Arab Middle Eastern women in Qatar and their perspectives on the barriers to leadership: Incorporating transformative learning theory to improve leadership skills

The development of leaders is a high priority on the national agenda for countries around the world especially in fast-developing regions such as the Middle East. Qatar seeks to support and develop Qatari men and women in the labor force while attracting qualified expatriate workers, many of these individuals serving as leaders in various aspects of society. In particular, the increase in women as leaders in such vital fields as education raises important issues that women face in order to be effective leaders. The central focus of this research project is to explore the perspectives of Middle Eastern Women living in Qatar regarding the barriers they might face and then use Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) to produce strategies that can be integrated into educational leadership programs in order to enable women to develop complex understandings of the circumstances and structures that present barriers to leadership. The sample for this study was drawn from Middle Eastern Women living in Qatar who are in leadership positions. Forty-one participants completed a ten-question, open-ended survey posted on Survey Monkey (it was made available in both English and Arabic) regarding their perspectives on the barriers facing them as women in leadership positions. Upon completion of the data analysis, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the emergent survey themes. Findings from survey responses and interviews support previous research findings regarding barriers faced by women in the Middle East. Transformative Learning Theory is used to offer ways to prepare women for leadership, because it fosters certain emancipatory knowledge essential to personal and national development.