Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state in which the constitution is based on Islamic rules. Education in Saudi Arabia, for instance, is segregated by sex and divided into two separately administered systems: general education for boys and general education for girls. Both sexes follow the same curriculum and take the same annual examinations with some variations based on societal needs (Baki, 2004). This segregation takes over in workplaces, parties, restaurants, etc. According to Cambell (1993), this can lead to communication and power struggles between males and females.
According to Eagly’s (1987) social theory, gender differences are a “product of the social roles that regulate behavior in adult life” (p. 7). It suggests that women and men have differential status in society because of their social roles. This social role theory states that gender roles are determined by the community social identity for each …show more content…
Overall, very little scholarly attention has been paid to the role of Saudi women in leadership and decision-making positions. According to Burns (1978), transformational leaders can influence followers in away that can change their convictions, needs, and values. Women score higher than men in term of transformational leader since this type of leadership has a style that is related to feminine characteristics (Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero & Martos, 2012). The recent Forbes list of “100 Most Powerful Women” includes a growing number of women from Asia and 18 women were added to this list in 2012. In a study conducted by BusinessWeek and the Hay Group, female executives were able to create increased collaboration, commitment, and inclusiveness among their teams as opposed to their male counterparts. According to the same study male executives were more concerned about the “zero sum game”. According to Bass (1990), women are more transformational leaders than