Degendered leadership in the UAE: breaking the glass ceiling

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate experiences of women working at managerial positions to develop a degendering of leadership. Design/methodology/approach The study was based on interview-based approach to investigate the work experience of a group of around 35 women from a total of 15 different institutions. Face-to-face and semi-structured interviews were conducted to study the leadership experiences within the organizations, unlike the positivist frame that make sense of their association to power structure. The results were analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings The results showed that the gender of a leader is inconsequential, where men and women are treated equally. The working-women at managerial posts have depicted high level productivity and performance in their work. The career advancement of women requires increased commitment and motivation. These factors are significant as they are likely to pose a significant impact on their ability to respond to the environmental influences. Originality/value These findings helped to understand the reasons regarding under-representation of women at managerial positions and gender segregation.