Challenges and Successes of Women’s Leadership in Higher Education in Qatar: The Case of the Community College of Qatar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70211/wesw.v3i3.408Keywords:
Women in Leadership, Women in Academia, Workplace Leadership, Community College of Qatar, Qatari WomenAbstract
This case study examines the cultural, institutional, and personal challenges experienced by women in academic leadership positions at the Community College of Qatar (CCQ), as well as their achievements and perceptions of leadership. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 26 women holding various leadership positions through a questionnaire, followed by a focus group discussion involving five participants. The findings reveal opportunities and barriers to attaining leadership positions, shaped by workplace culture, professional networks, cultural stereotypes, and domestic responsibilities. Women leaders also experienced burnout, stress, and anxiety after assuming leadership roles. Nevertheless, participants demonstrated strong decision-making skills, resilience, innovation, and collaborative leadership. They contributed to institutional governance by guiding their teams, supporting colleagues, making important decisions, and promoting an inclusive culture that challenges gendered assumptions about leadership. Support from coworkers, families, mentors, institutions, and communities helped participants balance professional and personal responsibilities and overcome cultural and workplace pressures. Appropriate policies, resources, mentoring, and institutional support systems were identified as essential to their success. Although limited in scope, this study contributes to the literature by documenting women’s lived experiences and recommending interventions to address persistent barriers and strengthen women’s leadership in higher education.
References
[1] Z. Viljoen, “Challenging the traditional paradigm: Masculine leadership and women in leadership roles,” LinkedIn, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenging-traditional-paradigm-masculine-leadership-zanel-viljoen-mbhhf/
[2] World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/
[3] Catalyst, “Women in management and leadership,” 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/
[4] P. H. Silverglate, “2023 technology industry outlook,” Deloitte Insights, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/technology-industry-outlook.html
[5] A. Correa, M. G. Glas, and J. Opara, “Females in higher education and leadership: Insights from a multi-method approach,” Frontiers in Education, vol. 9, Art. no. 1485395, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1485395
[6] Planning and Statistics Authority, Population: Toward a Better Life for the Population. Doha, Qatar, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.ppc.gov.qa/Admin/sukkannewletter/En%20Sukkan%2054%20_final.pdf
[7] Qatar General Secretariat for Development Planning, Qatar National Vision 2030. Doha, Qatar, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://www.npc.qa/en/QNV/Documents/QNV2030_English_v2.pdf
[8] K. Al-Ghanim, A. Gardner, and N. Lari, “Contemporary women in Qatar: An ethnographic study of their challenges in terms of traditional applications and modern requirements,” SAGE Open, vol. 13, no. 3, Art. no. 21582440231196030, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231196030
[9] Y. Chaaban, S. Qadhi, H. Al-Thani, A. Floyd, and X. Du, “Supports and constraints to middle leadership development in higher education: A Q-methodology study,” Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 659–680, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231174092
[10] S. Qadhi, X. Du, Y. Chaaban, H. Al-Thani, and A. Floyd, “The role identities of women middle management academic leaders in STEM higher education,” European Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 1064–1080, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2023.2263377
[11] P. O’Connor, “Is gendered power irrelevant in higher educational institutions? Understanding the persistence of gender inequality,” Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 669–686, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/03080188.2023.2253667
[12] H. I. Hartmann, “The unhappy marriage of Marxism and feminism: Towards a more progressive union,” in Women and Revolution: A Discussion of the Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism, L. Sargent, Ed. South End Press, 1981, pp. 1–41. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?id=QABHAAAAMAAJ
[13] G. Maheshwari and R. Nayak, “Women leadership in Vietnamese higher education institutions: An exploratory study on barriers and enablers for career enhancement,” Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 758–775, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220945700
[14] Y. Ashraf, S. M. J. H. Gardezi, and F. Saeed, “A comparative analysis of gender and educational leadership in Pakistan and the United Kingdom,” Pakistan Social Sciences Review, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 484–498, 2021. https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2021(5-IV)37
[15] N. Hovsepian, “Competing identities in the Arab world,” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 1–24, 1995. [Online]. Available: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24357440
[16] E. W. Said, Covering Islam. New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books, 1981. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?id=0j4uAAAAYAAJ
[17] M. O. Alomair, “Female leadership capacity and effectiveness: A critical analysis of the literature on higher education in Saudi Arabia,” International Journal of Higher Education, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 81–93, 2015. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v4n4p81
[18] S. Dahlan, “Current state of female leadership in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia,” Cogent Business & Management, vol. 10, no. 3, Art. no. 2276990, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2276990
[19] R. A. A. D. Hakiem, “I can’t feel like an academic: Gender inequality in Saudi Arabia’s higher education system,” Higher Education, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 541–561, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00914-9
[20] A. Al Bawab et al., “Jordanian women in academia: Barriers and motivators in scientific research and promotion,” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 26, no. 1, Art. no. 14, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol26/iss1/14/
[21] N. Dajani, M. M. Asmar, and D. A. Al-Holy, “The increasing prevalence of girls in STEM education in the Arab world: What can we learn?,” Sociology of Islam, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 159–174, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1163/22131418-00802002
[22] M. Tjomsland, “Women in higher education: A concern for development?,” Gender, Technology and Development, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 407–427, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1177/097185241001300305
[23] R. Al Maaitah, A. Oweis, H. Olimat, I. Altarawneh, and H. Al Maaitah, “Barriers hindering Jordanian women’s advancement to higher political and leadership positions,” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 101–122, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol13/iss5/10/
[24] A. S. Alshdiefat, A. Lee, A. A. Sharif, M. Q. Rana, and N. A. Abu Ghunmi, “Women in leadership of higher education: Critical barriers in Jordanian universities,” Cogent Education, vol. 11, no. 1, Art. no. 2357900, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2357900
[25] B. Ghundol and A. Muthanna, “Perceptions and experiences of female academics on barriers in obtaining and continuing leadership roles at higher education,” International Journal of Educational Research, vol. 130, Art. no. 102534, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102534
[26] H. Al-Muftah and F. Al-Jassim, “Women’s leadership styles in Qatari higher education,” International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 672–689, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0951-354X/vol/33/iss/4
[27] N. Lari, A. Awadalla, M. Al-Ansari, and E. Elmaghraby, “Determinants of female labor force participation: Implications for policy in Qatar,” Cogent Social Sciences, vol. 8, no. 1, Art. no. 2130223, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2130223
[28] H. H. Al-Thani, “Qatari women leaders: Navigating structural and cultural barriers to empowerment,” QScience Connect, vol. 2025, no. 1, Art. no. 2, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5339/connect.2025.2
[29] A. R. Hochschild and A. Machung, The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY, USA: Viking, 1989. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?id=St_6kWcPJS8C
[30] Community College of Qatar, “Community College of Qatar,” n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.community.edu.qa/English/Pages/default.aspx. [Accessed: Jul. 30, 2026].
[31] Community College of Qatar, “Our community,” n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.community.edu.qa/English/Our-Community/Pages/default.aspx. [Accessed: Jul. 30, 2026].
[32] H. Ali, “Education: An instrument to women empowerment in the State of Qatar,” International Journal of Advanced Academic Studies, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 182–188, 2022. https://doi.org/10.33545/27068919.2022.v4.i3c.847
[33] S. Hossain, “Gender diversity in higher education in Qatar: Challenges and pathways for progress,” British Journal of Education, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 47–67, 2025. https://doi.org/10.37745/bje.2013/vol13n64767
[34] World Population Review, “Gender Development Index by country 2026,” 2026. [Online]. Available: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gender-development-index-by-country
[35] D. Fox, “Introduction: Empowering future generations of women and girls: Empowering humanity—Select proceedings from the Second World Conference on Women’s Studies,” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, Art. no. 1, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol18/iss1/1/
[36] G. Karmakar, “Gender at the root of everyday life: Equity, activism, and the perspectives of Diana J. Fox,” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 24, no. 6, Art. no. 20, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol24/iss6/20/
[37] M. Shamsieva, N. Alimova, and S. Okhunjonova, “Evolving narratives: Feminist and gender perspectives in global historical scholarship,” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 12, no. 1, Art. no. 2506323, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2506323
[38] J. Rendall, The Origins of Modern Feminism: Women in Britain, France and the United States, 1780–1860. Red Globe Press, 1985. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17733-2
[39] S. S. Rajgopal, “Fiery sparks of change: A comparison between first-wave feminists of India and the U.S.,” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, Art. no. 3, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol24/iss2/3/
[40] M. F. Brewer, Ed., Exclusions in Feminist Thought: Challenging the Boundaries of Womanhood. Liverpool, U.K.: Liverpool University Press, 2002. https://doi.org/10.3828/9781902210636
[41] D. J. Fox and H. Al-Mekaimi, “Thirty years of empowering Kuwaiti women through the Kuwait Union of Women’s Associations (AKUN): Reflections and a report on the regional consultation on the status of women with disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),” Disability and the Global South, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 2593–2618, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://dgsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dgs_12_01_04.pdf
[42] H. L. Moore, Feminism and Anthropology. Polity Press, 1988. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?id=eU2AAAAAMAAJ
[43] L. Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press, 1993. [Online]. Available: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/writing-womens-worlds/paper
[44] Feminists for Life of America, “Keeping mommy on the tenure track,” n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.feministsforlife.org/keeping-mommy-on-the-tenure-track/
[45] R. Nenad and L. Kurbiel, “Leave no one behind,” Joint SDG Fund, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://jointsdgfund.org/article/leave-no-one-behind
[46] D. D. Gilmore, Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press, 1990. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300157253
[47] A. Earle, A. Raub, A. Sprague, and J. Heymann, “Progress towards gender equality in paid parental leave: An analysis of legislation in 193 countries from 1995–2022,” Community, Work & Family, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 172–192, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2023.2226809
[48] H. Tlaiss and S. Kauser, “The importance of wasta in the career success of Middle Eastern managers,” Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 467–486, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090591111138026
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Amna Ahmed Obeid Abdelnur, Diana J. Fox
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.