How women gain and retain management positions : a study of South African female MBA graduates

Abstract: Women in South Africa remain underrepresented in management positions in both the public and private sectors. Studies on this issue mainly attribute this underrepresentation to the persistence of patriarchy in the workplace, in the household and within society in general. By using Sylvia Walby’s conceptualisation of patriarchy in the public and private spheres, along with an intersectional analysis of social identity structures, the study contextualises the cultural, economic, legal, political, historical, and structural mechanisms of gender discrimination in the workplace. The study utilises a qualitative approach to analyse the data collected (via the semi-structured interview method) from 20 South African women who hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification and who are employed as senior or executive managers within the corporate sector in Gauteng, South Africa. The participants range in ages from 33 to 51 and form part of the Black, Coloured, Indian, and White race groups in South Africa. The life histories and career trajectories of the participants are explored in depth in order to identify possible obstacles women face in achieving leadership positions at work, as well as to identify the various strategies that these women used to overcome these obstacles. This study is unique since it addresses a variety of themes simultaneously in relation to women’s underrepresentation in top management. These themes include women’s formal education; the surrounding environmental forces; the changing nature of work; the current engendered workplace dynamics; changing politics and policies in South Africa; and, the work-life interface and support structures. A key contribution of this study is its focus on the multi-level analysis of the individual’s experience of inequality based on a range of factors including race, gender, class, ability/disability, age, relationship status, parenthood status, attractiveness, etc. By critically examining these structures of inequality it is hoped that efforts can be undertaken to address the inequality that pervades the workplace, the household, and society as a whole.D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology