Influences of cultural orientations on Emirati women’s careers

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how cultural orientations influence Emirati women’s career development. Drawing on the cultural theories of Hofstede (1980, 2001) and House et al. (2004), the authors investigated the cultural orientations of a sample of 19 women in the United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews were conducted to collect life history data about women’s early lives, education and employment.

Findings
The findings identify three themes that influenced the participant’s careers: family influence on careers, individual-level attitudes toward education for careers, and workplace career development.

Research limitations/implications
Limited by the small sample of 19 female national participants that implies further international study is required to extend this research.

Practical implications
The business application is that social values, beliefs and norms can be leveraged for women’s career success.

Social implications
Policymakers are guided on key factors that influence Emirati women’s careers from a cultural perspective.

Originality/value
The study makes a unique theoretical contribution in a model that shows: cultural dimensions are interrelated, cultural values and practices are interdependent, and cultural orientations vary between women and men.