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Abstract:
Women's citizenship in Academia is by far still very low in high level management ranks. According to Zulu (2003) in South Africa, "the pattern of representation is still generally the same with very little change over time .Perumal (2003) says that " the official status of women in South African Academia ranges from being head of department to senior lectures to serving on programme coordinating, and other committees". Other positions women still occupy are identified by Zulu (2003), as student affairs, student fees, payroll, public relations and so forth. Subotzky (2003; 2001) also points to persistent under representation of women in South African higher education management jobs and that the problem of gender equity is in fact a global issue as it has been and still is a problem in the U.K., Canada, Norway, the Netherlands as well as New-Zealand etc (Subotzky, 2003; Kwesiga, 2003; Mabokela, 2003). The problem of gender equity seems to persist despite many pieces of legislation in the various countries and the supporting institutions in the form of courts and law enforcement agents. Women in higher education (HE) experience a wide range of challenges and barriers to appointment and advancement. In my recent study in Zimbabwean universities, I found out that the Zimbabwean university workplace is still a male dominated space and women still experience most of the following challenges such as: balancing work and marriage, sexual harassment, stereotyping, under representation in management ranks, lack of information on careers and career development, marginalization, imbalances in the work load, scrutiny of their professional abilities, the need to constantly prove themselves and being pigeonholed into restricted roles (Perumal, 2003; Zulu, 2003; Mabokela, 2003; Subotzky, 2003; Kwesiga, 2002; Moorosi, 2007). Women in Zimbabwean higher education are also impeded by barriers to advancement such as; cultural barriers in the form of persistent sexism in particular strong patriarchy that is especially evident among men, division of labour along gender, ethnic, and class lines, institutional level formal policies and informal practices, strategies which often www.ijaemr.com Page 291 involve an assimilationist rather than a transformmatory approach to access and change, position of power in the organization, organizational structure, socialization in early childhood, exclusion of women from the old boy network, lack of female role models, lack of mentors and unavailability of funds for research and publications (Subotzky, 2003; Parumal, 2003; Zulu 2003; Mabokela, 2003; Kwesiga, 2003; Haralambos and Holborn, 1991; Gaidzanwa, 2007). Some women have a problem in pursuing a double career that is if a woman is married to a professional man; patriarchy demands that the husband's career comes first. Hence women spend time moving from place to place following the husband's career (Walby; 1998; Haralambos and Holborn, 1991; Moorosi, 2007; Aisenberg and Harrington, 1988). Most Zimbabwean universities still have a culture of men leadership, the image of a leader is still that of a male and the prevailing culture is that of promotion by merit of a history of research, writing and publication (Ashby, 1964; Gaidzanwa, 2007; Maunde, 2003; Thomas, 1990). This paper seeks to discuss the above issues which impact on gender equity in academic management ranks for women with a view to sharing with colleagues on any new developments in this important area of analysis.
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