Microsoft Word doctoral thesis final[1]. doc

6.1.1     Overview of the investigation 
 
In this section an overview of the foregoing study is presented in taking into account the 
research problem set forth in 1.3. 
 
In this study the experiences of women HoDs in universities in South Africa and the UK 
have been investigated and compared. The absence of women in senior positions of 
leadership and management at universities is well documented and so are the barriers that 
prevent women from advancing into senior leadership and management positions (see 
1.1). In addition little or no investigation  has been  carried out into what happens to 
women once they attain positions of leadership and management in organisations. In 
short, few studies have attempted to document the experiences of women who have, 
against all odds, ‘shattered the glass ceiling’ in academe. This study was motivated by a 
longitudinal study into gender representation patterns at several South African 
universities between 2000 and 2002. The findings revealed that women were in the 
minority in middle and senior management positions in universities. This prompted an 
investigation of how the few women had managed to achieve these positions and how 
they were experiencing the situation. 

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