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productive in research and publication, women require time and resources, both of which
require a great deal of extra effort from academic women. These women are frequently
burdened with university committee work, departmental administrative tasks and
teaching undergraduate students.
Three categories of barriers were selected for examination for the purposes of this thesis:
▪
personal/psychological
▪
socio-economic/ cultural
▪
structural/systemic.
These barriers are discussed in the context of the advance of their careers of women
academics into leadership and management positions. It was found that personal/
psychological barriers which affect women’s advance in the academic world include of
women academics poor self-image, lack of confidence, fear of success as
well as role
conflict. Suggested strategies for overcoming these barriers include training women to
improve their self-image, to resolve role conflict internally and to have high aspirations
and believe in their ability to lead. Socio-economic/cultural barriers include traditional
societal perceptions and attitudes regarding the role of women and their career aspirations
and how these limit the hopes of women wishing to progress in academic circles. Among
solutions suggested for overcoming these barriers are campaigns which should be held to
raise people’s consciousness concerning to gender issues;
diminishing all negative
stereotypes or attitudes which create an environment not conducive to the advancement
of women and provision for assertiveness training and appropriate maternity/paternity
leave.
The main structural/systemic obstacles identified are related to recruitment, selection and
hiring procedures, career-development and promotion policies. Barriers observed consist
of ‘gate-keeping’ practices in research and publication (which aspects are considered the
chief criteria for promotion); hiring practices which favour certain age groups and
disregard the slow progress of women in advancing to the desired levels by an
‘acceptable’ age; casualisation of women; selection committees comprising senior males
who seem to emphasise the woman’s ability to adapt
rather than her academic
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credentials; vague criteria for promotion; lack of access to information-sharing networks;
the persistence of the ‘glass ceiling’ and preconceived notions of what constitutes
‘women’s work’ and ‘men’s work’. The persistence of ‘hegemonic masculinities’ in
academic circles ensures that more men than women are promoted to the top.
Among the suggested strategies for surmounting systemic obstacles are: the formulation
of and adherence to unambiguous formal policies for evaluation and promotion; the
development of unbiased recruitment, selection and employment procedures; provision of
equal access to information and networks regarding funding sources for research and
publication; awareness of the barriers to productivity and the implications of certain
choices; expansion of career opportunities for women and development
of new career
paths that include lateral moves and other directions; exposure and elimination of
barriers to research productivity which are beyond the choice or control of women;
creating visibility and recognition for oneself through focusing on a special area of
research; establishment of mentoring and networking programmes for developing
academic women and their research as well as providing opportunities for women to
improve their credentials. Meyerson and Ely (2003:140) advocate a pertinent strategy for
bringing about structural change to improve the advancement
of women to leadership, “a
series of localised incremental changes in workplace practices – rather than a wholesale
revolution or simply promoting more women into leadership roles.”
In conclusion, it is apparent from this review of the literature on barriers to women’s
advancement in higher education that the problem still exists even in advanced countries
like the UK, USA and Australia, where equal opportunities legislation has long been in
force. In South Africa, the problem of women’s under-representation and unequal
opportunities in the academic world has only recently been paid serious attention.
Progress is evident but it is very slow owing to the gap that exists between the
advancement of male academics and female academics. The few studies that have been
conducted in universities attest to this slow growth and point to the existence of barriers,
within and without the academic world, which hinder
the advancement of women
academics to positions of leadership and management. Identifying these barriers and
systematically dismantling them will be a long and arduous process. But if women, men,