arab countries, especially GCC
nations. For example, one theme found in this study is the excessive workload caused by a
lack of family-work balance. This theme also emerged in a similar study conducted in
Oman; Al-Lamky (2006) reports that work-family balance is a challenge for working
women. Nevertheless, significant differences exist between Saudi women and working
women in other countries due to many factors. HRD practices should take into account the
particularities of the Saudi context for working women. When developing a career
development model for Saudi women in the workplace, it is important to consider the
contextual factors of the KSA, such as religion, culture, and tradition. These implications
are timely and needed as Saudi Arabia focuses on developing its HR to address challenges
on various social, economic, and political frontiers.

Study limitations and future research

Despite the contributions of this study, it also has limitations, particularly the convenience
sampling approach and the focus on the KSA. The small sample size means that the
findings cannot be generalized to all women employed in Saudi Arabia and should
be generalized within Saudi Arabia and other Arab societies only with caution. Elamin and
Omair (2010) observe that the KSA, along with many Arab countries, is witnessing
rapid social changes due to “globalization, westernization, modernization” (p. 761).
Therefore, the findings from a study on one country have greater chances of conflicting with
other studies. Despite the limitations of purposive and convenience sampling, its logic or
power lies in selecting information-rich cases that can provide a great deal of information
(Patton, 2002). In the future, therefore, it would be interesting to conduct cross-country
research to understand the dynamics of the work challenges and barriers to women’s career
development. Future studies could also have a mixed methodology research design aimed at
overcoming the challenges to including Saudi women in research due to social norms and
labor laws (Al-Asfour, 2012).
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About the authors

Dr Ahmed Al-Asfour is the Chair of the Business Department and a Professor at the Oglala
Lakota College, in Kyle, South Dakota. Dr Al-Asfour teaches Leadership, International Business, Business
in Multicultural World, Cross-Cultural Management, Organizational Theory and Behavior, and HRM
courses. In addition, his work has been published in several journals such as the Human Resource
Development International, International Journal of Human Resource Studies, American Journal of Business
Education, and others. He has the following degrees: Doctor of Education majoring in Educational
Leadership from the Department of Professional Studies, The University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 2014;
Dissertation: Faculty Professional Development Needs and Career Advancement at Tribal Colleges and
Universities. Master of Science in Administrative Studies with a specialization in Human Resources
from the Department of Master of Science in Administration: The University of South Dakota, Vermillion,
SD, 2006; Thesis: Saudization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Bachelor of Science Degree in Business
Administration with a concentration in Management from the Department of Business Science: New York
Institute of Technology, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, 2004. Dr Ahmed Al-Asfour is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: ahmedalasfour@hotmail.com
Dr Hayfaa A. Tlaiss is the Chair of the Management Department at the College of Business at Alfaisal
University, KSA. She is also an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior/Strategy/Human
Resource Management. Dr Hayfaa is interested in diversity, business ethics, and human resource
management. Her works has appeared in several journals including Journal of Business Ethics,
International Journal of Human Resource Management, International Small Business Journal, Employee
Relations: The International Journal, and International Journal of Cross Cultural Management.
Dr Sami A. Khan is an Associate Professor in the Department of HRM, Faculty of Economics and
Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since last six years. Prior to that, he
worked at the Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, Mazoon University College, Oman, IILM, New Delhi and
Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relation & Human Resources, New Delhi. He is the Co-editor of the book,
Human Resource Management: Emerging Perspectives in the New Era which was published by Sage
Publications in 2000. He has also served as an Associate Editor of Management and Change Journal for
four years. His research interests lie in the areas of HR strategy and HR interventions, performance
management system, leadership, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He has published his works in
Human Resource Development International, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Applied
 Business & Economics, International Journal of Services & Operations Management, Journal of Leadership, Saudi women’s
Accountability and Ethics, Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Vision: Journal of Business work
Perspective, Indian Journal of Industrial Relations among many others.
Dr James Rajasekar is an Associate Professor of Management, at the College of Economics and challenges and
Political Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. He is the Author of several articles and policy barriers
analyses, including but not limited to policy implementation in telecommunication, energy,
transportation, and the regional and global economy. His book, Culture and Gender in Leadership:
Perspectives from the Middle East and Asia, deals with the inherent influence of culture and gender on 199
business on multiple levels of leadership with specific relevance to emerging Arab and Asian markets
in relation to their global counterparts. His research also focuses on the influence of national culture on
business strategies of diversified firms. He published articles in the Journal of International Business
Studies, Review of International Business and Strategy, and Asian Journal of Management Cases.
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