Developing Women’s Leadership Capability in the Pubic Sector in the Middle East

1. Developing Women’s Leadership Capability in the Pubic Sector in the Middle East Dr Beverly Dawn Metcalfe Professor International HRM and Development Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) School of Environment and Development University of Manchester Editorial Member Human Resource Development International University of Manchester 26 in University World Rankings IDPM Number 1 in UK for International Development in UK Research Assessment of Excellence Exercise 2005-2008

2. Aims of Paper • To review women's leadership development in Arab states • Suggest HR strategies for developing women's leadership role in public administration and improving public sector performance • Partnership model for learning leadership and development- international agencies, government, private institutions, transnational organizations, and women's organizations

3. I believe strongly in the rights of women. My mother is a woman. My sister is a woman. My daughter is a woman. My wife is a woman (King Abdallah, 2005 Interview with Barbara Walters) Valuing and Developing Women's Capabilities

4. ‘A common interest that unites men and women… it is one world, one life….for such will be our ruin, if men, in the immensity of their public abstractions forget the private figure, or if we women in the intensity of private emotions forget the public world’Partnership with Men (Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’sOwn, 1929) Women's Leadership: Public and Private

5. Globalisation and Women's Development • Globalisation increased opportunities for women in public sphere • Participation of women in labour force has risen substantially in most global regions since 1990’s. • Education attainment increased in Arab states, especially Gulf

6. Judy RosnerTom Petersrelationship buildingconsideration, communication, empathy Sharing decision making appropriate for social and economic harmony Building trusting relationship Practice humility and an ethics of care Promotion and retention of female talentis essential for competitive advantage in global communities Global Challenges for Talent Management

7. Women's Development in KSA • Princess Adelah, daughter of King Abdullah, • “Saudi women must have the opportunity to participate in social development, at every level”. •  “The King –wants the role of women as active members of society and partners in business increased. He believes that a capable woman honours her father, brother and son”.  

8. Women's Progress • King Abdallahinvested in women's education and development • Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University,

9. HRH Lolowah Al-Faisal Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees and General Supervisor of Effat University Princess Al-Jowhara bint Fahd ibn Muhammad as Head of the largest Women's University in Riyadh, the first woman ever to be given such a senior post Women outnumber men in university entrants and as graduates King Saud University leading University in Gulf States. Women on consultative council KAUST University will provide new education curriculum's for women in science and engineering Women's Achievements in Education and Politics

10. Partnership relationship Multi-agency framework (Metcalfe and Rees, 2005) National HRD Planning National women's development strategy Specialised women's unit Consultation with women's organizations Women's Leadership Development and National HRD Planning

11. Institutional development Development plan for women Curriculum reviews of tertiary and university education to match labour market needs HRD Fund to assist women's education and development CCI to assist in professional skills development Promoting Women's Development

12. Competitive Benefits of Women in Public Administration • Extend business operations • Encourage employee loyalty • Attract wide range of candidates • Reduce absenteeism • Retain valued employees • Increase in motivation and productivity • Initiatives enabled through institutional and government support

13. Incorporate gender perspectives in policy planning and development Promotion of work/life balance National childcare strategy Harriet QC MP Leader of the House of Commons Governance and DevelopmentUK Initiatives

14. Women, Development & HR Systems in Organization Government Individual International Agencies Partnership Model For Developing Female Leadership and Empowerment

15. Women, Development & HR Systems in Organizations Government Individual International Agencies Developing Female Leadership a) Systems premised on incorporating gender in HR benchmarking tool b) Women only leadership programmes and provision of access to mentor and coaches c) Collaborations with local Chambers of Commerce d) Facilitation of women’s networks for professional skills e) Collaboration with global partners (for example Booz and company and Saudi Telecom Aspen Institute Leadership). f) Recruitment monitoring statistics to track women’s development g) Family friendly HR policies

16. Women, Development & HR Systems in Organizations Government Individual International Agencies Developing Female Leadership a) Legislative framework to include gender planning b) Where appropriate establishment of women’s ministries or units to manage women's issues in public policy c) Ensure all ministries have national HRD plan for women in key skill areas such as technology, ICT and finance and other professional sectors d) Ongoing strategy for political empowerment of women e) Provide enabling mechanisms for entrepreneurship support, financial start up and credit counselling g) Collaboration with civil society organizations and development

17. Women, Development & HR Systems in Organizations Government Individual International Agencies Developing Female Leadership a) Women participate in professional networks both local and international to demonstrate commitment to skills development b) Embrace lifelong learning, plan your career and take opportunities for all learning and education opportunities c) Lead and participate in voluntary and community organizations to assist individual and societal development d) Cultivate and project confidence

18. Women, Development & HR Systems in Organizations Government Individual International Agencies Developing Female Leadership Agencies such as the UN and ILO who have a human development focus can work in partnership with government: a) Promote women's agendas in global HR systems b) Encourage employment of qualified local women in senior decision making roles c) Support women’s networking and professional development d) Sponsor women’s further education and professional development- ASPEN, Worldwide Initiative

19. ‘While mentors are important for all organizational members, they are essential for women’ Dorothy Perrin Moore TNC’s Use role models as examples to motivate and inspire Networks Promote/value women’s potential Empowering Women in the Middle EastTransnational Strategies

20. Assertiveness Manage professional image Managing career Self-reflection and self-reflexivity HR Systems Mentor/coaching Maternity provisions Part time/flexible working Women's Leadership Programme Contents

21. Public Women's leadership programmes Family friendly Coaching Mentor Programmes Networks Public LeadershipCase Examples- UK

22. Female Leadership • ‘By valuing diversity of leadership styles, organizations will find strength and flexibility to survive in a highly competitive increasingly diverse economic environment’Judy Rosener, 1990, Ways Women Lead, Harvard Business Review

23. Feminine Becoming? • ‘If you treat people as they are, you will be instrumental in keeping them as they are. If you treat people as they could be, you will help them become what they ought to be’ (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe) • What is a WOMAN ?ALL THAT YOU LET HER BECOME

24. Developing Women for Public RolesUniting Global and Local Perspectives • We should keep an open mind and borrow the good from other cultures... There should be a process of a cultural give and take…The only thing is that we should be careful to take the good and leave the bad. Without doing that, we cannot progress. In the age of globalization, it is impossible to erect barriers. Let us take what is best in other countries, and use it for the healthy growth of our society • (Princess Adelah bint Abdallah, Arab News, 2007)