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This study seeks to offer a contextual, multilevel perspective on the impact of patriarchal culture and Islamic faith on issues facing women holding leadership positions in a Middle Eastern context.

Data were collected through 25 in-depth qualitative interviews along with open-ended questions in a paper-based survey. In view of the authors' research objectives, the authors purposively recruited participants who were identified as Muslim scholars (academics) and clerics (practitioners).

While the study challenges the prevailing stereotype that Islam holds women leaders back by referring to Islamic teachings that support gender equality, it also highlights the adverse impact of gender discriminatory misinterpretations of Islam for women leaders. The study identifies three interconnected, multilevel factors that lead to misinterpretations of Islamic teachings, i.e. (1) cultural factors (macro level – i.e. patriarchal and tribal culture), (2) organizational factors (meso level – i.e. organizational policies) and (3) individual factors (micro level – i.e. interpretations and practices of religion).

This study contributes to the existing theory development of religion and women in leadership by presenting a novel model highlighting the interplay between religion, patriarchy and women in leadership.

The study recommends the application of a gender egalitarian system that enables full utilization of women's skills and capabilities by (1) reducing the discriminatory function of tribal culture and (2) identifying steps to reform inegalitarian gender practices in the Arab region.

The research is unique as it is the first time that a study has incorporated Muslim academic scholars' and clerics' views into gender and organization research. The study is thus contextually relevant and offers fresh multilevel insights on the interplay among religion, culture and gender.

The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the role of predictors to women’s economic empowerment (WEE). Moreover, the mediating role of digital banking usage (DBU) between financial literacy (FL) and WEE is empirically tested. The study also examines the moderation effect of educational level (EL) and employment sector (ES) on WEE.

Using a mixed-method approach, a comprehensive questionnaire was used to collect data of 482 women working in the formal ESs of Delhi-NCR. Partial least square structural equation modeling using SmartPLS-4 was used to test the explanatory and predictive power of the proposed model. This was followed by semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data from 14 respondents.

The results present the following important findings: first, DBU, FL, women’s agency (WA) and workplace human resource policies (HR) significantly impact WEE, whereas government support (GS) and FL significantly impact DBU; second, DBU significantly mediates the relationship between FL and WEE; and third, ES significantly moderates the relationship between DBU and WEE.

This research also shares significant findings for practitioners and organizations by holistically identifying factors affecting WEE. These findings apply to both the human resource department of the employment sectors and the management of the banking sector.

The present study adds value to the scarce literature on the impact of DBU on WEE and highlights the mediating role of DBU along with the moderation effect of EL and ES. The study model incorporates novel constructs that impact WEE and offers new insights to various stakeholders in enhancing WEE. In addition, qualitative method was used to complement the quantitative findings.