4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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Subject: search.filters.subject.South AfricaSubject: search.filters.subject.GenderStart date: 2021End date: 2021

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Challenges faced by women in obtaining leadership roles in South African Higher Learning Institutions
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Qwelane, Nomsa; Koech, Roselyn
    The role of women in leadership positions in the South African Higher Learning Institutions (HLI) is crucial. It is inclusive to women from different ethnic groups, ages, abilities, socioeconomic status, and various other women who face marginalization due to their different walks of life. South Africa is formed of diverse societies; hence, HLI should enrol women from diverse backgrounds; however, the policy is not inclusive of women’s leadership roles. This has a negative impact on their work performance. Therefore, this study is inquisitive to understand whether the barriers are identifiable in policies of HLI. This study aimed to identify and characterise opportunities for growth for women in higher education institutions. Eleven adult females in senior administrative positions between the ages of 25 and 65 participated in the study. A phenomenological approach, including The Glass Cliff Theory, was used to ground the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and further analysed thematically. Results showed that the executive management had played a pivotal role in implementing diversity policy, such as removing these barriers. However, the participants have noted the fundamental challenge of the policies was not its framework but rather the speed at which it was implemented.
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    The Glass Cliff: Exploring the Dynamics Around the Appointment of Women to Precarious Leadership Positions in Corporate South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Mashele, Winsome; Alagidede, Imhotep Paul
    The current research explores the "glass cliff" form of discrimination. The research argues that while women are now appointed in high-profile positions, there is a greater likelihood that they end up on a 'glass cliff' as compared to their male counterparts. Glass cliff positions put women executives' in potentially risky roles that could harm their reputations and career prospects because, when a company performs poorly, people tend to blame its leadership without considering situational variables. The research problem statement centres around the overrepresentation of women who are in senior leadership positions in organizations that are experiencing difficulties, which is an increasing concern in corporate South Africa. The main objectives of the study, among others includes to: (i) gain a better understanding of why women choose risky leadership positions. (ii) identify the leadership experiences of women in leading organisations in relation to gender. (iii) understand the suitable leadership styles that women facing the glass cliff have at their disposal to build relationships with internal shareholders as well as influence the structure of the organisation. (iv) understand the tools and resources that are needed to support women in senior leadership roles during times of crises in corporate South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research methodology was employed, and data collected through semi-structured interviews from a total of 15 participants. Findings: The findings suggest that women are now allowed to occupy senior leadership positions where these positions record a decline in status, competence and prestige, and as a result are time consuming and difficult to combine with a successful academic career. An important set of findings is: (i) the participants perceived the risky activity as a form of promotional opportunity and were willing to accept an offer. (ii) if women are placed in the right positions with the right skills, success is potentially guaranteed. (iii) leaders should practice the situational leadership style which evolves according to the situation, the time at hand and its nature. Contribution / value: Despite some limitations that were experienced over the course of the study, some answers emerged in response to the key question on which the study was premised. Furthermore, the aim of this study was achieved in terms of its contribution not only in providing guidance to organizational decision makers, policy makers and business leaders to address inequalities in corporate South Africa, but also in highlighting the role played by women in making career decisions within the rubric of the glass cliff phenomenon
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    Menstrual Hygiene and Management in Zamimpilo Riverlea Informal Settlement
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-08) Khofi, Lucy; Manderson, Lenore
    Managing menstrual hygiene in low- and middle-income countries is difficult, due to lack of proper facilities. With inadequate WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services and infrastructure, such as proper working toilets and lack of access to sanitary materials, some women end up using unhygienic sanitary materials, such as rags, leaves, sand, tissues and so forth to manage menstruation. In this study, I used an anthropological approach to describe and analyse women’s understandings of menstrual health and hygiene in the informal settlement of Zamimpilo, Johannesburg. Firstly, I looked at how women understood menstruation and how this was influenced by community attitudes and social norms. Secondly, I identified what material, structural and normative factors hindered or enabled women to manage their menstruation and hygiene: shame, embarrassment, level of education, access to information, gender inequality, affordability of pads and soap, access to water, and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities. Thirdly, I explored women’s experiences of their bodies, and how menstruation influenced their decisions to go out, go to school, have sex, bathe with others, manage pain, and sleep. I looked also at the practices that women used to manage menstrual waste. As I illustrate, these practices are shaped by cultural, social, and religious factors. I have explored women’s creative ways to manage menstruation, menstrual waste, and hygiene under different conditions, and explored the extent to which they have internalised or resisted negative attitudes towards their bodies and bodily products. I emphasise women’s narratives. In theorising these questions, I have adapted ideas from Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas, and following her, I have analysed menstruation as something polluting and dirty that contributes to menstrual shame. I have also drawn on Emily Martin’s book The Woman in the Body (2001) and examined how social and cultural factors shape women’s understanding of themselves. The data on which this thesis was based is drawn from research using qualitative methods. Due to constraints in movement and social interactions associated with COVID-19, primary data were collected through telephonic semi-structured interviews. Twelve women – six young women between 18 and 25 years and six women between 25 and 40 years of age – were each interviewed twice, bringing the total number of in-depth interviews to 24. Participants were recruited through a key informant, using purposeful sampling for maximum variability to ensure diversity of age, ethnicity, religion, education background, among participants. This was significant given that the population of Zamimpilo was diverse and includes people from different provinces and communities: Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi and other South Africans all live in Zamimpilo, as well as people from other African countries including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Nigeria. My findings suggest that women’s MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management) in Zamimpilo is still a huge challenge. The environment is deeply compromised, and no residents have access to adequate housing, water and sanitation. These basic challenges, along with the lack of sanitary products, hinder women from managing their menstrual hygiene. However, I found that these women used alternatives to manage their MH (Menstrual Hygiene), including various herbs for menstrual hygiene purposes and to prevent urinary tract and reproductive tract infections. Women expressed various understandings of their bodies, menstrual blood and menstruation as a process. I describe how the South African Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has tried to address ‘period poverty’ in the country with the collaboration of non-government, non-profit organisations, the private sector, and menstrual activists. However, the need is greater than available resources. In places like Zamimpilo, women still do not receive any assistance from community organisations or from the state, and so they must improvise to manage this most private, routine, mundane event.
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    The glass cliff: exploring the dynamics around the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions in corporate South Africa
    (2021) Mashele, Winsome
    The current research explores the "glass cliff" form of discrimination. The research argues that while women are now appointed in high-profile positions, there is a greater likelihood that they end up on a 'glass cliff' as compared to their male counterparts. Glass cliff positions put women executives' in potentially risky roles that could harm their reputations and career prospects because, when a company performs poorly, people tend to blame its leadership without considering situational variables. The research problem statement centres around the overrepresentation of women who are in senior leadership positions in organizations that are experiencing difficulties, which is an increasing concern in corporate South Africa. The main objectives of the study, among others includes to: (i) gain a better understanding of why women choose risky leadership positions. (ii) identify the leadership experiences of women in leading organisations in relation to gender. (iii) understand the suitable leadership styles that women facing the glass cliff have at their disposal to build relationships with internal shareholders as well as influence the structure of the organisation. (iv) understand the tools and resources that are needed to support women in senior leadership roles during times of crises in corporate South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research methodology was employed, and data collected through semi-structured interviews from a total of 15 participants. Findings: The findings suggest that women are now allowed to occupy senior leadership positions where these positions record a decline in status, competence and prestige, and as a result are time consuming and difficult to combine with a successful academic career. An important set of findings is: (i) the participants perceived the risky activity as a form of promotional opportunity and were willing to accept an offer. (ii) if women are placed in the right positions with the right skills, success is potentially guaranteed. (iii) leaders should practice the situational leadership style which evolves according to the situation, the time at hand and its nature. Contribution / value: Despite some limitations that were experienced over the course of the study, some answers emerged in response to the key question on which the study was premised. Furthermore, iv the aim of this study was achieved in terms of its contribution not only in providing guidance to organizational decision makers, policy makers and business leaders to address inequalities in corporate South Africa, but also in highlighting the role played by women in making career decisions within the rubric of the glass cliff phenomenon.