Organizational Climate and Gender: Evidence from Al-gerian Local Authorities

The present paper aims at exploring the relationship between organizational climate and gender within Algerian local authorities, mobilizing Mixed Method Research MMR, qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative study – interviews with civil servants – revealed in two stages, the socially constructed position. Otherwise, a quantitative study was carried out on civil servants in five Algerian local authorities (Blida department), allowed us to analyze the relationship between organizational climate and gender within local authorities. The results give us some insights: Gender (in the organizational climate) is not decisive for civil servants. Our quantitative research does not reveal any significant differences between men and women (civil servants) on the perception of the organizational climate and managerial context of local authority. In addition, the qualitative research reveals that there is no competition between the different categories of civil serv-ants. Furthermore, competition is ineffective between women and men civil servants, who apparently do not aspire to promotion without financial advantages. Local authorities are seen as a second-best option for job seekers, an option reserved mainly for women who have adapted cognitive assets to that organizational climate requirements. Women civil servants would be more resilient than men, their acceptance of the professional framework constraints seems to be more explicit.


Introduction
In the context of local authorities, organizational climate refers to the endogenous prevailing atmosphere, values, and attitudes within an organization. Conversely, Gender refers to the exogenous atmosphere, social and cultural characteristics associated with being men or women. For this purpose, the link between organizational climate and gender in local authorities can be complex and multifaceted. The organizational climate can impact the experiences of women and men working in local authorities differently. For example, if the organizational climate is discriminatory towards women, it can negatively impact women's career. Moreover, if the organizational climate is inclusive, it can promote the organizational environment where women and men can achieve their potential. On the other hand, gender can also IMPACT the organizational climate. The contextualized representation of women and men in different roles within the local authority can impact the organizational climate and characterizes the levels of creativity and innovation.
Local authorities are public institutions, created by fundamental law to meet the local needs of citizens. Their management must obey public procedures, under the legal framework which considers the public service values: accessibility, justice, equality, accountability, and transparency. Without which, equality between men and women cannot be observed, for both, the citizen "client" and the civil servant who oversees delivery. In the context of North African States, the political color of elective organizations at the local level, could be classified in three types of parties: paternalistic nationalist parties; traditional parties and secular parties. Women's empowerment policy is often perceived as an indispensable tool for maintaining an opposition between two major political forces, traditional and secular movements, two movements essential for the sustainability of postindependence political systems. Unfortunately, the debate on this question remains biased by ideology. Most of the studies conducted have had a political agenda and some conditional funding. Away from political considerations, we tried to eliminate ideology through an objective data analysis. With the help of a combined methodology, mobilizing two approaches, qualitative and quantitative, we have built our research to answer the following questions: Are there gender differences in how civil servants perceive organizational climate? Are there gender differences in how civil servants perceive local management context? Finally, this study is an extension of a previous study on the organizational climate of local authorities (A. Ferroukhi & R.Ouennadi, 2019), initially launched to analyze the organizational climate of local authorities in Algeria. For that purpose, we hope to provide clarification, but we remain aware of the influence of ideological interpretations, doing our best to eliminate any dissonance.

Theoretical framework
There is no consensus about the definition of organizational climate , scholars (Scheneider et al, 2017) mentioned it as summary perception : "organizational climate is a summary perception derived from a body of inter-connected experiences with organizational policies, practices and procedures (e.g., from leadership and HR practices, and so forth) and observations of what is rewarded, supported and expected in the organization with these summary perceptions becoming meaningful and shared based on the natural interactions of people with each other". The climate concept is often used to enrich the concept of culture (Poole, 1985), a concept that remains generic and nuanced. The organizational climate reflects the description of the environment, a psychologically significant description. Moreover, (Patterson and al., 2005) who defined it as the shared perception of employees on the state of their organization, which is distinguished by its procedures, practices and routines. The organizational climate differs from one organization to another. Several factors explain these differentiations, such as the individual dissimilarity of the employees and their relative positions in the organization chart; the nature and organization of the working groups; and the employee history (Victor & Cullen, 1988). The organizational climate of local authorities can be distinguished from other types of organizations due to its unique contextual factors: Public sector values: Local authorities are part of the public administration (Pollitt &, Bouckaert , 2004) , which means they are guided by public service values. These values can influence the organizational climate, operating local management including communication practices within local authorities. Political influences: Local authorities are subject to political influences (Pollitt &, Bouckaert , 2004), as they are often governed by elected officials who may have their own agendas and priorities. This can impact the organizational climate, including the level of autonomy that local authorities have in decision-making processes. Local context: Local authorities operate in a specific context, which can impact the organizational climate. Factors such as the size and demographics of the local population, the availability of resources, and the level of community engagement can all influence the organizational climate of local authorities. Stakeholder expectations: Local authorities are accountable to a wide range of stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, and other organizations. Meeting the expectations of these stakeholders can influence their management and organizational climate. Linking gender with management outcomes is not easy to run . The link is complex and multifaceted. For example, the relationship between work engagement and gender , was differently appreciated , Gulzar and Teli (2018) have established the impact of gender on work engagement , but another (Tshilongamulenzhe & Takawira, 2015) study has concluded that gender has no impact on work engagement . In developed countries, the professional condition of women has greatly evolved compared to men, but remains comparatively more difficult, they still have less opportunities to prove their skills (Wiggins, 1996) , and men have more opportunities to reach top management ( Broadbridge, 2010) . However, for developing countries such as Algeria, that evolution remains less significant. For Algeria , many general studies were carried out about women's professional condition (Fanon, 1967, Gordon, 1968, they were generally focused on the changing role of women in the Algerian revolt against the French. A remarkably distinguished position in terms of the role of women in society, especially in the Maghreb and North African Region. After this revolutionary literature, many scholars focused on gender development under socialist inspiration (Knauss, 1987). In fact, the scholars in human sciences focused on political issues, women's rights and women's organization, such as UNFA (Union Nationale des Femmes Algériennes) , previously linked to the unique party (FLN) and still sheltered under the umbrella of the effective power. On the other hand, no studies have been carried out in the field of administrative sciences or public management. In Algerian local authorities, which are often men-dominated, women hold only 2% of the positions of mayor and 11% of municipal council seats (Interior Ministry), women may face challenges such as discrimination and a lack of support from men colleagues, which can negatively impact their experience of the organizational climate. As consequences the women's perception should be distinguished from men's perception. But, a previous study has clearly demonstrated the absence of a correlation between the organizational climate's perception and gender of civil servants (Ferroukhi & Ouennadi, 2019). On the other hand, this same study highlights the importance of the demographic variables, management practice variableS and satisfaction perception variables. In fact, the higher the level of education, the less the appreciation of organizational climate. The more the feeling of citizen's satisfaction, the better their appreciation of organizational climate.

Methodology and data
The present research mobilizes A mixed research method, also known as mixed method, which involves combining qualitative and quantitative research methods in a single study or research project. The advantages of mixed research methods are ( Bazely 2008, Cameron 2010): Comprehensiveness: By combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, researchers can gain more comprehensive understanding of the research topic. Triangulation: Mixed research methods allow researchers to use multiple sources of data to validate their findings. By triangulating data from different sources, researchers can increase the credibility and reliability of their findings. Richness of data: Qualitative methods can provide detailed, contextualized data that can enhance the understanding of quantitative data. This can lead to a more nuanced understanding of the research topic. Increased validity: Mixed research methods can enhance the validity of research findings by allowing researchers to use multiple methods to test hypotheses or theories. This can increase confidence in the research findings. Improved generalizability: By using both qualitative and quantitative methods, mixed research methods can improve the generalizability of research findings. Qualitative methods can help identify contextual factors that influence the research topic, while quantitative methods can help identify patterns and trends that can be applied to larger populations. In the last decade, MMR has been considered as the third methodological movement (Bazely 2008, Cameron 2010) , mobilized by many social and behavioral sciences . It can be considered according to scholars ( Greene and all. 1989) "as mixed method designs at least one quantitative method (designed to collect numbers) and one qualitative method ( designed to collect words), where neither type of method is inherently linked to any particular inquiry paradigm ". The research was implemented by three main steps: Step 01: First of all , we included in our research design semi-structured interviews with 12 civil servants ( 06 men & 06 women ) , who contributed to review the explicative variables , taken from academic literature , and should be validated by the 12 civil servants .
Step 02: After material collection at first step, we built two hypotheses and a questionnaire. Our validated hypotheses are: (1) Men and Women civil servants of Algerian local authorities differ significantly in terms of perceived organizational climate (2) Men and Women civil servants of Algerian local authorities differ significantly in terms of perceived local managerial context. Then, we proceeded by disseminating a questionnaire and collected the data and analyzed them by using multivariate method.
Step 03: We controlled our results through 6 follow-up interviews in two local authorities (3 men & 3 women), the main objective was to examine the realistic significancy of the results and avoid a fast utopic quantitative result. Exploring local authorities remains a difficult task for researchers, that final step helped us to give a sense to our applied research. For our research material, during the first step, we collected information drawn from the discourse analysis, related to the management context, the professional development of civil servants and constraints of the working environment. Then , during the second step , the questionnaire allowed us to extract fifteen qualitative , quantitative and ordinal variables provided by the survey : the general perception of the organizational climate (EGEO), the level of education (LEVEL), the age (AGE), the professional experience (EX-PER), the gender (GENRE), the recognition of work (ENRT), the degree of openness to change (EOC), autonomy in the organization of work tasks (ELA), clarity in the determination of objectives (ECO), the quality of the employment relationship (ERT), respect for hierarchical decisions (ERDH), respect for time at work (ERTT), evaluation of performance measurement criteria within the municipality (ECSR) performance of the territorial civil servant (ERF) , the perception of the citizen satisfaction (ESC). Finally, we checked the relevance of the quantitative results with 6 civil servants.

Results and discussions
The first step of our research is part of triangulation, a global approach that aims to verify information from different sources. According to Savoie-Zajc (1996) triangulation is a research strategy that consists of combining data from several instruments, compensating the specific biases to each. Through a semi-structured interview, we had the opportunity to test the comprehensive meaning of the dependent variables mobilized in the second stage. We summarized the qualitative data in the table below, which presents the main information of our first investigation. The first observation led us to distinguish local authorities from institutions and firms, which are characterized by a stable and non-evolving environment. Local managers are very poorly paid, there is no competition between the different categories of civil servants. Similarly, competition is ineffective between women and men civil servants, who apparently do not aspire to promotion without financial advantages. Local authorities are seen as a second-best option for job seekers, an option reserved mainly for women who have adapted cognitive assets to that organizational climate requirements. For all civil servants, women civil servants would be more resilient than men, their acceptance of the professional framework constraints seems to be more explicit.

Elements of organizational climate discourse
Organizational climate Explicative variables Closed professional environment Demographic variables "age, level of education and experience " administrative environment with difficulties in terms of innovation Citizen satisfaction is a determining factor for the local civil servants.

An environment imposed on those who have had no chance of working in private enterprises
Local management variables such as : clarity in the determination of objectives , the quality of the employment relationship , respect for hierarchical decisions..,etc.. Discrimination between women and men civil servants are not observed. But , women seem to be more resilient than men The questionable variable "gender" could be explicative.

Source: made by ourself from qualitative study
The second step of the study: For our quantitative analysis, we used t-test to compare two groups of civil servants, women and men. The t-test for the difference in means tests the null hypothesis that the means for both groups are equal, versus the alternative hypothesis that the means are not equal or that the mean for one of the groups is larger than the mean for the other group. To interpret the t-test results, we need to find an acceptable pvalue. Before the t-test , we should verify five assumptions: The dependent variable should be measured on a continuous scale The independent variable should consist of two categorical and independent groups. We should have independence of observations. There should be no significant outliers. The dependent variable should be approximately normally distributed for each group of the independent variable. First, we must test the equality of variances in the two groups "Levene's Test for Equality of Variances", if p value is less than 5%, we read the student test " Equal variances assumed ", otherwise we consider the test of an inequality of variances "Equal variances not assumed ".
The T-test reveals that gender has no influence on the perception of the organizational climate (see appendix 01). The fact of being a man or a woman does not categorize the responses of civil servants. Moreover, gender has no impact on all of the dependent variables (see appendix 01 and table 01), except for the performance of civil servants, which can indicate a certain idea about a perception distinction between women and men. In addition, the non-normality (Appendix 02) in the case of our dependent variables led us to make nonparametric tests (table 01) and confirm the null hypothesis for fourteen out of fifteen variables. Finally, the dependent variables relating to the perception of the local management, do not make it possible to distinguish between the two groups of our independent variable. The step three: We controlled our results through 6 follow-up interviews in two local authorities (3 men & 3 women) and summarized their social and organizational interpretation of the results obtained during the second step. The six interviewees highlight the absence of gender competition within local authorities because of lack of financial motivation.
The six civil servants confirm the absence of distinction between men and women, within the local authorities, which remain respectful of the laws in terms of gender equality in the public service. Otherwise, women civil servants give importance to supporting the family, married or single, the woman contributes to maintaining the financial balance of the classic family or extended family "support for parents, brothers and sisters". Men civil servants recognize that socio-economic role of women, especially in a new context characterized by a loss of purchasing power and traditional representation of housewife model. All civil servants recognize the lack of incentive to climb the administrative hierarchy, this induces a lack of competition between civil servants, who seem to be indifferent to local top management positions.

Conclusion
The condition of women in Algerian local authorities has improved in recent years, but there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality and women's full participation in local governance. While women's participation in local government in Algeria has been increasing, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions. For example, according to the Ministry of Interior (Local Authorities and National Planning ,2021) , women hold only 2% of the positions of mayor and 11% of municipal council seats in Algeria. Women civil servants may also face cultural and societal barriers that discourage them from pursuing leadership roles in local government. To address these challenges, the Algerian government has taken steps to promote women's participation in local governance. For example, the country's constitution guarantees gender equality, and the National Charter for Peace and Reconciliation includes provisions for promoting women's political participation. Additionally, there have been efforts to increase women's representation in local government through quotas and other affirmative action measures. The quantitative study confirmed the results of the previous study (Amine FERROUKHI & Rachid OUENNADI, 2019) on the non-significance of the correlation between gender and self-assessment of the organizational climate. Men and women civil servants do not differ in terms of self-assessment of organizational climate. In addition, the qualitative study reveals the distinguished position of women in the Algerian local authorities, who are more inclined to accept administrative missions, more devoted to public services and more attentive to the citizens 'grievances. This could reveal a resilience capacity facing multiple difficulties and constraints, imposed by an internal regulatory environment (low wages, predefined career plan, stable but not evolutive career), in addition to the citizen's mistrust that characterizes the external environment. On the other hand, men civil servants seem more rebellious in claiming material benefits (wages, bonuses, and specific financial compensation for non-regular public missions). Social and traditional backgrounds play an important role in Algerian local authorities as it shapes the culture and norms that govern behavior within these institutions. Local authorities in Algeria are deeply embedded in the social system of the country and are often seen as extensions of traditional social structures and practices.
In the case of married women civil servants, this difference could also be explained by the mutual compensation in the households. The traditional men accepted the work of their wives and associated them in taking care of the needs of the family. On the other hand, women strengthen their family and social position, they become contributors in maintaining financial balances within households, and eventually come to sense the importance of their contribution, which could be the source of their inclusion and motivation.
There are several directions that future research on the link between organizational climate and gender in local authorities could be taken: Despite the gender difference, the motivation of civil servants should be a major concern for the local management, without boosting the motivation, performance cannot be achieved, and local authorities could not evolve in the perspective of enhancing public service delivery. Finally, future research on the link between organizational climate and gender in local authorities should continue to prioritize the perspectives and experiences of diverse groups of employees and seek to identify effective strategies for promoting a positive and inclusive work environment. Normality test (Kolmogorov-Smirnov & Shapiro-Wilk)