A case study of the experiences of women leaders in senior leadership positions in the education district offices

Introduction and background to the problem

The central goal of this study was to investigate the experiences faced by women in senior leadership positions in one of the Gauteng East Education District offices of South Africa. Women in leadership positions, especially at lower and middle management levels, continue to face serious challenges in their workplaces. They are persistently demoralised to work optimally and discouraged from applying for senior leadership positions, thus precluding them from the benefits of the equal opportunity interventions created by government legislation (Department of Basic Education, 2013; Gauteng Department of Education, 2012; Moorosi, 2010). Although the Constitution (Republic of South Africa, 1996) forbids gender discrimination, women still encounter many injustices and inequalities (Bosch, 2011). This is evident at education district level where only 23 of the 85 education districts in South Africa are led by female district directors ¹ (Department of Basic Education, 2014).

Opportunities for senior leadership positions in education district offices are very scarce since a high proportion of men occupy these positions. Only when the attrition rate of men escalates will the government be able to accomplish its target of appointing 50% females to senior positions (Department of Basic Education, 2013). Actually, appointing women in education leadership positions is an initial step in the process of addressing gender equity from a quantitative standpoint (Gender Equity Task Team, 1997). Even when women are appointed to senior leadership positions, these women are subjected to a false notion that they are not resilient enough or that they lack the necessary experience to deal with tough situations (Chisholm, 2001; Mathipa and Tsoka, 2001). Some of these beliefs may be the consequence of apathy in women taking up senior leadership positions, by them not engaging in mentorship programmes, or identifying role models during their leadership tenure or having planned career trajectories (Mathipa and Tsoka, 2001). There is a perception that women lack assertiveness and entrepreneurship (Mathipa and Tsoka, 2001). The harsh reality is that there are no career opportunities available to them, neither are there any public or private institutions to cater for leadership training (Bush, 2008; Mathipa and Tsoka, 2001). Generally, women are caring, tolerant and sympathetic, but these behavioural traits are construed as a weakness in women’s leadership. A patriarchal society with rigid stereotypical conditions compels women to willingly accept this status quo.

According to Chabaya et al. (2009), gender stereotype is one of the major reasons for women’s underrepresentation in education leadership positions and this practice continues to manifest in women’s low self-esteem and lack of confidence when performing leadership functions. Gendered social stereotypes, steeped in old-fashioned sexist attitudes, influence the division of work and allocation of management duties, and continue to serve as a key barrier to women’s progress (Moorosi, 2010). Traditionally, women fulfil their familial duties of rearing children, whilst men who are raised in a patriarchal society relinquish these responsibilities. This creates opportunities for men to commit fully to their jobs and perform well in the workplace (Gregory, 2003). This unequal treatment created by society places men at an unfair advantage over women by providing them with unlimited scope to take on senior positions in the workplace.

Furthermore, women leaders lack the professional and institutional support needed for senior educational leaders due to limited induction training and formalised mentorship opportunities (Dean et al., 2009; Moorosi, 2010). Some women leaders experience serious problems in handling threatening tasks, resulting in increased stress levels. The lack of support from the provincial departments of education and work overload are factors that impinge on their work performance (Haslam and Ryan, 2008; Van Wyk, 2012). Compounded with leadership responsibilities, the burden of domestic chores invariably impacts on their performance as senior leaders (Van Wyk, 2012). It is not surprising that women enter leadership and management positions in large numbers and leave these positions in similar numbers (Haslam and Ryan, 2008).

This study explores the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in an education district and documents their actual practices in negotiating challenges and barriers in their workplace, focusing on their everyday interactions with schools and district staff. The research problem was thus encapsulated as: What are the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in education district offices?

Aim and objectives of the research

The general aim of the study was to explore the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in one of the education district offices in Gauteng East of South Africa. In order to realise the general aim of this study, the following objectives were established:

to investigate various factors (e.g. participant’s background) that influence the leadership and management style of women leaders;

Research methodology

In order to address the research problem, the research method considered most appropriate for this exploration was a qualitative case study. According to Yin (2012), a case study is an appropriate design choice when research addresses a descriptive question, as is the case with this study. This method allows researchers to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events such as individual life cycles, small group behaviour, and organisational and managerial processes (Yin, 2009: 15). This case study provided an in-depth exploration of the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in education districts within the historical, social, cultural, political and socio-economic realms of the Gauteng East Education District (Creswell, 2003; Naicker, 2014). The main unit in this inquiry was women in senior leadership positions in education district offices, the ‘bounded entity’ (Yazan, 2015: 139; Yin, 2018).

Interviews formed a significant part of the data collection and were conducted with district officials. The purpose of the interviews by way of verbal communication was to obtain data that would illuminate the research objectives. A research interview is regarded as a conversation between two people that serves to elicit information pertaining to the research (Yin, 2009). Therefore, in our conversations with interviewees, they were given the opportunity to narrate their experiences and views pertaining to their leadership positions in the workplace. Interview schedules were developed and played the function of organising a flow of proceedings during interviews, comprising questions to be posed during the individual and focus-group interviews (Creswell, 2003).

We purposefully selected the Gauteng East Education District because this district is led by a female district director. The selected Gauteng East Education District office consists of 280 district staff personnel at various post levels. The total population of women in senior leadership positions in district offices was 19. The sample included eight women in senior leadership positions, five principals from primary and secondary schools, and five district staff members. The eight individual interviews held with senior leaders were all women, two of whom were Indians and six were Africans. The ages of these district senior leaders ranged from 48 to 64 years, whilst most of their educational qualifications were either a Bachelor of Education (Honours) or a Master’s degree in Education. The participants comprised the district director, a chief education specialist equivalent to a deputy director, two circuit managers and four Institution Development and Support Officers (IDSOs). The two focus group interviews comprised of eight participants made up of school principals that reported to one of the IDSOs (also a woman) and district officials that reported to a woman circuit manager.

Purposive sampling was employed for the focus group and individual interviews. Senior district leaders with more than five years of leadership experience at the district office were selected. It was necessary to use their ‘experience’ to understand the research topic as well as provide rich responses (Conrad and Serlin, 2005). For the focus group interview, we selected principals and district officials at lower and middle management levels who have worked under the supervision of a selected senior leader at the district office for at least three years. This was necessary so that group members could articulate responses about their line managers or leaders.

Once the data was collected through interviews, it was transcribed separately on Microsoft Word as text segments and analysis. Content analysis was used to classify, summarise and tabulate data where coding played a key role. The ATLAS.ti (8.0) software was employed as a tool to enable coding, analysis and interpretation of data (Woolf and Silver, 2017).

The trustworthiness of the study was enhanced by two external editors verifying the transcripts to confirm the authenticity of the voices of participants (Vogt et al., 2012). This decision contributed in making the study both internally and externally valid. During the inquiry, field notes were taken to keep track of observations, feelings and decisions and all the interviews were audio-recorded. These strategies contributed to the validity and rigour of the study. This research was conducted with an ethic of respect for the participant, democratic values, the worth of educational research and academic freedom as the interviewees’ informed consent was obtained and participants’ anonymity and confidentiality guaranteed (Creswell, 2009: 85).

Literature review: Education districts

Since 1994, South Africa has established one national basic education ministry to lead nine provincial education departments (PEDs) to organise and manage the national policy for planning, financing, provisioning, staffing, monitoring and evaluating the education system (Pampalis, 2002; Republic of South Africa, 1996). In order to implement these national policy directives, PEDs are given the autonomy to determine policies to establish, manage and support schools through education districts (Pampalis, 2002). Education district offices, headed by district directors, are the link between PEDs, their respective education institutions and the public. They provide important lines of communication between the provincial head office and education institutions in their care. District directors together with circuit managers, education specialists and IDSOs work collaboratively with principals, school management teams and teachers in schools to improve educational access and retention, provide management and professional support, and help schools achieve excellence in learning and teaching (Department of Basic Education, 2018).

Women in leadership positions

Since the 1980s, women have acquired more tertiary qualifications, taking entry-level jobs and entering into fields that were once dominated by men. They are far from being equal as they continue to face real obstacles in the workplace facing subtle sexism, sexual harassment and discrimination (Sandberg, 2015). After having pushed through the ‘glass ceiling’ in education districts, women leaders face negative attitudes from their own and other district officials, school leaders and communities, which directly impact on their leadership performances (Moorosi, 2010: 555). With so few women securing senior leadership posts, they have small circles to network with, experiencing feelings of isolation and marginalisation (Lane-Washington and Wilson-Jones, 2010). The lack of professional and organisational support isolates them in an environment they are not too familiar with (Moorosi, 2010). Women are often subjected to insubordination from both male and female staff and school principals, who continue to challenge their authority (Faulkner, 2015; Moorosi, 2010; Narsee, 2006). On the other hand, the queen bee phenomenon sees women who have achieved individual success in male-dominated settings tending to distance themselves from other women in lower positions whom they consider junior to them (Derks et al., 2016). Women in South Africa still suffer from systemic discrimination in educational structures and hierarchies in addition to obstacles in their day-to-day operational encounters in their workplace (Mestry and Schmidt, 2012). Gender stereotyping, a form of discrimination, impacts negatively on women leaders in education district offices, and also impacts negatively on their work performance (MacNell et al., 2015; Moorosi, 2006; Narsee, 2006; Roberts, 2001; Wolpe, 2005).

According to Bay (2019), women are trained from an early age to firmly believe that they are inferior to men; that their place is in the homes and fields; that they should tend to the needs of their husbands and bear children. In spite of these firmly rooted cultural beliefs and practices, women are breaking through the so-called ‘glass ceiling’ by taking on senior leadership positions such as IDSOs, circuit managers and district directors in education district offices (Moorosi, 2010). The traditional stereotypical attitudes continue to flourish in a social system that is aimed at promoting gender equity. Whilst the primary causes of discrimination against women may be rooted in cultural beliefs and systems, secondary causes are rooted in the androcentric organisational structures, policies and practices (Bobbitt-Zeher, 2011). Discrimination of female education district officials is usually covert, using subtle innuendoes, images, valuing and language (Mestry and Schmidt, 2012). Since many senior leadership positions in the education districts are filled by males, women’s performance is constantly being assessed against male achievements, behavioural patterns and attributes as a norm (Mestry and Schmidt, 2012; Moorosi, 2010). As such, women education district leaders continue to face formidable challenges of discrimination at district offices such as resistance, insubordination and sabotage (Chisholm, 2001). Hardships that women endure are partly due to a deeply rooted patriarchal society.

Patriarchy is experienced amongst all ethnic and racial groups in South Africa. In most homes, men are the dominant figures enjoying many privileges whilst women are subservient and are usually considered worthless and inferior to their male counterparts (Mudau and Obadire, 2017). Facing strong patriarchal traditions in homes and communities, women join the labour domain’s strong organisational culture for which they are not entirely prepared (Mkhize, 2006). Whilst the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill of 2013 fails to address manifestations of patriarchy, it attempts to address the disempowerment of women caused by patriarchy (Republic of South Africa, 2013). South African women still have an unequal share of power in education structures, with many of them not pursuing leadership positions due to the firm hand of the patriarchal cultural norms and beliefs (Mestry, 2014; Moorosi, 2010; Sultana, 2010). These deep-seated inequalities and stereotypes about women’s leadership competencies affects their performance as education senior leaders (Mestry, 2014; Moorosi, 2010). This is a world of power in which political and social structures, including the basic principles of religion, family and intellectual life, are infused with men at the helm (Brod, 2018; Moorosi, 2010; Naidoo and Perumal, 2014; Perumal, 2005; Schmidt and Mestry, 2015; Witz, 2013).

Cubillo and Brown (2003) argue that South African women struggle with personal internal issues such as confidence, emotions and professional experiences. When weighed down by these issues, women are perceived to lack self-esteem and emotion (Mestry, 2014; Paludi, 2008). Women are caught in-between a highly gendered stereotypical work environment and the ‘diverse high pressure’ educational centres (Mestry, 2014: 15). The ‘think manager-think male’ phenomenon serves as a psychological barrier to the advancement of women into management (Schein, 2001: 676). These psychological barriers make it increasingly challenging to cope with as the educational environment is highly stressful.

Women securing senior leadership positions in education may be developed through instructional leadership, professional learning communities, integrated quality management systems, and mentoring and coaching. The building and sharing of capacity in instructional leadership, starting with senior leaders in the education district through to the teacher in the classroom, is essential in ensuring quality instruction as this results in the professional learning of teachers (Bush, 2007; Costello, 2015). A Professional Learning Community is a group of people who share and critically interrogate their professional practice in an ongoing, collaborative, reflective, learning-oriented and growth-promoting way, which may hold the key to professional development of women district senior leaders (Sackney et al., 2005). In order to support teacher development at school level, district senior leaders’ capacity in the integrated quality management system needs to be enhanced as they lack the knowledge and expertise on processes such as mentoring, coaching and monitoring, which further stalls the implementation of performance management (Bush and Glover, 2016; De Clercq, 2008; Mosoge and Pilane, 2014). Furthermore, as women face many challenges in their careers, the strengths-based mentoring approach and coaching would help them to establish their strengths and promote a positive work outlook (Laukhuf and Malone, 2015).

There is a perception that women are being appointed into senior education positions mainly due to the policy of affirmative action initiatives rather than them actually deserving the positions (Dreyer et al., 2007). This may not necessarily be true as their leadership styles are usually different from men’s. Many women in leadership and managerial positions manifest communication styles that are more collaborative and less hierarchical than those of their male colleagues, which is consistent with the communal demands of female gender positions and more suitable for contemporary organisations as they are more transformational in their approach than males (Antonakis and Day, 2017; Eagly and Carli, 2007; Vinkenburg et al., 2011). Yukl (2013) argues that leadership styles influence leaders’ effectiveness and need to be cultivated in their development strategies. Senior district officials need to be empowered to handle multifarious tasks such as administrative, management and professional responsibilities (Department of Basic Education, 2018; Narsee, 2006; Smith, 2011).

Theoretical framework

The use of intersectionality theory with feminism as the theoretical lens in this study assisted in understanding impediments in the form of ‘overt and covert’ discrimination against women operating at multiple levels (Mestry and Schmidt, 2012: 537). The use of the intersectionality theory with feminist theory as analytical lenses enabled a deeper and more contextualised understanding of the experiences of and challenges faced by women in their leadership positions at education district offices (Mestry, 2014). Intersectionality analyses how ‘cultural and social axes interweave’ examining relationships between gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality on multiple levels expounding various inequalities that exist in society (Knudsen, 2006, cited in Lanehart, 2009: 2). The intersectionality theory provides the suppleness to work within this matrix of domination that reveals cumbersome levels of social systems of intersecting oppression (Collins, 2000; Schmidt and Mestry, 2014). Feminism is a combination of several varied social theories, philosophies and political movements adopting a view on existing social and gendered relations (Peet and Hartwick, 2009). Situations and experiences of women in society are investigated by feminist theory, examining the origins, features and forms of gender equality that influence power dominations and gender politics (Ritzer and Ryan, 2010). Feminists argue that mainstream social and political theories characteristically engage in three ongoing processes: excluding, marginalising and trivialising women, and their accounts of social and political life (Qureshi, 2015). The focus of feminists are patriarchy, stereotyping, equal pay and oppression and, hence, are most pertinent to this research (Neuenfeldt, 2015). Feminist theorists critique male and female differences by focusing on how race, class, ethnicity and age intersect with gender (Lanehart, 2009; Samuels and Ross-Sheriff, 2008). It was therefore necessary to combine both the intersectionality theory and feminism in this study.

Findings and discussion

In the analysis and interpretation of the data collected during the qualitative phase of the investigation, pseudonyms were used for all participants. In view of length restrictions only two themes are discussed.

Theme 1: Stereotyping and cultural norms

Women in senior education leadership positions are undeniably underrepresented. Men are still four times more likely to be appointed to the most senior positions in education districts (Robinson et al., 2017). Successful women in the education districts face difficulties securing these positions and, when appointed, face entrenched stereotypes and the androcentric workplace culture, which make it difficult to negotiate (Hegarty and Buechel, 2006; Leaper and Friedman, 2007). The patriarchal system at home and in society has created the male superiority complex, which has led to women finding it challenging to balance their work life as senior leaders with their family life (Ellemers, 2018, Mani, 2013).

With the ‘think-manager, think male’ attitude, women leaders rising to senior education positions struggle in their leadership positions as new appointees. They need to prove themselves as education leaders and are continuously measured against male behavioural attributes (Appelbaum et al., 2003). Whilst male dominance is diminishing in education district offices, the false notions about women remain deep-seated. Ingrid (D1) said that her gender had ‘disadvantaged’ her ‘in this senior leader position’. Most women leaders, like Vani (D6), felt that ‘females find it difficult; they have to always prove themselves’. Kumi (D7) described an example of the stereotypical male identity at play:

There are individuals who believe that males can basically do the job better than females…I am talking specifically about some of our Ex-Model C schools especially the white Afrikaner males who believe they can do the job better than the females.

Mathur-Helm (2005) argues that the patriarchal mind-set still prevails in South African education districts, which include all stakeholders that district senior leaders associate with, thereby preventing women leaders from being effective in their leadership positions.

Often cultural practices and norms of principals stand in the way of their performing their professional functions. Ingrid (D1) explained the resistance she experienced from one of the principals. It was evident this resistance stemmed purely from his religious and cultural ideology that women are subservient:

I have only one principal that is uncomfortable with the fact that I am a female…and feels that it’s better to work with a male…He will not take instructions from me, even from my senior who is also a female and not even from our Director.

Theme 2: Balancing work and family life

For women who started out merely as teachers in a somewhat ‘half-day job’ mainly because bursaries were offered to them, their unplanned career moves to education districts in senior leadership positions came with many challenges. The most practical challenges for women were attempting to satisfy the needs of family life with the impressively high demands of the senior leadership positions (Chisholm, 2001; Mestry, 2014; Mestry and Schmidt, 2012; Moorosi, 2010; Naidoo and Kongolo, 2004). Many of these senior leaders were initially appointed as teachers but opted for other careers if they had the financial means to improve their educational qualifications. The deputy director, Vani (D6), didn’t always want to be a teacher:

Unfortunately, the financial situation at home forced me to go to [The] Transvaal College of Education because I was awarded a bursary to study there…law is what I was always passionate about. So that’s where I started my career in teaching.

An IDSO, Kumi (D7), who has two children, emphatically stated that on religious grounds it is her ‘choice’ to perform her motherly duties and ‘not that I’m expected to do it’. ‘I have a family that understands the position that I occupy’. With that understanding, her position at work has been supported by her husband, who is also in education, and her children. To fulfil her role as a mother and wife: ‘There was a stage in my life where I decided that in terms of my studies I needed to have to put that on hold and ensure that I give them the necessary support’. However, there was some regret because her position as educator would have bought her some time:

Maybe if I had five more years as an educator and had more of the flexible time, I could’ve been a better mother and a better wife.

Unmarried women are extremely devoted to their jobs as they have more time and fewer responsibilities (Blossfeld and Kiernan, 2019). Men, in general, are considered as the ‘ideal’ and ‘unencumbered’ worker (Durbin and Tomlinson, 2010). Ingrid (D1) feels that women that don’t marry and men are in a more favourable position:

Many of them (women) who are succeeding in this role don’t have families or have given up their families…if the male is the leader the female or the wife is there as the support – it’s always been that way.

Women senior leaders in the Gauteng East Education District were able to negotiate many of the challenges, time being the biggest hurdle. As mentioned previously, time is our most precious asset. Time is the one indispensable and irreplaceable resource that people have (Tracy, 2014). Vani (D6) feels that appointing the most suitable woman for the job brings with it the correct mix of leadership characteristics that women have. One of the key ingredients for success in the leadership position is to manage time:

I think a woman can multi task…They do make better leaders and I think because…there are so many different aspects of family life that they deal with and are directly involved, that when it comes to managing at a level in [their] professional life, [they] are able to adapt to those aspects…they are skilful at juggling and managing their time…[They] have the empathy…they can relate and understand. I firmly believe that females make better leaders.

Women’s personal, social and work life events and conditions are better understood by a multidimensional system with many factors that shape them in diverse and mutually influencing ways (Lanehart, 2009). Women experiencing these ‘role conflicts’ of wife, mother and senior leader with time as a constraint can be explained using the intersectionality theory that is seen as a multidimensional tool for analysing these complexities and challenges and the methods of negotiating them (Collins and Bilge, 2016; Mestry, 2014).

Limitations of the study

This research was limited to a small sample size of one education district and thus raises the issue of generalisability where the findings cannot be extended to wider populations with the same degree of certainty that quantitative analyses would see (Atieno, 2009). The common criticism that falls upon qualitative research is that the study contains research bias at any point in the research continuum, from start to finish. The study focused more on the meanings and experiences of participants and left out contextual sensitivities.

Theoretical and managerial implications

The scholarly contribution of this study highlights specific factors which have led to the development, promotion and support of female senior district leaders in South Africa, through the illumination of the two themes: stereotyping and cultural norms; and balancing work and family life. The study generated a body of knowledge regarding the barriers that female leaders have to endure in leading education district offices. The experiences, as narrated by the women district senior leaders themselves, highlight a highly pressured life, amidst several day-to-day challenges and barriers. This research also provides an understanding of the resilience that women leaders demonstrate, which will help their supervisors to better prepare them and other women for leadership positions, considering their ‘double load’ of work and family life. The practical contribution of this study highlights the psychological and social impacts of discrimination against women leaders in education district offices, and how these impact on their ability to function effectively and efficiently. The findings could be used to motivate female district officials to confidently progress through the ranks and aspire to senior leadership positions. In addition, these new insights into the female journey to senior leadership in education district offices in South Africa could be used to inform, guide and support newly appointed district officials.

Conclusion and recommendations

The general aim of this research was to explore the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in education districts and to document their actual practices in negotiating challenges and barriers in their workplace. This study focused on their everyday interactions with district staff and schools to determine how they successfully lead and manage the education district offices despite the barriers and challenges they experienced. The most salient findings from the data were refined into two themes which were discussed in detail (stereotyping and cultural norms, and balancing work and family life). In most organisations, including education district offices, men are dominant figures enjoying many privileges whilst women are subservient and considered ineffective. Also, the most practical challenge for women in the education district senior leadership position is to balance the daily demands of work and to still tend to the absorbing needs of being a wife and mother, and to attend to their main household responsibilities.

This research provided an understanding of the strengths that women leaders demonstrate, which through resilience, make them formidable leaders. We concur with the views of Hanmer and Klugman (2016) that women’s use of agency through their qualities of resilience and tenacity will give them greater opportunities to excel in leadership positions and help them withstand the many challenges that they frequently face.

One of the key recommendations to address successful leadership is the professionalisation of education district officials. A qualification such as the Advanced Diploma in Education in Leadership and Management (ADELM) should be a prerequisite for any teacher wishing to apply for a position in an education district office. This course should focus on extending the knowledge and skills of practising and aspiring district officials. This course will undoubtedly help prepare women for various senior positions in education districts. Furthermore, it is recommended that the Department of Education provide formalised continuing professional development to education district officials. These development programmes should not be a ‘one size fits all’ but should be tailor-made to suit the individual’s specific needs, so that they may be better equipped to deal with a variety of day-to-day challenges.