Gender diversity management in multinational corporations in developing countries: The case of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

While much has been written on gender diversity management approaches of multinational corporations, relatively little research-oriented efforts have been done and reported on gender diversity that addresses individual concerns, especially in developing countries. There is, therefore, a gap in the body of knowledge about how individuals feel about the GDM practices of MNC subsidiaries operating in different cultures and countries. In this thesis, it is argued that since GDM practices and approaches can be influenced by many factors that relate to cultural, national, psychological, individual, and organisational, it is highly unlikely that MNC’s GDM practices should be identical in both the home (developed) and the host (developing) countries. Hence, this study thoroughly investigates, the critical factors that are related to the practice of MNC gender diversity management in developing countries and their impact on MNC subsidiaries and their employees in host countries. The study takes a qualitative approach of studying the issue by interviewing participants from two selected multinational organisations in Saudi Arabia. Based on the findings, it is reported that existing diversity practices in the two organisations is faced with a number of concerns based on individual perception, experience and challenges of diversity. Therefore, this study develops and applies a psychological management framework, based on the concept of Psychological Capital, to address deeply embedded as well as core individual concerns of employees within the atmosphere of diversity management. The framework, at the same time, is believed to address some of the major concerns of gender diversity management that organisations have, in the successful implementation of their gender diversity management.