Gender Differences and Social Performance in Saudi Arabia
This mixed methods empirical study examines the impact of gender differences on social performance in Saudi Arabia, drawing on both quantitative demographic data and qualitative peer-reviewed literature. The paper provides a demographic overview of Saudi society, applies Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework to identify cultural barriers to gender equity, and evaluates current reform initiatives—most notably the Saudi Vision 2030 program. It documents significant recent progress, including women's right to drive, access to senior military ranks, and recognition by the World Bank as a top reformer in women's rights. At the same time, the study identifies persistent structural, religious, and cultural constraints—such as the male guardianship system, employment discrimination, and domestic violence—that continue to limit women's social performance and full participation in Saudi society.
- Introduction: Context and purpose of the mixed-methods study
- Research Design and Methodology: Justification for mixed-methods approach and data sources
- Demographic Overview of Saudi Society and Culture: Saudi population, religion, literacy, and gender statistics
- Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Applied to Saudi Arabia: Five cultural dimensions explaining Saudi gender barriers
- Current Initiatives to Eliminate Gender-Related Inequities: Vision 2030 pillars and recent women's rights reforms
- Persistent Constraints on Women's Rights and Mobility: Ten ongoing legal and social restrictions on Saudi women
- Discussion and Conclusion: Progress assessed against remaining gender equity challenges
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper integrates a clear conceptual definition of "social performance" drawn from a specific source, grounding an abstract concept in measurable terms before applying it to the Saudi context.
- It skillfully combines quantitative demographic data with qualitative literature review findings, modeling a genuine mixed-methods approach rather than simply claiming one.
- The use of Hofstede's cultural dimensions as an analytical framework gives the paper theoretical rigor and allows cultural barriers—such as high uncertainty avoidance—to be linked systematically to resistance against gender-neutral policy reform.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a conceptual framework (Hofstede's cultural dimensions) to interpret empirical data. Rather than simply listing facts about Saudi women's rights, the author connects cultural scores—particularly high power distance (95) and uncertainty avoidance (80)—to observable policy resistance, showing how theoretical tools can explain real-world social phenomena. This technique of using an established framework to interpret mixed-methods findings is a hallmark of strong social science research writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a research purpose statement and definition of social performance, followed by a justification of the mixed-methods design. It then moves through a demographic overview, a cultural dimensions analysis, and a detailed review of Vision 2030 reform initiatives before cataloguing persistent legal and social constraints on women. The conclusion synthesizes findings and evaluates overall progress toward gender equity. This funnel structure—from broad context to specific evidence to evaluative conclusion—is appropriate for an empirical policy-oriented study.
Introduction
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy that was established in 1932 (History of Saudi Arabia, 2021). Today, Saudi Arabia stands at a critical juncture in history as the country's leadership seeks to identify effective strategies to achieve the goals of its ambitious Vision 2030 initiative to promote gender equality and equal employment opportunities for all of its citizens (How Saudi's new direction is changing the life for women, 2019). Although the kingdom's petroleum reserves remain the main source of its export revenues (Saudi Arabia facts, 2021), there has been a concerted effort in recent years to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy in ways that will help create new employment opportunities, especially for its large youth population (The labor market in Saudi Arabia, 2020).
While the kingdom has made significant progress in eliminating gender-related inequalities in employment opportunities, especially for young people (Abueish & Al Arabiya, 2020), much of the larger Saudi society remains firmly mired in ancient practices that continue to place girls and women at a disadvantage (Kruft, 2020). The purpose of this mixed methods empirical study, using qualitative and quantitative data, is to provide a critical review of the relevant literature to determine the impact of gender differences on social performance using the research design described below.
Research Design and Methodology
For the purposes of this study, social performance was defined as "the effective translation of an institution's mission into practice in line with accepted social values" (Prada, 2019). In other words, social performance is about making any type of organization's social mission a reality, whatever that mission may be at a given point in time. Therefore, for the purposes of this empirical study, social performance was conceptualized as applying to Saudi Arabia's current efforts to eliminate gender inequalities in its larger society as well as its workplaces and public spaces.
Social science researchers have a number of strategies available to them within the two main paradigms of qualitative and quantitative research. Based on the need to develop a current snapshot of the status of women in Saudi Arabia, a mixed methods approach that combined both quantitative and qualitative data was regarded as the optimal strategy. This selection is supported by the guidance provided by Cleland and Durning (2015), who advise:
The underlying premise of the [mixed methods] paradigm is that the goal of knowledge is simply to describe the phenomena that we experience, and hence can observe and measure. The premise of qualitative research is subjectivity. Mixed-methods research is a flexible approach, where the research design is determined by what we want to find out rather than by any predetermined epistemological position. (p. 37)
The quantitative data collected for this study consisted of demographic data in general, and gender-specific data in particular, to identify the current status of men and women in Saudi Arabia. Conversely, the qualitative data used for this mixed-methods analysis consisted of relevant text-based peer-reviewed and government studies published in English concerning the gender-related issues of interest, with an emphasis on the most recent research available.
Demographic Overview of Saudi Society and Culture
A breakdown of relevant Saudi demographics shows that Saudi Arabia currently has a population of approximately 34.7 million people, divided between Arab and Afro-Asian ethnic groups (90% and 10%, respectively). It is important to note that immigrants comprise 38.3% of the total Saudi population. With between 85% and 90% of the Saudi people Sunni Muslim and another 10% to 15% Shia, the kingdom is overwhelmingly Muslim in religious composition. Other religions—including Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh—are also represented in much smaller percentages. Any religious expression inconsistent with the Saudi government's interpretation of Sunni Islam is prohibited; non-Muslims are likewise prohibited from securing Saudi citizenship, and non-Muslim places of worship are not permitted. Saudi Arabia is also a highly urbanized country, with fully 84.3% of its population living in urban areas.
The general Saudi population is highly literate at 95.3%, though there are some gender-related differences: males have a 97.1% literacy rate compared to 92.7% for females. Conversely, women in Saudi Arabia have a life expectancy of 78.07 years compared to 76.4 years for Saudi men, and there are slightly more men than women, with a ratio of 1.03 males for every female. In sum, Saudi Arabia is a heavily urbanized, comparatively young country with a large population of youth who will require employment opportunities in the future. The kingdom also displays some modest gender-related differences, including slightly higher literacy rates for males, while female Saudis enjoy a somewhat longer life expectancy. There is also a sizeable immigrant population and little religious tolerance for non-Muslims in the kingdom.
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Applied to Saudi Arabia
An application of Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions to Saudi Arabia reveals a distinctive cultural profile with significant implications for gender equity. Saudi Arabia ranks highest on the power distance and uncertainty avoidance dimensions, with an intermediate score for masculinity. Each dimension is described below.
Power Distance: This dimension deals with the fact that individuals in societies are not equal—it expresses the attitude of the culture towards inequalities. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Saudi Arabia scores very high on this dimension (score of 95), which means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities; centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do, and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.
Individualism: This dimension addresses the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members—specifically, whether people's self-image is defined in terms of "I" or "We." In individualist societies, people are expected to look after themselves and their immediate family only. In collectivist societies, people belong to "in groups" that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. Saudi Arabia, with a score of 25, is considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a close, long-term commitment to the member group, be it a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount and overrides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships in which everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies, offense leads to shame and loss of face; employer-employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family link); hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee's in-group; and management is the management of groups (Hofstede, 2021).
Masculinity: A high score on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement, and success—with success being defined by the winner or the best in the field, a value system that begins in school and continues throughout organizational life. Saudi Arabia scores 60 on this dimension and is thus considered a masculine society. In masculine countries, people "live in order to work," managers are expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition, and performance, and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out (Hofstede, 2021).
Uncertainty Avoidance: This dimension concerns the way in which a society deals with the fact that the future can never be fully known. This ambiguity brings anxiety, and different cultures have learned to deal with it in different ways. Saudi Arabia scores 80 on this dimension and thus has a strong preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high uncertainty avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox ideas. In these cultures, there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work); time is money; people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard; precision and punctuality are the norm; innovation may be resisted; and security is an important element of individual motivation (Hofstede, 2021).
Indulgence: This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called "indulgence" and relatively strong control is called "restraint." Saudi Arabia's intermediate score of 52 does not point to a clear preference on this dimension (Hofstede, 2021).
The high scores for uncertainty avoidance in particular represent a significant barrier to the adoption of greater gender-neutral laws and policies. Taken together, it is clear that Saudi society and culture are characterized by a number of gender-related factors that have affected the kingdom's ability to achieve its ambitious Vision 2030 goals—to create a more egalitarian society where gender is no longer a constraint to meaningful employment or other social activities.
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