Participants were asked to describe obstacles to their promotion, the number of
promotion opportunities they had, and the strategies they used to overcome the obstacles.
A variety of interesting responses emerged from the survey and interviews. What follows
is a presentation of their responses to each of the above sections with some representative
comments.
Unlike Gupton’s and Slick’s (1996) study, where the women administrators who were
interviewed felt that their career was hampered by the ‘lack of degree’… none of the
women HoDs in the present study mentioned ‘lack of necessary degrees and credentials’
as an obstacle to their career advancement. Granted, all but seven (21.8 per-cent) of the
thirty two participants in this study held a doctorate and more than 50 per cent were in the
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professoriate rank. Although it is acknowledged in the literature that the doctoral degree
is important for advancement in higher education administration (cf 3.3.3.1(iv)), yet far
fewer numbers of women administrators hold it compared with male administrators. The
number of women in this study who have a doctorate may indicate a gradual
improvement for women in this area.
However, as the findings in Gupton’s and Slick’s study suggest, “ Just having the degrees
and the credentials [don’t] fulfil all of the preparation criteria” (1996:2). Therefore
despite having all the right credentials and degrees, the women in the present study
reported experiencing barriers in other areas relating to institutional, personal, area of
interest/career choice, research career, family, gender, and management.
Institutional obstacles were found mainly in human resource management issues such as
advertising procedures and practices. For instance, one participant commented that the
length of time it takes for a deanship post to be advertised and the fact that this post is
widely advertised limits one’s chances of promotion. Sometimes a current dean’s post
may be extended - thus further increasing the wait time for promotion for a HoD who
wishes to move up the ladder. As Carol commented:
You have to wait for a post to be advertised to move on. If it’s a position higher
than HoD to Dean – they sometimes just advertise it internally so that it’s open to
HoD’s to apply for the position – sometimes they advertise it widely – for any
outside people as well – so you have to wait for a post to be advertised to move
on.
Other institutional obstacles, as Lee found out, were attributed to an employment equity
policy (South Africa):
I think the nature of the beast as it is at the moment is the issue of equity. So if I
wanted to go beyond where I am now, I would have problems being white.
Fortunately for me I … I don’t have any ...I do not want to go beyond the level I
am as far as management is concerned – I am contemplating to get out of
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management in order to pursue what I’ve just mentioned (PhD). If I were to want
to continue, the fact that I’m white would in fact be an impediment to senior
management.
At least two women cited lack of women’s networks and mentoring systems (cf 3.3.3.1
(vii)) as an obstacle for them. As various studies have emphasised, networks are an
important platform for women in management to share information, and to learn about
job opportunities and such like. Women who are already in positions of power and those
aspiring to such positions need to network (King 1997:92). Another woman’s
advancement was hampered by lack of opportunities due to slow turnover of staff and
lack of financial resources at her institution. Yet another had to abandon her studies
(which would have increased her chances for promotion) as a result of shortage of staff
and large student numbers.
Of the personal obstacles mentioned, one related to lack of experience. To move up from
HoD to dean, one requires experience first and often this is an impediment. So is lack of a
good research profile, as one woman stated. Another felt that illness and lack of
confidence were her obstacles. Another felt her choice to focus more on teaching was her
obstacle.
Consistent with findings from similar studies such as Gupton’s and Slick’s (1996) study,
one participant felt strongly that her choice of area of study for her PhD presented an
obstacle to her advancement. Women are still not encouraged to pursue traditionally male
occupied careers. This particular woman’s area of interest (Computer Science) was
criticised and she felt that women were unwelcome in this male dominated field:
Originally the fact was that I did not have a PhD. After doing the PhD, my area of
interest was criticised. The computer science environment is very male dominated
– women sometimes feel unwelcome.
Yet another obstacle listed was starting late in academia or research: ‘started late in
academia after raising a family…’ ‘lack of huge research profile as a result of starting
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research late in career…’ ‘second career – did not become psychologist until early
40’s…’ ‘PhD achieved in late 40s – no research focus in health sector.’
The next category includes family related obstacles such as balancing career and family.
Participants’ comments included the following: ‘started late in academia after having a
family…’ ‘my family comes first; my children are more important than career
development…’ ‘dual role – career and family’.
Not only did some of the women experience family related obstacles, others experienced
gender related ones. Some were in the form of blatant bullying behaviour by a senior
manager. Others were more subtle such as what one woman said she experienced at
undergraduate level and in various other roles: ‘expectations of male tutors at undergrad.
level: expected to be less successful than male classmates – occasional attempts to bully
by male colleagues in various different roles’.
Although this might be interpreted as a form of sexual harassment, for these women such
behaviour constituted obstacles to their advancement in the same way as work related
responsibilities were cited as impediments by others. In addition, lack of support from
the dean was listed as a barrier to advancement. Since the dean is part of academic
management, this obstacle falls into management related obstacles.
The participants were further asked to indicate if they had had any opportunities for
promotion and if so, how many. This is what emerged. The number of promotion
opportunities each participant had, ranged from 0 to 3, with the majority reporting at least
one opportunity for promotion. What is interesting with this result is that two women
who reported having “no reason not to advance” in the words of one of them, had the
most number of opportunities for promotion (2 and 3 respectively), but for whatever
reason, decided not to utilise the opportunities. Of the women who stated that they had
zero opportunities for promotion, one said she did not want any promotion anyway.
However, she suggested that a “strong publication record” would be one way of
overcoming obstacles to advancement.
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In contrast, three other women who reported zero opportunities for promotion would
have liked to advance but could not. Their reasons ranged from lack of support from the
dean and having too many responsibilities, to not having gained enough experience on
the job.
As to how the participants dealt with the obstacles they encountered, many responded in
a manner consistent with the findings in (Gupton & Slick 1996:29). An overwhelming
number of the women emphasised the need for perseverance, determination and
persistence in overcoming obstacles. The following are excerpts:
‘perseverance and finding colleagues in other disciplines who were prepared to
collaborate with me in the field of research I am interested in, namely, Computer
Science Education…’ ‘persistence, perseverance, though the pace is slow…’
‘determination and a willingness to address bullying behaviour from a male senior
manager when I was just working for a national body…’ ‘through keeping
going…’ ‘persistence and support from my husband, other colleagues and
mentors…’ ‘I had determination.’
Below are examples of other strategies the women used to overcome their obstacles.
These include improving qualifications and publications, confronting the obstacle and
relying on the support and help of others:
‘worked very hard and still do – completed masters and am enrolled for PhD…’
‘a strong publication record…’ ‘admitting that there are obstacles and addressing
them through conferencing with the affected people…’ ‘understood them [the
obstacles] and worked around them…’ ‘full time tutors to assist with
administration of classes…’ ‘refocusing energy…’
‘support from my husband…’
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