1st Edition
Women Business Leaders Identity, Resistance, and Alternative Forms of Knowledge in Saudi Arabia
Published works on Saudi women in organizational contexts are overwhelmingly reductionist, producing a singular story and a monolithic "Saudi woman." This book aims to counter the master narrative on Saudi women in leadership by offering an intimate reading of the women’s stories and experiences. The author interviews 14 Saudi women leaders focusing on the women’s stories of leadership identity, workplace "resistance," and alternative forms of knowledge.
From a methodological standpoint, the reader is given the opportunity to encounter the women at three different levels of analysis: Master narrative, counter narratives, and my narrative. There is also a theoretical discussion surrounding a variety of feminisms: Postcolonial feminism, Islamic feminism, and Decolonial Feminism. This theoretical engagement will enable readers to understand the difficulty of the theoretical terrain, while also acknowledging the possibility for future theory development.
Expanding on previous studies on Saudi women in leadership by taking the discussion away from challenges to the ways in which the women navigate those challenges, this book serves as an emancipatory and inclusive tool in research with practical implications in business. This book will be of value to researchers, academics, and professionals in the fields of leadership, management, gender, and diversity.
Part I: Introduction, Theory, & Methodology
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Postcolonial Feminism: An Exploration/Struggle
Chapter 3: Research Design: A Closer Look
Part II: Master Narrative
Chapter 4: Master Narrative
Part III: Counter Narratives
Chapter 5: Leadership Identity
Chapter 6: Workplace Resistance
Chapter 7: Alternative Forms of Knowledge
Part IV: Beyond the Narratives
Chapter 8: Reflexivity: Past, Processes, and Future Direction
Biography
Liela A. Jamjoom is a Research Fellow at Dar Al-Hekma University, Saudi Arabia. She is also an Associate Editor at Qualitative Research in Organization Management and an executive member at the Critical Management Studies Division at the Academy of Management Conference.
"Vividly and powerfully, Liela Jamjoom opens our ears and eyes in this book to the myriad ways Saudi women construct and enact their identities as leaders. In so doing, Jamjoom dares us to go beyond singular narratives of Saudi women as obedient and oppressed, and challenges us to think in new ways about human agency and the power, subtlety and effectiveness of resistance. I found the book, its stories and Liela’s analysis, riveting reading and ultimately a passport for hope and learning in a postcolonial world." - Amanda Sinclair, Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Business School, Australia
"Liela Jamjoom’s important work allows us to understand the complexity of experiences, identities, and practices of Saudi women leaders. She brings depth and nuance to the lives of these women and in doing so, expands the global repertoire of management and organizational studies scholarship that attends to leadership, identity and organizational analysis. And most importantly, her careful analysis and contribution provide a much-needed non-Western perspective in the field." - Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, Professor in the Practice of Engineering, Brown University, USA
"How can we re-narrate dominant stories of ourselves told by the mainstream literature in Management and Organizational Studies? This poignant question is at the heart of Dr. Liela Jamjoom’s authentic and intimate book. Through rich and varied stories of women’s lives, Jamjoom illuminates an intellectual and political endeavour that is critical of the "epistemological erasure" of herself as a Saudi woman, and other women in Saudi Arabia." - Charlotte M. Karam, PhD, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa and Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut
