The Role of Gender in Leader and
Subordinate Relationship, Job Satisfaction
and Career Prospects for Women in Dubai

ABSTRACT

Although women constitute almost 50% of the global population, they remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles. Recognizing the critical role of women in the economy and helping them advance in the workplace, constitute a huge step forward towards reducing this leadership gender gap. Grounded on the gender and leadership theories, this study examines whether women are more likely to have better career advancement opportunities under women leadership. It argues that female gender-specific work behaviors and attitudes play a significant role on the career prospects of expat women employees in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where unlike the global workforce, women have a higher presence and hold more senior positions in the workplace. The study uses the mixed methodology in which qualitative and quantitative data was collected independently, analyzed separately, and interpreted collectively to investigate to what extent the experiences within the specific local context explain the theories. The quantitative data, collected through surveys, was used to locally test the validity of the theories on women leadership, the role of gender in supervisor and subordinate relationship, and the role of gender in job satisfaction. The qualitative data, collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with women Chapter 1: ABSTRACT leaders explored the women’s career experiences and investigated their growth opportunities. The quantitative data analysis provided full support to the role of gender on leader and subordinate relationship dimension, and no support to the role of gender on job satisfaction and career prospects. The themes emerging from the qualitative analysis highlighted organizational support, and transformational leadership style as contributing factors towards women career advancement to top positions. Collectively, the findings revealed the positive role of transformational leadership that offset the role of gender on women job satisfaction and career progression. the results also highlighted the adapted manifestation of the transformational leadership style within the local context. The findings also revealed the role of the UAE gender equality program and its significant positive effect on the career progression of female employees. Implications, recommendations, and limitations are also discussed.

Keywords: Gender, leadership, job satisfaction, and career progression