Mental models of successful black South African woman leaders from traditional backgrounds

Abstract: Black women from traditional backgrounds seem to be faced with societal, organisational, and personal challenges that hinder their career development. Patriarchal means of differentiating men’s and women’s roles are still strongly embedded in many cultures, resulting in women’s having to overcome a number of obstacles to achieve their goals. This research describes the findings of a qualitative study that investigated the mental models of successful Black South African women leaders from traditional backgrounds with a focus on their career success. A non-probability, purposive and snowball sample of 10 women leaders, aged between 45 to 55, in possession of honours or higher qualifications, was selected from the public and private sectors. The research study is interpretive in nature and used a written narrative method of collecting data, with the exception of one semi-structured interview that was digitally recorded and transcribed into written format in preparation for content analysis...M.Com. (Industrial Psychology