Women Leadership, Culture, and Islam: Female Voices from Jordan

Tamer Koburtay*, Tala Abuhussein, Yusuf Sidani

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)
51 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the experiences of female leaders considering the interplay of gender, religion, and culture. Drawing on an inductive-qualitative study, the paper examines perceptions regarding the role of religion and cultural norms in women’s ascension into leadership positions in Jordan. The results indicated that Jordanian women leaders adopted an Islamic feminist worldview and did not embrace a liberal nor a socialist/Marxist feminist worldview. Women leaders seemed wanting to claim their religion back from those forces that are reportedly holding their aspirations hostage to monolithic interpretations of religious texts. By constantly referring to their religion, female leaders wanted to be granted spaces of trust and responsibility in leadership positions that they did not see contradictory to the way they understood their faith. The paper provides insights into how women leaders understand prejudicial stereotypes and discrimination in their society, explaining how those are linked to patriarchal socio-cultural traditions emphasizing male control.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)347-363
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Business Ethics
Volume183
Issue number2
Early online date28 Feb 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Female leaders
  • Feminism
  • Gender
  • Islam
  • Qur’an

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