Ascension of women to senior management positions : a case of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Gauteng province

Abstract

Inherited colonial and patriarchal laws have created barriers for women to gain entry to employment opportunities and hierarchically advance to senior management positions (SMS). Although government is making strides in promoting women representation and gender equality in the public sector, women remain underrepresented at SMS. The aim of the study was to investigate if women at the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) advance hierarchically at the same pace as their male counterparts to SMS. The study applied a qualitative research approach to address the research objectives. Data was collected through desktop research by reviewing secondary data sources available in the public domain. The study found that women at DWS are underrepresented at SMS positions as males predominantly occupy these positions. This further widens the inequality gap, which shows that men continue to enjoy the benefits of patriarchal norms over women. Moreover, the majority of national government departments including DWS have not achieved the set employment equity target of 50% for women at SMS, and the 2% target for persons with disabilities (PWDs). The study revealed that it is a challenge to determine the level of compliance for women with disabilities at SMS as the composition of the gender and racial demographics for the 2% is not clearly defined by government. The study also found that barriers exist within the public sector which hinder the advancement of women, such as glass ceiling, glass cliff, patriarchal practices, gender stereotypes, gender bias and discrimination, exclusion of women in strategic decision-making structures, unequal salaries, harassment, bullying and intimidation, and unaccommodated disability needs, amongst others. The lack of support programmes and empowerment interventions for women to strive and self-actualise their potential to assume leadership positions has also been found to be amongst the barriers. The study recommends that for gender equality to be achieved, DWS should provide support programmes and empower women through skills development, nurturing talent, mentorship, coaching, gender mainstreaming, and provision of a gender-focused budget. Other recommendations brought forward are the inclusion of men in gender forums to drive transformation, development of gender-neutral policies, supervisor-subordinate support, and flexible policies to enable women to achieve a work-life balance.