3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Women's advancement to senior management positions in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform(2018) Ngomane, SiphoThe advent of a democratic South Africa in 1994 saw the implementation of legislative and strategic frameworks aimed at balancing opportunities for both men and women at the workplace. The primary focus of these frameworks was implementation of measures to advance women to enable them access to opportunities previously barred to them. Female representation in senior management positions remains skewed despite frameworks put in place to correct such imbalances. In such instances where women were promoted to senior management positions, literature shows they are often met with challenges which hinder their advancement. This study sought to explore perceptions of barriers women senior managers encounter in senior management positions at the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR). A qualitative approach was the preferred method of research, using a single case study. The researcher triangulated data using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and documentary evidence. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings revealed that although the department has partially met the numerical target of women in senior management positions, there are organisational or systemic barriers, professional career pipeline barriers and institutional climatic barriers. The study concludes that direct and indirect barriers exists which hinder women‟s advancement in the DRDLR. Organisational development interventions are recommended to address the identified barriers at personal and organisational level.Item Gender roles and leadership styles: an empirical evaluation of senior executive teams of public universities in Gauteng Province, South Africa(2018) Alahdal, KamalThe objective of this dissertation was to investigate the influence of gender roles on leadership styles, with regards to senior management staff at universities in Gauteng province. Women represent 51.1% of the South African population (Statistics South Africa, 2015), but their position in the workplace is still marginalised. Representation of women in senior management positions in South African universities are relatively low. Women are still marginalised in terms of progression to senior management positions, due to a number of factors including glass ceiling, and the leadership style adopted (Kayi, 2013). The Council of Higher Education (2013) reports that a total of 2664 senior management staff were employed across 23 public universities in South Africa, of which 1510 (56%) were men and 1154 (44%) were women. The study investigated the barriers that inhibit the progression of women to senior management positions and how leadership styles contribute to the gender gap within senior management. Theories such as the role congruity, think manager – think male paradigm and the social role theory provide theoretical grounding for the study. With regards to the research methodology, qualitative research techniques was utilised. Fourteen participants were chosen to participate in the study. The snowball sampling technique was utilised for this study. Data was analysed using thematic analysis, which includes familiarization, developing a thematic framework, indexing and mapping and interpretation. This study is limited to senior management staff, at universities within the Gauteng province; therefore, the findings of the study may not be generalizable to other universities in South Africa. The findings demonstrate that while all the respondents identify as being transformational leaders, it is necessary to develop and understand when to enforce transformational and transactional behaviours. Therefore, the environment in which one operates in and the circumstances encountered by leader’s influences leadership behaviours. The findings illustrate that woman in senior management positions are perceived to be underrepresented but only in certain roles and positions. There is a good representation of female leaders but it is the top management positions where males still dominate. Although the female leaders have experienced some barriers in their career progression, there is a general belief that gender stereotyping is becoming less of an issue. The respondents mentioned training, coaching and mentorship, workshops for men as well as monitoring legislations/equality targets as recommendations to addressing the gender imbalance within senior management teams.Item Leadership dilemmas of women in senior management positions (support) in higher education: strategy, struggles and survival: a case study at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits)(2017) Abrahams, LameseThe purpose of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of what it takes for women to succeed in senior management positions (support) in higher education institutions. The findings not only offer a wealth of strategies for career success and for overcoming professional and personal challenges, but also sheds new light on critical factors that affect women’s experiences at work. This qualitative study was based primarily on confidential interviews with four senior female participants and two senior male participants. Before assuming their current posts, they worked in a variety of leadership capacities ranging from department head to executive positions at Wits. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed and compared for salient themes. Six major themes emerged from this research: effective leadership strategies; tests and trials; maintaining focus and political savvy; numbers matter; gender as a two-edged sword; and competing as a woman. The results revealed that to succeed as an executive in a higher education institution, women must constantly overachieve, maintain good relationships with others, hold onto personal and institutional values to do the right things, expand themselves constantly, and utilize strong mentors’ assistance. When faced with implicit and explicit challenges such as unequal treatment, gender bias, resistance, political joggling, or personal struggles, they rely on private confrontation, emotional intelligence, and tenacity, as well as all possible support and resources to survive and thrive. The literature reviewed demonstrated that these factors are not exclusively experienced in the higher education sector and thus the results could be of interest to both the private and public sector. Given the importance of gender diversity in our modern society, the researcher believes that this study is critical in assisting Wits to understand why there are still so few females in senior management positions. It is hoped that the research will assist Wits to make changes to support the development and progression of more women into senior leadership roles in the future. iv Finally, although it is beyond the scope of this study to do more than speculate about the implications of the literature for leadership and gender issues, the relative lack of progress made during the last 40 years in terms of women occupying senior management positions, suggest that the discourse around these findings particularly at Wits needs to be more robust, redefined and more rigorous on the view to attracting, developing, retaining and promoting women into senior management positions.