Gender Differences at Work: Experiencing Human Resource Management Policies in Lebanese Firms

The existence of gender inequality at the workplace is a pervasive problem in many countries around the world. Although the situation may have improved in recent years, studies still point to the fact that men receive better rewards at work in terms of income, status, promotion and development opportunities among others. There may be a considerable amount of research on this topic in developed countries; however, there have been very few in the Middle East region. This research study aims to explore gender differences in the experiences of human resource (HR) management (HRM) policies in the workplace. Based on 100 participants in the country of Lebanon, the results of the study were somehow surprising. The findings show that women's expectations at work were met to a larger extent than men's. There was a significant difference in at least two HR practices including 'recognition at work' and 'supporting managers/supervisors'. Results and discussions are presented.