A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management by Research (MMR). Johannesburg, October 2016 / The plight of the female manager as a result of gender inequality has been thoroughly documented within academic research. A well-known metaphor of this inequality is the “glass-ceiling”, a phenomenon where a female manager’s career is stymied by an invisible barrier. While the barrier takes on the characteristics of glass by being subtle, women can observe positions, but are unable to attain them because of gender discrimination. The research objective was to examine career strategies to overcome the “glass-ceiling” challenges. This empirical project contributes to the literature on gender in management by introducing a novel theory, marketing mix, when understanding the idea of a career strategy. A theoretical contribution has also been made to marketing theory in that it has been expanded by being applied to individuals, which is an unusual sample as the majority of studies on this theory have been largely conducted on organisations. A qualitative research methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 female managers participating in a leadership development programme from a State Owned Company (SOC). Key results were consistent that strategies of overcoming the “glass-ceiling” were the importance of having a professional persona, negotiating remuneration, benefits of belonging to informal networks, and the benefits of having a mentor. The researcher found that female mangers apply career strategies in order to succeed; however, these tactics were applied in silos and not holistically. These behaviours then became ineffective / GR2018

This research project focused on understanding the narratives of women informal street traders in Warwick Junction, Durban. This is a diverse and vibrant trading community and the five women interviewed have been working in the area for many years. This means that these research participants offer a unique window in on the intersections between individual (psychological) realities and historical, sociopolitical and economic life. The project adopted a narrative approach, analyzing the ways in which 1) particular incident narratives (PINs) within each life narrative reflect key aspects of the life story and draw on narrative principles to convey this; 2) the ways in which narratives are interactively constructed between the researcher and participants in the interview situation; and 3) the relational construction of individual lives in networks of communities. The results highlighted the inherently interwoven nature of identity construction between individuals and the communities with which they associate. The overarching factors of poverty, gender and trauma were shown, in all three levels of analysis, as key elements that tied the women together through relationships of shared experiences. The stories that the women chose to share were strongly influenced by the presence and responses of the interviewer and the researcher and thus, the ways in which power, entrenched in history and culture, influenced the narratives became most evident. The ways in which the women connect and disconnect with relational others was shown to influence their sense of belonging within various communities, both real and imagined. This contributed to the women’s development of resilience and salient identities as cohesive communities were shown to be buffers against adversity and influencers in the construction of identity.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Masters in Development Theory and Policy Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management School of Economic and Business Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa February 2016 / In this report, the individual and household circumstances which influence the probability of a person having a certain labour market outcome, and how these outcomes differ by gender, will be investigated. While a number of similar studies have been conducted, this report contributes to the South African literature by investigating, using more recent data from the National Income Dynamics Study, what the determining factors are that drive women and men to the labour market, and determine employment outcomes. Furthermore, the investigation is extended by exploring whether these factors differ for men and women by age cohort. The main hypothesis of the study is that the determinants, which impact labour market outcomes and a successful transition from being not economically active or unemployed in a given period, to becoming employed in another period, differ for males and females; with factors such as education, labour market experience, and other household factors like marital status and children in the home being more important for women than for men. The results of the econometric analysis suggest that education is important for both sexes, but is of particular importance in determining the labour force participation and employment probabilities of women and the youth cohort. Furthermore, the location in which an individual resides is an important determinant of the labour market outcomes of women, with women in urban areas having the most favourable labour market outcomes. Having pensioners in the home has an adverse effect on the employment probabilities of men, while it is positively related to the employment probabilities of young women. Children in the home reduce the labour force participation of both men and women, but have a negative effect on the employment probabilities of women. / MT2017

In the 1990s nationally representative and detailed household survey data became available for the first time in South Africa, opening up opportunities to examine some of the key movements in the labour market especially. This thesis investigates one of these: the continued and dramatic rise in female labour force participation that has occurred in post-apartheid South Africa over the period 1995 to 2001. The rise in women's participation, also referred to as the 'feminisation' of the labour market, is a phenomenon that has been observed and analysed in many countries around the world, and yet has remained largely undocumented in South Africa. The 'feminisation' that has been recorded in the international literature generally refers to the rise in women's share of the labour force coupled with a rise in women's share of employment. What is striking in the South African case, however, is that over the period under review here regular employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy have been indisputably limited, and yet female labour force participation has continued to increase. The increase in participation has translated mainly into a rise in unemployment and in generally low-paying forms of self-employment in the informal sector. This raises the question why so many more women chose to enter the labour market over this period in spite of their dismal prospects, a question that is explored as far as possible in this study given the constraints imposed by the data available. This thesis is presented in three main parts. The first part consists of a review of the economic theory of female labour supply and a review of the international literature on the trends, causes and consequences associated with the rise in female labour force participation over time. The second and largest part of the thesis consists of an empirical analysis of the factors driving the rise in female labour force participation in South Africa. The broad trends in the labour force between 1995 and 2001 are documented, some of the supply-side correlates of labour force participation are explored descriptively, and then the determinants of the rise in female labour force participation in South Africa over this period are tested more thoroughly in a multivariate regression and decomposition analysis. The final part of the study turns to the question of what the rise in female labour force participation has 'bought' women in terms of access to employment and earnings for those women who did have work in the period under review. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 1991.

The glass ceiling has been defined as a subtle, intangible yet impenetrable barrier that hinders the accession of women to senior management positions. Its manifestations are unique to every country and organisation. The theoretical framework of the glass ceiling has pointed to person and situation centred theories, social role, interaction and human capital theory to try and provide explanations to the origin of the glass ceiling. The main aim of the study was to determine whether the existence of the glass ceiling was a myth or reality. Purposive and snowball sampling were the sampling methods used in this study. The questionnaire that was administered using the web based Question pro elicited a total of 117 responses from 290 questionnaires that were circulated to respondents, resulting in a 40% response rate. Due to the sampling method that was used, results obtained could not be generalised to the entire population of female managers in the Durban Metropolitan Area. Salient findings that emerged from this study were that 54% of respondents were aged between 35-44 years and were married (69%). In addition, the majority of respondents were White (41%), were employed in the Private Sector (62%) and held middle management positions (47%). Critical to this study, respondents felt that the glass ceiling was still firmly in place as female representation at senior management was minimal (86%). Some of the barriers to the upward career mobility of respondents were reluctance to relocate (48%), need to overachieve (52%) and consistently exceeding performance (64%). In addition, critical career mobility success factors were that respondents needed to be leaders geared towards high achievement (94%), be competitive and ambitious (90%), be confident and exhibit emotional suitability to hold senior management positions (84%), have a track record (77%), receive organisational support to balance their multiple roles (59%) and have a willingness to relocate (41%). For the ceiling to crack, it is essential for organisations‟ on one hand to commit to creating environments supportive of the roles of women (flexi time, work from home days, mentor staff) and women on the other hand need to have the desire to persevere and have faith in their abilities, cultivate their own leadership style, network and further their own education. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

This dissertation focuses on indirect discrimination against women in employment. It briefly examines the causes of discrimination against women in the workplace. Further it explains the concept of indirect discrimination by tracing its origins in the United States of America and analyses the development of the law of indirect discrimination in the United States until the introduction of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. This analysis involves an examination of the elements involved in proving an indirect discrimination claim and the problems experienced in doing so. The British indirect discrimination laws and cases are then examined to the extent to which Britain deviates from the American approach. The comparative law discussion will indicate the problems that have become an inherent feature of indirect discrimination cases. The problematic nature of proving indirect discrimination necessitates a discussion of the common types of conditions and requirements that indirectly discriminate against women. It is against this background that the present South African legislation on indirect discrimination in employment is analysed and case developments reviewed. Finally, the proposals of the Green Paper on Employment Equity are examined. The recommendations for the introduction of a comprehensive discrimination statute; the introduction of an independent commission; and the formulation of a Code of Good Practice that will provide guidelines to employers, are supported. Further, recommendations are made for a flexible discrimination legislation that provides a broad legal framework which allows for development of the law; the necessity to address issues regarding administration and costs involved in implementing this legislation; the introduction of additional funtions of the independent commission relating to training and access to the law; and the adoption of a statutorily enforced affirmative action policy that addresses the inequalities faced by women in employment. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

<p>This study focused on Black Economic Empowerment and gender in the liquid fuels industry. It explored the possible means of empowerment and questions the seriousness of organizations to institute programmes that are gender sensitive. The liquid fuels industry in South Africa served as the pinnacle of the apartheid state. It possessed the strength to survive the onslaught of the economic sanctions imposed as a result of apartheid. It was because of these stringent economic sanctions that it was forced to survive on its own with limited assistance. The advent of democracy in 1994 gave this industry the impetus to grow in terms of Gender and Black Economic Empowerment.</p>

M.A. (Sociology) / The increasing deployment of clothing factories in the border industrial areas, has resulted in an increase in the demand for black female labour in this industry. This need, together with a sharp decline in the number of black male employees in the clothing industry, traditionally employed in all functional levels, forced employees to invest in black female labour on a large scale. It is practice to select first level supervisory staff from the higher operator levels, but a shortage of male workers in these positions created opportunities for black female operators to fulfil the need for supervisory staff. This however resulted in complications for both black women and employers, since factors emerged that could affect the black woman's achievement orientation. The objective of this research is to determine a job profile for the black woman in terms of her achievement orientation and also to investigate other variables that relate to her job profile and achievement orientation. Research conducted in this field on the European woman's achievement orientation, provided a framework for an explorative and qualitative research study on the achievement orientation of 15 non-supervisory and 15 supervisory black women. In order to gather sufficient information, interview guides were developed as an aid to conducting personal interviews with the sample group. A similar method was applied in investigating the attitude towards black female supervision, of 15 black male supervisors and 4 employers. From the case studies, three job profiles were distinguished namely a high achievement/high economical, a moderate achievement/moderate economical and a non-achievement/low economical orientated profile. For purposes of analysis the three profiles were reduced to two, namely an achievement/economical and a non-achievement/low economical orientated profile.

The post-1994 role of women in the South African economy is changing with respect to issues such as education and employment opportunities. In the past, men tended to hold the primary or ‘good’ jobs, which have the greatest stability and promotional potential, whilst women tended to hold the secondary or ‘poor’ jobs, which have lower stability and lower wages (Kelly, 1991). Women’s labour force participation has risen significantly over the years since 1994, but more in depth research is needed in order to determine where and how changes could be implemented to ensure that any past gender inequalities fall away with minimal impact on the economy as a whole. As such, certain dynamics within the labour market need to be considered. Firstly, pre-market types of discrimination, including issues such as gender discrimination during the acquisition of human capital through educational attainment should be considered. In most countries, women enter the labour market with severe disadvantage in that they have been subject to discrimination in schooling opportunities (Standing, Sender & Weeks, 1996). Secondly, the feminisation of the labour force is dealt with, as well as what factors affect the female labour force participation decision (i.e. the decision of whether to participate in the labour market or not). iv Thirdly, employment discrimination is investigated, including the concept of ‘occupational crowding’. An analysis of trends in the occupational structure of economically active women in South Africa shows the typical shift out of agriculture into industrial related jobs (Verhoef, 1996). Lastly, wage discrimination is analysed, in order to determine if women get lower rates of pay for ‘equal work’. The objectives of this study are aimed at determining whether there have been any positive changes with respect to women in any of these focal areas mentioned above. There are studies that have established gender differentials when it comes to formal education, and these place women at the disadvantaged end (Bankole & Eboiyehi, 2000). If one considers the educational measures, namely, the levels of literacy, years of education, and overall educational attainment, employed by this country to determine whether there are in fact observed differences between the education of boys and girls, the following was found: Males rate higher with respect to two of these measures, namely literacy and educational attainment, and are thus able to exhibit lower levels of poverty than females in South Africa. Men exhibit slightly higher literacy rates than women of the same age (Statistics South Africa, 2002), and men also rate higher than women when it comes to university education. With regards to primary and secondary school attainment v since 1994, the gender gap does appear to have disappeared. The ‘neoclassical model of labour-leisure choice’, as applied in this study, shows that as the wage rate increases, women have an incentive to reduce the time they allocate to the household sector and are more likely to enter the labour market. In South Africa, however, the increase in the female participation rate has merely translated into a rise in unemployment and has not been associated with an increase in the demand for female labour. This implies that South African women are being ‘pushed’ into the labour market due to economic need, rather than being ‘pulled’ into the labour market in order to earn a higher wage. Women are gradually becoming better represented at all levels across a wide range of occupations. Women, however, continue to face greater prospects of unemployment and to earn less than their male counterparts even when they do find employment. These lower female wages are partly as a result of ‘occupational crowding’, whereby women are over-represented in certain occupations resulting in excess labour supply which drives down the wage rate. It has been determined that the problem of occupational crowding is a real and immediate one and has been found to depress wages within certain female specific occupations.