THE ROLES OF FEMALE MANAGERS IN ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY (GENERAL EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Women lives have been shaped for times unrecorded by their ability to raise children, whereas men are the ones who are responsible and concerned with business and politics. Due to the societal transformation and technological developments for the last 50 years, women tried to enter to the labor market and press their role and the importance of their social activities. These changes have facilitated and confirmed that, besides being mothers and wives women are now capable to become managers, researchers, politician and many more.
However there are various factors that limit women?s potential to occupy senior managerial positions. There is an argument that at the bottom of the constraints that women face is the patriarchal system where decision making powers are in the hands of males. In the African context, traditional beliefs, personal and cultural attitudes regarding the role and status of women in society are still predominant and many women as part of this system find it difficult to dislocate from this culture and tradition otherwise they could be ostracized. Despite women?s education and advancement in the job market, the woman?s role is typically one of a housewife. The man, on the other hand, is the bread winner, head of household and has the right to dominate public life.
Some women were able to cross cultural barriers and rise to managerial positions, but more often than not, it meant having to manipulate cultural expectations with their managerial roles.
It has been argued that women themselves are often reluctant to run for managerial positions and this is partly attributed to cultural prohibitions on women going for these positions or going to public places. Top managerial positions require travel, spend more time on work, go to different meetings and go into hotels and different public gathering places for women that meant meeting with men.
