1. 10th ASHRM International Conference &
Exhibition
HR is Business
29-31 March 2010
“How do Qatari Females Make it to the Top?
An examination of the Organizational
Constraints to their Advancement”
Hend Al Muftah
QU, Qatar

2. Agenda
Introduction
QF at Labor Force
Methodology
Findings & Results
Conclusion
What’s next?
Q & A

3. To start with……….
“Women without her man is nothing”
Use the right punctuations?
Males wrote…
Women, without her man, is nothing
Females wrote…
Women: without her, man is nothing

4. 1. Introduction
 For many decades, women worked in a
 Relatively low-paying (vertically
segregation as admin & clerical jobs)
 Predominantly female jobs (horizontally
segregation as teaching & nursing jobs)
 Women who chose non-traditional jobs faced
some obstacles at their workplaces as isolation,
limited access to training opportunities &
promotion

5. 1. Introduction…cont.
 Analyses of the gender pay gap &
occupational segregation focused on:
 Gender-specific … family commitments
 Gender-differences … qualifications or labor
market treatment of similarly qualified
individuals
Glass Ceiling
1%-5%
ILO, 2004

6. 1. Introduction…cont.
Arabian world
5% in Lebanon & Qatar
7% in KSA
11% in Kuwait
Glass
12% in Oman
Ceiling

7.  At the Western countries…Gender-specific &
gender-differences have failed to explain the
poor progression of women in management
 Failure was due to organizational
factors as:
 preference for male candidates in
recruitment/promotion/assignments
 pay differences
 limited training/promotion opportunities

8. 2. QF at labor Force
 QF attained soaring levels of education
 QF 18% of total workforce in 2007
 83% in education & 72% in health
 5% of QF are at managerial positions
Contributing factors were mainly
Social & cultural aspects
“gender-specifics & gender-differences”
BUT NOT Organizational factors!!!

9. Why Not??
Equal opportunity … constitution
Leadership support
Changing role of women at Qatari
society

10. 3. Methodology…Hypothesis
H1 QF have good representation at the
investigated organizations at all managerial
levels.
H2 Selection and recruitment for managerial
positions is based on equal opportunities and
criteria for both males & females.
H3 Organizational polices of working hours,
compensation, training, engagement in
critical projects and promotion do not
differentiate between females and males.

11. 4. Findings & Results
 74% of respondents are males
 61% recruits currently ONLY between
1-10 QF at managerial positions…13%
not all
 85% lower management, 55%
supervisory management

12. 3. Findings & Results…Selection
 Criteria: equal opportunities …
 QFs’ managerial & leadership skills &
competencies (52%)
 QFs’ right for the position advancement
(52%).
 Barriers to recruiting QF
 Interviewed Females …Stereotyping & negative
preconceptions of women’s role & abilities
(89%)
 Interviewed Male ...Commitment to personal &
family responsibilities (91%)

13. 3. Findings & Results…selection
 In terms of position’s type Admin/Technical, 52%
does not differentiate between F/M
 44% preferred admin positions
 4% preferred technical positions !!! 58% of
engineering students are females…% is
 37% preferred F candidates for managerial
positions:
 more productive (59%), more committed (57%)
 more creative and innovative (50%)
 more educated and knowledgeable (39%)
 more strict to policies and procedures (30%)

14. 3. Findings & Results…Selection
 63% preferred M candidates:
 mix-gender environment (100%)
 more committed to working hours (80%)
 more committed to work responsibilities
(40%)
 more educated and knowledgeable (20%)
 wiser in making work-related decisions
(20%)

15. 3. Findings & Results…policies…
 69.5% active participation of QF in
Developmental Projects in their organizations
 Equal working hours & compensation policy
 Differences in allowances due to government
policies:
 Housing/national allowance
 Training: 73% managerial & 80% technical

16. 3. Findings & Results… Promotion
 Over the last 3 years, 57% promoted less
than 5 QF & 14% promoted more than 20
QF
 64% of QF at were promoted to head
section
 45% promoted to unit head
 23% to department director
 18% to general manager.

17. NO SINGLE QF PROMOTED FOR CEO
POSITION
“This position is not a real challenge to the
QF taking into account her astonishing
educational attainment and amazing talents
and competencies. However, such position
require some kind of scarifying from her
family side and more commitments in terms
of longer working hours and many business
trips”

18. NO SINGLE QF PROMOTED FOR CEO
POSITION
“Women work fewer hours and
experienced more career
interruptions, mostly due to family
demands and maternity leave, and
both factors worked against
women's progression in the past
and in the present”.

19. 3. Findings & Results…Barriers
 78% No barriers
 22% have barriers as follow:
 long working hours (80%)
 business meeting off the workplace (80%)
 abroad business trips (60%)
 interacting with males (60%)
 non-English proficiency (20%)

20. 4. Conclusion
 QF are well represented in the medium & lower
levels of management, however, they are still
lagging behind the QM in reaching the senior
management levels.
 Absence of any discrimination in
selecting/recruiting QF candidates for the
managerial positions.
 Absence of any discrimination in terms of policies,
compensation, & training
 Slow rate of QF promotion

21. 5. What’s Next ?
Gender-specific & gender differences
NOT
organizational factors are the major
factors that hinder QF from their
career advancement …

22. So,,,,
 Education…Vocational and lifelong
learning opportunities for QF through their
organizations.
 Supportive infrastructure, gender-
sensitive, HR strategies, that will facilitate
female’s participation in the senior
management positions.
 Review of labor laws & regulations as
family-friendly policies (flexible working
hours, child care facilities, etc.)

23. Thanks for your
attention
Q&A