Gender transformation experiences among women leaders in the Western Cape TVET Sector : a narrative response
Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of South Africa Press
Abstract
Leadership structures in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa face stark gender inequalities. Narratives of women currently in TVET leadership positions in the Western Cape province of South Africa might shed light on gender transformation in this sector. This article provides an insider perspective on 10 purposively selected respondents' shared experiences during their careers as women leaders through a narrative methodology. The data produced themes like family roles and a professional career balance, stages in becoming a leader, gender-related notions, leadership contexts, and strategies to manage gendered experiences. The analytical framework developed illustrates how these themes were reconciled with a structured method of narrative analysis, described as a problem-solution approach, analysing raw data for five elements of plot structure, namely characters, setting, problem, actions, and resolutions. Aligning the conceptual and analytical frameworks facilitated re-storying inside a plot-structured narrative. The results reported gender transformation progress regarding the career progression of women leaders. Conversely, progress concerning gender stereotyping and men-to-women and women-to-women discrimination was unsatisfactory, causing some respondents to abandon leadership ambitions. Although the small sample size precludes any claim to generalisability, the reported narratives serve as a guideline in addressing all-inclusive gender transformation in TVET college leadership.
Description
CITATION: Bonzet, R. & Frick, B. L. 2019. Gender transformation experiences among women leaders in the Western Cape TVET Sector : a narrative response. Education as Change, 23(1):#3521, doi:10.25159/1947-9417/3521.
The original publication is available at https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/EAC
The original publication is available at https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/EAC
Keywords
Gender transformation, Leadership in women -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Community colleges -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Vocational education facilities -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Quantitative research -- Narrative study -- Women
Citation
Bonzet, R. & Frick, B. L. 2019. Gender transformation experiences among women leaders in the Western Cape TVET Sector : a narrative response. Education as Change, 23(1):#3521, doi:10.25159/1947-9417/3521