Is there Discrimination against Women in Arab Universities? (A Study on the Status of Female and Male Professors)

The challenges facing women across the world are numerous and require hard and long-term effort. Adding to this burden are the unobserved obstacles latent in the minds of many women resulting from their need to develop contemporary lifestyles and identities. These mental barriers harbored by women repress, and even block, their ability to become self-actualized and achieve empowerment. In other words, a conflict arises within modern women s psyches between the requirements innate in social progress and education on the one hand, and commitment to cultural and traditional values on the other. This study seeks to address the questions: What is the situation of the teaching staff, especially women, in Arab universities? Is there awareness about gender discrimination among faculty members of Arab universities? Moreover, if such discrimination is detected, what are its forms, aspects and degrees? By responding to these questions, the desire for a clearer understanding of women s roles in higher education, and their effects, can be fulfilled