Experiences of female deans in South African universities: A phenomological study

Abstract

A democratic South Africa guarantees equality to all regardless of gender, religion, beliefs, and race. However, leadership status of women in general is still suffering as there is unequal representation in leadership positions between men and women in institutions of higher learning. This phenomenological study sought to understand the female faculty dean's lived experiences and challenges they face in institutions of higher learning. An interview guide was used to collect data from the six female faculty deans in three universities in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. Thereafter, a thematic analysis was applied. Analysis of interview data revealed that selection process, gender stereotypes, lack of support, networking and mentors are the challenges that women face in becoming leaders in South African university. Personal development, provision of support, networking platforms, mentoring programmes and research were recommended by the participants to be effective strategies for overcoming the challenges they face.

Mentoring of Female and Minority Leaders in Higher Educational Settings

“…Women and people from minority groups when promoted to leadership positions express that they feel like an outsider, the feel alienation, and they feel like they are in a hostile climate from entrenched faculty members that they lead (Mankayi & Cheteni, 2021;Paterson & Chicola, 2017). A perceived lack of support from male supervisors compounds the issue.…”

“…This has an impact of making women question their ability to perform the role and their personal self-work, resulting in low job satisfaction. While women proportionally are represented in the lecturer ranks, they are underrepresented in leadership positions (Freeman & Forthun, 2019;Gmelch & Miskin, 2004;Mankayi & Cheteni, 2021;Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011;Paterson & Chicola, 2017). Similarly, members of different ethnic groups are underrepresented in leadership positions within higher educational institutions (Freeman & Forthun, 2019;Gmelch & Miskin, 2004;Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011;Turner & Waterman, 2019).…”

“…Similarly, members of different ethnic groups are underrepresented in leadership positions within higher educational institutions (Freeman & Forthun, 2019;Gmelch & Miskin, 2004;Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011;Turner & Waterman, 2019). Organisational culture, workplace relationships, management types, gender stereotyping, (Mankayi & Cheteni, 2021) and inadequate mentoring are a factors for why women and people from minority cultures have underrepresentation (Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011;Paterson & Chicola, 2017).…”

“…They face a glass ceiling that is difficult to break through and experience higher levels of harassment that the dominant culture of white males. Mentoring can provide an avenue for supportive discussions to manage the difficulties found in leadership roles The scarcity of women in higher leadership positions impacts the availability of women to mentor other women (Mankayi & Cheteni, 2021;Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011). Mentees refer to seek out a mentor who 'looks' more like them in gender and ethnicity (Packer-Williams & Evans, 2011;Turner & Waterman, 2019).…”