Prejudice discrimination against women in the Middle east

“Prejudices are the starting point of many accumulating disasters in this world” (Sir Ustinov, 2003).

There are many contemporary developments worldwide in which hostile perceptions and modern prejudice function as influencing compulsions. Ethnicity, culture, social cohesion and modern prejudices have all been found to have very little effect on quality of life (Michalos & Zumbo, 2000). The only controversy then lies in some other component of attitudes. If prejudice is “considered the affective component – the feelings we have about particular group” (Baron et al., 2005, p.190), and “discrimination concerns…actions taken toward members of specific social groups” (Baron et al., 2005, p.190), then the only component that acts as a driving force, impacting lifestyle, could only be the cognitive construct of stereotyping.

Antagonistic stereotyped convictions induce hostile feelings which then command or direct prejudice and discrimination towards particular groups or communities.

A good example of gender stereotyping is the attitude towards women in the Middle East. The harm could be expressed in the negative side of this stereotype where females are perceived as breakable, delicate, feeble and inferior human beings, who are capable of reproduction only. They are generally viewed as strongly attached emotional, sympathetic and caring, but not that intelligent, capable and independent. Such attitudes very naturally prevent competent and educated women from entering professional fields, practices, and attaining high-level positions in organizations. Glass ceiling and differential respect are outcomes in the region if ever a national female enters a working environment. Men receive higher assessments and remunerations, as well as hiring recommendations and respect. These issues seem rooted and originating from the religion, that then influence segregation in education; family laws that undermine the status of women, and the religious practices which separate men and women during prayers and Ramadan.

Despite INSEAD findings that male bias in Saudi Arabia “is present, but not extremely strong (Marmenout, 2009), the nature of the sample proves otherwise, because only upper-middle class students from private universities of Anglo-Saxon influence have only been studied. The importance of females in business development is essential for the progressing of contemporary market economy (Mathew, 2010) and therefore women’s participation has to be viewed as having identical status as males.

Tan, (2007), states that women’s significant contribution in the development of emerging markets is underestimated and understudied, and therefore their participation should be encouraged. He finds out that women are not as great risk-takers as men are, but eventually they outperform male representatives (Tan, 2007). Similar results suggest that more strategies for prejudice reductions are needed in order to minimize gender stereotyping in relation to female competence. The concept of social identity theory, according to Taylor et al., 2008, offers the idea that female group members should be motivated to improve their rating and status. This in result will bring psychological advantages, material benefits, and chances for economic advance - and thus reduction of stereotyping (Taylor et al., 2008). What could be more effective in Middle Eastern countries however, is the contact hypothesis. Contact hypothesis brings formerly separated groups into contact, reduces anxiety between members of the different groups and thus reduces prejudices (Baron et al., 2005).

Pointing at females who have achieved high status and position in society could prove as another beneficial strategy for maintenance and reduction of prejudice. Baron et al., (2005), states that when people are given evidence proving “that members of their group hold less prejudiced views than them” (Baron et al., 2005, p. 220) they display convictions that they see as acceptable for their own group. Researchers who consider the social psychology of intergroup relations in different groups also support that (Kaba & Ward, 2009; Warner, 2008). Female and male identities are better to be viewed as functions within social structural contexts than as unique processes with singular drives. These perspectives will in themselves guide to the easier recategorization effectively erasing previously primed attitudes or tendencies to divide the social world into us and them.

References

Baron, R., Branscombe, N., Byrne, D. (2005). Social Psychology, 12th Ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, USA.

Kaba, A. J. and Ward, D. E. (2009). African Americans and U.S. Politics: the gradual progress of black women in political representation. The Review of Black Political Economy, 36, 1, 29-50.

Mathew, V. (2010). Women entrepreneurship in Middle East. Understanding barriers and use of ICT for entrepreneurship development. International entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 6, 2, 163-181.

Marmenout, K. (2009). Women leadership development in the Middle East: Generating Local Knowledge, INSEAD, Abu Dhabi.

Michalos, A. C. and Zumbo, B. D. (2000). Ethnicity, modern prejudice and the quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 53, 189-222.

Sir Ustinov, P. (2003). For Prejudice Research and prevention. Sir Peter Ustinov Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.ustinov.at/institute_eng.htm.

Tan, J. (2007). Breaking the “Bamboo Curtain” and the “Glass Ceiling”. The experience of women entrepreneurs in high-tech industries in an emerging market. Journal of Business Erthics, 80, 3, 547-564.

Taylor, D. M., Caouette, J., Usborne, E. and King, M. (2008). How disadvantaged groups members position themselves: when they might appear to work against an improvement in status for their own group. Piece Psychology Book Series, 2008, Global Conflict Resolution Through Positioning Analysis, Part 3, 149-168.

Warner, L. R. (2008). A best practice guide to intersectional approaches in Psychological Research. Sex Roles, 59, 5-6, 454-463.