Career progression of women in higher education: a case study of Universities of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
Abstract
Women account for 51% of the South African labour force but their representation
at more senior management levels is insignificant (Stats SA). Women experience
barriers in their career progression, such as family-related, societal and
organisational barriers. The main aim of this study was to determine the career
progression of women in Higher Education. Purposive judgement sampling was
used to select the participants for this study. The questionnaire was administered
using QuestionPro. A total of 111 responses out of 360 questionnaires resulted in a
31% response rate. Due to the low response rate obtained, the results could not be
generalised to the institutions of Higher Education, specifically Universities of
Technology. Salient findings from the study were that the majority of the
respondents in this study were African, aged between 36-45 years of age, were
married, had up to two dependents, were lecturers with a master’s degree and had
more than 10 years and above of working experience. The respondents felt that they
had not progressed in their careers and the main reason given for this was that they
had not applied for promotion. The findings also revealed that the majority of
respondents did not experience barriers in their careers, but the organisational
barriers identified by 43% of the respondents were lack of internal networking
opportunities, no support from line managers and ethnicity. In addition, the majority
of respondents felt that there were no invisible barriers (glass-ceiling) preventing
them from progressing in Higher Education. The invisible barriers experienced by
24% of the respondents were slower promotion rate, lack of career development
opportunities and significant gaps in earnings. For women to progress in their
careers, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) could promote being an equal
opportunity employer by providing training and development, mentorship,
networking, gender empowerment, flexible working arrangements and work-life
balance.
Description
Master’s Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.