While women constitute more than 51% of the population and far outnumber men in teaching positions in Namibia, very few occupy positions of leadership. Male candidates are still favoured for top positions, thereby denying women the chance to gain entrance to these positions. One of the reasons for this imbalance seems to be that, in spite of conscious political effort and legislation, women may still be perceived as less effective leaders than men. This research focused on leadership in education, in particular school principals, and explored the perceptions of female principalship held by school inspectors. Three school inspectors from the Rundu Education Region were purposefully selected and interviewed. Inspectors were selected on the grounds of their considerable influence in the selection and appointment of school principals. The study found that these inspectors favour school principals who show commitment to their work, have good interpersonal working relationships, are caring, good listeners, visionary and produce good results. The inspectors attribute female principals’ success to their traditionally perceived characteristics, such as caring leadership and ability to develop good human relations. Instead of perceiving these qualities as professionally negative (as is sometimes argued in the literature) the inspectors see them as indisputable assets to leadership. The respondents acknowledge the cultural stereotyping that may have influenced male attitudes to women in the past, but argue that good leadership is not specific to gender, but part of the qualities a person possesses, regardless of sex. This study concludes that, contrary to what has been reported in many studies, these inspectors perceive women principals as effective – equal to their male counterparts or sometimes even more effective - because they are caring, well organized and good at communicating and establishing relations with others. Though these qualities are different from the traditional masculine qualities which include independence and emotional strength, the respondents recognize and legitimize them as preferred qualities in current effective leadership practice.

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No description available.

This study was designed to investigate if society's view of sexual harassment is evolving along with new legal precedents that include remedies for same-sex sexual harassment. By using an aggressive provocation questionnaire and varied scenarios where responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale assessing their perception of the level of sexual harassment depicted in the scenario. Thus examining the role of aggression in people's perceptions of sexual harassment.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of gender discrimination in water services provision on women empowerment in GaPila Village, located in Limpopo Province. Gender discrimination remains a major challenge both in the labour market and within households. The allocation of resources within households is still much gendered due to unequal gender relations in most rural areas. Men are allocated most resources within households and have many benefits than women. Such also manifest to children. Despite, women being major beneficiaries of the delivery of water services, they are discriminated against as they are not involved with the processes that precede the provision of such services. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research approach to establish the effects of gender discrimination in the provision of water services on women empowerment. The findings of the study illustrated that culture and tradition are the key to the inadequacy of women’s access to and control over management of water services. Cultural practices within communities either ignore female participation in water services management. Their participation is obstructed by lack of time, level of education, low self-esteem and flexibility due to substantial workload and numerous household responsibilities. The study also showed that according to local cultural beliefs, the status of women whether high or low, does not determine the amount of work that must be done by her at home, because irrespective of her status or career placement, her primary assignment is to care for the family/home. The study further revealed that women in the GaPila Village are allowed access to economic opportunities and participation roles during community meetings. Also, women are allowed to occupy positions such as chairperson, secretary and treasurer; however, due to culture and tradition, low self-esteem and lack of support from men, women do not take advantage of such opportunities to occupy these positions of authority in water services. Therefore, the study concluded that, as woman’s contributions regarding water services provision remains inconsequential because they are excluded from decision making processes that affect their level of living and prospects of empowerment. From a water services provision perspective, this study affirms the theoretical principle that discrimination against women disempowers them. Women are the beneficiaries of water services because most of their duties require water. As such, it is important for women to actively participate and to be involved in the management committee relating to water services and provision.

Thesis (M. A.(English Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2016 / The primary aim of this study is to examine the oppression and repression of African women through the collusion of indigenous African patriarchy and colonial, imperialist values. The selected novels are Nervous Conditions (1988) and God’s Bits of Wood (1960) by Tsitsi Dangarembga and Sembene Ousmane, respectively. The study focuses on the roles played by both African and European values in the class, gender and racial oppression of African women. Using the theoretical frameworks of Marxism and Feminism, the study evaluates issues of women’s oppression, repression and marginalisation. The selected literary texts are closely analysed with a view to exploring and establishing the nature and form of African women’s multiple oppressions through the connivance between African patriarchy and European colonial hegemonic norms. Lastly, the study aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the topical issue of African women’s oppression. Keywords: Colonial values; African patriarchy; Hegemonic norms; Oppression; Oppression; Marginalisation; Collaboration; Women and the girl child

This thesis examines access to managerial jobs in the Australian labor market by immigrant women and men from five continents and five individual countries. Comparisons were not made only among both continent and country groups, but also between the women and men within each group, as a measure of occupational gender inequality. An index of managerial representation in the Australian labor market (MORI) was computed and nine independent variables were applied to measure immigrant representation in managerial occupations. Rank order correlates were used to calculate relationships between variables. Results indicate that women (with the exception of Vietnamese) from all countries were disproportionately underrepresented in managerial jobs and that the more dissimilar immigrant men are to native born Australians, the less likely they are to hold managerial jobs.

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No description available.

Thesis (M. A. (Sociology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Education is of paramount value to the empowerment of women and also brings about positive change in our societies. Higher Education has since been in existence for so many years. Traditionally, its management structure has always been dominated by males. The government has since put in effort to ensure we have female representation in management positions. However, progress in this endeavour has been somewhat slow, regardless of the efforts made. Accordingly, this study sought to explore why gender imbalances continue to exist in institutions of Higher Education, particularly at the University of Limpopo. The study was conducted with fifteen women in management positions. The study highlighted the causes of gender imbalances in management positions and further captures the voices of women in management positions. The study also documented the roles women play in this institution and also includes strategies that can be put in place to address the problems raised. This has been captured from the women’s perspective as the study used feminist qualitative research methods. This meant that the study was conducted in terms of the participants’ perspective as feminist research methods suggests. The analysis has been completed using the Thematic Analysis approach as the themes that emerged were coded and analysed from that point. The study revealed that there is still gender imbalance in management positions in the University of Limpopo. According to the study, this was due to a number of factors such as the multiple roles women play that delay them to progress academically. Also, this showed that only few women met the requirements for occupying management positions as the criterion for highest qualification was not met by many in order to enable them to apply for these positions. In the category of women that did not meet the requirements, there have been delays in them obtaining their doctoral studies and some showed no interest in applying for the jobs given the number of challenges faced by those women that are in management positions. These, amongst others, included the deep patriarchal culture entrenched by men at the University of Limpopo who feel uncomfortable to be led by women.