Thesis (MTech (Business Administration in Project Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Much debate has been going on about the ability of women to lead in the large organisations around the country. The call for women to be given senior leadership positions appears to have run global as more and more women seek to get into powerful positions. Whilst the population of women is generally higher than that of men, women still remain in small numbers relative to men getting the positions. Research findings do not seem to have agreed on generalisations as to why women remain in few numbers even where they are in the majority. The hotel industry, the nursing field, etc. even in such establishments the number of women in leadership has remained low. Many theories have been advanced, including the allegation that men prefer male leaders to female leaders, women cannot stand pressure in the boardroom, and men stand on the progress of women in organisations. The researcher decided on getting information from subordinates in the organisation on their perception of good leadership as perceived by them. The questions were derived from existing theory on women leaders’ characteristics and standard behaviour for effective leadership. The respondents measured from the Likert scale their perception about certain characteristics deemed to be the strengths of women. This was done to avoid using gender as this would influence some responses to the questions. The findings indicate that not all ‘feminine’ positive attributes are necessarily accepted as leading competencies with some of the male characteristics considered ‘abhor able.’ Convenience sampling, which is a non-probabilistic sampling method, was used in this research study. The benefits of this method are that the individuals are readily available and are easy to recruit. It was easier to distribute the questionnaires to the sample by means of e-mails and clarify issues as they arose.

Thesis (M.Admin.) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

South Africa is held up internationally as a beacon of good practice in terms of its efforts to promote gender equality and, the increased number of women in leadership positions in all spheres of government is testament to this. The representation of women in all spheres of government is advocated for and promoted by legislation and policies that aim to promote a gender focus on all government procedures and programmes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of women leaders, including their reasons for maintaining leadership positions. It also addressed the challenges these women faced on their journeys and described their definitions of successful leadership based on their experiences. The qualitative nature of the research project made it possible to tell the stories of the participants’ experiences in order to understand their career progression and how it pertained to their concept of leadership. The three participants recruited for the study were women in positions of influence within their municipality including managers, directors, and executive directors. Purposeful sampling was used so that the chosen participants would have experience with the central phenomenon being studied. All of the women contacted to participate in this study readily agreed to share their experiences. There was some level of diversity regarding the age, ethnic backgrounds, and education level of the participants. Semi-structured personal interviews were conducted to collect the data. Open-ended questions were used so the responses of the participants could guide the development of themes and the direction of the study. Once the data were collected through recorded interviews, codes were assigned to sections of the text to help identify themes. A coding table was developed to illustrate how the themes for the discussion emerged from data obtained during the interviews. The stories of the participants were interwoven based on the themes and also analyzed in terms of the existing research. A discussion of the findings incorporated the literature and provided evidence of connected concepts. Strategies including inter-coder agreement, rich description, and clarification of biases were used to strengthen the study’s findings. Ethical issues were addressed throughout each phase of the study. All participants were asked to sign an informed consent form that outlined the procedures of the study. The identity of the participants was kept confidential through the use of pseudonyms.

Thesis ( M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2015. / The study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the gender dynamics which promote or retard the full participation of women in decision-making and leadership positions in the Nkangala District Municipality (NDM), Mpumalanga. Local Government, through municipalities, is the most strategic sphere of government. This is so because municipalities are the institutions of government that are closest to the people. Municipalities, through the various services provided, present critical service delivery institutions for women to actively participate in and influence decisions. Therefore the study contends that these institutions of local government are gendered. Against this backdrop, an analysis of gender representation of women and men in decision-making and leadership positions in the NDM was conducted. The aim was to assess the state of gender equality in the NDM. Further, the study explored this gender representation in relation to how it translates to women’s authority and influence in decision-making and leadership. This qualitative research study triangulated data collection using questionnaires, interviews and observation. The study focused on both the administrative and political components of local government. In the administrative component; interviews were conducted with Municipal Managers (MMs), Executive Directors (EDs) and Managers. In the political component, interviews were conducted with Executive Mayors, Speakers, Chief Whips and Members of the Mayoral Committees (MMCs). These constitute the decision-making and leadership positions in municipalities as institutions of local government. The study revealed that amidst the national and international policy and legislative provisions on women’s empowerment and gender equality, women continue to be confronted with institutional gendered challenges. Amongst others, the study revealed that there are pervasive gender dynamics, stereotypes, attitudes and perceptions towards women in decision-making and leadership positions in these institutions. Also, that there are minimum institutional mechanisms and strategies that encourage and support women’s participation in decision-making and leadership positions. The provincial and national gender machineries’ roles and responsibilities with regard to municipalities’ monitoring, oversight and overall support is not as vibrant. Drawing from the findings, the study concludes with a proposal for a Women’s Leadership Empowerment Model WLEM). A comprehensive model that will comprise of professional capacity-building and training, on-the-job coaching and mentorship, regular peer assessment and review for a to continuously support women in and into decision-making and leadership positions.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113). Also available in print.

Women representation in management positions is described as a fundamental human right and an important means of fair democratic representation. This study intended to investigate the factors determining women upward mobility and their promotion to management positions. Included as variables were traditional gender roles, access to education and lack of mentoring and role models. The study followed the qualitative approach using snowball sampling and conducting semi structured interviews with ten Controlling Officers from different ministries and department of the Malawi Public Service to find out whether the variables under investigation indeed affect women upward mobility. Empirical evidence shows that traditional gender roles e.g. being mothers affect women upward mobility. Similarly, limited access to education is another factor that limits women access to managerial positions. Lack of mentoring and role models, especially where there are already few women at the top also affects women’s upward mobility. The study recommended that Malawi government should help women get scholarships that provide for their children. Furthermore, the government should provide flexible working hours especially for mothers. Women themselves should meet for a cup of tea where they can empower each other on the most important aspects of their job as chief executives; that is delivering a speech, making presentations and forming networks.

In 1998 the Department of Labour promulgated the Employment Equity Act, which aimed at ensuring that the designated groups were represented in the workplace at all levels. The designated groups that were to be given preference for appointments were women, disabled and Black people. The Department of Public Service and Administration issued a directive to all government Departments to ensure the achievement of 50/50 gender representation at Senior Management levels by 31 March 2009. However, the Provincial Treasury in the Eastern Cape did not achieve this target and is still lagging behind. There are barriers in the workplace, which pose challenges to the progression of women to management levels. These barriers are commonly referred to as ‘glass ceiling’ by some scholars.This study used a qualitative approach in gathering data. The study employed non- probability, which adopted the purposive sampling approach. Questionnaires were administered to middle management and Senior Managers were interviewed to gather empirical data. Questionnaires were administered to sixty Middle Managers, both males and female, and interviews were conducted with seven senior managers. The reason for targeting Middle Managers was that they are at a level that is next in line in the hierarchy to advance to senior management positions.The purpose of this study was to investigate factors inhibiting the advancement of women to senior management positions in the Provincial Treasury in the Province of the Eastern Cape. The problem identified was that there were numbers of females at middle management who had the required qualifications and experience, but were not considered when appointments were made to fill in vacant senior management posts. The other problem that was identified was that often senior management positions were filled by candidates who were not from within the Department. The performance of female internal candidates is not recognised, which may be indicative of the flaws with the performance management system. It emerged from the empirical survey that preference is given to men compared to their female counterparts. The study revealed that there were factors that contributed to non-advancement of females to senior management such as the existence of stereotypes and perceptions. The stereotypical beliefs view men as hard workers than their female counterparts. It was also revealed that women suffered from low self-esteem that impacted negatively on their confidence levels. This subsequently discouraged women to apply for advertised vacancies as they doubted their own capabilities. It also emerged that the Department did not empower newly appointed persons through the mentoring and coaching programmes. This study also revealed that no training was offered to newly appointed persons.

The aim of this research project is to conduct an evaluation on the implementation of gender mainstreaming in South African government departments, with specific reference to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The research project is based on the hypothesis that despite the existence of a National Gender Machinery, Gender Focal Points (GFPs) face numerous challenges in implementing gender mainstreaming, due to various internal and external factors. Based on the two case studies, the research project concludes that despite a strong commitment from government, GFPs still face challenges in effectively implementing gender mainstreaming. This is due to a lack of accountability, an understanding of the concept of gender mainstreaming, as well as a lack of resources. Furthermore, systemic weaknesses within the National Gender Machinery are exacerbating the challenges faced GFP

The study investigates the role of women in development which is a favourite topic of the researcher. It investigates some aspects of the process of development involving women. It is obvious that the research was provoked by the legal framework directed at the transformation agenda that represents the democratic process of the country. The role of women, in other sectors, who were excluded from issues of community management, politics and government of the country, became obvious for the researcher due to their strategic role in society which is being undermined. The above view poses the challenge of power-sharing with men. This constituted a huge challenge that emanated from a stereotypical perspective and the fear of the unknown. Considerable pieces of legislation, policies, convention resolutions, conferences and publications became catalysts to intervene in the traditional challenge based on the societal construction. This, to the researcher, presents a clear historical anomaly where government has to address all the streamlining and implementation of policies. There should be sustainability through an Integrated Development Plan. The aim of the historical background of women, as envisaged by the study, is to highlight a contextualised role of women in the development of the transformation process and investigate numerous reasons that impede participation and the readiness of government in addressing these issues. Some questions that the researcher had to as relate to; What the impediments causing non-participation of women are; What elements contribute to the participation of women; What government strategies have unlocked non-participation of women; Why women’s contribution is critical to development; What strategies are deployed by government for women’s involvement? What the socio-economic benefits of participation by women are. It is the researcher’s opinion that the municipality should be complimented on its endeavours. However, they need to establish a strategic programme for empowering women to participate in development as a human rights issue.