An assessment of the experiences of women in leadership positions: a case-study of the Department of Employment and Labour in Port Shepstone.

Abstract

This study investigated the experiences of women in leadership positions in the national government department of Employment and Labour in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of this study was to establish what were the challenges that impacted women’s experiences in leadership? The objectives of this study were: first, to determine the challenges that impacted women’s participation in leadership; second, to assess the institutional mechanisms and strategies that were put in place to encourage and support women’s access to decision making and leadership; and third, to provide policy recommendations for the increased participation of women in leadership. The theoretical approach that underpinned this study was Marxist feminist theory to understand of how various variables were used to exercise unequal gendered power relations between men and women within the Department. On April 27, 1994, South Africa became a constitutional democracy with progressive principles such as freedom, human dignity, equality, non-racialism, and non-sexism. However, this study revealed that gender stereotypes in decision-making processes are still deeply embedded in the government's Department of Employment and Labour at the Port Shepstone office. This research further revealed that women are proportionally represented in national government in KwaZulu-Natal. A consideration of the qualitative evidence collected in this research showed no differences in how female and male perceived their leadership roles. However, the study indicated that there was gap between the policy and implementation levels in local government in the Department of Employment and Labour, Port Shepstone, in KwaZulu-Natal. Therefore, the study suggested that the Department should restructure its gender policies and gender programmes to be in line with current legislation and policies.