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The study aimed to assess the extent to which the affirmative action policy for the accelerated promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions has created opportunities for women. The study was prompted by the underrepresentation of women in senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe against the existence of an affirmative action policy aimed at increasing the number of women in educational management positions. The study found that women who aspired to rise to educational leadership positions lacked family/spousal support and the ambition/confidence to apply for leadership positions.

ORIENTATION AND OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

  • Background to the Study
    • General Trends in Gender Disparity in Educational
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Purpose of the Study
  • Aims and Objectives of the Study
  • The Research Questions
    • Major Research Question
    • Sub research Questions
  • Assumptions of the study
  • Significance of the Study
  • Definition of key terms
    • Affirmative action policies
    • Challenges
    • Opportunities
    • Women advancement
    • Gender
    • Gender equality
    • Gender equity
    • Senior educational management positions
  • Delimitations of the study
  • Organization of the study
  • Conclusion
  • Introduction
  • The Concept of Gender and its Related Terms
    • Gender
    • Gender inequality
    • Gender Equality
    • Gender Equality Laws in Zimbabwe
    • Gender Equity
    • Feminism
  • Conclusion

How do stakeholders view the affirmative action policy on the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions in terms of effectiveness. What models exist for equality and equity in the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions. The participants in this study have a perception of the effectiveness of affirmative action policies in promoting women to senior educational leadership positions.

Table 1.2: Distribution of Male and Female Head and Deputy Head Teachers in  Government-Aided and Licensed Private Schools in Uganda,  February 2006
Table 1.2: Distribution of Male and Female Head and Deputy Head Teachers in Government-Aided and Licensed Private Schools in Uganda, February 2006

REDRESSING PAST INJUSTICES THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

  • Affirmative Action Defined
    • Characteristics of Affirmative Action Policies…
  • Origins of Affirmative Action
  • The Extent to which the Affirmative Action Policy on the Promotion of
  • What Gaps Have Emerged Between the Policy Intentions
  • What Are The Major Challenges Faced by Female Officers who Aspire to
    • Challenges Faced by Aspiring Female Officers to get to Management
    • Challenges Faced by Female Officers in Senior Educational
    • What Models Exist on Gender Equality and Equity in Educational
  • Conclusion…

Finally, it examines the leadership qualities of women vis-à-vis the demands of educational management positions. This introductory chapter provides the background to the study, the statement of the problem, aims and objectives of the study, significance of the study, theoretical framework, the research questions, delimitations and definition of key terms among other issues related to the introductory chapter. In this chapter 1 defines and explores the concept of gender and the related concepts that include gender equality, gender inequality, gender equality and feminism in relation to the study at hand.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The Research Design

Rationale for Choosing a Case Study

The Research Method

  • Qualitative Research

The Target Population

  • Sampling Strategies
  • Data Collection Methods
    • The Interview Technique of Data Collection
    • The Focus Group as a Data Collection Technique

Analyzing Qualitative Data

Quality Assurance Techniques

  • Trustworthiness in conducting qualitative research
  • Credibility
  • Transferability
  • Dependability
  • Confirmability

Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Research

  • Confidentiality
  • Informed Consent
  • The Right to Prove that the Researcher is Responsible
  • The Right to Privacy and Non-Participation
  • Objectivity and Integrity
  • Reporting and Publication

Limitations of the Study

Conclusion

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Themes and subthemes emerging from the data collected

  • Data Presentation
  • The existence of the Affirmative Action Policy on the promotion of women
    • The Policy
    • Documentation of the policy
    • Stakeholders’ awareness of the policy
    • Creation of opportunities for women advancement
    • Women’s representation in leadership positions
    • Intended effects of the policy
    • Unintended effects of the policy
  • Barriers for women advancement to senior educational management
    • Poor working conditions
    • Lack of family/spousal support/marriage
    • Family commitments/demands
    • Lack of Leadership ambitions/low self-esteem/low self-confidence….… 135
    • Cultural factors and the socialization of the girl child/women
    • Domination of selection/promotion boards by men and other
    • Polarisation of leadership positions in Zimbabwe
  • Leadership qualities of Women
    • Women are less corrupt than men
    • Women are hard workers
    • Women are patient and accommodative
    • Women are poor in decision making
    • Women work on emotions, keep grudges and like gossiping
  • Challenges faced by women in senior educational management
    • Lack of confidence/inferiority complex
    • Lack of respect/support and resistance from subordinates (both male
    • Physical challenges (long distances in remote rural set ups, attacks from
    • Work overload
    • Role conflict (work and home responsibilities)
    • Too high expectations from society
    • Negative attitudes from society

The need for the Zimbabwean government to archive gender equality between men and women in decision-making positions led to the formulation and implementation of an affirmative action policy for the accelerated promotion of women to higher education management positions. It is this study in general and this section in particular that attempts to answer the question, "to what extent has affirmative action policies on the promotion of women to senior educational management positions addressed the plight of women in the Matabeleland South region?" The interviewees give their opinion below. This point meshes well with the findings of Peenar (2006:27) indicating that “the implementation of affirmative action and justice legislation has not had the intended effects on most members of designated groups as racial disparities persist on the South African labor market. ”. 34;…the other positive is that women's intelligence has not been fully utilized because we had this barrier that prevented women from rising, but this policy has shown that women are just as capable as men" (FGD No. 4/T6 ).

Barmao (2013:44) thus confirms to this point, "the dual role of women in the families as mothers and wives greatly contributes to their career advancement. The implementation of the Affirmative Action policy on the promotion of women to senior education management positions is hindered by women's lack of. Secondly, there is corruption in Zimbabwe, in order to gain access to a position, sexual favors must be given to those in charge of promotion – the men.

However, this view contradicts Makura's findings, which portray the qualities of women leaders in this way; "The perception of the female sample through their personal narratives revealed that Masvingo female school principals possessed the following leadership orientations: collaborative, instructional leader, public relations officer and compassionate". This view was shared by the vice principal of the school (no. 3) who said: "Ladies have some challenges faced by male members of the community and their colleagues who do not respect them." (IT/D/HoS3-intv no. 16). In addition to facing challenges from their subordinates, female senior educational managers also face disrespect from members of the larger community who are used to men being in charge. Chipunza (2003:4) aptly describes the attitudes of men towards women leaders, so that “the statement that 'a master should not serve under a lady' continues to be true in educational management because efforts in Zimbabwe to introduce opportunities equal for all are met. with resistance from men".

In the same way, the head of school (no. 1) said "There is too much work, that is, overloading of the work, these are the challenges in the workplaces" (IT/HoS1- intv no. 1). The issue of domestic work conflict has been identified as one of the most innocuous for women who want to occupy educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South. In the same note, Okafor et al assert that "a large number of women have difficulty juggling the roles of mothers, wives, homemakers, and managers in the workplace. The challenge of maintaining work-life balance when traced back to the time of fulfilling their various obligations leaves them frustrated and they feel trapped." This becomes a threat to family building and marriages as women have always been subordinate to men at home who may not be comfortable with women's shared attention. I will speak from the perspective of a rural community where I work. The rural areas are very conservative, they stick to their traditional beliefs and what I have seen is that they accept women leaders, but they don't accept them the way they accept men.

Main Findings

The existence of an affirmative action policy on the promotion of women to educational leadership positions. The study discovered that an affirmative action policy to accelerate the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions is in place in Matabeleland South. Ultimately, the policy is considered ineffective in creating opportunities for women's advancement to senior educational leadership positions.

The net effect of this policy is that women have remained under-represented in educational management positions in Matabeleland South. Regarding whether the Affirmative Action Policy has achieved its intended goals, the study found that to a lesser extent the policy has increased the number of women in senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South. These are some of the factors that explain why women remain under-represented in senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South.

This therefore hinders the effective implementation of the Affirmative Action Policy for the advancement of women to senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South. It was also one of the objectives of this study to assess the leadership qualities of women in educational leadership positions in the Matabeleland South region. The perceptions of the study participants were that women in educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South work with emotions, hold grudges and like rumours.

The study also found that some women in educational managerial positions in Matabeleland south use autocratic leadership styles.

Conclusion

As custodians of school funds and other institutional assets, women in educational management positions live in fear of being attacked or mugged by thieves/robbers, especially in places where gold panning is common. In the preceding chapter, I presented data collected on the perceptions of teachers, deputy/principals of schools, education officers, district education officers and members of the provincial education directorate on the effectiveness of the affirmative action policy in creating opportunities for women's advancement to senior education management positions. The data was collected through individual and group interviews (focus group discussions) which yielded first-hand information based on the participants'.

From the collected data, themes and sub-themes emerged from the voices of the interviewed participants, which form the findings of this study. In this chapter, I summarize the study, draw conclusions from the findings, and provide recommendations based on the study's findings.

Summary of the research study

However, it is the traditional and other social practices of various patriarchal societies that limit women's opportunities while expanding men's opportunities, resulting in gender inequality. Literature related to this study indicated that Affirmative Action Policies are a global phenomenon whose effectiveness is negatively affected by attitudes of the implementers and resisted by the 'affected' groups. The study used the face-to-face interviews and focus group discussion techniques for data collection.

The data were presented and discussed based on the new themes and sub-themes compared to the literature reviewed in chapters two and three. The purpose of the study was to; assess the extent to which the affirmative action policies implemented by the Government of Zimbabwe to accelerate the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions have achieved their intended goals; evaluate key stakeholders' perceptions of the effectiveness of this policy initiative; analyze the barriers that female teachers face in accessing educational leadership positions; assess the leadership qualities of women in educational leadership positions, assess the gap between the political intentions and political output or results. All of the answers to these objectives were provided through data collected from the study participants.

Summary of the findings as per objectives of the study

  • Main Objective
  • Sub –objective one
  • Sub-objective two
  • Sub-Objective three
  • Sub-Objective four
  • Sub-Objective five
  • Sub-Objective six
  • Sub-Objective seven
  • Sub-Objective eight

Evaluate stakeholder perceptions of affirmative action policies on the accelerated promotion of women to education management positions. Analyze stakeholder awareness level about the existence of affirmative action policies on the promotion of women to senior educational management positions. This therefore explains why in southern Matabeleland women remain under-represented in senior education management positions (IT/HoS14-intv no. 42, IT/HoS13-intv no. 40, IT/HRO/intv no. 24).

My study therefore found that there is an affirmative action policy for the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South. To what extent has the affirmative action policy for the advancement of women to senior leadership positions in education created opportunities for the advancement of women in the Matabeleland South region in the field of education. The existence of an affirmative action policy for the promotion of women to senior educational leadership positions in Matabeleland South.

To what extent has the Affirmative Action policy on the promotion of women to senior education management positions created opportunities for women in the Matabeleland South education region. The study found that affirmative action policies on the promotion of women to educational management positions in Matabeleland South have had some unintended effects. What challenges do women face in senior education management positions in the Matabeleland South region.

To what extent are stakeholders in education in Matabeleland South Region aware of the existence of the Affirmative Action Policy on the promotion of women to senior education management positions.

Responding to Research Questions

  • The major research question
  • Research Sub-problem 1
  • Sub-problem 2
  • Sub-problem 3
  • Sub-problem 4
  • Sub-problem 5
  • Sub-problem 6
  • Sub-problem 7
  • Sub-problem 8

Limitations of the Study

Recommendations for Policy and Practice in Education

Recommended Model for Leadership Development in Women

Conclusion

Figure

Table 1.2: Distribution of Male and Female Head and Deputy Head Teachers in  Government-Aided and Licensed Private Schools in Uganda,  February 2006
Table 1.4: Gender Composition of South African Academic Staff 2005 (Department of Education  2006)
Table 1.3: Gender Composition of South African Public Universities’ Senior Leadership, April 2007  (Higher Education Resources Services 2007)
Table 1.5: Number of male and female top education managers for Masvingo
+6

References

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