Towards a workplace conducive to the career advancement of women

Abstract

The aim of this study was to start designing a workplace conducive to women’s career advancement. Appreciative inquiry was selected as an appropriate methodology, given the slow progress that has been made in addressing gender equality at work. Seventeen men and women working in the finance division of a large organisation were invited to participate in an appreciative inquiry workshop. This was followed by interviews with four leadership team members. While no original ideas or solutions emerged from the interventions, participants of the appreciative inquiry process demonstrated a shift in thinking, more positive emotional responses, a shared vision for the future and improved willingness to assume accountability for change.

The experience of women in male-dominated occupations: A constructivist grounded theory inquiry

“…The South African female labour force has been growing because of equity legislation and improved access to education and work opportunities (Finnemore & Cunningham, 1995;Franks, Schurink & Fourie, 2006;Mostert, 2009;Van den Berg & Van Zyl, 2008). However, progress with gender transformation and equity in the South African workplace is still unsatisfactory (Anonymous, 2012;Du Plessis & Barkhuizen, 2012;Hicks, 2012;Lewis-Enright, Crafford & Crous, 2009). There are powerful economic incentives for women to move into historically male-dominated occupations (England, 2010).…”

Balancing the Scales of Gender and Culture in Contemporary South Africa

“…Similar to international trends in this regard (Rudman & Phelan, 2010), various South African studies (Du Plessis & Barkhuizen, 2012;Lewis-Enright, Crafford, & Crous, 2009;Martin & Barnard, 2013) confirm that women still experience overt and covert discriminatory practices, aggravating their work adjustment, their potential to flourish and their ability to perform well in their work settings. Lack of access to developmental resources such as training and mentoring, as well as lack of infrastructure (for example, female dressing rooms and ablution facilities) in male-dominated settings such as mining, still abound (Du Plessis & Barkhuizen 2012; Martin & Barnard, 2013).…”

“…At the same time, the submissive care-giver and emotional support roles in the family are associated with women (Franks et al, 2006). These male-female stereotypes permeate the work-place and manifest in male colleagues' resistance to integrating women equally in the organisational structure (Lewis-Enright et al, 2009). Male-dominated work environments espouse masculine performance values, covertly equating performance with these values, for example, working longer hours or presenteeism.…”

“…Male-dominated work environments espouse masculine performance values, covertly equating performance with these values, for example, working longer hours or presenteeism. Presenteeism is defined as the concept of staying at work longer in an effort to be seen as working harder (Lewis-Enright et al, 2009). Presenteeism covertly marginalises many women who have family obligations (Cha, 2013).…”

Framework for Advancement of Women Working in Selected Regulatory Organizations in South Africa

“…It had been found that the quality of work-life balance (i.e. the balance between work and family life), a lack of respect and being treated with dignity, 'old boys practice', and education and proper management training (Lewis-Enright, Crafford & Crous, 2009) were some of the factors that worked against the advancement of women in management positions. Recent literature has shown that women who do not conform to gender stereotypes are likely to succeed as leaders (Cukier, Jackson, Elmi, Roach & Cyr, 2015).…”