Abstract
M.Phil.
Orientation: Women leaders are acknowledged for their resonance-building
leadership styles, adaptive communication skills and qualities of cooperation,
mentoring and collaboration - traits that are becoming increasingly important to
leadership in contemporary organisations. If women are sufficiently competent to
serve as leaders, why have so relatively few reached the top of the ladder? Gender
based stereotypes influenced by the cultural value dimensions of society are seen as
the major barriers to women’s advancement. Despite enabling legislation in South
Africa, statistics reflect the dwindling of opportunities as women reach the upper
echelons of management. Career primary motivated women reported structural
barriers in organisations including networking, glass ceilings and glass cliffs. Societal
challenges that women face included lack of access to power in an environment that
is becoming increasingly toxic, resulting in eroding of values and ethics among
leaders in general. Personal challenges working mothers faced were finding balance
in the social construction of their life roles and creating a meandering career path,
during midlife. Personal leadership was evident in the women’s lives in their spiritual
dimensions, their mental dimensions, their physical dimensions and their emotional
dimensions.
Research purpose: The aim of this study was to describe “Who” women leaders in
South Africa are; to explore “What” challenges they face personally, in society and in
organisations; and “How” personal leadership helped them to cope and excel in their
careers and lives.
Motivation for the study: In my opinion women are equally competent to serve as
leaders, but there are barriers to their achievement of leadership positions. Living as
a woman in South African society, where gender conditioning is interwoven, I’ve
always been painfully aware of and frustrated with segregation and lack of
opportunities based on gender. The first motivation for the study was to investigate
the specific challenges career-primary motivated women face. Secondly, women
leaders seem to cope brilliantly and excel in their careers and personal lives. The
motivation of this study was to investigate what the qualities are that females bring
to leadership and to illuminate how personal leadership assisted women leaders to
overcome personal, socio-cultural and organisational challenges to excel in their
careers through the different phases of their lives.