Call for Papers: AOM 2014 Paper Symposium Proposal The Bursting Pipeline: Gender, HR, and Avenues for Regional Development in the Arab Middle East The term Bursting Pipeline captures the growing situation in the Arab Middle East where more and more women are equipped with knowledge, skills, and abilities, but are unable to secure employment (see Karam & Afiouni, 2013). Indeed, women face many barriers and various disadvantages that often preclude access to employment, career progression, managerial/executive positions, board membership, and legitimate roles in the formal economy (Jamali, 2009; Metcalfe, 2008, Sidani, 2005). In contrast to the Leaking Pipeline described in many national contexts in Europe and North America (see Blickenstaff, 2005, PWC Gender Advisory Council, 2008), it appears that in the Arab world the pipeline is experiencing ever-increasing pressure, adding to the frustration felt throughout the region (Moghadam, 2005; Karam& Jamali, 2013). This effect is enhanced by the regional demographic trends that exacerbate the barriers to access (Forstenlechner, Madi, Selim, & Rutledge, 2011). The high rates of population growth in GCC countries, for example, has led to large numbers of young people entering the employment market, with men given priority over women (Harry, 2007). Corroborating this beyond the GCC, the World Bank (2012) estimates that 40 percent of the Arab world population is under 14 and therefore the pressures on the employment market is continuously increasing. For women the barriers to employment are greater when compared to their male counterparts, with women continuing to be the subjected to discrimination, oppression, and gender inequality (Moghadam, 2005; Sidani, 2005; Jamali, 2009; Karam & Afiouni, 2013). Adding to these mounting disadvantages, increasingly large unemployment rates and the slowing economies of the Arab Middle East (UN, 2012, ILO, 2010) make it even harder on women to access the labor market. Clearly, there is a need for better HR policies to facilitate women's access to employment in the formal sectors. Indeed, Routledge et al. (2011) suggest that despite policymakers' efforts toward women-friendly labor nationalization policies, only marginal increases in female participation rates have resulted and therefore systemic reforms and efforts are needed to dissipate the pressure. Considerations concerning the potential for decreasing the pipeline pressure and for shaping positive gender change through the development of HR systems in local organizations, as well as improving the day-to-day lived experiences of these women in the workplace are the key focus of the proposed symposium. This symposium calls for papers that consider the development possibilities for HR value creation to help reduce the pressure in the pipeline. Some initial work in this regard includes, for example, Metcalfe (2011) in which she proposes a framework for conceptualizing a national human resource development model that places gender at center stage and Arab women's empowerment as a primary objective. She argues in favor of the value of a gender lens in HR investigations in the region and that by adopting such a lens national HR development planning and initiatives can more fully embrace national skill formation and social-economic development for positive developmental change. Such research highlights the need for approaching human resource management in the region by stepping within the particularities of the region. Here Özbilgin Syed, Ali, and Torunoglu (2012); Afiouni, Karam and El-hajj (2013), Metcalfe (2008) acknowledge the importance of defining indigenously-relevant HR systems and processes and not merely ones adopted from elsewhere. Moreover, in their introduction to the recent special issue on HRM in the Middle East, Afiouni, Ruel and Schuler (2014) highlight the importance of this research stream to inform better HR in the Middle East and call for further investigations along these lines. For this 2014 AOM Symposium, papers are welcome that examine the bursting pipeline from various angles and at various levels of analysis including: the international level (e.g., human rights initiatives, social justice and inclusion agendas); macrolevel (e.g., public sector reform, employment policies, economic legislations, economic and social development agendas, women's movements and networks, state welfare); the organizational level (e.g., affirmative action, work-life balance policies, diversity policies, career development plans, governance, safe learning environments); and the level of individual experiences. We especially invite empirical explorations of the possible sources of this pipeline block beyond patriarchal biases and gender stereotypes. Efforts to dissect variant and protracted forces sustaining such blocks or helping to dissipate them are relevant, especially those with a particular focus on indigenous HR policies as a fundamental mechanism for gender development and the progression of women in the workplace. Although not exhaustive, the following is a list of some relevant questions that can help guide contributors as they reflect on possible topics to include: External Environmental Influences that Augment or Dissipate the Pipeline Pressure · What implication does the current socio-political turmoil and civil unrest in the region have for restricting and/or improving the access of women into the workplace/workforce? · What implication does the move away from a reliance on oil- and mineral-related industries suggest in terms of changes to the labor supply and how can this serve to improve the gender representation in the labor force and in the workplace? · What are some legitimate cultural mechanisms through which positive change in favor of women's fair and equitable participation in the workforce and in the workplace can unfold? · By what cultural-specific mechanisms are women gaining power in Arab nations that score higher on gender empowerment vis-à-vis the less gendered empowered nations in the region? · By what cultural-specific mechanisms are women gaining access to education and how can we leverage such mechanisms to the workplace? · What implications does the centrality of family in the region have on women's career choices, patterns and conceptualizations of success?
Legal and Religious Frameworks that Augment or Dissipate the Pipeline Pressure
· What gaps and/or tenets in the existing legal frameworks exist and how can these be leveraged to develop HR policies and systems that facilitate women's fair and equitable participation and inclusion in the workforce? · How can policy development at the intersection between Islam, Patriarchy and Urf better inform HR policy development in favor of women at work in the region? · How do legal and religious frameworks shape women's career choices and career patterns in the region? HR Systems and Policies that Augment or Dissipate the Pipeline Pressure · What are the existent efforts toward regionally specific HR policies that facilitate or restrict women-centric family-friendly environments? · What types of gender ideologies inform HR decisions in the workplace and what implications do these have on women's employment and career development? · What kind of indigenous HR policies (diversity, work-life balance) can create an attractive safe working environment for women in the region and that would not contradict with the prevalent socio-cultural environment in which they are embedded? · What implications would the attraction and development of women in the region have on the competitiveness of local organizations and the economy more generally? We invite your contribution to the symposium discussion on the Bursting Pipeline. Please email Charlotte at ck16@aub.edu.lb to express interest before December 10th. Reference list available upon request |