ETD Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/104


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  • Item
    Leadership development for women at the Department of Home Affairs
    (2017) Mlokothi, Mbalentle
    The researcher‟s main purpose of the study was to investigate reasons and challenges contributing to the slow progression of women into top leadership positions at the National Department of Home Affairs. Secondly, it aimed to present findings on reasons for the slow progression of women into top management positions; thirdly, to analyse and interpret the findings; and lastly, to recommend strategies for consideration. In the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the researcher identified a problem of slow progression of women into top leadership positions. Currently, there are more women than men in the Department but this majority number of women in the Department is seen to be occupying the lowest occupational levels compared to their male counterparts. There is a significant improvement of women representation at senior management level but representation is still skewed at top management level. For example, at top management level the DHA comprises 12.5 per cent women compared to 87.5 per cent men. This is despite the available laws developed by government to close the gender gap and to eliminate gender discrimination. The research methodology employed for the purposes of this study was of a qualitative nature and the findings were presented in the narrative rather than in numbers. An interpretivist social science approach underpinned by phenomenology was adopted for this study. The data collection methods utilised for this study were participant observations, interviews and document analysis. These methods were also qualitative in their nature. In this study a combination of primary and secondary data was used. The original data collected by the researcher through interviews was used as primary data. Data collected by someone other than a researcher, which is secondary data, was also used. Examples of secondary data used were departmental policies, departmental reports, plans, minutes of the meetings, Acts and lastly previous research work on similar studies was also reviewed. The type of sampling used was non-probability sampling. The researcher also used special selection criteria to identify the most suitable individuals considered to be representative of the population to participate in the study. There were recurring themes that emerged during the data collection and the most common themes were around policy development where unavailability of gender policies and/or policy advocacy sessions was mentioned as a contributing factor, while implementation and monitoring and evaluation of these policies was mentioned as another challenge. The lack or absence of career development and succession plans in particular was described as contributing to slow progression and poor retention of women in the Department. Lack of reasonable accommodation of women‟s reproductive roles, gender discrimination and poor governance also came out strongly as serious issues that aggravate the problem in the Department. It was concluded that unless this issue is addressed, the lack of progression of women in the DHA will persist.
  • Item
    South African women managers' experiences and perceptions of organisational justice and leadership self-efficacy.
    (2013-08-05) Mupambirei, Ruth Rumbidzai
    Although more South African women are progressing into managerial positions, they are doing so at a slow pace and continue to face many challenges (Paulsen, 2009; Mckinsey & Company, 2010; Molebatsi, 2009). Therefore, this research set out to investigate South African women managers’ experiences and how they might relate to their perceptions of organisational justice and perceptions of leadership self-efficacy. Perceptions of organisational justice and perceptions of leadership self-efficacy are significant because they have been individually linked to motivation, commitment, satisfaction and performance (Baldwin, 2006; Combs, 2002; Colquitt, et al., 2001; McCormick, et al., 2002; Paglis, 2010). In addition, the research aimed to explore how these two concepts might interplay. The research took a qualitative approach and conducted in-depth interviews with eight senior women managers from different organisations. A tape recorder was used to record the interviews and thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The women in the study highlighted both negative and positive work experiences in their role as women senior managers. Further, the study revealed that senior women managers are not a homogeneous group as their experiences are also influenced by factors such as their race, marital status and number and/or age their children. The study also showed that the senior women managers’ experiences were related to their perceptions of organisational justice and leadership self-efficacy. The women in this study were vibrant and positive, and reflected high levels of leadership self-efficacy. It was also clear that these women’s experiences placed more emphasis on procedural and interactional justice than on distributive justice as they placed greater emphasis on work relationships, how they were treated and the fairness of work processes. In addition, the research also found a link between perceptions of organisational and perceptions of leadership self-efficacy