A review of higher education leadership in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper aimed to find answers to two questions through a review of literature: (a) What are the factors leading to the current ineffective leadership in Saudi higher educational institutions, and (b) How can this situation be rectified, especially within the implementation of the Vision 2030 programmes? A search of 10 pages of Google Scholar using search terms relevant to the topic yielded 23 papers for review.

The answer to the first question- female leaders face more barriers, challenges, and obstacles compared to male leaders in Saudi higher education institutions. Cultural, social, organisational, and personal factors affect their elevation to leadership positions. Sometimes, due to overriding family pressures and the inability to find a work-life balance, some female leaders leave their positions and revert to the role of homemakers. Although many reforms have been implemented by the Saudi government recently to increase the contribution to the economic growth of the country through the Vision 2030 implementation, much more need to be done.

The answer to the second question is- Reforms and policies aimed at increasing the participation of women in economic activities need to continue more vigorously. Leadership training and mentoring of female leaders are required to achieve this. These answers are applicable for both categories of papers.