u.n. millennium development goals and gender...

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Centre for Cross Cultural Comparisons Working paper Series: Women_Islam&UN_Millienium Development_Goals_CCCC_2102_5 Reference: Littrell, Romie Frederick & Bertsch, Andy. (2012). U.N. Millennium Development Goals and gender equality in employment in the Middle East. Centre for Cross Cultural Comparisons Working Paper CCCC_2012_5, http://crossculturalcentre.homestead.com/WorkingPapers.html. Formatted U.S. Letter size:

U.N. Millennium Development Goals and gender equality in employment in the Middle East

Romie Frederick Littrell

Associate Professor of International Business Department of International Business Auckland University of Technology

Auckland New Zealand

Email: [email protected]

Andy Bertsch Associate Professor

Department of Business Administration College of Business

Minot State University Minot, North Dakota

USA Email: [email protected]

Submitted for journal review: 06-Apr-2012

Purpose: We address issues relating to the United National Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) in the Middle East, analysing socio-cultural issues having direct relevance to the region's progress toward “Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women”. Methodology: We employ meta-analyses with data from the United Nations, the Arab Human Development Report, and various sources of measurement of national means for Hofstede’s five-dimensional model of cultural value.

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Findings: We find percent of women in employment, excluding the agricultural sector in our sample of Middle East countries has declined since 2000, while in the samples of other Muslim-majority and all other countries the percent employed has increased. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of our research are that complete sets of data for women in employment are not available for all years for all countries in our samples. Practical implications (if applicable): Implications for practice for governments and businesses in Middle East countries are that women are a valuable economic resource who are being excluded from contribution and for the past decade the change in the Middle East has been in a negative direction. Social implications (if applicable): The economic contributions and rights of women in the Middle East lag behind most of the developed and developing nations, including other Muslim-majority nations. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence from publically available data concerning the employment status of women in Middle Eastern nations. We found no similar empirical studies in the literature. The study is of value to planners and policy-makers in business, government, and Non-Governmental Organisations.

Category: Research Paper Keywords: Middle East, Islamic values, tribal values, gender, employment, U.N. Millennium Development Goals Article Classification: Review and meta-analysis

Introduction

In this article for the Foresight special issue, “Is the Middle East the land of the future?”, we will

address issues relating to the United National Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG, United

Nations, 2000) in the Middle East. We will limit our discussion to the third goal, “Promote

Gender Equality and Empower Women”, with specific reference to women’s participation in

business activities. We aspire to shed light on the Middle East and its collective recognition in

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the world scene. Aspects included in this paper will be socio-cultural features which have direct

relevance to the region's progress toward the UNMDG Goal 3.

To guide the development of this paper, the authors reviewed a myriad of lists and have

compiled a broad definition of the Middle East. This was no easy task as the literature has not

included, with consistent specificity, a finite list of countries to be exhaustively defined as the

“Middle East”. To start, we eliminated what the Middle East is not. For the purposes of this

paper, we suggest that the Middle East does not include Maghreb or European nations. We also

suggest that societies of non-Arabic racial descent be excluded. In order to define the overall

focus of this paper, we offer the following societies as our exhaustive list encompassing the

“Middle East”, with generic super-categories.

1. Bahrain (Arabian Peninsula)

2. Egypt

3. Kuwait (Arabian Peninsula)

4. Iraq (Mashriq)

5. Jordan (Mashriq)

6. Lebanon (Mashriq)

7. Oman (Arabian Peninsula)

8. Qatar (Arabian Peninsula)

9. Palestinian Territories

10. Saudi Arabia (Arabian Peninsula)

11. Syria (Mashriq)

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12. United Arab Emirates (Arabian Peninsula)

13. Yemen (Arabian Peninsula)

Note that this includes Arab nations bound by the Arabian Peninsula, Mashriq, and the Sinai

Peninsula. We have chosen to not include Iran (Persian decent), Turkey (Turkish decent), and

the Maghreb region. Also excluded from this list of “Middle East” nations is Israel. Certainly,

Israel is a nation included in the geography bound by the Arabian Peninsula and Mashriq;

however, we suggest that our list be limited to Arab ethnicity, Arab language, and the use of

Arab script.

From the above list of thirteen nations, we were forced to eliminate the Palestinian Territories

due to the fact that comprehensive data was not available. For the purposes of this paper, we will

use the twelve remaining nations as our representative definition of the Middle East.

Thomas, Cuervo-Cazurra & Brannen (2011) suggest that manuscript authors pay particular

attention to properly and thoroughly describe the relationships between constructs. Specifically,

Thomas et al. offer that “…authors cannot assume that readers will somehow automatically

understand how the constructs are related to or build on each other” (p. 1074). With this in mind,

we endeavour to provide insight into the relationships between societal cultural values and

observable environmental indices of gender equality. This article is a survey and review article,

and is exploratory in nature; hence we are seeking to identify and define relationships rather than

test hypotheses. We are exploring the relationships, if any, between the UN’s Millennium

Development Goal 3, Target 11 (sometimes labelled as Goal 3.2), and cultural value dimension

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scores from Hofstede’s five-dimensional (5D) framework with specific emphasis on Middle

Eastern countries.

U.N. Millennium Development Goals

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) initiative has brought the long-

existing issue of women's rights in the Middle East to increased prominence, in tandem with

research studies, policy debates, and feminist activism. The UNMDG goal and target we are

specifically concerned with is Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women; Target

11: Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector.

As an adjunct, we carried out an extensive literature review concerning gender equity in

education and found that nearing parity or exceeding female/male parity in education and

literacy outcomes did not appear to be significantly positively related to share of employment for

women; so we will focus on the latter, as the very low participation of women in the labour force

and low employment levels are widely considered a missed opportunity for economic growth

and development (Chamlou et al., 2008). The World Economic Forum and the Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and Development (WEF & OECD) (2011) report significant progress in

the region to increase women’s educational attainment rates, and over the past decade, almost all

Middle East & North Africa (MENA) countries have closed 90 percent or more of the gender

gap in education. However, these improvements in education have not been matched with

comparable increases in female labour force participation rates: approximately 33 percent of

working-age women join the labour force, compared with 56 percent in global low- and middle-

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income countries and 61 percent in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development) member countries. Furthermore, in all countries of the MENA region (with the

exception of the Palestinian Authority) women who join the labour force have consistently

higher involuntary unemployment rates than their male counterparts. The gender gap in

unemployment is largest in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and Egypt,

where the female involuntary unemployment rate is nearly four times the male unemployment

rate. The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) in 2006, OECD data

(O’Sullivan, Rey & Galvez Mendez, 2011), and the United Nations Development Programme

(Chaaban, 2010) indicate the labour market outcomes for women in the MENA region could be

attributed to prevailing cultural attitudes, gendered laws, and weak support services (see also

World Bank, 2011).

Timmer & McClelland (2004, p. 3) point out that the status of women in Muslim countries, as

measured by employment, education, health, and political participation varies by region. For

example, women’s participation in the labour force in Muslim-majority countries in Europe,

Eurasia, and East Asia is close to that of developed countries. However, women’s participation is

much lower in the MENA region and South Asia than in developed countries, and lower than in

other Muslim-majority countries. Political participation measured by the proportion of female

seats in parliament in Muslim-majority countries is higher than in OECD countries, except in the

MENA region. In the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia negative discrimination

concerning women is institutionalised in laws and societal practices that prohibit women from

fully participating in public life or fully competing in the labour market.

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Korinek (2005) provides a review of evidence of micro- and macro-level studies that indicates

that gender inequality inhibits long-term national economic growth. Korinek suggests two

reasons. First, better-educated women with more control over household resources have been

shown to bring an increase in spending on children’s education, health, and nutrition; thereby

investing in future generations and the future labour force. This is particularly true in developing

countries where household resources are relatively scarce. Second, unused female potential in

terms of lower levels of education, employment, remuneration, and access to productive

resources implies that the allocation of economy-wide resources is sub-optimal. Timmer &

McClelland (2004, pp. 7-8) believe a significant contributor to the lack of significant economic

progress in the Muslim world is due in large part to the relegation of women to an inferior

position in society whereby the Islamic world reduces the contributions from the talents and

energies of half its people.

Moghadam (2008) summarises commentary from area experts who contend that for women to

play a larger role in the economy and society is vital to the Middle East region's progress. Our

literature review indicates women in the region still face gender discrimination that prevents

them from reaching their potential, despite impressive gains in education and health. To varying

degrees across the countries, discrimination against women is built into cultural attitudes,

government policies, and legal frameworks. The region's family laws codify discrimination

against women and girls, placing them in a position subordinate to men in the family, a practice

that is then replicated in the economy and society. For example, Korinek (2005) finds evidence

that women are constrained from moving into more skilled, higher-paying jobs when trade

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liberalisation occurs because they have less access to resources, advanced and developmental

education, and time.

The World Values Surveys (Inglehart & Welzel, 2005 & 2010) are designed to measure all major

areas of human concern, from religion to politics to economic and social life. Two dimensions

dominate the picture: (1) Traditional vs. Secular-rational values and (2) Survival vs. Self-

expression values. These two dimensions explain more than 70 percent of the cross-cultural

variance on scores of more specific values. The traditional vs. secular-rational values dimension

reflects the contrast between societies in which religion is very important and those in which it is

not. Also, societies near the traditional pole emphasize the importance of parent-child ties and

deference to authority, along with absolute standards and traditional family values. Such

societies also reject divorce, abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. Societies with secular-rational

values have the opposite preferences on all of these topics.

The second major dimension of cross-cultural variation, Survival vs. Self-expression values, is

linked with the transition from an industrial society to a post-industrial society. The

unprecedented wealth that has accumulated in advanced societies during the past generation

means that an unprecedented share of the population has grown up taking survival for granted.

Thus, priorities have shifted from an emphasis on economic and physical security above all,

toward increasing emphasis on subjective well-being, self-expression, and the quality of life.

Societies with low secular-rational values have the opposite preferences on all of these topics.

Middle Eastern Islamic countries are amongst the highest globally in traditional and survival

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values. These values are generally associated with lower economic development.

Historical perspective on women’s economic activity in the Middle East

Summarising Ahmed (1992), Chamlou et al. (2008), Johnson-Odim & Strobel (1999), and

Tucker & Nashat (1999) and Meriwether & Tucker (1999): In pre-Islamic, medieval-Islamic, and

contemporary-Islamic societies in the Middle East women engaged in a variety of economic

activities in agriculture, craft and textile production, the tending of livestock, trade, and other

areas. In fact, many women engaged in economic activity that not only supplied subsistence but

also generated wealth, especially in agricultural and trade sectors of the economy. In some cases,

women were engaged in large scale buying and selling of commodities. Khadija, the first wife of

the Prophet Mohammed, was a renowned and wealthy businesswoman, one of many of her time,

and an important female role model in Islam. Even where women engaged in local, small-scale

trade, they could be very important to the growth and development of long-distance trade and of

port towns and urban centres. Original Islamic law permits women to inherit and independently

own property; women of the middle class often had property and engaged in various business

activities such as selling and buying real estate, renting out shops, and lending money. The

absence of male heirs or widowhood could also create economic opportunity for women. Under

such circumstances women ran businesses and participated in trades. In Syria the gedik, a license

that allowed one to practice a trade, was normally inherited by sons from their fathers. In the

absence of a male heir, women could inherit the gedik, and although prevented from practicing

the trade, they could sell, rent, or bequeath the license. Hence we see that the original rules of

Islam do not prevent women from participating in business activities.

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Hofstede’s Five-Dimensional Model1 in the Middle East

There are many theoretical models of societal and national culture, see Taras, Rowney & Steel

(2009) for a review of the predominant ones. We select Hofstede’s 5D model of national cultural

value dimensions, operationalised by his Values Survey Module – 94 (Hofstede & Hofstede,

n.d.). There is much literature supporting the use of Hofstede’s models; recent reviews are

provided in Taras et al. (2009) and Minkov & Hofstede (2011). One justification for choosing

Hofstede’s 5D model is that studies based upon this model provided the largest array of scores

for our selected countries in our final 12-nation definition of the “Middle East”. The lack of

available data from the Middle East eliminated other models such as the GLOBE 9-dimension

model.

From research relating to Hofstede’s 5D model in the Middle East, we find generally high

national means for the Power Distance Index (PDI) and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) as

characteristic for the region. This grouping of scores indicates that it is expected and accepted

that leaders separate themselves from followers, and followers expect complete and specific

directives rather than empowerment. High PDI societies accept high levels of inequality of

power and wealth within the society. These populations have an expectation and acceptance that

leaders will isolate themselves from followers, and this condition is accepted by the society as

their cultural heritage. Findings show that people in high PDI societies tend to be less responsive

to unfair treatment and less likely to voice concerns over inequality, thereby preferring more

1 The dimensions are Individualism/Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity/Femininty, and Long-term / Short-term Orientation. The most recent definitions, descriptions, and discussions are in Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov (2010). The indices normally have a value between 0 (a low tendency to exhibit the behaviours defined by a dimension, and 100 (a strong tendency), but values below 0 and above 100 are technically possible, and often observed.

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cooperative indirect modes of communication (Brockner et al., 2001; Merkin, 2006). Therefore,

if communication opportunities are restricted, as may occur for women in the Middle East, the

voice is silenced. The high UAI implies tendencies to minimize or reduce uncertainty through

strict rules, laws, policies, and regulations being implemented, with the ultimate goal to minimise

the unexpected. As a result of this high UAI characteristic, the society does not readily accept

change and tends to be very risk adverse.

When combined, high PDI and high UAI mean scores result in societies that are more likely to

follow a caste system that retards significant upward mobility of its citizens, whilst inequalities

of power and wealth are allowed to grow within the society. In societies where these two

dimensions are both high, a situation is created where leaders have virtually ultimate power and

authority, and the rules, laws and regulations developed by those in power reinforce their own

leadership and control. It is not unusual for new leadership to arise only from armed insurrection

as the ultimate power, rather than from diplomatic or democratic change. This is seen from the

history and current events in the region.

We often find low Masculinity means for Middle East societies. According to Hofstede,

Hofstede & Minkov (2010), high Masculinity implies a society in which emotional gender roles

are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success;

women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life, and High

Femininity means indicate a society in which emotional gender roles overlap: both men and

women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. However, the

index formula from the VMS 94 Users’ Manual is:

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MAS = +60m(05) –20m(07) +20m(15) –70m(20) +100

in which m(05) is the mean score for question 05, etc. The items are:

Please think of an ideal job, disregarding your present job, if you have one. In choosing

an ideal job, how important would it be to you to:

o Item 5. work with people who cooperate well with one another

o Item 7. have an opportunity for advancement to higher level jobs

To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

o Item 15.Most people can be trusted

o Item 20. When people have failed in life it is often their own fault

The region’s Masculinity index (about at the global average, see Table 1) would appear to be

influenced by the heavily weighted relationship-orientated (item 5) and Fatalism-orientated (item

20) statements, rather than any acceptance of equality of gender roles. Reflecting on the fact that

the original theory-defining sample came from IBM employees in the 1970s, we can speculate

that the typical female IBM employee was not representative of the general population of

females in countries, particularly in Middle Eastern countries, which could possibly affect the

generalizability of the1980 national mean scores.

Recent studies (to be further discussed herein) indicate evolution of scores for

Individualism/Collectivism since Hofstede’s (1980) original studies. The lowest Hofstede

dimension relative to the rest of the world for the Middle East countries is usually the

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Individualism ranking (high Collectivism) indicating a close, generally life-time commitment to

specific in-groups, beginning from immediate family, extended family, and other extended

relationships. Loyalty, favouritism, and nepotism are expected in return for support and

protection and override most other societal rules.

Measuring Culture

Hofstede (2001) aggregated his Arabic-speaking countries into a region. At one point individual

country data existed; however, when Hofstede started to analyze the Arab countries, he found

that the computer magnetic tape with the data had been erased and the paper copy showing a per-

country basis had been lost. Only a region-level paper copy remained. Because of this, Hofstede

was forced to group Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia together as the

“Arab World” score. This lost some fidelity of the cultural dimension scores. For example,

Hofstede (2001, p. 53) believes that there would have been significantly different indexes for

Egypt and for Lebanon. We will not use nor replicate this summary average of scores.

Unfortunately we still find studies in the 21st century that continue to combine country scores

into an Arab World average, despite Hofstede’s admonition not to do this.

Hofstede (2001) indicates that both the United Arab Republic and Egypt were included in the

data set. This appears to be a typo in the 2nd edition of Hofstede’s book (2001). The United Arab

Republic originally consisted of present-day Syria and Egypt, and was formed in 1958. However,

Syria succeeded from the union in 1961. In 1971, Egypt stopped using the name United Arab

Republic and switched back to its prior and current name. It appears that the use of the United

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Arab Republic is a mistake and should be considered to be Egypt where found, as Syria is not

referenced anywhere in the 2001 book or the cultural dimension lists.

Most of business and culture research has been based on severely narrow, ahistorical, and

linguistically naïve concepts frequently driven by flawed, incomplete literature reviews

(Yeganeh, Su & Chrysotome, 2004;Yeganeh & Su, 2006; Yeganeh, Su & Sauers, 2009; Vaara,

2000; Earley & Singh, 1995). In an important and apparently not sufficiently widely read article

Schaffer & Riordan (2003) supported, for example, by Jenner, MacNab, Briley, Brislin &

Worthley (2008), provide evidence that current research efforts should directly measure culture

dimensions and not use Hofstede’s published rankings as an automatic proxy for contemporary

societies. Comparing original Hofstede rankings for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Jenner et al.

find mixed results compared to the 1980 and 2001 scores. These findings support Schaffer &

Riordan's (2003) position that researchers should not assume distal or sample equivalence to the

Hofstede (1980) rankings. Hofstede has published updated scores (Hofstede, n.d.; Hofstede,

Hofstde & Minkov, 2010), but the admonition still holds. However, Hofstede and Peterson

(2000) contend that existing research results on cultural values can be used as representative of

nations as long as there is a close match between the characteristics of (i) the sample upon which

the previous research was conducted and (ii) the current sample. The scores we are seeking are

of the general population of businesspeople in a country, a close match to the samples of our

sources. Operationalisation of values using scores for Hofstede’s dimensions are not absolute

measures, but relative positions by which nations can be compared (Hofstede, 2001, p. 73) in a

single study. A score for Power Distance, measured from questions in Hofstede’s instrument,

gives only an indication of the rich cultural variety by which values concerning social

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distribution of power in society tend to vary. “Cultural dimensions were never intended to

provide a complete basis for analyzing a culture” (Hofstede & Peterson, 2000, p. 404). If these

dimensions are seen as approximations for constructs of cultural values, and if these cultural

values affected IBM staff in their survey responses per Hofstede (1980), the issue is not whether

the samples are representative of national populations, but whether differences between their

responses are representative of differences in cultural values. This point seems to be lost on

many cross-cultural researchers.

There have been many criticisms of Hofstede’s processes, model, and sample that have been

sufficiently deflected and dealt with by Williamson (2002). As advice for future researchers, the

Values Survey Module 08 is not excessively long and can easily be included in survey research

instruments to obtain valid data for comparisons.

As this is a survey, review, and summary analyses article, we endeavoured to locate academic,

practitioner, and consultant studies in the past ten to fifteen years that have generated more

recent estimates of national culture means for Hofstede’s 5D model. We carried out an extensive

review of studies using Hofstede’s 4D and 5D theories that employed the VSM 94 in Middle

Eastern countries (Abdulram, 2011; Al Dulaimi & Bin Sailan, 2011; Alkailani, 2009; Al-

Nashmi, Rahman & Zin, 2011; At-Twaijri & Al-Muhaiza,1996; Cairns, Oshlyansky &

Thimbleby, 2006; Chaitani, 2010; El Said, 2005; Hadizadeh-Moghadam & Assar, 2008; Merkin

& Ramadan, 2010; Ribiere & Zhang, 2010; Sharifian & Moaydi,2010; Taras, Steele & Kirkman,

2011; Tolba, 2003; Isa, Nor & Mehad, 2009). We found extreme dispersion of scores that

appears to result from sample variation. We were unable to come up with a satisfactory set of 5D

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scores from meta-analyses of the studies. We contacted ITIM International (itim.org) who

produce and maintain a set of Hofstede’s 5D scores at geert-hofstede.com under license from

Hofstede, based upon the Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov (2010) published scores and ITIM’s

own research. ITIM was very helpful and co-operative in providing the scores and discussing

their processes for calculating scores. We are convinced their scores are reliable and valid

estimates of national means. For consistency we have used that data set which provides the most

complete data for the chosen twelve “Middle East” nations. Some Long-Term Orientation scores

were missing, so we employed our literature review results to determine best estimates for

national means for that dimension.

Insert Table 1 about here

Method

To summarise our approach in support of our methods, this article is a survey and review article,

and is exploratory, hence we are seeking to define relationships rather than test hypotheses. We

are exploring the relationships, if any, amongst the UN’s Millennium Development Goal 3,

Target 11, and cultural value dimension scores from Hofstede’s five-dimensional framework

with specific emphasis on Middle Eastern countries. Our literature review leads us to believe that

these relationships are heretofore unresolved and unexplored. Further, we seek to discover new

information and new relationships (Zikmund & Babin, 2007); therefore, we have selected a

sample based on convenience, an important aspect of exploratory research, with the convenience

being those countries and years for which usable data is available. This is a reasonable and

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acceptable process, see, e.g. Hair, Babin, Money, & Samouel (2003); Malhotra (2007); and

Zikmund & Babin (2007). Our methodology is to explore relationships between observable

gender equality variables and national mean scores from Hofstede’s 5D model; exploring the

relationship between culture and specific behaviours.

Data sources

The Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, collects

and publishes data tracking the “Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural

sector” across the world (180+ societies). The UNSD has been collecting this data, amongst

other elements, since 1990. This particular data set is the percentage of all the women in each

respective society who are employed in non-agricultural sectors. We cross list it against the

available Hofstede 5D scores for the societies where published data from reliable and valid

sources are available.

In our meta-analysis, we were unable to come up with a consistent set of Hofstede 5D scores

from myriad published studies. Based upon our past experience with the company, we contacted

ITIM International (www.itim.org) who produce and maintain a set of Hofstede’s 5D scores at

geert-hofstede.com under license from Hofstede, based upon the Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov

(2010) published scores and ITIM’s own research. ITIM was very helpful and cooperative in

providing the scores and discussing their processes for calculating scores. We are convinced their

scores are reliable and valid estimates of national means. For consistency we have used the ITIM

data set which provides the most complete data. Through personal contact with Michael Minkov

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(also see Hofstede & Minkov, 2010) we have provided what we believe are valid estimates of the

Long-Term/Short-Term Orientation scores where they were missing.

Trifurcating the Data

We split the world data into three mutually exclusive categories.

Set 1 contains the “Middle East”; typically defined by researchers and practitioners as the

Gulf States, Mashriq, and Egypt including Arab ethnicity, Arab language, and the use of

Arab script.

Set 2 contains all those nations, for which there was data available that had a majority

Muslim population, excluding those nations that were in Set 1 ( “Set 2: Majority

Muslim”).

Set 3 contained all of the remaining nations for which data was available, excluding Set 1

and Set 2 (“Set 3: All Others”).

Analysis

For the purposes of this Foresight special issue, our analysis was limited to those years that

correspond to the period since the UN’s Millennium Development Goals were established. Our

analysis included tracking the changes in the share of women who are employed in the non-

agricultural sector since the year 2000. Using the Statistics Division, Department of Economic

and Social Affairs, United Nations, data for “Share of women in wage employment in the non-

agricultural sector”, a line was fit between the x and y axis (x=year from 2000 to 2009; y=’share

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of women…’) for each society. The slope of that line was calculated using the Least Squares

method. The standard error of the slope was also calculated. Some societies had a positive trend

line (increasing share of women employed), and some negative (decreasing share of women

employed) during the period of 2000 to 2009. As may be seen in Table 2, the average slope of

“Set 1: Middle East” was negative, indicating an average decrease in the share of women

employed in non-agricultural sectors since the proposing of the UNMDG. The average slope was

positive for the other two sets. Two-sample t-tests with unequal sample sizes and non-

homogenous variances were run. As illustrated in Table 2, two of the three means were found to

be significantly different at p<0.05.


“Gulf States+Mashriq+Egypt” (our definition of the “Middle East” for the purposes of this

paper) had a lower change in female participation in non-agricultural sectors compared to “Set 2:

Majority Muslim” nations and “Set 3: All Others” for the period of 2000 to 2009. Set 2: Muslim

Majority and Set 3: All Others shows no significant differences in the slopes. The data and

analyses indicate that the change in employment rate of women in Set 1: Middle East is

significantly lower than for the other two samples.

We turn our attention to the Hofstede 5D scores to determine if any of the cultural dimension

scores would be significantly different across our three datasets. Means and standard errors for

each of the five dimensions of PDI, IDV, MAS, UAI, and LTO were calculated for each of the

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three societal groups. Table 3 indicates the summary scores while Table 4 illustrates the results

of the two-sample t-tests for each explored relationship.



We find:

Set 1: Middle East had a significantly lower IDV score than Set 2: Majority Muslim at

p<0.05,

Set 1: Middle East had a significantly higher UAI score than Set 2: Majority Muslim at

p<0.05;

and,

Set 1: Middle East had a significantly higher PDI score than Set 3: All Others at p<0.05,

Set 1: Middle East had a significantly higher UAI score than Set 3: All Others at p<0.05,

Set 1: Middle East had a significantly lower LTO score than Set 3: All Others at p<0.05;

and,

Set 2: Majority Muslim had a significantly higher PDI score than Set 3: All Others at p <

0.05,

Set 2: Majority Muslim had a significantly lower IDV score than Set 3: All others at p <

0.01.

Discussion and Conclusions

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This study found two significant differences in the slope coefficients of the share of women’s

participation in non-agricultural employment opportunities:

The employment rate of women in the non-agricultural sectors during the period since

announcement of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals has decreased in Middle East

(Set 1) countries compared to rate increases in Set 2: Muslim-majority countries and Set

3: non-Muslim-majority countries. This indicates that the countries in the Middle East

sample will likely not achieve the UNMDG by the end of the period.

Considering the Muslim-majority sample outside the Middle East (Set 2), the rates for

women are not significantly different when compared to Set 3: All Others. This outcome

implies that there are factors other than the acceptance of Islam influencing the

employment of women.

Concerning differences in Hofstede’s dimensions for the three country lists in Tables 5 and 6, Set

1: Middle East and Set 2: Muslim-Majority sample means were significantly higher than the

“rest of the world” along the PDI continuum.



We would expect both men and women in Set 1 and Set 2 countries to accept the unequal

distribution of power. Metcalfe (2006, 2007, 2008) and Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalf (2011) refer

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to the Islamic Gender Order which is based on sexual differences and specifies that men and

women have different economic and social roles. They find gender hierarchies are firmly

embedded in cultural and organisational practices. Interpretations of the Qur’an2 in various

fatawa3 make explicit many cultural and social practices that discriminate against and

disadvantage women in the workplace, although these are differently interpreted and

implemented across Middle Eastern Islamic states depending on the nature of Islamic

jurisprudence that is followed. Al-Lamky (2007) suggests that in the Arabian Gulf societies it is

widely believed that women’s place is primarily at home, and if professionally inclined their

participation is expected to be in the areas of education, health (mainly nurses) and other support

or clerical jobs, largely at the lower end of organisational hierarchies. Leadership positions are

typically reserved for men. Yet it is also essential to avoid generalisations which ignore vast

social, economic and political diversity throughout the region. As an example of one extreme,

Human Rights Watch (2008, p. 2) states the Saudi Arabian government essentially treats adult

women like legal minors compared to developed countries. However, Human Rights Watch

(2010) report that in Saudi Arabia some progress is being made in lifting some restrictions on

women since 2005 by King Abdullah bin Abd al-‘Aziz Al Saud. It appears that our findings

support the unequal treatment of women in the Set 1: Middle East countries where the mean

slope measuring the rate of change of the share of women in non-agricultural sectors was

significantly lower than Set 2 and Set 3.

2 We find various spellings, Koran, Quran, Qu’ran, and Qur’an in publications. We will employ Qur’an. 3 A fatwā, plural fatāwā, in Islamic practice is a ruling capable of having a legal effect concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam a fatwā is generally non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. Some Muslims argue that anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (fatwā) on teachings (MacFarquhar, 2009).

23

Along the UAI continuum, we found Set 1 to be significantly higher than both Set 2 and Set 3.

Hofstede (1985, p. 348) suggests that higher UAI scores indicates support of beliefs promising

certainty and institutions that protect societal conformity. Al-Ahmadi (2011) and Alajmi (2001)

find the cultures and customs of the tribal community prevailing and continuing in the Middle

East and the Arabian Peninsula from prior to the establishment of Islam. These have contributed

to the conservative orientation towards women in the region. Effendi (2003, cited in Al-Ahmadi,

2011) further argues that as most Arab cultures are patriarchal they place women in a passive

role at work and in the family. Therefore, Effendi maintains that it is not Islam as such that

places women in these roles, but rather the way that patriarchal societies interpret Islam to

support their positions regarding what is and is not acceptable behaviour for women. Abdulla

(1996) studied attitudes towards women in the Arabian Gulf region and found men were not

willing to share public responsibilities with women. Similarly, Ibrahim (1997, cited in Al-

Ahmadi, 2011) points out that there is a major contradiction in the views in the Arab world

towards women, which reflects a deep rift in the fabric of Arab culture. Ibrahim found that social

institutions such as the family, school and the media play a critical role in perpetuating negative

values and attitudes towards women’s work and role in society. Although these attitudes towards

women are not unique to the Arab world, there they are ingrained in day-to-day opinions,

attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. In high Power Distance, high Uncertainty Avoidance regimes

these behaviours will be difficult to change.

For Set 1, the combination of a high PDI score (relative to Set 3) and a high UAI score (relative

to both Set 2 and Set 3) seems to retard the rate of change for the share of women in non-

24

agricultural employment opportunities, and likely explains the negative slope of Set 1: Middle

Eastern societies.

Along the IDV continuum, we found both Set 1 and Set 2 to be significantly lower than Set 3.

The lowest Hofstede dimension relative to the rest of the world for the Middle East countries is

usually the Individualism ranking (high Collectivism), with loyalty to close in-groups,

favouritism in business and government, and nepotism expected in return for support and

protection and override most other societal rules.

Along the LTO continuum, there was only one statistically significant difference where Set 1:

Middle East had a significantly lower LTO score than Set 3: All Others, at p<0.05. This is in

line with the Hofstede and Minkov (2010) conclusions that Muslim nations are found to be at the

short-term-oriented end of the LTO continuum. They further suggest that economic

development of Muslim nations will be a slow process and may even have episodes of disaster.

We can easily relate this to Korinek (2005) who suggests that unused female potential in terms of

lower levels of education, employment, remuneration and access to productive resources implies

that the allocation of economy-wide resources is sub-optimal.

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Table 1. Relative Positions of Means for Hofstede’s Five Dimensional Model for Middle East Nations

Country Power Distance

Individualism Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance

Long-Term Orientation

Bahrain 46 38 53 77 39 Egypt 70 25 45 80 20 Iraq 95 30 70 85 30 Jordan 70 30 45 65 35 Kuwait 90 25 40 80 0 Lebanon 75 40 65 50 34 Oman 60 52 12 72 Not available Qatar 41 78 32 55 41 Saudi Arabia 95 25 60 80 36 Syria 80 35 52 60 30 UAE 90 25 50 80 10 Yemen 56 48 40 92 52 Average 72.3 37.6 47.0 73.0 29.7 SD 18.6 15.7 15.5 12.8 14.70 Maximum 95.0 78.0 70.0 92.0 52.0 Minimum 41.0 25.0 12.0 55.0 0.0 Global descriptives* Mean 59.3 45.2 49.5 67.6 45.5 SD 21.3 24.0 19.3 23.0 24.2 Maximum 104.0 91.0 110.0 112.0 100.0 Minimum 11.0 6.0 5.0 8.0 0.0

Power Distance

Individualism Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance

Long-Term Orientation

*From http://www.geerthofstede.nl/

36

Table 2. Two-sample t-tests of ‘Share of women employed in non-agricultural sector’ Two Sample t-test Unequal sample size Unequal variance

t-test Results

Set 1: Middle East and Set 2: Majority Muslim

t = - 3.34 p < 0.05

The slope of the fitted line for Set 1 is significantly lower than Set 2 at p<0.05.

Set 1: Middle East and Set 3: All Others

t = - 3.86 p < 0.01

The slope of the fitted line for Set 1 is significantly lower than Set 3 at p<0.01.

Set 2: Majority Muslim and Set 3: All Others

t = 1.21 p < 0.29

Not Significant

37

Table 3. Summary Scores for Cultural Dimensions for Sample Sets Mean SE N Set 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 PDI 72.3 74.6 61.0 5.4 5.2 2.3 12 9 81 IDV 37.6 27.0 40.5 4.5 3.9 2.5 12 9 81 MAS 47.0 51.9 47.8 4.5 3.8 2.0 12 9 81 UAI 73.0 61.2 64.1 3.7 4.7 2.6 12 9 81 LTO 29.7 21.7 42.8 4.4 11.7 4.3 11 3 35

38

Table 4: Two-sample t-tests of Hofstede’s 5D model across three societal groups Set 1 & Set 2 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 1 & 2 1.01 0.90 0.89 0.91 2.07 t -2.20 11.75 -5.50 12.89 3.89 probability 0.384 0.046 (1) 0.207 0.034 (1) 0.285 Set 1 & Set 3 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 1 & 2 0.69 0.64 0.63 0.58 0.72 t 16.34 -4.51 -1.21 15.27 -18.01 probability 0.036 (1) 0.292 0.439 0.030 (1) 0.021 (1) Set 2 & Set 3 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 2 & 3 0.78 0.68 0.67 0.75 2.00 t 17.41 -19.75 6.20 -3.85 -10.54 probability 0.018 (1) 0.005 (2) 0.175 0.301 0.102

(1) p < 0.05; (2) p < 0.01

39

Table 5: Two-sample t-tests of ‘Share of women employed in non-agricultural sector’ Two Sample t-test Unequal sample size Unequal variance

t-test Results

Set 1: Middle East and Set 2: Majority Muslim

t = - 3.34 p < 0.05

The slope of the fitted line is for Set 1 is significantly lower than Set 2

Set 1: Middle East and Set 3: All Others

t = - 3.86 p < 0.01

The slope of the fitted line is for Set 1 is significantly lower than Set 3

Set 2: Majority Muslim And Set 3: All Others

t = 1.21 p < 0.29

Not Significant

40

Table 6: Two-sample t-tests of Hofstede’s 5D model across three societal groups Set 1 & Set 2 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 1 & 2 1.01 0.90 0.89 0.91 2.07 t -2.20 11.75 -5.50 12.89 3.89 probability 0.384 0.046 (1) 0.207 0.034 (1) 0.285 Set 1 & Set 3 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 1 & 2 0.69 0.64 0.63 0.58 0.72 t 16.34 -4.51 -1.21 15.27 -18.01 probability 0.036 (1) 0.292 0.439 0.030 (1) 0.021 (1) Set 2 & Set 3 PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO SE of Sets 2 & 3 0.78 0.68 0.67 0.75 2.00 t 17.41 -19.75 6.20 -3.85 -10.54 probability 0.018 (1) 0.005 (2) 0.175 0.301 0.102

(1) p < 0.05; (2) p < 0.01

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