A qualitative portrayal of the experience of women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation

D.Phil.The world of work of women has elicited much research locally and abroad. Underpinning the research is the societal norm that men are breadwinners and women are homemakers, which poses a dilemma in terms of gender roles in the professional and domestic life of women. Hence the aim of the research was to develop a substantive theory to explore and foreground how women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation in the telecommunication domain experience their professional and domestic realities against the background of the materialisation of this societal norm. The study was done in the qualitative paradigm, guided by a modernist interpretive theoretical framework. Casing was employed as research design. Six women at senior management level were selected by means of purposive sampling (with the assistance of a gatekeeper). One-on-one semi-structured interviews and field notes were used as data collection methods. Grounded theory (as proposed by Strauss and Corbin) was used to analyse the data. Open coding was done with the aid of the ATLAS.ti computer software programme, whereas axial coding and selective coding were done manually