The Obstacles Faced by Women Faculty in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to schools’ and universities’ closures worldwide between 2020-2021. This greatly impacted many aspects of the daily lives of individuals of different categories. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the obstacles faced by women faculty members at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU) in the Early Childhood (EC) department, College of Science and Humanities, Jubail city, during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). The study used a qualitative case study methodology. A total of 12 faculty members participated in the study. The focus was only on women faculty who have children. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The content analysis method was used to analyse the data. The findings showed that the most manifest obstacles identified by the participants were lots of stress and psychological pressure, physical stress, technical issues, lack of face-to-face contact with students, and missing the traditional environment of the university. Other benefits were reported, such as staying longer with their family members, taking several professional development courses in e-learning strategies, and using distance learning and technology professionally.