The narratives of Saudi women leaders in the workplace : a postcolonial feminist study

Abstract

This study focuses on the narratives of Saudi women leaders in the workplace. There is an evident gap in the literature when it comes to Saudi women in the workplace. Much of the literature silences Saudi women’s stories and an overarching theme of challenges is set at the forefront of the discussion. To address this gap, this thesis highlights Saudi women leaders’ narratives in the workplace by asking: How do they construct their leadership identities? How do they resist power and patriarchy in the workplace? And, what alternative forms of knowledge are surfaced from their narratives? To answer these three questions, postcolonial feminism is used as a lens to critique the current literature (master narrative) and to make room for the Saudi women leaders to deconstruct the master narrative (counter narratives). The analysis, in particular, explores the multiple ways in which the women construct their leadership identities, their enactments of resistance, and the women’s various perceptions surrounding feminism in the Saudi context. The analysis brings to light the multiple, contradictory, and complex ways in which Saudi women leaders navigate their roles; thereby, obstructing the linearity of their construction. In using a postcolonial feminist lens, this thesis contributes to the limited knowledge we have on Saudi women leaders, and presents an opportunity to explore how gender, power, and identity formation are constructed and simultaneously resisted within organization studies. Bringing forth new places and people of investigation, while being conscious that it is not being told from a Western centric lens is a valuable contribution to organization studies. Reflexively drawing from my experience as a Saudi woman, I attempt to weave another narrative with the women’s narratives (my narrative), allowing for a more thoughtful discussion. The theoretical contributions of the study are threefold. Firstly, the study addresses a vital gap in the literature, and points to the colonialist ways in which research has been conducted on Saudi women. By surfacing their voices and looking into localized ways in which identities have been constructed, the postcolonial feminist goals of giving voice to women whom have been neglected in organizational management literature is accomplished. Second, leadership identity and resistance are explored in a more contextualized and local lens. Finally, this dissertation contributes to more nuanced understanding of feminism. The heterogeneity and multiplicity of Saudi women’s voices need to be highlighted as a resistance to the monolithic constructions the academic community has been so normalized to hear.