Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / This study examined how adult African American women experienced learning at two post-secondary institutions in the Midwest; a diverse, urban community college, and a predominantly white research university. The study also considered how barriers, challenges, responsibilities, and support systems impacted their learning experiences. Gender, race and age were variables of interest, and three theoretical lenses; Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule's Women's Ways of Knowing, McClusky's Theory of Margin/Adult Roles and Responsibilities, and Critical Race Theory were used to explore the participants' experience of learning. This topic was of interest due to the paucity of research conducted in the area of post-secondary institutions, with adult African American women in the Midwest. This study found that learners used active learning, linked their learning to their life experiences, encountered racism, experienced barriers; situational, institutional, dispositional, and information; utilized familial, instructor, peer and spiritual support systems, would benefit from career advising, and that career goal uncertainty was a common obstruction. The women participating in this research were determined, motivated and goal oriented, and served as role models for their children, sought education to improve their lives, and emphasized the importance of education to reach career and life goals.

This thesis explores the challenges and barriers that influence women's engagement with ICTs in Muslim countries, particularly in Pakistan. It examines the extent to which ICT policies, plans and strategies for 24 countries refer to women, and the implications that this has for their experience of ICTs. It analyses the cultural and social constraints on women's engagement with ICTs. Empirical research was conducted in five regions of Pakistan using documentary analysis, interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. The research shows that involving women in the ICT policy formulation process does not necessarily guarantee effective and inclusive ICT policies. Supporting Thas et al. (2007) and Chowdhury and Khanam (2005) it suggests that women from diverse sections of society with real knowledge of cultural and social contexts need to be involved in policy making if it is to be of benefit to women. Building on the work of Wanasundera (2006) and Hafkin (2002), the research suggests that ICT policies cannot be gender-neutral in countries such as Pakistan, where prevailing patriarchal social structures limit understandings of the constraints faced by women in effectively utilising ICTs in their individual and collective interests. The use and impact of ICTs depends greatly on class, education and geographical location (Gurumurthy, 2004; Jorge, 2002). ICT policies/programmes appear to cater mainly for the needs of wealthy, upper and middle class educated urban women. Thus ICTs have negligible benefits for the lower class poor, uneducated rural women (Arun et al., 2004). This research also highlights critical gaps in our understanding of the interface between ICTs, women and development (Momsen, 2004). Women face a wide range of social barriers in their use of ICTs, based on their environments, immersed in tradition and cultural norms. This research identifies substantial barriers that appear to be unaddressed in the design of ICT projects and guidebooks.

This qualitative study explores the interrelationship between perceived gender discrimination and its antecedents and consequences while examining the concept of the glass ceiling that presents some barriers to the career advancement of Bahraini female workers in the banking sector. The study examines female bankers’ perception of the existence of both gender discrimination and the glass ceiling concept in this sector. It first examines the factors that cause such phenomena at three different levels namely societal, institutional and individual. The study then verifies the effects of some identified antecedents i.e. whether they foster or lower the perceived gender discrimination and how such effects happen. Furthermore, the study examines the same factors to ascertain if they are barriers that hinder women’s career advancement or enablers that support their advancement as there is a lack of empirical studies on the effect of the factors of the three mentioned levels to women’s career advancement especially in non-western context (Tlaiss, 2010; Hejase et al., 2013; Yokkongdi & Benson, 2005). The study also examines the consequences of perceived gender discrimination that occurs at the individual level. Some previous studies related to this research topic adopted the quantitative approach, hence; this is a qualitative based research that examines the perception of the respondents whose experiences and opinions expound the context. This led to understanding subjective areas such as respondents’ emotions and experiences that address the nature of perceived gender discrimination and the concept of glass ceiling in the Bahraini banking sector, focusing on “How” and “Why” type of questions instead of stressing on the quantities. The existing literature of gender discrimination especially about the area of underrepresentation of female workers in higher positions especially in financial services sector including banking is minimal. (Bruckmuller & Branscombe, 2010; Elumti et al., 2009; Durbin & Conley, 2010). This approach unveils the research questions by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 Bahraini females as most of the previous studies examined both male and female perceptions while this research focusing at female only to make it more gender specific. The respondents hold managerial and non-managerial positions in both Islamic and conventional banks in the kingdom of Bahrain. The aim of the interview was to extract their perceptions on the factors and the consequences of gender discrimination as well as the barriers and challenges that hinder their advancement to higher managerial levels. The study captures the factors and the consequences of gender discrimination as well as the most common barriers that impede the Bahraini females’ career advancement within an Islamic and Arabic cultural context. The themes that emerged from the analysis are used to discuss the research issues in the light of previous research findings from different empirical studies. This study identifies different ways of finding factors of perceived gender discrimination and their effects as well as the challenges that may hinder the women’s career advancement in this sector. This study discovers that perceived gender discrimination exists in the Bahraini banking sector especially in areas such as hiring preference and receiving of benefits and compensations. This study also unearths the existence of glass ceiling, which is related to the gender inequality in the advancement opportunities to higher positions especially in the areas such as obtaining a promotion and holding managerial positions in the banks. The study finds out various factors that cause the perceived gender discrimination and the glass ceiling in the Bahraini banking sector which are classified at three levels as explained above.