Microsoft Word doctoral thesis final[1]. doc

6.2.1  Challenges, opportunities and constraints 
 
Women, in general, seem to experience a lot of challenges and constraints before they 
make it into positions of authority. Academic women are no exception. These challenges 
and constraints are often related to the obstacles they have to overcome to advance 
themselves in their careers. However the findings of this study seem to suggest that the 
women who participated in the study experienced little or no challenges and constraints 
before they advanced to middle management positions; at least not to the same extent as  
after they were already in the position. For instance, the majority of them seemingly did  
not find it difficult to become HoD as they were  self-motivated and had adequate support 
from colleagues and family. Their involvement in managerial work together with 
publications and qualifications enabled them to move into the HoD position with relative 
ease (5.2.3). Moreover they were motivated to accept the job chiefly by a desire to make 
a contribution to the development of their departments particularly with regards to 
research. An additional incentive was to understand the systems and policies of the 
university (5.3.3.1). Nonetheless the situation changed once they were in the middle 
management position. 
 

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6.2.1.1 Career advancement opportunities and constraints 
 
Employment equity or equal opportunities policy (in the case of the UK see 3.3.2.1 iii) 
(Brooks 1997), lack of mentorship and lack of formal preparation in the form of 
professional development programs (Walton 1997), appear to have been the major 
constraints for the women in this study before and after assuming the HoD position. Very 
few of these women experienced mentorship (see Gupton & Slick 1996:36) or 
participated in training programs designed to develop  management and leadership skills 
(5.2.3). Although the women had some  experience of  training in the form of  workshops 
and courses on management and leadership, none of them  had any formal preparation for 
the job. What is noteworthy is the women’s strong  belief in ‘learning-by-doing’ or ‘on-
the-job’ training, suggesting that they found ‘experience is the best teacher’ (5.3.4.4(b). 
Consequently mentoring and training should be advocated in universities. It would also 
be advisable for mentees to be ‘proactive’ and flexible in their choice of a 
mentor(5.3.4.6(a). 
 
The literature abounds with reference to ‘women’s lack of aspiration for 
administrative/management roles’ (see 3.3.2.1, Gupton & Slick 1996). Nonetheless the 
findings of this study suggest that women frequently want to move into senior 
management positions. Only a few were either uncertain or clearly unwilling to trade 
their family responsibilities and love for teaching for a life of administration and 
management (5.3.3.3).  
 
Hence, one of the main ‘obstacles’ to advancement (even for those who are not interested 
in advancing)  seems to be  the dual role of career and family  (5.3.3.3 b, Lemmer 1989). 
Some  hindrances are personal in nature and  others are organisational/institutional (see 
3.3.2.1). The findings indicate that starting an academic career late in life is as much an 
impediment to career advancement as lack of experience or lack of a good research 
profile. Institutional advertising policies, which make it difficult for women to compete 
fairly, can also be as much of a hindrance as lack of support from the dean of a faculty 
(5.3.3.3 b). 
 

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Various strategies for overcoming obstacles to career advancement are suggested in the 
literature (see 3.3.2.2). The main strategies suggested by the participants in this study are 
determination and perseverance (5.3.3.3 b). This is confirmed in (Gupton & Slick 1996). 
This suggests that women are tenacious and have the capacity to continue with a given 
course of action until it is completed. This positive attribute particularly for someone in a 
position of authority implies that  positive leadership and management action undertaken 
will not be abandoned until results have been achieved.