Breaking through the glass ceiling: The three-dimensional model (Macro, Meso and Micro) towards promoting women participation in an academic context: Insights from a mixed-methods approach

This study aimed at bridging this gap and proposed a Three-Dimensional Model (Macro, Meso, and Micro). It also attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the glass ceiling, which limits women's participation in higher decision-making positions and determined how to overcome these barriers. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach. Three exploratory workshops involving 65 academic women leaders were conducted at three Saudi universities. This was followed by a field survey of the overall population involving 213 female leaders. Then six interviews of 35 female leaders were conducted. The results of the field survey illustrated the barriers preventing women from career development. According to the participants, the most challenging barriers at the institutional level were related to administrative and organizational aspects. They were followed by the barriers related to institutional culture. The social and personal barriers were ranked the last. The results of the interviews also revealed a set of ideas, which proposed methods to support women's progress to senior positions. They included political authority, policy development, open-door policy, adherence to the standards for selecting leaders based on competence, continuous evaluation, and professional development. The important role of the academic woman leader in the development of her career requires her to take responsibility for her professional growth and meet the requirements of the leadership role. The study recommends a comprehensive and profound treatment of the glass ceiling phenomenon. The study recommends a comprehensive training plan to support the skills, experiences, and capabilities of qualified women to occupy academic leadership. Benefiting from international expertise regarding this issue is highly recommended. There must be continuous monitoring and analysis of some quantitative and qualitative indicators based on an accurate database related to the academic empowerment of Saudi women.