- Title
- The career development processes of senior black female academics in a historically disadvantaged institution in South Africa
- Creator
- Dondolo,Vuyelwa
- Creator
- Chinyamurindi, Willie
- Subject
- Career development.
- Subject
- Historically Black colleges and universities.
- Subject
- Psychology, Industrial.
- Date Issued
- 2023-09
- Date
- 2023-09
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/28894
- Identifier
- vital:75406
- Description
- Orientation The literature has shown that females are marginalised and under-represented more specifically in South Africa where females have been facing triple challenges. The issues of gender race and social class are factors which have hindered their career development. However as times change the development of Black females has been prioritised. This has led to calls for more empirical focus in understanding the career development processes especially of Black females. From this practitioner managerial and policymaker ramifications can be made. Research purpose To investigate the career development processes of senior Black female academics and further explain how they navigate the barriers concerning their careers. Motivation for the study The increasing need for career related research has prompted the need for more female career development studies in South Africa. Moreover calls have been made to better understand the career development process of female academics. This sample occupies an important space not just in terms of redress but also paving the future of the South African knowledge production space. Research approach design and method The study utilised an interpretivist qualitative research philosophy and approach. The study was exploratory in nature and relied on semi structured interviews with 20 senior Black female academics working at a Historically Disadvantaged Institution in South Africa. Narrative analysis using the three levels of meaning making was used to analyse the data. The first level was used to get a good understanding of participants accounts of career development processes for senior Black female academics in an HDI. The second level of meaning was used to identify and categorise codes and themes that emanated from the lived experiences of the participants interviewed. The final level of meaning enabled the researcher to use the themes that were generated and to extract direct quotes from the participants stories. Main findings Three main findings emerged from the study. First intersectionality archetypes were found to be continued barriers to the career development of the senior Black female academics. Second the study found the interacting nexus between serendipity premeditated events and the taking of opportunities in assisting the career development of senior Black female academics. Finally in addressing the challenges experienced as part of their career development the role of direct and indirect agentic power was at play in addressing barriers. Practical managerial implications The findings of this study may assist career counsellors to identify the challenges which are being faced by senior Black female academics during their career development such as racial discrimination gender bias and social class. This information can be useful during the career path to ensure awareness of the growing issues of intersectional complexities surrounding working senior Black female academics. Moreover managers who occupy managerial positions in higher education institutions can use the findings to create a conducive environment for the progression of senior Black female academics. The managerial implication can be in form of financial assistance mentoring as well as other operational support. The findings of this study can also assist the policy development of the higher education institution focusing on senior Black female academic advancement. The policy should be oriented in such a way that it addresses the challenges of future Black females pursuing an academic career. Contribution value add This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge of career development related studies. While most South African career related research focused on challenges this study contributes to finding interrelated factors that work as complexities and aim at also showing the strategies on how to overcome interconnected barriers of Black females in South Africa.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2023
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xv, 198 leaves)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Management and Commerce
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
UFH Department of Industrial Psychology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | DONDOLO 201108342 Industrial Psychology.pdf | 66 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |