Conflicts and challenges experienced by the female leaders in public and private universities in Saudi Arabia: A case study / Afaf Awad Alsubhi

Afaf Awad , Alsubhi (2020) Conflicts and challenges experienced by the female leaders in public and private universities in Saudi Arabia: A case study / Afaf Awad Alsubhi. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

This study explored the conflicts and challenges encountered by female leaders in the higher education sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study further investigated the impacts of the religious features as well as the empowerment on the conflicts and challenges faced by women in Saudi Arabia. In this study the researcher employed a multiple case study, the data collection techniques of this qualitative study involved in-depth interviews and document analysis. The researcher used a purposive sampling approach to select 10 female academic leaders from private and public universities in Saudi Arabia. The data were analysed using a qualitative analytical tool called NVivo. The findings of the study indicated that female education leaders are facing numerous barriers in pursuing their professional responsibilities. Conflicts arise at the end as a consequence of the obstacles that they meet all along. There were some differences identified as the causes of conflicts among the leaders in the public and private universities. In the public universities, female leaders are more autonomous, but they need to follow certain protocols. Men are less supportive and less cooperative probably because of job-stability. On the other hand, in private universities, leaders are more open-minded and cooperative because of the organisational rules, but female leaders need to handle heavier workload. In some cases, due to their lack of skills and experiences they cannot provide enough support to their subordinates. The researcher concluded the study by explaining the implications of the study for the higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia.

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