The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and degree of occupational gender segregation across the functional fields in South Africa and to determine if existing “supply-side” explanations serve to explain the phenomenon through an attitudinal survey of the females in the sample. The UNISA first year MBL students were requested to complete the survey during their August Centre Visit at the SBL Sasol auditorium in Midrand. The survey consists of two sections. Section A determined the gender of the sample element and subsequently their functional field of occupation, which enabled the calculation of the Karmel and MacLachlan Index per functional field. The Finance, General Management, Information Technology, Operations and Production and Procurement, Buying and Logistics fields showed high levels of integration, while the Marketing, Sales and Customer Service field showed low levels of segregation in favour of women. Human Resources was strongly female dominant, while Research and Development was strongly male dominant. The “Other” field showed the highest level of segregation in favour of women. Section B contains the attitudinal Likert scale questions to measure the extent to which the various supply-side explanations determine the women’s career decisions. There seem to be certain explanation types, such as Exchange Utility and Reward, which serve as strong selection criteria and other factors that play a lesser role, such as Teaching Styles and Self-Image. Based on the averages the Occupational Sex-Typing, Self-Efficacy and Parental Influence explanations showed no agreement from any of the sample elements. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and degree of occupational gender segregation across the functional fields in South Africa and to determine if existing “supply-side” explanations serve to explain the phenomenon through an attitudinal survey of the females in the sample. The UNISA first year MBL students were requested to complete the survey during their August Centre Visit at the SBL Sasol auditorium in Midrand. The survey consists of two sections. Section A determined the gender of the sample element and subsequently their functional field of occupation, which enabled the calculation of the Karmel and MacLachlan Index per functional field. The Finance, General Management, Information Technology, Operations and Production and Procurement, Buying and Logistics fields showed high levels of integration, while the Marketing, Sales and Customer Service field showed low levels of segregation in favour of women. Human Resources was strongly female dominant, while Research and Development was strongly male dominant. The “Other” field showed the highest level of segregation in favour of women. Section B contains the attitudinal Likert scale questions to measure the extent to which the various supply-side explanations determine the women’s career decisions. There seem to be certain explanation types, such as Exchange Utility and Reward, which serve as strong selection criteria and other factors that play a lesser role, such as Teaching Styles and Self-Image. Based on the averages the Occupational Sex-Typing, Self-Efficacy and Parental Influence explanations showed no agreement from any of the sample elements. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Little is known in South Africa regarding the bullying behaviours faced by domestic workers at the hands of their employers. The objective of this study was thus to explore the nature of these bullying behaviours as experienced by South African domestic workers. The study was approached from a qualitative perspective where 10 participants were interviewed using unstructured interviews. The participants were South African from various parts of Gauteng, working for families from various demographics for at least three years. The interviews allowed for unbridled stories from the world of the domestic workers to emerge, thus consistent with my philosophical views and research strategy. It was found that all the domestic workers had experienced bullying by their employers and that all of these experiences were at least partly shared amongst them. Two categories (verbal and non-verbal) and eleven themes (belittlement, deception, wrongful accusations, lack of regard for wellbeing and basic worker needs, lack of regard for worker safety, abuse of power, racial discrimination, unsatisfactory remuneration, lack of regard for employment laws, threats to employment status and exclusion from decision making) were identified. The bullying was perpetrated by both sexes and all races. The study will add to the existing body of knowledge of bullying and assist policy makers in finding practical solutions to combating bullying.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / This mini-dissertation outlines the protection of rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in the workplace. It will highlight the fact that people living with HIV/AIDS can perform the work as long as they medically fit. It will show the need to promote anti discriminatory laws in the workplace. People think that HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through casual contact but that will be shown in the study that HIV/AIDS can not be transmitted by casual contact. The mini-dissertation also outlines the need to educate employees about their rights more particularly those living with HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Therefore policies such as affirmative action must be implemented to affirm several advantages to people living with HIV/AIDS. Equality is what people must enjoy in the country in terms of section 9 of the Constitution including people living with HIV/AIDS.

L’étude conduite porte sur l’exploration de la période d’intégration des nouvelles recrues se reconnaissant une orientation sexuelle homosexuelle ou bisexuelle. A partir d’une recherche qualitative, nous posons l'hypothèse générale selon laquelle les processus d’intégration, de socialisation organisationnelle et de construction des intentions professionnelles d’avenir seraient influencés par la présence de normes hétérosexistes et d’une discrimination perçue au travail, d’une part, et par l’identité sexuelle construite antérieurement dans les différentes sphères de vie d’autre part. Nos données ont été recueilles auprès de douze jeunes se reconnaissant comme LGB, récemment intégrés dans les milieux professionnels de la justice et des transports à l’aide de deux études : l’une conduite avec des entretiens de type récit de vie pour d’étudier le sens attribué aux expériences subjectives avant et pendant la période d’intégration dans l’organisation, l’autre menée et à partir d’entretiens de type IMIS pour mieux comprendre les dynamiques identitaires en analysant les relations subjectives entre l’individu et son environnement Les résultats soulignent que les normes hétérosexistes restent dominantes et montrent la non-neutralité de la sphère professionnelle où les échanges incluent des aspects de la vie privée. Dès l’entrée dans l’organisation les jeunes LGB font face à un dilemme entre la divulgation ou la dissimulation de leur orientation sexuelle qui nécessite un aménagement de l’identité en milieu de travail. Parmi les stratégies de présentation de soi, la dissimulation fondée sur la feinte et l'évitement de l’orientation sexuelle est majoritairement utilisée pour éviter les différentes formes de discriminations et d’homophobie anticipées au travail. / The study focuses on an exploration of the integration time of recently-recruited professionals who identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual. Based on the qualitative analysis, we draw the general hypothesis that the processes of integration, organisational socialisation, and the construction of a future career path that are influenced both by the presence of heterosexist norms and perceived discrimination in the workplace as well as by sexual identity previously built in other parts of life. Our data were collected from twelve self-identified LGB young people who recently recruited in the workplace in the transportation and law using two studies: the first conducted with informal interviews to study the meaning given to subjective experience before and during the integration period in the organisation, and the second built from IMIS interviews to understand better the identity dynamics by analysing the subjective relationships between the individual and his environment. The results highlight that heterosexist norms remain dominant and show non-neutrality in the part of the professional world where the conversations include aspects of private life. From the moment of their arrival in the organisation, the young LGB people confront a dilemma between dissimulating and divulging their sexual identity, which requires identity management strategy handling to tackle different forms of discrimination and perceived homophobia. Among the identity management strategies, dissimulation based on pretending or avoiding of sexual orientation are the strategies that are used in the majority to avoid the different forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation that are anticipated in the workplace.

The global move towards human rights, the publication of King 11 reports and the post democratic legislations coerced the South African mining industry to diversify its workforce. The Employment Equity Act was the major driving force behind this, aimed at eliminating discrimination in the workplace and implementing Affirmative Action measures so that the workforce would reflect the economically active population. The question remains as to whether it could achieve a representative workforce, since the Commission of Employment Enquiry reports (2009-2010) and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (second quarter, 2010) indicated that progress is very slow throughout all the industries. The mining industry is still predominantly White-controlled and emphasis is being placed on stimulating Black empowerment in the industry. Since the early 1990s the industry has seen significant restructuring and changes, including the phasing out of the traditional mining houses and the incorporation of the designated groups (females and Blacks) in ownership and management. However, rising gold prices and pressures on the global economy have forced the industry to embark on measures which impacted badly on the employment equity, leading to measures such as downsizing both the operations and staff, limiting training, centralising and outsourcing through contractual work. Migrant labour still plays an integral part. In order to analyse the application of Employment Equity Act and workplace diversity in the mining industry, a literature review was conducted to conceptualise the major constructs, and a survey through a close-ended questionnaire was administered to establish the progress made in this regard. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: section A was a biographical/demographic analysis focussing on the personal attributes ranging from gender, age, race, education and job grade. Section B and C were in the form of five-point likert scale to analyse the extent of understanding and knowledge, as well as attitudes and behaviour of the respondents respectively. The results were compared to secondary data in the form of reports collected from the senior metallurgy human resource manager. The convenience sample was taken from a sample of employees staying in the mining complex known as the 'Quarters', which comprised 345 houses, of which a response rate was 54%. Findings from the primary data indicated some progress in changing the organisational culture, with the majority of the respondents giving positive perceptions towards gender, disability and language used, while they identified the following as barriers (negative perceptions): lack of commitment by management; unfair labour practices in recruitment, promotions, training and development; insufficient knowledge about EEA and diversity; racial discrimination; and negative turnover intentions. They believed that diversity could improve productivity. The secondary data revealed that there was slow progress in attaining the numerical targets, especially in the D-band upwards (senior and top management levels). The females and people with disability were under-represented in all categories. The majority of employees in the skilled (C-band), semi-skilled and unskilled (B1-B7) were terminating their services. It is suggested that training of personnel about EEA and diversity be considered to get their active support and to prepare them for the change from the status-quo, extensive development of management on labour relations and good practices, as well as formation of committees to steer and monitor the adherence to policies. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The global move towards human rights, the publication of King 11 reports and the post democratic legislations coerced the South African mining industry to diversify its workforce. The Employment Equity Act was the major driving force behind this, aimed at eliminating discrimination in the workplace and implementing Affirmative Action measures so that the workforce would reflect the economically active population. The question remains as to whether it could achieve a representative workforce, since the Commission of Employment Enquiry reports (2009-2010) and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (second quarter, 2010) indicated that progress is very slow throughout all the industries. The mining industry is still predominantly White-controlled and emphasis is being placed on stimulating Black empowerment in the industry. Since the early 1990s the industry has seen significant restructuring and changes, including the phasing out of the traditional mining houses and the incorporation of the designated groups (females and Blacks) in ownership and management. However, rising gold prices and pressures on the global economy have forced the industry to embark on measures which impacted badly on the employment equity, leading to measures such as downsizing both the operations and staff, limiting training, centralising and outsourcing through contractual work. Migrant labour still plays an integral part. In order to analyse the application of Employment Equity Act and workplace diversity in the mining industry, a literature review was conducted to conceptualise the major constructs, and a survey through a close-ended questionnaire was administered to establish the progress made in this regard. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: section A was a biographical/demographic analysis focussing on the personal attributes ranging from gender, age, race, education and job grade. Section B and C were in the form of five-point likert scale to analyse the extent of understanding and knowledge, as well as attitudes and behaviour of the respondents respectively. The results were compared to secondary data in the form of reports collected from the senior metallurgy human resource manager. The convenience sample was taken from a sample of employees staying in the mining complex known as the 'Quarters', which comprised 345 houses, of which a response rate was 54%. Findings from the primary data indicated some progress in changing the organisational culture, with the majority of the respondents giving positive perceptions towards gender, disability and language used, while they identified the following as barriers (negative perceptions): lack of commitment by management; unfair labour practices in recruitment, promotions, training and development; insufficient knowledge about EEA and diversity; racial discrimination; and negative turnover intentions. They believed that diversity could improve productivity. The secondary data revealed that there was slow progress in attaining the numerical targets, especially in the D-band upwards (senior and top management levels). The females and people with disability were under-represented in all categories. The majority of employees in the skilled (C-band), semi-skilled and unskilled (B1-B7) were terminating their services. It is suggested that training of personnel about EEA and diversity be considered to get their active support and to prepare them for the change from the status-quo, extensive development of management on labour relations and good practices, as well as formation of committees to steer and monitor the adherence to policies. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.