Arab women managers and identity formation through clothing

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how Arab women managers construct their social identities through the meanings they ascribe to their clothing while pursuing managerial careers. Design/methodology/approach An interview‐based qualitative approach is adopted for describing the meanings that the United Arab Emirates national women managers give to their clothing. Findings This paper identifies multiple coexisting identities in Arab women pursuing managerial careers. While the contradiction is found in the identity as a woman and as a manager, the normative dimensions of identity formation such as being a Muslim and an Emirati serve as enhancing for women's gendered managerial identity. Originality/value The value of this paper is twofold: first, contributes to the knowledge of the topic of Arab women in management which is understudied in academia; second, it particularly sheds light how women managers meaningfully use symbols, such as dress, to construct and perform gender realities in a career context.