THE WOMAN AND ADMINISTRATIVE EDUCATIONAL WORK IN HAIL UNIVERSITY - KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Jamal S.D. Alsharari^*
*Correspondence: Jamal S.D. Alsharari, Department of Education and Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Jouf University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email:

Keywords

Working women, Administrative educational work, Performance level.

Introduction

Within the framework of development goals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the state seeks to support women as they constitute half of society and hold many jobs and professions. They perform many roles alongside their primary role as mothers, working in administrative and educational positions. They may be directors or leaders, as leadership is one of the components of administration and becomes evident during work with others to achieve specific organizational goals, which work to bring about the change that contributes to raising the level of administrative performance. Administration includes a set of processes: planning

Organizing-directing-controlling and administrative work and women are increasingly present in administrative work [1].

For women to achieve positive results in the field of administrative jobs, they need to consider their self-capabilities and the skills they possess. This requires them to be confident in their abilities, bold, and intelligent to face many stressful situations and job conflicts that challenge their knowledge and skills [2]. To enhance the role of women and maximize their contribution to development, it must stem from a firm belief that enhancing the conditions of Arab working women is a fundamental pillar of societal and developmental advancement. The transformations witnessed by the world, driven by globalization policies, trade liberalization, structural adjustment programs, economic stabilization, and the development of information and communication technology, have posed new challenges to Arab women, requiring deeper awareness of their issues and the importance of their role in advancing society and elevating their responsibilities [3].

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that human development is a key element in the progress of every nation. Among the objectives of the Saudi development plan is to enable a significant and influential role for women in development, by increasing their participation in higher education and important jobs so that they become active and influential members of society. The kingdom seeks to develop the quality of girls, improve it, and develop strategies to address challenges and envision the future of women, presenting ideas and developmental projects for Saudi women, and benefiting from accumulated experiences in their education and crystallization in a practical manner that serves the development of women's education, in addition to confirming the prominent role of Saudi Arabia in the field of education and work for Saudi women [4].

Women have an active role in advancing society, and the effectiveness and importance of this role depend on the extent to which women enjoy a respectable social status, job opportunities, and the ability to express their opinions, which helps them crystallize their personalities and increase their awareness of the problems society faces.

Despite research and studies indicating women's competence and sometimes superiority over men, the gap between women's potential and aspirations on one hand, and reality on the other, remains wide. Unequal representation is still prevalent institutionally, with women in senior administrative positions in both public institutions and private businesses being underrepresented. In advanced countries, the number of women in senior managerial positions is minimal compared to men. Some studies have indicated that women constitute only 54% of working women in business organizations. A UNESCO report in 2006 titled "Women in Science" highlighted the low representation of women in research activities worldwide, attributing it to the education system, especially at higher levels. The report also attributed other factors such as stereotyping, difficulty in balancing family responsibilities, labor market conditions, and governance systems.

A British survey showed a decrease in the gap between the number of female managers and male managers in many advanced countries. However, in developing countries, unequal representation remains widespread not only at the highest administrative level but also at all middle and supervisory levels. Despite some attempts to obstruct women, limit their opportunities, recognize their abilities, and plan for them to occupy top administrative positions, granting them low salaries or routine administrative jobs to minimize their career advancement, and promoting the belief that women are naturally more interested in their personal lives than work and lack creativity and innovation. These beliefs create significant problems and difficulties for the progress and development of women, leading to a decrease in the percentage of women occupying senior administrative positions.

One of the most important conditions for the success of a career strategy is a woman's ability to balance her leadership position with her family role and how to deal with colleagues at work and gain the trust and confidence of others in her abilities and efficiency. Many women fear competing with male colleagues and advancing in the career ladder for fear of criticism or the refusal of men to accept a woman as a leader, manager, or department head. Therefore, they give up their rights to access higher positions and participate in decisionmaking, decide to withdraw and avoid confrontation, preferring to stay in the background of job positions. To combat these fears, women must enhance their self-confidence, develop their self-awareness, identify the sources of strength in their personalities, and try to positively highlight them. To achieve this, women must know their true capabilities and the jobs that suit their abilities within the framework of the general work to achieve some success and excellence. Additionally, female leaders must diagnose the obstacles they face when assuming leadership positions and work to overcome them to continue their work successfully and achieve their aspirations.

The study problem

The problem of the study is defined by identifying the obstacles facing female leaders when assuming leadership positions, hindering them from achieving their aspirations and continuing their work successfully, as well as ways to improve their performance level.

Questions of the Study

1. What is the working reality of female administrative staff at Hail University?

2. What are the factors influencing the work of female administrative staff at Hail University?

3. What are the ways to enhance the performance level of female administrative staff at Hail University?

Importance of the Study

The significance of the research lies in shedding light on the nature of women's participation in educational administrative positions, their accession to these positions, the motivations driving them to these leadership positions, and the main obstacles that hinder their access to leadership positions. This study highlights the working reality of female administrative staff, the main obstacles they face, their contribution to fulfilling the needs of development plans, and the methods of improving the performance level of female administrative staff. This study aims to increase human knowledge in the field of women's work, understand their goals and desires to assert them, and contribute to fulfilling the needs of development plans.

Objectives of the Study

This study aims to shed light on the work of women in educational administrative fields and the influencing factors. Additionally, it aims to enhance the professional performance of women and empower them to overcome the obstacles hindering their advancement to higher administrative positions, especially in the educational sector.

Study Limitations: The current study is limited to:

• The thematic boundaries: Women and educational administrative work in Saudi universities, with Hail University as the model.

• The geographical boundaries: All department heads and supervisors in the faculties of Hail University who hold administrative positions, totaling (40) educational administrative leaders.

• The temporal boundaries: The academic year 2415/2413 AH.

Study Methodology

1. The researcher relies on the descriptive-analytical methodology through available theoretical literature, books, and journals related to the research topic.

2. The researcher prepares a questionnaire consisting of (45) items covering three main axes: family factors, professional factors, and ways to improve the performance of women in educational administration.

3. The validity of the instrument is ensured by presenting it to a group of specialized referees, and the reliability of the instrument is confirmed using the statistical method SPSS.

Definition of term

1. Worker Women: The researcher operationally defines worker women as those who engage in any work requiring physical or mental effort or the use of machinery.

2. Administrative Work: The researcher operationally defines administrative work as the work concerned with coordinating the efforts of individuals to achieve a specific goal, encompassing the stages of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, controlling, and monitoring.

3. Performance Level: The researcher operationally defines performance level as the result of a specific effort exerted by the employee to accomplish a task. Evaluating this performance level requires assessment based on specific objective criteria.

Previous Studies and Theoretical Framework

1. Study by Fadl Sabah Al-Fadhli: Titled "The Stages of the Training Process as an Approach to Assessing the Effectiveness of Administrative Training and Development Programs," the researcher used analysis and objective criticism to address the study's problem. Several conclusions were drawn, including the importance of administrative training and development programs in enhancing administrative effectiveness and the significance of exploring diverse means to enhance the quality of such programs.

2. Study by Zeinab Ali Al-Jaber: Titled "School Management among Female School Administrators: A Field Study Aimed at Observing the Time Spent by Administrators of Some Experimental Schools in Kuwait on Their Job Tasks." This study utilized observation as a tool and found that female administrators spend the majority of their time on routine tasks such as responding to correspondence and writing reports, with non-official meetings taking up the second-highest portion of their time.

3. Study by Abdulmohsen Fahd Al-Saif: Titled "Occupational Burnout between Genders: An Applied Study in Social Care Institutions in Some Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." This study aimed to identify the main differences in burnout levels between males and females regarding occupational burnout factors. The researcher used a descriptive analytical method through social surveying of a sample using a questionnaire applied to male and female workers in the healthcare, educational, and social sectors in three cities in Saudi Arabia. The study found:

Higher levels of job burnout among men than women.

Higher levels of burnout related to organizational environment among women.

Higher levels of burnout related to high supervision among both genders.

Recommendations included improving the social situation of specialists, training them while clarifying individual tasks, and the importance of objective performance evaluation and developing management methods.

4. Study by Abdurrahman Ibrahim Al-Mahboub: Titled "Efficiency of Performance of Secondary School Principals in Saudi Arabia: From the Perspective of Teachers." The researcher followed a descriptive method and applied a questionnaire to a sample of secondary school principals, arriving at several conclusions, including:

Female principals outperform male principals in administrative and technical tasks.

Female principals outperformed male principals in terms of performance efficiency regarding teachers, students, the school building, and parent relationships.

Statistically significant differences in the efficiency levels of male and female principals due to experience.

Teachers with extensive teaching experience view their principals more positively in performing their various tasks compared to those with shorter or medium experience.

5. Study by Nabil Saad Khalil: Titled "The Reality of Educational Decision-Making Process at the School Level in Public Education Schools, Sohag Governorate: A Field Analytical Study."The researcher applied a questionnaire to a sample of male and female principals, teachers, and administrators in public education schools in Sohag Governorate. The researcher studied the gender variable's impact on the study's axes and arrived at several conclusions, including:

Male principals show more commitment to decision-making within their granted powers than female principals.

Female principals tend to follow a democratic style more than male principals.

Female principals exhibit more objectivity in decision-making.

Female principals follow up on decision implementation more than male principals.

6. Study by Ibtihaj Ahmed Ali: Titled "Women and Patterns of Administrative Leadership." Some of its key findings include:

There are no differences between men and women regarding leadership styles as long as individuals possess the necessary leadership skills and abilities.

Positive gender differences in leadership style in favor of women. Women are more organized and effective in achieving goals.

Women tend to be more cautious, less daring, and more efficient in the decision-making process compared to men. They also demonstrate a greater ability to plan for the future.

Women play a leadership role in multiple positions and fields. Therefore, women can be described as fighters in their attempt to achieve integration in all the roles they undertake, enriching the experience of female leadership.

Women are more inclined to establish successful interpersonal relationships within organizations compared to men.

Women have a greater capacity than men to deal with change and adaptability, utilizing their flexible leadership style.

Cultural contexts predispose men to leadership opportunities, such as networks of communication at various professional and personal levels, allowing them to express themselves in all forms, which are generally accepted.

However, women often face more limited opportunities for self-expression and behavioral flexibility, including in leadership roles.

7. Study (Amina Al-Sudani [13] titled "Women's Employment and the Requirements of Self-Employment" concluded that Saudi women constitute 49.6% of the total Saudi population, yet they represent only 2.9% of the total workforce, with only 5.1% of women being employed. Therefore, the study recommended providing facilities to assist women in achieving job stability, as well as offering suitable qualification and training opportunities for women.

8. Study (Huda Al-Jundi et al., [14]) titled "The Impact of the Work Environment on Administrative Performance" aimed to identify the key elements of the administrative work environment that influence employee performance. The study recommended the importance of clarifying job duties and responsibilities, as well as implementing modern training and development methods.

9. Study (Salwa Abdullah et al., [15]) titled "The Role of Egyptian and Arab Women in Public Life and the Government Sector" aimed to identify the main factors affecting women's employment and the challenges they face. The study recommended establishing mechanisms to determine the behavioral and managerial skills related to women's work.

10.Study by the General Secretariat, Social Sector, titled "Developing Professional Skills and Competitive Capacities of Arab Women" concluded that many of the challenges facing Arab women's employment are linked to improving mechanisms, standards, and working conditions as a gateway to implementing what international and Arab labor agreements have stipulated. It emphasized that Arab women's work is associated with an integrated system of rights culture, addressing women's rights and labor equality as part of institutional reform. Decision-makers are not isolated from the culture of this comprehensive society, requiring a series of developments to be responsive to and meet the needs of all members of society, regardless of their circumstances and segments.

11. Study by the European-Mediterranean Network for Human Rights [17] titled "Human Rights in the Union," highlighted the existence of discrimination between men and women in the workplace.

12. Study by Hassan Al-Yaqoubi et al., [18] titled "Obstacles to Women's Work in Senior Administrative Leadership Positions in Iraqi Universities," aimed to identify the difficulties hindering women from attaining high-level administrative positions. It found a high percentage of administrative obstacles for women to assume top positions in universities, with no difference between scientific and humanitarian departments regarding the types of obstacles faced by Iraqi women in senior administrative roles. Through reviewing literature and previous studies, several points emerge, which we summarize below.

1. Most of the women in leadership administrative positions ranged in age between 36-54 years old, and the majority of them hold higher educational and specialized degrees. This aligns with findings in this field, which emphasize that this age group provides both job experience and the ability to handle the responsibilities of the position for women.

2. The majority of the research sample are married, which creates family burdens that weigh on women and affect their performance levels.

3. Job competence, experience, and years of service are factors that help women reach leadership positions.

4. The satisfaction level among women in leadership administrative positions was found to be very high, indicating positive attitudes toward their work and satisfaction with the institution and its management.

5. The vast majority of women in leadership administrative positions expressed a high level of ambition to hold advanced leadership positions and aspire to occupy various higher positions, which is consistent with most studies indicating such aspirations among women, striving to affirm themselves and their personalities through their job positions.

6. There is evident inequality in occupying leadership positions between men and women, despite women proving their worth, competence, and success in leading their organizations, as indicated by most statistics in both developed and developing countries.

7. The results confirm the importance of having personal, organizational, creative, and social characteristics for women occupying leadership positions, which supports and enhances their performance and efficiency in their duties.

8. Women in administrative positions face some difficulties related to the work environment, family, and society [20].

Theoretical framework

The Reality of Arab Women in Administration: Kakki believes that the reality of Arab women in administration demonstrates that they exert their utmost effort to prove themselves and attempt to play an effective role in developmental plans that correspond to their circumstances and performance capabilities.

Despite achieving social success in some areas, they still face environmental challenges due to the social culture prevailing in most Arab countries, which largely prevents women from advancing to higher administrative positions and confines them to specific job fields. However, there are few women who have managed to overcome this norm. [20]

Literature indicates a lack of clarity in defining job tasks and responsibilities and the absence of precise descriptions for some positions, which confines women to routine tasks and limits their performance, leading to a diminished decisionmaking ability and a negative impact on their administrative performance. In some Arab countries, women may work in administrative fields that do not match their educational qualifications, resulting in work disruption and errors. The researcher identifies several obstacles and problems affecting women's access to leadership positions, including:

1. The dual roles performed by working women.

2. Societal traditions, prevailing norms, and restrictions facing working women in Arab countries.

3. The prevalence of a male-dominated culture in work distribution.

4. Working women's lack of self-awareness.

5. Shortage of rehabilitation and vocational training programs provided for women.

In reality, women face numerous challenges, necessitating the diagnosis of the most significant obstacles and problems, often intertwined in their impact, to find appropriate solutions and mitigate their effects on women.

Motivation is one of the most important behavioral factors that stimulate women and drive them to occupy leadership positions, engaging in behaviors and actions that contribute to investing their energies in this direction. Through their positive motivations, they seek to enhance ambition and self-affirmation. This is affirmed by the positive results that identified the motivations of female leaders in investing their job experience in the workplace, their desire for it, and their eagerness to enhance women's status in society, which are among the most important motivations driving them to assume leadership positions. [21]

The literature in this field (Shihabi [5], and Al-Yaqoubi [18]) has indicated that organizational problems have a significant impact on women's access to leadership positions. The vast majority of female leaders have confirmed that a primary problem is the low regard of male administrators for women's work. The lack of satisfaction and trust in women's decisions and opinions, along with the prevailing idea among administrative leaders that women are incapable of bearing leadership responsibility and facing work challenges, and that their qualifications and work experience are limited, all contribute to the lack of opportunities for women to assume leadership positions in organizations.

The results also pointed out the impact of personal problems related to women themselves, which may hinder their progression to leadership positions. Family circumstances and household burdens imposed by spouses, in addition to self-doubt resulting from social upbringing, and the family's fear for the woman's future, lead to a loss of self-confidence and a constant fear of failure, especially in her professional field.

Environmental and social problems also have a significant influence on female leaders. Society's perception of emerging female leadership roles, shaped by the values, customs, and traditions prevalent in that society, makes women apprehensive and wary of this negative and incorrect perception. This perception also reinforces discrimination in treatment between men and women, and men's fear of female competition confines their roles to a very narrow field. (Hassan Al-Yaqoubi [18]

Additionally, the lack of appropriate incentives and rewards, and the provision of suitable working conditions for development and creativity, lead women to refrain from assuming leadership positions. Therefore, female administrators must organize their job and family responsibilities to enable them to perform their duties efficiently. The Educational Management Conference and Future Requirements [22] recommended that management be participatory, based on teamwork, identifying the capabilities of employees in the team, understanding their goals and aspirations, so they can design suitable performance methods for each individual in the team. Female administrators should be trusted by their superiors in their field, undergo continuous development in their administrative performance, and various media tools should raise awareness in society about the importance of female administrative work and their functional capabilities. They should enhance the capabilities of female administrators in information gathering and updating, as this is the basis for making sound administrative decisions and adopting modern scientific methods in decision-making.

Here we emphasize that giving an opportunity to improve and strengthen women's participation in administrative work brings about a radical change in the efficiency of women's work at the Kingdom level. What is required is for society's institutions, especially educational ones, to adopt a different view of women, emphasizing their societal participation and the role they represent in educational administrative work. While women perform all these essential roles in the lives of all women, they can also be productive human resources that yield positive returns for community development. Empowering women for growth and professional advancement, providing them with educational and training opportunities, is what this study advocates. This will only be possible through a radical change in the perception of women as individuals and producers who possess capabilities similar to their male counterparts. These deep cultural transformations must be embraced by state institutions and reflected in their curricula and programs in schools and media messages.

As the Millennium Development Goals Report in the ESCWA region (2004) has indicated, it is important to raise awareness of the importance of women's role in society as contributors and to disseminate information about leading female models, supported by community organizations working on women's empowerment.

Methodology and Procedure

Study Methodology

The researcher employed the descriptive-analytical methodology as it is suitable for the current study. This method utilizes surveys in the data collection process, ensuring a degree of objectivity and stability.

Study Population

The study population consists of all the deans and department supervisors occupying administrative positions at Hail University, totaling (15) deans and (25) department supervisors. The following table illustrates the distribution of individuals in the study population (Table 1).

Study Instrument

To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher prepared a questionnaire consisting of (45) items covering three dimensions: Family Factors, Professional Factors, and Ways to Enhance the Level of Performance of Female Educational Administrators. Instrument Validity (Face Validity)

The initial version of the questionnaire was presented to a group of "nine" experienced and specialized referees to ensure the clarity of instructions, the relevance of questionnaire items to its content, and to consider any necessary additions or deletions. The researcher took into account the referees' comments and recommendations, thus ensuring the validity of the instrument. Consequently, the final version of the questionnaire comprised (45) items.

Instrument Reliability: The reliability of the instrument was ensured by calculating the internal consistency coefficient, Cronbach's Alpha, for the entire instrument, which was found to be (93), indicating high reliability.

The researcher utilized a five-point Likert scale to answer the questionnaire items regarding female educational administrators at Hail University. Analysis of variance was employed by the researcher, as illustrated in the following (Table 2).

From Table (2), it is evident that the research contained several independent research variables, totaling eight variables:

The first variable is Administrative Work, which ranged from supervising agencies to supervising departments. The number of female deans was 15, representing 37.5% of the research sample, while the number of department supervisors was 25, representing 62.5%. The standard deviation was 2.486%, with a variability of 23.6.

The second variable is Marital Status. The number of married women in the sample was 31, representing 77.5%, while divorced women were only five, representing 12.5%, and there were four widows, representing 10%. The standard deviation was 656, with a variability of 430.

The third variable is Academic Degree. There were ten lecturers, representing 25% of the research sample, three professors (7.5%), two associate professors, five individuals with a professorial degree (5%), and finally, assistant professors (25%). The standard deviation was 1.049, with a variability of 1.102.

The fourth variable is Years of Experience. There was significant variation in this variable, with seven individuals (17.5%) having one to five years of experience, thirteen individuals (32.5%) having five to ten years, eight individuals (20%) having ten to fifteen years, four individuals (10%) having fifteen to twenty years, and eight individuals (20%) having over twenty years of experience.

The fifth variable is Family Factors. Nine individuals (47.5%) saw family factors as inhibiting administrative work, while fourteen individuals (35%) were neutral regarding the impact of family factors on administrative work, and seven individuals (17.5%) viewed family factors as motivating for administrative work.

As for the sixth variable, Work Environment: Only seven researchers indicated that it was inhibiting for administrative work, constituting (17.5%) of the research sample. In contrast, sixteen researchers viewed the work environment as neutral in its effect on administrative performance, representing 40% in the sample. Additionally, seventeen researchers perceived the work environment as motivating for administrative performance, accounting for 42.5% of the total sample.

Regarding the seventh variable, Gender: Twenty-four researchers perceived being female as inhibiting for administrative performance, accounting for 60% of the sample, while ten researchers did not share this view, considering being female as neutral in its impact on administrative work, accounting for 25% of the research sample. Only six researchers believed that being female was motivating for administrative performance, representing 15% of the total sample.

The eighth variable, Psychological Support and Encouragement: Only two researchers indicated receiving positive psychological support and encouragement, positively affecting their administrative performance, accounting for (%5) of the research sample. In contrast, twenty-eight researchers complained of the lack of psychological support and encouragement, negatively impacting their administrative performance, representing 70% of the research sample. Finally, ten researchers perceived psychological support and encouragement as neutral in its effect on their administrative performance, accounting for 25% of the total sample. To address the first research question, the reality of administrative work for women at Hail University: Fifteen statements were developed to measure their administrative performance and determine their level of response to each statement. If the statement was positive, the coding was incremental from 5 to 1, where 5 indicated strongly agree and 1 indicated strongly disagree. Conversely, if the statement was negative, the coding was reversing (1-2-3-5-4). The responses for each researcher were then totaled, ranging theoretically from 15 to 75. In practice, response scores ranged from 27 to 59. (Table 3) illustrates this.

1. The administrative performance of women at University of Hail (Female Section) appears to have been mostly good. This could be attributed to various factors, including the careful selection of top leadership for both deans and supervisors, as well as the recruitment of distinguished academic staff by the university, whether at the Arab or global level. Perhaps many contract workers prefer to stay at the University of Hail and work within its educational system due to the facilities, benefits, good treatment, and excellent climate, which ultimately reflected in outstanding administrative performance and graduates who compete in the job market.

2. To answer the second question regarding the factors affecting the work of women in educational administration at the University of Hail, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 16, implementing the correlation matrix between the performance of deans and supervisors at the University of Hail and all research variables. This process resulted in significant correlations as follows:

There is a significant correlation at the 0.01 level between familial factors and the performance of deans and supervisors at the University of Hail, with a coefficient of -0.462. The negative correlation indicates that familial factors act as inhibitors of the quality of performance of deans and supervisors, perhaps due to the nature of women, as their association with familial factors is strong, affecting their work.

There is a significant correlation at the 0.01 level between years of experience and the administrative performance of deans and supervisors, with a coefficient of 0.449. There is a positive relationship between increasing years of experience and better administrative performance, as with more experience comes better decision-making skills, especially in similar situations they have encountered before.

There is a significant negative correlation at the 0.01 level between societal perception of women's work and the administrative performance of deans and supervisors, with a coefficient of -0.413. The negative relationship indicates that societal perception of women's work acts as an inhibitor of excellent administrative performance, possibly due to the perception that working women are neglectful, as they spend a large part of their time at work, which may interfere with some of their domestic duties.

There is a significant correlation at the 0.05 level between work environment and the administrative performance of deans and supervisors, with a coefficient of 0.340. The positive relationship indicates that the work environment acts as one of the motivating factors for administrative performance, possibly due to the respectful and excellent working environment at the University of Hail, which fosters innovation and improvement in their performance.

There is a significant correlation at the 0.05 level between psychological support and encouragement and the administrative performance of deans and supervisors, with a coefficient of 0.340. The positive relationship indicates that psychological support and encouragement act as motivating factors for the quality of administrative performance, possibly due to the emotional impact on women, making psychological support and encouragement a strong influence on their behavior.

Finally, there is a significant negative correlation at the 0.05 level between gender and the administrative performance of deans and supervisors, with a coefficient of -0.323. The negative relationship indicates that being female acts as an inhibitor of their administrative performance, possibly because women feel that administrative work is easier for men, as it is less affected by familial burdens.

To answer the third question, which is about "ways to improve the administrative performance of women in educational administration at the University of Hail," based on previous studies and literature review in the field, fifteen phrases was proposed representing some ways to enhance administrative performance. These phrases were presented to the respondents to provide their responses, categorized into five levels: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. Then, the numbers and percentages of responses to each phrase were calculated, and finally, the ways to enhance the administrative performance of deans and supervisors at the University of Hail were arranged based on those responses (Table 4).

Table 4, it is evident that the most important ways to enhance the performance level of female educational administrators at Hail University, ranked from most to least important, were as follows:

The majority of respondents agreed that "enhancing the problem-solving capabilities of female administrators" is the most crucial way to improve their performance. Following closely in second place were "granting confidence to women from their superiors in their professional field" and "promoting societal awareness regarding the work of female administrators." In third place was "training women to create an environment of trust and openness with their colleagues." The fourth position was held by "facilitating the development of female leadership in various fields of management and administrative work." Tied for fifth place were "adopting modern scientific methods in making administrative decisions" and "utilizing modern technological methods that enable women to undergo remote training." Ranked sixth was "designing appropriate performance methods for each individual in the work team." Three other methods tied for seventh place: "providing professional and technical growth opportunities for women and facilitating opportunities for leadership positions," "training women in administrative work skills," and "receiving feedback from the surrounding environment to achieve administrative tasks." In eighth place was "improving the professional performance of women and overcoming the obstacles hindering their performance in educational administrative positions." The ninth position was held by "equipping women with the necessary administrative skills for job performance." Tenth place was taken by "developing self-awareness and personal strength for female administrators," while the least important method, ranked eleventh, was "providing a suitable environment for organizing responsibilities between professional and family duties for women" as a means to enhance the performance level of female educational administrators.

Discussion of Results

From the preceding analysis, the following points can be inferred:

Women face numerous challenges, including those related to family traditions, childcare responsibilities, household and marital obligations, as well as workplace dynamics. This aligns with the findings of both Al-Munqash [23] and Al-Yaqoubi [18].

There are specific factors hindering women's advancement, such as job-related travel, marital status, and the number of children, consistent with the studies by Al-Yaqoubi [18] and Kakki [20].

Women still encounter discriminatory attitudes from their managers in the workplace, as indicated by the results of the second axis of the tool, focusing on professional factors.

Women have not had sufficient educational opportunities to support their career advancement, as highlighted by previous studies. This shortfall fails to meet women's aspirations in the era of scientific and technological openness.

Women face numerous obstacles in their advancement opportunities in educational administrative work, as confirmed by the literature and the results of previous studies and research.

Recommendations

1. It is essential to focus on providing suitable work environments that offer women adequate job promotion opportunities, such as safe daycare facilities for employees' children.

2. There is a need to raise awareness within the community through all media channels about the importance of women's work, as it is the optimal means to provide promotion opportunities for women.

3. Invest in various media and educational means to instill positive values and concepts regarding women's upbringing and their role in social and professional life. Define the rights, duties, and roles of both men and women in life and in decision-making.

4. Raise awareness in society about women's right to career advancement.

5. Establish administrative guidelines for administrative and leadership promotions.

6. Conduct awareness programs for organization managers regarding women's rights in senior administrative positions and professional advancement.

7. Emphasize the importance of providing equal opportunities for working women alongside men, provided they have the required qualifications, experience, and competence, to assume administrative and leadership positions.

8. Review recruitment and appointment criteria in advisory bodies, decisionmaking bodies, and promotions to senior positions to ensure these standards are suitable for everyone without discrimination against working women.

9. Support the role of women for their positive contribution to society.

10. Work on developing women's administrative, leadership, and personal capabilities through specialized programs and activities tailored to their circumstances, contributing to their empowerment and capacity building.

11. Implement training programs and utilize modern training methods to equip women with the necessary technical skills and keep them abreast of the latest advancements in management science and administrative practices from leading and advanced countries.

12. Focus on educational efforts that enhance women's self-confidence, scientific personality building, self-affirmation, ambition, and teach them how to face situations objectively using scientific methods.

13. Work on balancing women's administrative work with family requirements, balancing between job responsibilities, family responsibilities, social life, and providing the necessary atmosphere and amenities to alleviate women's household responsibilities, allowing them to focus on their work. Also, encourage men to understand their work and assist them in bearing responsibilities.

14. Conduct field studies on female directors in other educational institutions to identify promotion opportunities for women and compare them with institutions in other countries. This may help in overcoming other obstacles to the promotion of working women in other sectors.

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