Dissertation Proposal How Culture Affects Gender Inequality Within Businesses In The Middle East

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL 1

Dissertation Proposal: How Culture Affects Gender Inequality within Businesses in the Middle

East

Name

Institution

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Introduction

Various researchers have raised concerns about the effect of culture in promoting gender

equality in the workplace. For instance, there have been concerns that promoting gender equality

among the people would interfere with some aspects of the culture. According to Tabellini

(2010), there is a general feeling that gender equality should not be promoted since it affects the

societal ethics. In some cases, the values of a particular community are considered as a constraint

to the efforts for gender equality, and therefore, it makes it challenging to promote gender

equality programs within such environments (Liñán and Chen, 2009).

There is a significant connection between culture and women rights which should be

addressed since they have a considerable effect on the implementation of the gender equality

development goals. Therefore, it is essential to have a more in-depth look at the effect of culture

on the application of gender equality principles in businesses and other corporate areas. The

research intends to look at how culture affects gender inequality within businesses using the

Middle East countries as a case study. Culture shapes the daily lives of people as it defines how

people perceive their environment as well as how they interact with each other. Therefore, this

research will offer me an understanding of the various cultural factors that affect the

implementation of gender equality principles in the business industry.

Statement of the Problem

Coe, Kelly, and Yeung, (2007) highlight that most companies and organizations have

been facing challenges in promoting gender equality as a result of the effects of culture. The

Middle East has a strong culture that defines specific roles for each gender making it difficult to

offer equal opportunities for both men and women in business in such areas (Pfau-Effinger,

2017). The Middle East is also regarded as one of the places where women are still stereotyped

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according to their gender and hence it is crucial to determine how culture has contributed to this

problem. Therefore, the main research question for this study is to determine how culture affects

gender equality development in the Middle East.

The Purpose of the Research

The research seeks to investigate the effects of culture on the implementation of gender

equality development goals in the corporate field and businesses in the Middle East. The study

aims to find out some of the specific cultural traditions and beliefs that affect the inclusion of

women in business and corporate organizations. Therefore, the results of this research would be

of great importance to the corporate bodies on knowing some of the leading obstacles they are

likely to face in implementing the gender equality principles. The findings of this research would

also give an insight into the various cultural issues that hinder the gender equality development

and offer a recommendation on how to deal with these challenges as the world seek to meet its

equality and inclusion goals.

Aims and Objectives

1. To find out the effect of culture on gender equality in businesses

2. To find out the main gender stereotypes in the Middle East

3. To find out the cultural challenges affecting implementation of gender equality development

principles

The Main Research Question

How does culture affect gender equality within businesses in the Middle East?

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Literature Review

Introduction

Gender equality remains as one of the major development goals of the United Nations

and many corporations across the world today (Benería, Berik, and Floro, 2015). However, there

are significant concerns about the culture that determines who people view the roles of women

and men in the society. In most cases, people have various attitudes towards what roles men and

women are expected to play in the society or the workplace (Tesch-Römer, Motel-Klingebiel,

and Tomasik, 2008). For example, some cultures do not allow women to lead men or to engage

men in a discussion (Gupta, Turban, Wasti, and Sikdar, 2009). Some traditions also do not allow

women to work and hence affecting the general objective of promoting gender equality in the

society as well as in the corporate firms.

Definition of Culture

According to Malach, Lerner, and Schwartz (2010), culture refers to the intellectual,

beliefs and the practices of society. Culture also covers all the religious beliefs and the traditions

of people as Ferraro and Briody (2017) notes. However, a more profound definition of culture

goes beyond the normal definition that regards culture as beliefs and practices of society, but a

piece of fabric that makes the lifestyle of people in a particular society (Herring, 2009). Culture

is responsible for shaping how things are done it also explains the dos and the don’ts of a group

of people. Arat (2010) gives another definition of culture as a distinctive spiritual, intellectual,

social and emotional features associated with a society or a particular social group. The above

comprehensive description of culture suggests that culture includes the modes of life, the

fundamental human rights, the traditions, beliefs and the value system of a particular group of

people.

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Relationship between Gender and Culture

Culture plays an important role in creating the expectations of the roles of women and

men in the society (Shinnar, Giacomin and Janssen, 2012). Culture defines how women and men

are expected to behave or carry out themselves in the society such as at home, at the workplace

and other public places. Culture defines the specific gender identities and gender relations

because they shape how people live their daily lives in the families and at the workplaces

(Koellinger, Minniti and Schade, 2013). Gender acts as an organizing factor for the society since

it often has the specific cultural roles given to the males and the females. For example, most

communities divide labor according to genders giving clear patterns of women’s work as well as

men’s work.

The roles of men and women are defined by culture both in the household and in the

wider community by the various cultural traditions (Wilson, Kickul, and Marlino, 2007). The

roles are backed with cultural explanations why the various roles should be so. The cultural

explanations and patterns of the gender roles differ from one society to the other (Herring, 2009).

Despite the fact that gender identities and relations are differing from one society to the other,

there is a general understanding that women have little privileges, personal autonomy, and fewer

resources at their reach. As a result of the few resources, women have less influence over

decision-making processes in the society. The disparity in the roles of women and men in the

society is considered as being both a development and a human rights issue that affects the

implementation of equality principles in many sectors.

Societies and cultures keep changing over time, and the gender relations continue to be

defined by the current culture or traditions. Culture and gender definitions change over time, and

they are determined by various factors (Koellinger, Minniti and Schade, 2013). Cultural change

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may occur due to social and economic shifts experience by a community or a group of people.

As the communities respond to these shifts in the economy and social life, their culture may

change introducing new ways of viewing issues as well as new ways of defining the gender

identities (Benería, Berik, and Floro, 2015). Globalization, new technologies, conflicts,

development projects and environmental pressures play an important role in shaping the cultures

of various groups across the world (Liñán and Chen, 2009). For example, women were brought

into the labor force sector in Bangladesh after the county change its trade policies that lead to the

development of the garment industry (Benería, Berik, and Floro, 2015). The move to include

women in the labor force industry raised several questions about the role of men and women in

the country. Also, the increasing visibility of women in cities such as Dhaka is influencing the

general perception of the possible roles of females in the workplace and families.

Research Process

The research seeks to use a qualitative approach to investigate the effect of culture on the

implementation of gender equality within businesses in the Middle East countries. A qualitative

approach is normally used to examine a small number of research objects as is the case with the

present research (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls and Ormston, 2013). Qualitative method is utilized to

gain a greater understanding by acquiring deeper information within each object and moving

closer to the reality that is examined. The qualitative method involves obtaining a great amount

of information using a relatively small amount of research objects. The qualitative approach in

this study is expected to provide an easier way of collecting the data required to answer the

research question (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls and Ormston, 2013). There are various qualitative

methods of collecting and analyzing data, and they include surveys, interviews, participant

observation among other methods. Since the present research seeks to answer the questions on

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how culture affects gender equality within businesses, a qualitative method would appropriate

for the research.

The Instrument for Data Collection

The proposed method for data collecting for this research includes the use of interviews

to get the personal experience of the various people on how gender has affected them in their

respective positions in the society. The research seeks to use interviews and structured

questionnaires in the data collecting process. The questionnaires and the interview will be

designed to collect information about the specific cultures of the people of the Middle East that

define the roles of women and men. The questionnaires and the interviews will also inquire about

the number of women in top positions in businesses and corporate organizations in the Middle

East.

The Role of the Researcher

The researcher will be responsible for the planning, initiating, monitoring and collecting

and analyzing the data regarding the research. The researcher will also select the respondents

depending on the sample design parameters. The respondents must be people who have lived in

any of the countries in the Middle East for at least two years. The interviews will be conducted

with the respondents and data collected by administering the questionnaires and conducting face-

to-face interviews with the identified participants. The researcher will also have to identify the

potential participants and obtain their contacts so that he can brief them on the specifics of the

research. The research expects to interview 20 participants who will be international students

from any of the Middle East countries. The researcher will also identify foreign business people

with the Middle East origin to respond to the structured questions regarding the cultural factors

that define the roles of women and men in the communities.

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Sources of Data

The data will be obtained from the interviews conducted and the questionnaires filled by

the identified participants. More information required to answer the research question

comprehensively will be obtained from literature review where secondary sources that address

the topic under investigation will be reviewed. The secondary literature sources will be obtained

from peer-reviewed journal databases including ProQuest and EBSCOhost. The sources selected

will first be tested for credibility and relevance before inclusion for use in the present study. The

relevance will be tested as a matter of time where any document published more than ten years

from the time of conducting the present research will be rejected. More publications will also be

obtained from Google Scholar and Google books. Google scholar articles will be subjected to the

same credibility criteria as from other databases to ensure credibility and relevance. Other

documents will be obtained through the internet search and from relevant websites. The internet

documents with the extensions .gov and .edu will be considered under this category subject to

the credibility criteria explained above.

Work Plan and Timetable

Week

Task

Gathering of the literature sources

Identifying the potential participants

Contacting the potential participants

Preparing the Interview questions and

questionnaires

Conducting the interviews and administering

the questionnaires

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Compiling the final report using the results

collected

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References

Arat, Y., 2010. Religion, Politics and Gender Equality in Turkey: implications of a democratic

paradox?. Third World Quarterly, 31(6), pp.869-884.

Benería, L., Berik, G. and Floro, M., 2015. Gender, development and globalization: economics

as if all people mattered. Routledge.

Coe, N.M., Kelly, P.F. and Yeung, H.W.C., 2007. Economic geography: a contemporary

introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

Ferraro, G.P. and Briody, E.K., 2017. The cultural dimension of global business. Taylor &

Francis.

Gupta, V.K., Turban, D.B., Wasti, S.A. and Sikdar, A., 2009. The role of gender stereotypes in

perceptions of entrepreneurs and intentions to become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship

theory and practice, 33(2), pp.397-417.

Herring, C., 2009. Does diversity pay?: Race, gender, and the business case for

diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), pp.208-224.

Koellinger, P., Minniti, M. and Schade, C., 2013. Gender differences in entrepreneurial

propensity. Oxford bulletin of economics and statistics, 75(2), pp.213-234.

Liñán, F. and Chen, Y.W., 2009. Development and Cross‐Cultural application of a specific

instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship theory and

practice, 33(3), pp.593-617.

Malach Pines, A., Lerner, M. and Schwartz, D., 2010. Gender differences in entrepreneurship:

equality, diversity and inclusion in times of global crisis. Equality, Diversity and

Inclusion: An International Journal, 29(2), pp.186-198.

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Pfau-Effinger, B., 2017. Development of culture, welfare states and women's employment in

Europe. Routledge.

Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C.M. and Ormston, R. eds., 2013. Qualitative research practice:

A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.

Shinnar, R.S., Giacomin, O. and Janssen, F., 2012. Entrepreneurial perceptions and intentions:

The role of gender and culture. Entrepreneurship Theory and practice, 36(3), pp.465-

493.

Tabellini, G., 2010. Culture and institutions: economic development in the regions of

Europe. Journal of the European Economic Association, 8(4), pp.677-716.

Tesch-Römer, C., Motel-Klingebiel, A. and Tomasik, M.J., 2008. Gender differences in

subjective well-being: Comparing societies with respect to gender equality. Social

Indicators Research, 85(2), pp.329-349.

Wilson, F., Kickul, J. and Marlino, D., 2007. Gender, entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, and

entrepreneurial career intentions: implications for entrepreneurship

education. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 31(3), pp.387-406.

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Dissertation Proposal How Culture Affects Gender Inequality within Businesses in the Middle East

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