This study explores the representation of women in leadership positions in Metropolitan Police Departments (MPDs). Historically, the police career was male dominated and women were not allowed to work in the police. Democracy, changes in law, and societal beliefs opened policing as a career to women. Various legal frameworks provide for gender equality, therefore equal gender representation in the workplace is a developmental goal in South Africa. The Commission on Employment Equity (CEE, 2015) of South Africa reported that women comprised 44.8% of the economically active population, yet males were still in charge of senior management positions in South African companies. The 2015 South African Employment Equity Report indicates that women hold only 29.5% of top level management positions and 30.7% of senior management positions (CEE, 2015). These results are lower than the government’s mandated target of 44.4% management positions reserved for women. The MPDs (2017) indicated that, out of a sample of 600 women, 91 are in leadership positions. The current gender representation in MPDs’ leadership positions forms this study’s problem statement. This study is qualitative in nature. Twenty-five South African women from the Gauteng Province from Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, and Johannesburg MPDs were interviewed. The transformative approach was used to inquire on participants’ experiences and views about gender representation, as well as women’s advancement to leadership positions in the MPDs. Data were analysed using Atlas.ti™. The results showed that culture, stereotypes, and physical fitness were perceived as barriers that hindered the representation of women in leadership positions. Furthermore, sexual and verbal harassment, bullying, discrimination against female officers at the workplace, and unimplemented policies and procedures were also hindrances. The participants recommended that the South African MPDs review human resource practices and policies to promote a positive and constructive work environment for all employees. / Police Practice / D. Litt. et Phil. (Police Science)

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / This literature-based case study investigated the influence of gender differences and cultural values on women’s promotion prospects in the public sector of three sub-Saharan countries, namely: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sudan and provided a framework designed to facilitate the implementation of women’s promotion prospects in the public sector. Worldwide, women employed in the public sector are stereotyped and discriminated against by being by-passed for high-level positions by men who consider themselves more capable employees. As such, women are overlooked for promotion and encounter the ‘glass ceiling’, which hampers their efforts at accomplishing their career goals. Equality in promotion will improve women’s living conditions and benefit society. While studies have been conducted on several women’s issues, none has focused on how gender differences and cultural values affect women’s promotion in sub-Saharan Africa. This gap needs to be addressed. The design of the study was qualitative as it provides insights into the phenomenon studied. The data collection method was desk research, owing to financial constraints that did not allow for travelling to collect primary data. The study found that gender discrimination exists in both society and the public sector workplaces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sudan as a consequence of multi-ethnicity, religion (Sharia law) and war in the Sudan, particularly. The effects of cultural values on promotion and employment in these countries are palpable. The process of how women are promoted to leadership in the public sector is, however, unclear. The study also revealed that in a country like Rwanda, where equal gender opportunities exist socio-economically, fast economic growth and enhanced societal living conditions have been realised. Women’s promotion and well-being is strongly related to the elimination of poverty and the enhancement of living conditions such as reduced child starvation and death. Equality and empowerment of women is now globally accepted as a core human right that needs to be sustained. In this direction, a comprehensive framework for the implementation of gender policies on women’s promotion prospects was developed.

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) deals with the achievement of equity in the workplace. This involves the promotion of equal opportunities and fair treatment as well as the implementation of affirmative action measures. Telkom, like many other organizations in South Africa was, and is expected to comply with the Act. Compliance includes the development and promotion of female employees into leadership positions. Very few Telkom female employees are in top leadership positions. Even those that are in top positions have been recruited externally. South African history may play a role in the problem by regarding males as leaders at work and at home. The intention of the study was to explore leadership challenges facing female employees within Telkom and to be able to understand the perceptions and realities accompanying these challenges. Theories based on gender, traits, leadership, the hierarchy of needs and development were used as the theoretical framework in this study. The systems thinking approach was used to assist in looking towards a broader perspective. The population of the study was female employees at Telkom Head Office in Pretoria. From these, twelve served as a sample for the study. In gathering data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Qualitative analysis was used to analyse data. Analysis and interpretation involved identifying themes, coding and interpretation. The findings in the study are: the strong belief that leadership is solely for males or females is incorrect; there are leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees. The study focused on leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees at middle management, junior management and operational level. These are OP to M4. It is for this reason that the researcher thinks that a future study that will focus on leadership challenges facing top and senior female leaders can be conducted for comparison, as well as another study to ascertain the influence of the working environment on these leaders. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

This thesis explored the relationship between community adult education and social action. The study investigated how LEAD (Leadership Education for Action and Development), a non-governmental organisation based in the Western Cape, has empowered women to assume leadership and take social action in their communities.

Women are now making their mark in virtually every economic sector including traditionally male strongholds of engineering, heavy transport, construction and manufacturing. Probably the most spectacular progress by women has been in the public sector. Many women now have voting rights, follow careers which demand that they work outside of the home, enjoy professional status equal to their male compatriots, occupy top leadership positions in their societies and, furthermore, fulfil their traditional roles of wife and mother. The present study is an attempt to explore a female eader’s perceptions and experience of discrimination in her place of work. The problem has been that although there have been significant changes in women’s increased representation in recent years, it is believed that women who succeed in obtaining top management posts still have to deal with unfair barriers. These need to be more carefully explored and understood. In this study I focus on one female leader’s perceptions and experiences of leadership in an institution of higher learning. The advantages and disadvantages of such a small case study are discussed later. A phenomenological approach was used for obtaining information pertaining to the phenomenon “female leadership”, because phenomenology does offer ways of understanding not offered by other research methodologies. It enables the researcher to enter the lived world of the researched, and understand events and perceptions from a fresh point of view. A semi-structured interview was used to allow the respondent freedom to elaborate on responses in whatever manner she wished. The results obtained indicate that women are in a life-world in which, apart from the general experiences shared with their male counterparts, they are also exposed to many other forms of discrimination. Some of these are subtle, and result from years of socialisation into perceived gender role expectations. I hope that what I have discovered may help to contribute to the small but growing body of literature that seeks to understand women leaders’ experiences, and perhaps in time play a role in enhancing their relative position in education and society at large.

The main purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate strategies to improve the representation of black females in senior levels within the South African banking industry. This was done through investigating the challenges that black women face in their career advancement within the banking industry and the strategies which currently exist and can be implemented to improve this representation. In as much as the research is aimed at seeking strategies to improve black women representation in senior positions, it also seeks to understand the barriers experienced by black women in different levels within the industry as these levels serve as a pipeline for senior management. This problem was addressed through answering the research objectives. The research objectives were achieved through conducting a literature review to explore the existing research topic and conducting an empirical study. Empirical evidence was obtained through conducting semi-structured interviews with seven black women who are currently working in the banking sector. Semi-structured interviews were used due to the target population being specific to black women as well as the need to acquire in-depth knowledge from black women of their experiences in climbing the corporate ladder in the sector. The key findings of the research found that the participant’s perception was that black women were at the bottom, that black women were displaying behaviours that were inhibiting their progress to senior positions. The study also found that black women struggled to advance to senior positions due to different challenges that they encountered. The study is finalised by the participants providing recommendations in terms of how the representation of black women could be improved.

Gender disparity in healthcare sector leadership positions is a major problem among female healthcare professionals in Southern Ethiopia. This study explored gender disparities among healthcare professionals in healthcare sector leadership positions. The findings would be used to develop guidelines to reduce gender disparities in healthcare leadership in healthcare sectors to a minimum in Ethiopia. This study used exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional research design incorporating a mixed methods research approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously which were analyzed during the same phase of the research process. The quantitative survey data was collected using piloted structured questionnaire while qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interview guide containing open questions. Quantitative data was collected from a random sample of 414 healthcare professionals and qualitative data from a purposive sample of 21 healthcare professionals from seven districts having the experiences of gender disparity in healthcare leadership positions. Quantitative data had a compliance rate of 98% and it was entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS (version 24) for further analysis, and the qualitative data was coded and analyzed manually into thematic content. Quantitative findings of the study revealed that only 26% (n=108) of the participants reported that representation of women in healthcare sector leadership positions in the past few years has been increased. The majority of leadership positions assumed by study participants were at department head level while only 1.3 % were on chief excutive officers and 2.3% medical director positions respectively. Of these none was a female and 67%, n=264 of the participants do not have leadership role in a health service facility. Study participants having bachelor degree level of education were 2.3 times more likely to be represented in healthcare sector leadership positions than those participants having master’s degree and diploma [AOR=2.3, (95% CI: 1.289, 4.252)]. Challenges experienced by women health professionals regarding gender disparity in leadership positions in health service facility included family responsibilities, lack of support, lack of self-esteem or self-confidence, lack of career advancement, and cultural bias. The conclusions derived from the study was that women need all the opportunities, encouragement and support to allow them access to and success in healthcare sector leadership positions through informal and formal leadership training. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil (Health Studies)

Female managers in the mining industry face unique challenges not experienced by their male counterparts. They need to perform identity work to overcome these barriers successfully so that they can create a leadership identity. Leadership development contexts may foster identity construction. To enhance employment equity in historically male-dominated professions and environments, an understanding of women’s leadership identity construction in leadership development contexts is beneficial. The purpose of this research was to explore the identity work of female managers working in a leadership development context in the mining industry, to determine how they construct a leadership identity. This was an exploratory and descriptive qualitative study conducted within the hermeneutic phenomenological research paradigm. A purposive sample consisting of five women working in a mining company was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed using the phenomenological hermeneutical method. The main findings indicate that four main identity bases influence how female managers in a leadership development context create a leadership identity. These include: (i) the impact of life spheres, (ii) integrating personal and professional roles, (iii) the role work facets play and (iv) the changing self. Moreover, four leadership identity work strategies are used to counter the effects of the identity bases. These are: (i) being guided by personal philosophies, (ii) balance and negotiation between personal and professional lives, (iii) building relationships both personally and professionally, and (iv) assuming ownership for careers and lives using career management strategies. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework was developed. The findings may guide organisations in developing and implementing effective and well-informed policies, strategies and initiatives geared at the attraction, retention, development and appropriate support of women who are or who wish to be employed as female managers in the mining industry. This study contributes to the knowledge base concerning female leadership in the mining industry in South Africa. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a role to play in the development of their country’s political, economical, educational and social goals. Although, social constraints exist for women and work, they presently dominate sectors like education. A qualitative research design was employed to identify barriers, current leadership roles and the participation of national female educators in the decision-making process. Barriers to both job entry and career progression were identified. In particular, married educators with children found difficulties in balancing their roles as care givers and career women. Educational leaders used transformational leadership styles, were considered role-models and contributed to decision-making by providing quality decisions based on their experience and expertise. Strategies to assist women in overcoming barriers are recommended because when women start forming an integral part of the workforce, their empowerment and their input in terms of leadership will be a key factor for the UAE government’s goal of Emiratisation. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

Women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a role to play in the development of their country’s political, economical, educational and social goals. Although, social constraints exist for women and work, they presently dominate sectors like education. A qualitative research design was employed to identify barriers, current leadership roles and the participation of national female educators in the decision-making process. Barriers to both job entry and career progression were identified. In particular, married educators with children found difficulties in balancing their roles as care givers and career women. Educational leaders used transformational leadership styles, were considered role-models and contributed to decision-making by providing quality decisions based on their experience and expertise. Strategies to assist women in overcoming barriers are recommended because when women start forming an integral part of the workforce, their empowerment and their input in terms of leadership will be a key factor for the UAE government’s goal of Emiratisation. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.