Is it the human resource policy to blame? : Examining intention to quit among women managers in Arab Middle Eastern context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-dimensionality of women managers’ turnover in the United Arab Emirates. The study argues that several factors besides public policy influence turnover. Design/methodology/approach A special survey was developed and administered to a convenience sample of 298 local women managers in both sectors. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson and multiple regression analyses were used. Findings The empirical analyses provided support to the multidimensionality of turnover. In addition, turnover was predicted by a model of eight factors (adjusted R 2 = 0.456), namely, economic needs, quality of work life, leadership type and practices, social needs, marital status, organisational satisfaction, organisational commitment and public policy. Research limitations/implications The study was rich, empirical data were gathered and analysed along with qualitative literature. Gender remains salient in organisations as human resource policies alone are incapable of retaining women in leadership. Limited sample size and convenience sampling method may limit the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications Workplace conditions complement human resource policies; hence, the success of the latter relies on the success of the former. Economic incentives remain significant to motivating managers and retaining women in leadership jobs. Social implications Human resource management policies, such as Emiratisation, cannot be successful without empowering women. Originality/value The originality of this paper is drawn from using first-hand data to examine the multi-dimensionality argument of turnover in addition to the advancement of gender studies in leadership and management. The study also provided evidence that rationality (i.e. economic means) remains important to retain women managers.