Impact of gender on use of wasta among human resources management practitioners

The practice of wasta dominates all aspects of Arabs’ lives; it is a parallel inegalitarian
system that categorizes people according to their connections. One of the epicenters of wasta is
human resources management (HRM). This paper studies the concept of wasta in the Arab world
by examining its use in HRM according to gender, in the case of the Jordanian public sector.
Results obtained from 27 semi-structured interviews of HR managers indicate that though wasta
is an important feature of HRM in general, there is a notable discrepancy between male and
female employees, with the former displaying higher tendencies for using wasta than the latter.
An explanation for this finding is the prevalent masculine nature of Jordanian society, which
entails social caveats related to the traditional role of women. Professional determinants, such as
gendered job segregation and variance in qualifications, also affect men’s and women’s access to
wasta