SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS IN A CHANGING CONTEXT

McGill Journal of Education, Fall 2003 by Moultrie, Alison, de la Rey, Cheryl

ABSTRACT. Women are under-represented in leadership positions in South African higher education institutions, and tend to be clustered in the lower ranks. In this study, 22 women leaders in South African higher education were interviewed to ascertain their perceptions of their professional development needs. The areas most strongly prioritised were those relating to finance, strategic planning, organisational politics and academic research. There was also a strong demand for organised peer support structures. Results are discussed with reference to the literature, on higher education leadership and in relation to the South African socio-historical context. Finally, implications for the design of a professional development program are discussed.

FEMMES SUD-AFRICAINES CHEFS DE FILE EN ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR : BESOINS EN PERFECTIONNEMENT PROFESSIONNEL DANS UN CONTEXTE EN EVOLUTION

RESUME. Les femmes sont sous-representees dans les postes de leadership des etablissements d'enseignement superieur de l'Afrique du Sud et elles se retrouvent geeralement dans les echelons inferieurs. Dans le cadre de la presente etude, 22 femmes chefs de file au sein de l'enseignement superieur en Afrique du Sud ont ete interviewees en vue de confirmer les perceptions de leurs propres besoins en matiere de perfectionnement professionnel. Les points fortement priorises sont les domaines associes a la finance, a la planification strategique, a la politique organisationnelle et a la recherche universitaire. L'etude fait egalement ressortir une forte demande de structures organisees de soutien par les pairs. Les discussions sur les resultats obtenus se font en fonction de la documentation connexe, du leadership en enseignement superieur et du contexte socio-historique sud-africain. Fait egalement l'objet d'un examen, l'incidence de lelaboration d'un programme de perfectionnement professionnel.

INTRODUCTION

Women in tertiary institutions tend to be under-represented in high status and leadership positions, both in faculty and in administration, and to be clustered in the lower ranks of both categories (see, for example, Humm, 1996; Kettle, 1996; Quina, Cotter, & Romenesko, 1998). This is despite increasing enrolments of female students at tertiary level (e.g. Dunlap, 1994). This global pattern is reproduced in South Africa, where only 11% of incumbents in the two highest ranks of tertiary executive administration in 1998 were female (de la Rey, 1998).

In various countries, notably the US, Australia and the UK (Eggins, 1997), professional development programmes for women leaders have been used as a strategic tool towards reversing this trend. The Forum of African Women Educationalists South Africa (FAWESA), a national advocacy group composed of women in executive positions in the higher education sector, commissioned this study as an initial step to developing such a programme in the South African context. No South African studies concerning the professional development needs of this group have been published to date. Professional development was conceived within a broader feminist goal of working towards gender justice through increasing and strengthening women's influence and leadership at senior levels in the higher education sector (cf. e.g. Franzway, Court & Connell, 1989).

In the post-apartheid era since 1994 higher education policy in South Africa has been informed by simultaneous pressures to redress the injustices of past discriminatory policies while introducing a framework based on greater accountability and efficiency. The institutionalisation of apartheid in higher education was so entrenched that the eradication of its legacy is an ongoing task of monumental proportions. At the same time there is the pressure to implement an approach to governance and funding that will bring greater efficiencies. Thus there have been budget cuts, proposals for merging institutions and a proposed funding framework based on payment for key deliverables. This latter shift is in line with international trends where in contexts such as Australia and in the United Kingdom there have been policy changes based on economic rationalization. South African leaders in higher education face enormous challenges in the management of these concurrent change processes.

On the positive side, there have been recent changes in legislation such as the introduction of an employment equity policy, that ensure that gender is receiving more attention than ever before. In the post apartheid era the higher education climate is more conducive than previously to a focus on strategies for advancing women leaders' positions in higher education.

Internationally, there is evidence that professional development programmes for women may be an effective means to this end (Eggins, 1997). This study was designed to consult a sample of potential beneficiaries of such programmes, in order to identify their perceptions of their professional development needs. It was motivated by a need to develop a strategy for women's advancement and to identify ways in which women leaders could become more effective within their current positions.