Faculty of Management Sciences
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Item Career advancement strategies of women in leadership at universities of technology in South Africa(2019) Awung, Mabel; Dorasamy, NirmalaThis study aimed to investigate the career advancement strategies of women in leadership positions at Universities of Technology (UoTs) in South Africa. The study focussed on female vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors; registrars and viceregistrars; directors and deans, as these ranks are classified as senior management. It is argued in the study that research has focused more on the challenges women face in their careers, while little has been said about the experiences of women who have advanced to leadership positions. The lack of progress is as a result of inflexibility and unpredictable scheduling at the workplace, networking, mentoring, stereotypes at the workplace, work-life balance, organizational structures and policies, socio-cultural perceptions and societal values that continue to oppress women. However, there is limited literature on the experiences of women who have advanced to leadership positions despite these challenges. Therefore, it is for this reason that this study sought to investigate how women managed to advance to leadership positions in the higher education sector. The researcher believes that focusing on the advancement strategies of women in leadership would provide a more effective response in handling the challenges that women face in advancing to leadership positions in higher education because solutions that are based on analyzing challenges are hypothetical and may not be feasible in real situations, while success strategies are more reliable solutions as they are factual and proven. Furthermore, strategies that have negatively impacted women’s progress were highlighted. It is in this regard that this study adopted the Social Cognitive Theory to investigate the strategies that women in higher education leadership have used to advance in their careers. The central role of this theory is that, the individual in his or her environment can observe others and reflect on their interests, career choices and performance, and alter his or her development accordingly in their careers. The study was conducted at all six Universities of Technology in South Africa, with a target population of 37 women in executive management positions. The study used a qualitative research design. Telephonic and face-to-face semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. An interview guide containing open-ended questions was used in guiding the interview process. A thematic approach was used to analyze the advancement strategies of women in leadership. Themes that emerged were organized and coded accordingly. The findings revealed that socio-economic status affected women’s career advancement, as was how these women viewed and balanced their complex roles in society. The findings also revealed that women’s advancement to leadership positions was through their own creative ways and abilities, as well as through the support structures inside and outside their organizations. With women’s low representation in leadership positions, the participants agreed that policies and support to increase women’s advancement to leadership positions were not enough. They also noted that women had to work harder and show strong determination to become leaders. This may imply that in order for women to advance in their careers, women themselves need to focus more on their strengths and ability, and stop focusing on their weaknesses or challenges.Item The effectiveness of gender equity policies in higher education : the case of the Durban University of Technology(Kamla-Raj, 2016) Awung, Mabel; Dorasamy, NirmalaRecent research has shown that despite the progress women have made in the workplace, they still lag behind in terms of higher level and rewarding positions. This situation is attributable to the policies that do not meet the needs of female employees. This paper therefore seeks to examine the effectiveness of gender equity policies in advancing the careers of women in higher education, using the Durban University of Technology as a case study. A mixed method design was adopted in which a sample of 250 women was drawn from academic and administrative units using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data, which was analyzed in order to highlight the factors influencing the career progression of women in higher education. The findings revealed that more policies need to be designed and effectively monitored in order to improve the working conditions of women in higher education.Item Factors influencing the career progression of women in higher education : the case of the Durban University of Technology(2015) Awung, Mabel; Dorasamy, Nirmala; Harris, Geoffrey ThomasThis study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the career progression of women in higher education in general and South Africa in particular, using the case study of the Durban University of Technology. Recent research has shown that even though women have made some progress as compared to where they were twenty years ago, the progress of women has proven to be resistant to change in terms of higher level and rewarding positions (Turner 2012; Hofmeyr and Mzobe 2012; Botool and Sajid 2013; Mouley, 2013). According to Boushey and Farrell (2013:6), this lack of progress results from a lack of flexibility and unpredictable scheduling at the workplace. Others argue that career interruption for childbirth and rearing; domestic responsibilities; gender parities at the work place; organizational structures; and policies that do not meet the needs of female employees affect career progress (Wallace and Smith 2011:3 and Tsoka 2010:6). The purpose of the study was, therefore, to examine the nature of the progress of women in higher education, and to identify factors influencing their progress. The study was conducted at the Durban University of Technology with a sample of 250 women from academic and administrative units the stratified random sampling technique was used, in which the target population at the DUT was grouped into different strata, and then the sample elements were selected from each of the groups. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research designs (mixed method), whereby self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. The questionnaire consisted of open-ended and closed ended questions. The closed- ended questions were quantitative, while the open ended questions were qualitative. The closed-ended responses were then analysed using SPSS, while the open ended responses used the inductive approach to highlight the factors influencing the career progression of women in higher education, thereby leading to recommendations on policies which would enhance career progression of women in higher education. The findings of the research revealed that women are still underrepresented in higher. It was recommended that management should improve working conditions for women and ensure that the effective monitoring and evaluation of the various policies in place.