A large body of research has documented the deleterious relationship between work stress and health and wellbeing. This research has also examined which factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the individual create variations in this pattern of relationship. Two notable factors in this regard are gender and social support. Previous research has indicated that gender and social support can lead to variations in the way individuals perceive, cope with and react to stress. This research has also indicated that gender can influence the extent to which individuals will effectively utilise different sources of social support. However, much of this research has focused on a dichotomous conceptualisation of gender, restricting the exploration of gender to that which is biologically defined. Research advances have been made utilising Bem’s (1974) Theory of Psychological Androgyny. This theory has acknowledged and explored socially constructed ‘within gender’ differences of masculinity and femininity, proposing that androgyny, defined as an equal balance of masculine and feminine traits within an individual, independent of biological sex, is the ideal with regard to experienced optimal health and wellbeing. While this theory has enjoyed a vast empirical base that indicates that those with an androgynous sex role identity tend to enjoy the greatest health and wellbeing; the research on psychological androgyny has not been without its limitations. Competing models of gender identity, such as the ‘Differentiated Model have suggested that gender identities are made up of both socially desirable and socially undesirable sex-typed behavioural traits; this model promoting a ‘new prescription’ for gender in the 21st century. This new prescription requires the acknowledgement of both types of sex-based behavioural traits, expanding the conceptualisation of gender to take into account both negative and positive sex-based feminine and masculine traits, that is, traits that are both socially desirable and undesirable in terms of masculinity and femininity. This new prescription thus intends to segregate and explore the relationship between socially desirable and socially undesirable sex- typed behavioural traits to health and wellbeing. Consequently, the present study adopts this prescription in order to examine this expanded conceptualisation of sex role identity, utilising a South African sample of female managers. More specifically, the present study examines the relationship between socially desirable and socially undesirable sex role identities and perceptions of work stress, social support, psychological wellbeing and self-esteem. In addition, the present study examines the moderating effect of social support in the relationship between indicators of work stress and wellbeing. The Extended Personality Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) was revised and utilised to assess the expanded conceptualisation of both socially desirable and socially undesirable sex role identities within a South African sample of 1477 female managers accessed from two national financial institutions and one tertiary institution. Results of the study indicate that the socially desirable, positively valenced identities fare better on health indicators than the socially undesirable, negatively valenced identities. In all instances positively valenced sex role identities perceive the least stress and have the highest level of psychological wellbeing and self-esteem as compared to the negatively valenced identities. Clearly those with negative identities, more particularly those that were negatively feminine or negatively androgynous are significantly worse off in terms of health and wellbeing than those with positive identities. Overall, the hypotheses proposing significant differences between positive identities, that is, positive androgyny and the negative femininity and negative androgyny, with a few exceptions, were supported. Three sources of social support, that is, colleague, supervisor and partner support had a main effect on psychological wellbeing while all five sources, that is colleague, supervisor, partner, family and friend had a main effect on self-esteem. With regard to moderating effects, both colleague and supervisor support interacted with work stress to moderate the relationship between work stress and psychological wellbeing to reduce the impact of work stress on wellbeing. None of the non-work sources of support interacted to moderate the effect of work stress on psychological wellbeing. In addition no interaction effects for all sources of support were observed for self-esteem with the exception of friend support which moderated the relationship between work stress and self-esteem. However, this interaction effect was in an unexpected direction, in that friend support exacerbated the relationship; indicating that the higher the social support the lower the self-esteem. Based on the results of the study and the methodology utilised, a number of strengths and weaknesses of the present research are identified. With regard to strengths, the present study has added to the literature on sex role identity and its implication for female managers within a South African context by identifying specific positive sex role identities and specific negative sex role identities and their relationship to health and wellbeing indicators within an occupational context. In addition, the findings of the present research suggest that there may be specific contingencies pertaining to stressor situations, the contexts within which they occur and the domains upon which they predict, which may prescribe which sex role identity may be most or least beneficial in terms of health and wellbeing. Study limitations have both theoretical and methodological implications for future research. In particular, issues pertaining to the measurement of gender are outlined that need to be resolved by future researchers in order to effectively measure the construct of gender and its relationship to wellbeing. In addition, in order to determine which sex role identities will have the most or least beneficial health effects, future researchers need to develop and explore specificity hypotheses that enable the examination of gender in relation to specific stressors within specific socio-cultural contexts and the relationship thereof to particular predictor domains.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

Since its emergence as the ruling party in 1994, when South Africa became a democratic country, the African National Congress has legislated and implemented a number of policies that are aimed at redressing the historical imbalances of the past caused by the Apartheid system. The Constitution of South Africa provides for the equality of men and women as a basic human right. The South African Employment Equity Act (1998) was introduced as a way of assisting the process of achieving equality and fairness in the employment practices of government, business and other sectors in South Africa. Scholars such as Merilee Grindle have argued that for a policy to succeed many things need to be considered such as the internal and external environment in which the implementation is to occur. There has also got to be a buy-in from the relevant stakeholders as policy implementation can be influenced by the implementer’s own belief system. Factors such as one’s upbringing, religion, race, class and culture can all impact on workplace practices. Through face to face interviews with the people who are the intended beneficiaries of this policy, this study moves away from looking at the statistics that have previously been the sole analysis of the implementation of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) to look at historical, political and cultural influences on the application of the EEA. In particular this study attempts to interrogate whether cultural factors play a role or impact on the way the EEA is being implemented within a government department using the KwaZulu Natal Department of Economic Development as a case study. The obvious reason for focusing on culture is that one’s cultural background inevitably shapes how an individual views the world and engages with other people. Cultural beliefs and prejudices can also affect a person’s conduct in the workplace. KwaZulu Natal is a province that has a very long history of cultural traditions rooted in a largely patriarchal system, therefore interrogating this topic within this province is highly appropriate. The responses of the participants will reflect the views of mostly women in management positions. From these perspectives the study will reflect on the degree to which culture does play a role in the implementation of the EEA in this particular case study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

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.

Due to employment equity legislation that opened up opportunities for women, women are under pressure to perform at work - something that may affect their occupational stress and impact on both the individual and the organisation. The respondents comprise six women managers in a market research organisastion. The respondents' perception of stress was supported by qualitative research methods and compared to the researcher's Organisational Stress Model. From the data it is evident that stressors at work such as workload, relationships, role overload and individual traits primarily affect the respondents' experience of stress. These stressors have an effect on respondents' perceptions of stress and impacts on their productivity and personal life. The respondents denoted a necessity for skills development in order to enhance themselves at work and on a personal level. The study has furthermore found that stress at work can, however, be somewhat alleviated by implementing stress programmes in organisations. / Psychology / M.A. (Navorsingsielkunde)

This research aims to analyze the continuities and innovations in managing female executive in relation to the categories of process of decision making, model of leadership, personal communication and interpersonal skills. With the growth of womens presence in the world of work, women began to increasingly occupy positions high in organizations, leading to a question about the continuities and innovations arising from way of them to manage the executive. Is it possible that the women have new patterns and models of management or follow characteristic patterns of male management? To achieve the proposed objectives we decided to conduct this research with phenomenological inspiration considering the interpretation that each individual who was researched presents from the reality experienced in the management of the organizations to which they belong. This is a qualitative research, using a case study as method, based on women in positions of senior management in companies Sergipe. The data collected were analyzed using the technique of discourse analysis. From the data obtained it can be seen that the executive clearly perceives differences of management between the way of males and the females with respect to categories analyzed. For the interviewed women, for the categories chosen, women have more flexible and humanitarian characteristics, while men are considered more inflexible, objectives and in some cases more austere. It can be concluded that women consider that in their executive management uses innovative features with respect to the categories analyzed. As for permanences of male management characteristics, only a minimum number of respondents pointed to use some nuances of managing men, not as a guide but in order to merge the two modes of management in specific situations. / A presente pesquisa tem o objetivo de analisar as inovações e permanências existentes na gestão executiva feminina em relação às categorias de processo de tomada de decisão, modelo de liderança, comunicação pessoal e relacionamento interpessoal. Com o crescimento da presença feminina no universo do trabalho, as mulheres começaram a ocupar cargos cada vez mais altos nas organizações, originando um questionamento acerca das inovações e permanências decorrentes do modo de gerir das executivas. Será que as mulheres dispõem de novos padrões e modelos de gerenciamento ou seguem padrões característicos da gestão masculina? Para atingir os objetivos propostos optou-se pela realização de pesquisa com inspiração fenomenológica, considerando a interpretação que cada indivíduo pesquisado apresenta da realidade vivida na gestão das organizações da qual fazem parte. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, utilizando como método o estudo de caso, baseado em mulheres que ocupam cargos de alta gestão em empresas sergipanas. As informações coletadas foram analisadas utilizando-se a técnica da análise de discurso. A partir dos dados obtidos pode-se observar que as executivas percebem claramente diferenças entre o modo de gestão masculina e feminina no que diz respeito às categorias analisadas. Para as entrevistadas, em relação às categorias eleitas, as mulheres possuem características mais flexíveis e humanitárias, enquanto os homens são considerados mais inflexíveis, objetivos e em alguns casos, mais severos. Pode-se concluir que as mulheres executivas consideram que a sua gestão utiliza características inovadoras no que diz respeito às categorias analisadas. Quanto às permanências de características da gestão masculina, apenas um número mínimo de entrevistadas apontou utilizar alguma particularidade do gerenciamento masculino, mas não como orientação e sim com a finalidade de mesclar os dois modos de gestão em situações específicas.

This research aims to analyze the continuities and innovations in managing female executive in relation to the categories of process of decision making, model of leadership, personal communication and interpersonal skills. With the growth of womens presence in the world of work, women began to increasingly occupy positions high in organizations, leading to a question about the continuities and innovations arising from way of them to manage the executive. Is it possible that the women have new patterns and models of management or follow characteristic patterns of male management? To achieve the proposed objectives we decided to conduct this research with phenomenological inspiration considering the interpretation that each individual who was researched presents from the reality experienced in the management of the organizations to which they belong. This is a qualitative research, using a case study as method, based on women in positions of senior management in companies Sergipe. The data collected were analyzed using the technique of discourse analysis. From the data obtained it can be seen that the executive clearly perceives differences of management between the way of males and the females with respect to categories analyzed. For the interviewed women, for the categories chosen, women have more flexible and humanitarian characteristics, while men are considered more inflexible, objectives and in some cases more austere. It can be concluded that women consider that in their executive management uses innovative features with respect to the categories analyzed. As for permanences of male management characteristics, only a minimum number of respondents pointed to use some nuances of managing men, not as a guide but in order to merge the two modes of management in specific situations. / A presente pesquisa tem o objetivo de analisar as inovações e permanências existentes na gestão executiva feminina em relação às categorias de processo de tomada de decisão, modelo de liderança, comunicação pessoal e relacionamento interpessoal. Com o crescimento da presença feminina no universo do trabalho, as mulheres começaram a ocupar cargos cada vez mais altos nas organizações, originando um questionamento acerca das inovações e permanências decorrentes do modo de gerir das executivas. Será que as mulheres dispõem de novos padrões e modelos de gerenciamento ou seguem padrões característicos da gestão masculina? Para atingir os objetivos propostos optou-se pela realização de pesquisa com inspiração fenomenológica, considerando a interpretação que cada indivíduo pesquisado apresenta da realidade vivida na gestão das organizações da qual fazem parte. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, utilizando como método o estudo de caso, baseado em mulheres que ocupam cargos de alta gestão em empresas sergipanas. As informações coletadas foram analisadas utilizando-se a técnica da análise de discurso. A partir dos dados obtidos pode-se observar que as executivas percebem claramente diferenças entre o modo de gestão masculina e feminina no que diz respeito às categorias analisadas. Para as entrevistadas, em relação às categorias eleitas, as mulheres possuem características mais flexíveis e humanitárias, enquanto os homens são considerados mais inflexíveis, objetivos e em alguns casos, mais severos. Pode-se concluir que as mulheres executivas consideram que a sua gestão utiliza características inovadoras no que diz respeito às categorias analisadas. Quanto às permanências de características da gestão masculina, apenas um número mínimo de entrevistadas apontou utilizar alguma particularidade do gerenciamento masculino, mas não como orientação e sim com a finalidade de mesclar os dois modos de gestão em situações específicas.

The Government of South Africa has placed a lot of emphasis on economic growth and the involvement of Black people in the mainstream of the economy. The implementation of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) created opportunities for direct empowerment of Black females in ownership and management. The Construction Industry is being challenged to increase the number of Black females in management and ownership levels. Due to the nature of the Industry, only a small population of females considers Construction as a career option. The Industry has also lost a significant number of skilled Engineers and is experiencing a shortage of skilled managers in Middle and Senior Management Levels. The research problem questioned the current state of empowerment for Black women in the Construction Industry as measured against the B-BBEE Scorecard. The literature review focused on the requirements of the B-BBEE scorecard and Construction Charter. The second phase focused on gender equality and the achievements of women in Construction. The research design was done by using questionnaires to the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) members in the Eastern Cape. The research design and survey aimed to determine the status of empowerment in the Construction Industry. With reference to both the literature review and the empirical findings the state of female empowerment can be determined. Therefore iv recommendations and opportunities for further research in this regard can be identified.

Women are a significant presence in today's workforce; however, few rise to the top management ranks. Therefore, there is a critical need to better understand the factors that facilitate their success. This study examined several variables that may contribute to women's objective (income, span of control, promotions) and subjective (self-reported satisfaction) success. Predictive variables include human capital (training, experience), individual (perception of promotability, motivation for training), organizational (supervisor gender, percentage of male subordinates) and power (extent of supervisory authority) factors. Participants were members of the National Longitudinal Surveys Young Women cohort, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data were analyzed through simultaneous multiple regression analysis, and the results indicated that education was significantly related to income for all women. For women in management positions, their degree of supervisory power was also predictive of higher income, yet negatively associated with job satisfaction. Further, their span of control was positively influenced by the amount of time they spent in on-the-job training. The implications for women's career advancement, study limitations, and future research possibilities are also discussed.

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.