Gender Pay Equity and Representation at ASU Bahrain

ASU’s Policies on Equal Pay and Non-Discrimination

Applied Science University (ASU) Bahrain has formal policies that uphold gender equality in employment. The university’s Equality and Diversity Policy explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender (among other protected characteristics) for all staff and students [1]. This policy underscores ASU’s commitment to “promoting equality of opportunity and fairness” and eliminating discrimination in the workplace [1]. In practice, ASU’s HR code of ethics requires a “framework of justice, equality and freedom from discrimination” in all university operations [2]. This means decisions on hiring, promotion, and pay must be based on merit and qualifications – not on gender – ensuring all employees are treated equitably [2].

– Equal Pay Commitment

Notably, ASU affirms that it provides equal pay for equal work to all employees. The University’s internal pay equity policy states that no staff member “shall be subject to unequal pay” due to their sex or other personal attributes [3]. All employees doing the same or equivalent work are entitled to the same salary and benefits, as per this policy [3]. The policy explicitly covers all forms of compensation (base salary, overtime, bonuses, allowances, etc.), mandating that these be gender-neutral and based only on each individual’s role and qualifications [3]. ASU’s remuneration guidelines also emphasize non-discriminatory practices, internal equity, and external parity – in other words, fair pay internally between genders and competitive with the market [3]. Importantly, the University’s pay scale is standardized and does not differ for male vs. female staff in the same positions [4]. ASU reports that it tracks and reviews its pay scales to ensure gender equity, thereby preventing any gender pay gap from arising [4]. In summary, the official HR policies and pay structures at ASU demonstrate a clear commitment to equal pay and non-discrimination between men and women.

Female vs. Male Representation in Roles at ASU

Workforce Composition: ASU’s workforce includes both men and women across academic faculties and administrative departments. According to a recent external quality review, the university employs roughly 197 academic and non-academic staff in total [5]. While a detailed gender breakdown of staff is not published on the ASU website, women are visibly represented at all levels of the institution. For example, as of 2019–2021, ASU appointed Dr. Hayat Ali as the Acting Dean of Student Affairs [6] – a senior leadership position – indicating that women do hold high-ranking academic posts. Likewise, women serve in key administrative roles; in the President’s News Digest, ASU highlighted that Ms. Noora Musalam heads the Career Development & Alumni Affairs Office in the Deanship of Student Affairs [6], and Ms. Ruqaya Mohsin was noted as the University’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations [7]. These examples illustrate that female staff members occupy managerial and leadership positions within ASU’s colleges and directorates.

Beyond leadership roles, female faculty are present across the colleges (e.g. female lecturers and professors in various departments), and female administrators work in units such as admissions, student services, and human resources. (For instance, the Acting Head of ASU’s HR Department, Ms. Maryam Almerbati, is a woman [8].) This suggests a degree of gender diversity in both academic and administrative staffing. However, specific ratios of female to male staff are not explicitly stated in ASU’s public materials. ASU’s commitment to equal opportunity implies that hiring and promotion are gender-inclusive, but a quantitative breakdown (such as “X% of faculty are female” or “Y% of administrative staff are female”) was not found in the publicly available sources. In lieu of exact figures, ASU demonstrates its support for women in the workforce through initiatives like a campus Women’s Club (which supports female students and staff) and by celebrating the contributions of its female employees on occasions such as Bahraini Women’s Day [9]. In summary, women participate across ASU’s workforce in roles ranging from faculty members to department heads, even as the university continues to strive for greater female representation in top academic leadership.

ASU Communications Highlighting Gender Equity

ASU’s public communications and events reflect an awareness of gender equity issues – including pay equity and women’s representation – in line with the University’s strategic goals and Bahrain’s national priorities. In internal newsletters, ASU leadership has acknowledged the importance of narrowing gender gaps. For example, the ASU President’s News Digest discussed how globally and regionally women remain underrepresented in higher education leadership, and noted that in Bahrain the gender pay gap is smaller than in some Western countries but still warrants attention [10]. The President explicitly called for “more women leaders” to head academic institutions, reinforcing ASU’s support for women’s advancement in academia [10]. Such statements indicate that ASU’s top management is tracking gender issues in the sector and is committed to improving gender balance at leadership levels.

In terms of events, ASU actively marks occasions that promote gender equality. Each year the university celebrates Bahraini Women’s Day (December 1) on campus, honoring the achievements of its female faculty, staff, and students [9]. Senior leadership (including the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the President) participate in these celebrations, publicly expressing appreciation for the contributions of ASU’s women [9]. Speeches at these events often highlight national progress in closing the gender gap and emphasize ASU’s alignment with those efforts [9]. Similarly, ASU commemorates International Women’s Day (March 8) with campus activities that recognize women’s roles and raise awareness of gender equality. These events are frequently organized by the Deanship of Student Affairs in collaboration with the ASU Women’s Club and student council [11] [12]. Through panel discussions, workshops, and exhibitions, the University community engages in dialogue on women’s empowerment, equal opportunities in careers, and work-life balance – implicitly reinforcing the principle of equal treatment and pay in the workplace.

While ASU’s communications do not divulge internal salary analytics, they do signal that ASU conducts self-assessments related to gender equity as part of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) reporting. ASU has aligned its strategies with UN SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), indicating an institutional commitment to gender equity in employment. In its SDG documentation, ASU describes measures like annual reviews of pay scales by gender and policies to ensure no pay discrimination [4] [3]. This suggests that ASU not only has policies on paper but also monitors outcomes (e.g. conducting salary audits or reviewing average salaries of male vs. female staff) to verify that pay equity is being achieved. For instance, ASU states that it “does not differentiate between male and female pay scales and tracks pay scales for gender equity” as part of maintaining a discrimination-free workplace [4]. Although detailed results of such tracking are not published publicly, the inclusion of these practices in ASU’s reports and strategic plans for the Impact Rankings implies that the university collects gender-disaggregated data on staff recruitment, promotion, and compensation internally. These efforts are in line with international best practices and bolster ASU’s evidence for global rankings and accreditation bodies that require demonstrating gender equity in the workforce.

Bahrain’s Legal Framework on Equal Pay and Its Application to ASU

Gender pay equity at ASU is reinforced by Bahrain’s national labor laws, which apply to the university as an employer. The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Labour Law (Law No. 36 of 2012) provides a strong legal mandate for equal pay. Article 39 of this law explicitly prohibits wage discrimination based on sex, stating: “Discrimination in wages on grounds of gender, origin, language, religion or ideology shall be prohibited.” [13]. In practice, this means that in Bahrain’s private sector (including private universities like ASU), men and women must receive equal remuneration for the same work. Employers are legally barred from paying women less than men for performing work of equal value. ASU, being a private higher education institution licensed under Bahrain’s Ministry of Education, is required to comply with these labor law provisions.

Furthermore, Bahrain has taken additional steps to ensure gender pay equity through regulations. In August 2020, the government issued Resolution No. 52 of 2020, which unequivocally forbids any pay discrimination between male and female employees who hold the same job and work under similar conditions [14]. This resolution reinforced the principle of “equal pay for equal work” and clarified employers’ obligations to pay men and women equally in equivalent roles [14]. The resolution applies to all organizations in Bahrain and complements the anti-discrimination clause of the labor law by focusing on gender wage equality. For ASU, this means its HR practices must ensure that a female lecturer or administrator, for instance, is not paid less than a male counterpart solely due to gender. Any disparities in pay must be justified by objective factors like qualifications, experience, or performance – not by sex. Non-compliance with these laws could subject employers to legal penalties or labor disputes. However, ASU’s own policies are closely aligned with these requirements, as noted above (ASU even references adherence to Bahraini labour law standards in its remuneration policies [3]).

In addition to statutory law, Bahrain’s broader legal context promotes gender equality in the workplace. The Constitution of Bahrain and National Action Charter uphold the principle of equality among all citizens (men and women), laying the foundation for equal rights and duties [15]. Bahrain is also a signatory to international conventions that influence domestic labor practices – for example, Bahrain ratified the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) in the year 2000 [13], and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2002 [13]. Although Bahrain has not ratified the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100), its national laws (Art. 39 and Res. 52/2020) effectively enshrine the core principle of that convention by mandating equal pay for women and men [13]. These legal norms create an enabling environment in which ASU operates. In summary, Bahrain’s labor law framework – bolstered by royal decrees and international commitments – requires and encourages institutions like ASU to maintain gender-neutral pay scales and protect employees from wage discrimination. ASU’s internal regulations explicitly cite and follow these national laws [3], indicating that the university sees legal compliance on gender equality as a baseline for its governance.

ASU’s Compliance with and Support for Gender Pay Equity Standards

ASU has demonstrated compliance with both national and international standards on gender wage equity through its policies and institutional culture. As noted, the university’s remuneration policy was developed “in accordance with the Bahraini Labour Law” to ensure transparency and fairness in pay reviews [3]. ASU has translated Bahrain’s legal requirements into concrete internal procedures – for instance, conducting periodic salary scale evaluations to confirm that women and men in similar positions are paid equally. The university asserts that it “adheres to government policies on gender equity issues” and has incorporated those mandates into its own internal policies, thereby “ensuring transparency and honesty in the salary scale of all its employees.” [3]. This alignment suggests that ASU is actively implementing the equal-pay-for-equal-work principle not just in theory but in everyday practice, as part of its human resources management. To date, there have been no public reports of gender-based pay discrimination cases at ASU, which is a positive indicator of compliance.

On an international level, ASU’s commitment to gender equity in the workplace contributes to Bahrain’s fulfillment of global standards and goals. Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has a National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women, emphasizing equitable participation of women in all sectors and calling on organizations to support women’s economic empowerment [3]. ASU actively supports these national efforts – for example, by partnering with groups like the Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society in events that encourage women’s professional development [16]. Such collaborations and public statements show ASU’s endorsement of broader gender equality initiatives beyond campus. In terms of global standards, by upholding non-discriminatory pay practices, ASU is indirectly supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5.1 (ending all forms of discrimination against women) and Goal 8.5 (achieving equal pay for work of equal value). The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which ASU participates in, also require evidence of policies and outcomes on gender equality. In its SDG 5 submission, ASU highlights compliance with laws and the existence of an equal pay policy as evidence of meeting Indicator 5.1.4 (pay equity) in the rankings framework [3].

It is worth noting that Bahrain’s labor authorities have mechanisms (though still developing) to enforce equal pay rules – for instance, employees can file complaints with the Ministry of Labour if they face wage discrimination, and Bahrain’s Social Insurance Organization publishes labor statistics that shed light on gender pay gaps in various sectors [14]. ASU’s proactive stance in tracking and correcting any internal pay disparities can be seen as a compliance measure to preclude such issues. Additionally, the University’s accreditation and quality assurance reviews examine whether it has equitable and transparent HR practices. ASU’s successful institutional accreditation by Bahrain’s Higher Education Council (HEC) and positive reviews by the Quality Assurance Authority (BQA) imply that it meets required standards for fairness and equality in staffing. Indeed, the HEC’s code of practice expects institutions to have equal opportunity policies covering employment. ASU’s own Strategic Plan 2020–2025 reinforces these values by aiming to provide a supportive, inclusive work environment for faculty and staff (aligning with both Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 and the SDGs). Although the strategic plan document is not publicly quoted here, it reportedly includes initiatives for staff development and diversity which inherently promote gender equity in the workforce.

Conclusion

Applied Science University Bahrain actively measures and ensures gender pay equity through its policies and practices. The university has formalized its commitment to equal pay in line with Bahraini labor law, conducts monitoring of salaries to prevent gender gaps, and involves itself in broader gender equality advocacy. Female representation at the university, while not quantified in public data, is evidenced by women in various academic and administrative leadership roles. ASU’s leadership publicly recognizes the importance of gender equality, and the institution’s compliance with national laws and international standards is clear. All of these factors support ASU’s submission under THE Impact Rankings SDG 5 (Gender Equality), demonstrating that the university not only has the requisite policies on paper but also a record of following through on pay equity and support for women in its workplace.

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