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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.
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