LIVED EXPERIENCES OF EMIRATI SENIOR WOMEN MANAGERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Over the last four decades, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sought to ensure the full, comprehensive inclusion of women in both education and the workplace. Motivated by my own rise from a relatively humble upbringing to later professional success achieved largely against the odds, this thesis aims, through the use of narrative analysis, to establish the reasons behind the accomplishments of five Emirati women managers in Higher Education (HE).
The thesis contextualises their testimony by providing a historical overview of the UAE and a comprehensive examination of the literature; and setting out the critical feminist perspective at the heart of this study, which influenced the research paradigm: linking this with the narrative analysis method adopted.
The life stories of the five women are analysed in detail, in order to identify key themes and commonalities. These key themes are: support received from different individuals at different times; opportunities provided by political, cultural and structural change in the UAE; personal resilience and resolve to succeed; and the importance of the Islamic faith.
Taken together, the women’s testimony justifies the use of narrative analysis; it provides lessons for policymakers to learn (as well as recommendations set out at the end of the thesis, which seek to nourish an environment based on genuine equality of opportunity for all) and inspiration for future generations of Emirati women and girls seeking to follow in their footsteps.