English Abstract
ABSTRACT :
The progression enjoyed by women in the kingdom of Bahrain today, is in parallel to the social, cultural, and political developments enjoyed by this country. The appointment of women to leadership positions in Bahrain over the past eight years has ushered in a significant departure from the traditionally exclusive male dominated decision-making arena, and suggests an end to an era of absolute patriarchal dominance in leadership positions. In the light of this potential opportunity to reach positions of power and influence, it is crucial to investigate the leadership experience of women who have “made it” to the top in Bahrain, and precisely examine their practised leadership styles within organisations they run with regard to transformational and transactional leadership.
Furthermore, while publications and studies concerned with women’s leadership styles and contributions are on the increase, most of these studies are conducted in western societies which are not necessarily generalisable to other cultures, despite their manifest value. Given the absence of research on this topic, this study contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of women’s leadership in this increasingly important world region, and raises awareness amongst women (and men alike) regarding the leadership styles that contribute to the country’s development.
Research took the form of two in-depth interviews with Bahraini women top managers who have achieved extraordinary levels of career success, and also a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) distributed amongst their employees. Amongst the employees, there was a 52 per cent response rate for the first manager to the survey, while a 47 per cent response rate was obtained for the second manager.
The results indicated that contrary to social perceptions and stereotypes, Bahraini women in top management positions are highly ambitious. Their predominant style was transformational leadership. However, their employees’ perceptions varied between a high number perceiving a transformational leadership style, and different degrees towards a transactional leadership style. Surprisingly, there were perceptions towards laissez- faire leadership for one of them.
