Wasta and Gender Inequality in the Workplace: A Conceptual Framework for Social Network Influence in the Middle East and North Africa
本文聚焦中东和北非地区的wasta（一种非正式网络和社会资本），提出概念模型说明其如何作为性别化的关系基础设施和把关机制，限制女性获取社会资本和职业机会，为理解类似非正式制度提供理论蓝图。
ABSTRACT Although organizational social networks are extensively researched, the gendered implications of informal networks embedded in distinctive socio‐cultural contexts remains underexplored. This conceptual paper focuses on wasta, a pervasive form of informal network and social capital in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which facilitates resource flows while also reinforcing gendered exclusion. Integrating organizational social network theory, gendered organization theory, and literature on informal institutional norms, we develop a conceptual model that illustrates how wasta operates as a gendered relational infrastructure and a mechanism of gendered gatekeeping. In contrast to Western‐centric narratives that emphasize the empowering potential of networks, our framework reveals how wasta operates as an informal institution that constrains women's access to social capital and career opportunities within the MENA context. By foregrounding the institutional and gendered dimensions of informal networks, our study contributes to a more nuanced context‐sensitive understanding of wasta and offers a theoretical blueprint for examining similar gendered informal institutions globally. We outline implications for organizations and HR practitioners seeking to identify and mitigate the hidden dynamics of informal networks and their role in reproducing gendered inequality.