CHALLENGES WOMEN FACE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH IN CYCLES’ 1 AND 2 SCHOOLS IN OMAN

This quantitative study explores the challenges that face Omani women in becoming cycle 1 and cycle 2 school principal. The problem is that; Omani women occupy only 9% of the leadership positions among civil service employees. Oman is ranked 127th out of 135 countries, and was given a 0.587 score, regarding the women participation in the labor market. The society’s perception of women as having weak qualities compared to men, the community looks at women as being emotional and unable to make decisions. This study is implemented in both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 female schools in four regions: (Al-Batina, Al-Dhahira, Al-Sharqia and Al-Dakhalia). An online questionnaire with (30) paragraphs has been used as a tool for data collection. Thirty female school principals were the research participants in the current study. (11) from cycle 1 schools and (19) from cycle 2 schools. The findings revealed that: Firstly, the majority of responses confirmed that women have the right and ability to have a job at leadership positions in Oman. Secondly, cultural barriers do not hinder females in becoming school principals. Thirdly, the study revealed that women may receive support from their families to take leadership positions. On the other hand, it detected that the personal challenges such as limited ambition, less motivation as well as less desire to reach leadership positions and the traditional views towards women role in Omani society; have the biggest impact on preventing Omani women to take leadership roles. It is also evident from the study that women are overcoming gender related challenges by taking up education and working hard to be as good as the men in Oman.