The role of business executive coaching in addressing the "glass ceiling" for black female South Africans

Abstract

This exploratory research was conducted to find out the role that “glass ceiling” barriers play in the progression of African women into senior and top management position the private sector in South Africa and to identify perceptions of the ways in which business executive coaching can serve as a tool for the African female to address these barriers. A qualitative research approach of an interpretive nature was chosen for the research methodology. Semi structured interviews were conducted with three African women that had received coaching and seven African females that had not received coaching to find out how they have perceived the glass ceiling in their respective industries. The African female participants were part of junior management, middle management and senior management respectively. Two business executive coaches were interviewed to find out more about their perceived ideas on how coaching can assist African females in breaking the glass ceiling. Thematic content analysis was the method utilised to analyse the data. The glass ceiling barriers that exist in the social and business context for the Black African female covered factors such as; cultural factors, demographic factors, individual factors, career barriers, external support, internal support, educational level. The research findings showed that the Black African females have all had experience with these barriers in some way or another. Some of the African females have mentioned the positives of the factors on their career progression journey, whilst for some the factors have proven to be barriers that were still there preventing them to break the glass ceiling. The African female participants and the coach participants all provided coaching areas of concerns and the tools and value drawn from utilising the tool were therefore provided. The value and tools of business executive coaching focus was given to the different models of coaching and how each of these can be used as tools and the value of using them as tools. Business executive coaching was found to be a useful tool in helping to address glass ceiling barriers for black female in the private sector in South Africa. It is important to implement coaching from an organisational perspective and from an individual perspective as an aiding tool to be used when building on the career progress of the black female