LoadingLoadingLoadingLoadingThis DBA research follows 40 women in vice-president and director roles in Riyadh and Dubai who study at Arab Leadership University while remaining in post. It asks what a practice doctorate must change so that leadership development is not a demand to leave the household or the employer. Progress depended on supervision after 21:00 Gulf time, assessments that accepted redacted board papers as data, and a university that did not schedule a compulsory residential week in a third country. Several participants used the DBA to design sponsorship programmes inside their firms, which is a better outcome than a motivational seminar. ALU should publish a women-in-leadership research and teaching standard that is operational: hours, childcare-aware deadlines, and ethics review that understands family-business confidentiality in the Gulf.