What's gender got to do with it? : a ten-year retrospective case study of a management development for women program

This 10-year retrospective case study of a Management Development for Women Program uses a theory-driven mixed method holistic design and is jointly sponsored by St. Mary's University and Mt. St. Vincent University in Halifax, N.S. Subjects are the graduates of the MDW Program from 1990 to 2001 (N = 137), divided into three chronological groups based on period of enrolment, (1990-93, 1994-97, and 1998-00). The overall findings of this study indicate that women managers still face unique problems relating to gender in both organizational and educational institutions. The results suggest three distinct factors contributed to the success of the MDW program. First, the formal program content increased the participants' profile in their organization, and increased their effectiveness and self-confidence. Second, the culture and unexpected learning, and third, the single-gender feature. For the most part the results validated the conceptual framework under which the program has operated. The findings of the study show that there are still double standards for promotion, which are gender-based, and there are still issues relating specifically to women in management. Therefore, single gender management development programs, which are designed to address these issues, are still needed