Representative bureaucracy in the Arab Gulf states
| Published date | 08 April 2019 |
| Date | 08 April 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-07-2017-0198 |
| Pages | 230-246 |
| Author | Linzi J. Kemp,Megan Mathias,Maryam Raji |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management |
Representative bureaucracy
in the Arab Gulf states
Linzi J. Kemp
American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Megan Mathias
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, and
Maryam Raji
American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to apply the lens of representative bureaucracy (RB) to women’s
representation at management level in governments and government-owned companies in Arab Gulf states
(AGS), and to consider the implications for government stability, legitimacy and performance.
Design/methodology/approach –Data were analysed of the numbers of men and women in management
positions (8,936), of government and government-owned companies (846), for the six countries of the AGS.
Analyses were conducted on the presence/absence of women in management for ten industry types.
Findings –Governments and government-owned companies in the AGS were identified as hybrid
(public/private) institutions. Women were found to be underrepresented at management levels in public sector
bureaucracy; women clustered in a narrow range of industries; all countries returned a high result of zero
female managers in these industries.
Research limitations/implications –This research is limited by data collected from a single source,
“Eikon”, which is a commercial database. The implication of these results is a benchmark for future studies on
women’s representation at management level in governments and government-owned companies of Arab
Gulf countries.
Practical implications –The practicalimplication of this study is for concertedgovernment intervention to
address genderinequality in management of governments and government-owned companiesacross the AGS.
Originality/value –This is the first study of RB in AGS and extends the theory of RB to a new geographical
and cultural context. There is value in application of RB to government and government-owned companies as
a regional form of hybrid public–private organisation.
Keywords Gender, Government, Bureaucracy, Emerging markets, Arab countries, Public companies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Women remain in a minority of middle and senior positions internationally, despite
economic, legal and moral arguments about the benefits of gender diversity (Beaufort and
a pattern of gender inequality in civil and professional life persists in the Middle-East region
( Jayashree and Lindsay, 2016; Kelly, 2010; Pharaon, 2004).
The Arab Gulf states (AGS) –Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) –are a subset of an understudied
geographical region (the Middle East) (Al-Asfour et al., 2017). The latter region is also of
interest because there is a paucity and unreliability to official data in those countries
(Al-Dabbagh and Dyer, 2010; Pharaon, 2004). Furthermore, there is a gap in literature about
women who work in the Arab Middle East ( Jayashree and Lindsay, 2016), and as
government employees (Williams et al., 2013). This study, therefore, contributes an
investigation on women’s representation in management positions for the governments and
government-owned companies of AGS.
International Journal of Public
Sector Management
Vol. 32 No. 3, 2019
pp. 230-246
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0951-3558
DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-07-2017-0198
Received 15 March 2018
Revised 2 June 2018
Accepted 26 June 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm
This work was supported by the American University of Sharjah [FRG 14-2-29].
230
IJPSM
32,3
The study is framed within the theory of representative bureaucracy (RB). Specifically,
it examines the passive representation of women in management positions in governments
and government-owned companies of the AGS, and draws upon the theory of RB to discuss
the implications of the findingsfor government stability,legitimacy and performance. Patterns
of representation are explored across core government institutions and government-owned
companies –as “hybrid”organisations (Seibel, 2015). Government-owned companies in the
region have typically corporatised rather than privatised –meaning they have adopted best
practices from the private sector, without the government or its leading families
divesting ownership. We, therefore, believe RB theory can be extended to encompass
government-owned companiesin the Gulf context. Thisstudy, thus, extends RB theoryfor the
first time to the context of the AGS, and to region-specific hybrid organisations.
The paper proceeds as follows. First, the theory of RB is reviewed for the context of the
AGS. Then, literature on women’s representation in the work forces of AGS is reviewed
alongside policies and interventions in those countries. The research approach, data
analysis and findings are presented in a subsequent section. The findings are then
discussed, presenting the academic value of this study, as well as implications drawn from
the RB literature. Finally, limitations are noted, and a future research agenda is suggested.
Representative bureaucracy
Ideas of RB have attracted significant interest within the field of public administration over
the last half-century (Van Ryzin et al., 2017). The central, normative, theme of these ideas is
that public bureaucracies, which represent the citizens they serve, will achieve more
responsive government (Selden, 1997; Sowa and Selden, 2003). While theories of RB have
been developed primarily for Western, Anglo-Saxon democracies, it is suggested they may
hold explanatory power for AGS. These countries are monarchical rather than democratic;
nonetheless they too face a need to be responsive to their citizen populations. The elites that
run governments of the AGS are not autonomous, but are embedded in and reliant upon
society (Gray, 2016).
The form of representation advocated by RB scholars has varied, with a key distinction
made between passive and active representation. Passive (or “descriptive”) RB posits that a
bureaucracy, as a segment of the wider population, should reflect the demographics of the
population it serves (Lovenduski, 2005). Such an RB:
[…] is more likely to consider a wide range of views and interests in making decisions. Indeed, the
simple existence of a representative bureaucracy is often taken by the public as evidence that the
state is responsive and legitimate. (Carroll and Carroll, 1997, p. 473)
Recent studies also suggest that on the individual level, where citizens share demographic
identity with a bureaucrat, they perceive the bureaucracy as more legitimate and are more
likely to cooperate with them, and this is sometimes referred to as “symbolic representation”
(Gade and Wilkins, 2012; Meier and Nicholson‐Crotty, 2006; Riccucci et al., 2016; Theobald
and Haider-Markel, 2008). Kennedy (2014) observes that studies examining passive
representation have revealed the changing composition of government bureaucracies over
time because of increased presence of women and minorities.
Some scholars argue that RB has greater impact on outcomes when passive leads to
active representation, i.e. bureaucrats using their positions to pursue policy goals in the
interests of citizens with similar demographic characteristics (Pitkin, 1967; Sowa and Selden,
2003). A number of studies have shown that active representation achieves positive
outcomes for such citizens, though mediated by the bureaucrat’s scope for discretion
(Keiser et al., 2002; Meier, 1993; Meier and Nicholson‐Crotty, 2006; Wilkins and Keiser, 2004).
The value of RB to governments is potentially manifold. A recent study has shown
that moves towards RB have been driven by quite distinct political, moral and economic
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RB in the Arab
Gulf states
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