Introduction

There is an evident gap in the literature when it comes to understanding Saudi women in leadership. Much of the literature silence Saudi women's stories and an overarching theme of challenges is set at the forefront of discussion. This chapter introduces the main objectives of this book, which is to counter the fixed ways of understanding Saudi women leaders’ stories and to push back against the master narrative in an effort to deconstruct the Orientalist image of Saudi women in Management and Organization Studies (MOS). This chapter highlights the significance of understanding leadership stories from marginalized women located in Non-Western contexts. Leadership, in this case, is understood as a social construction, a performance of identities, and a cultural practice anchored in local cultures and values. This chapter sheds light on the Saudi context and the changing gendered narrative that has been spearheaded due to changing economic and political initiatives (e.g., Vision 2030, National Labor Gateway 2020). Saudi Arabia is experiencing a new leadership paradigm, where women are at the center of the paradigm. This makes it timely and pertinent to highlight Saudi women's stories of leadership identity, resistance, and surface alternative forms of knowledge necessary to decolonize the field.