ABSTRACT
This study examined the influence of gender role ideology and work life balance on career success of women. The study adapted the concurrent mixed method design. Two hundred and eighty-one (281) career women comprising of bankers and teachers in the greater Accra region of Ghana were purposively sampled and used for the quantitative approach. For the qualitative phase, one-on-one interviews were conducted with fourteen (14) purposively sampled career women. The quantitative study result shows that gender role ideology and work life balance were not significantly related to career success of women. However, social support moderated the relationship between work life balance and career success of women. The qualitative study also, shows that, women conceive career success as an achievement, contentment, self-improvement, competency, ability to provide for oneself and satisfaction. Also, the result indicated that social support was an important element for career success. The women are able to complement their career and household responsibilities due to the support they receive from the organization and their significant others, and this in turn help them to achieve their career objectives. Further, most participants adapted strategies such as good work organization/planning of work, making sacrifices, time management, self- programming among others, in balancing career responsibilities with family life. Though gender biases exist in the society, it has no influence on women career advancement, women receive encouragement from the opposite sex and sometimes the society and this inspire them to go higher in their career.
Keywords: Gender Role Ideology, Work Life Balance, Social Support and Career Success.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1.0 Background to the Study
Before World War II most women were involved in unpaid work, their primary job was to take care of the home and support their husbands’ career fulltime (Schwartz & Zimmerman, 1992). Women massively entered paid work during the Second World War to serve as standby workers for the active working age males who had then been called into military duty. Women working at that time were considered temporal workers. Marriage and childbearing were considered to be their primary responsibilities (Gutek & Larwood, 1987). Teaching, nursing and clerical jobs were considered to be appropriate only for single women in the 19th century (Nieva & Gutek, 1981). Thus, not more than 3% of married women in the 1890s worked outside the house. By the late 1970s however, almost half of the married women and 40% of women above 16 years worked outside the home (Domenico & Jones, 2006) though they considered paid jobs as additional work to their domestic responsibilities (Tinklin, Croxford, Ducklin & Frame, 2005). The ensuing effect of continuous rise in the number of female workers all over the world has carved a niche for the “working woman” to be accepted as a norm and not a social oddity (Catalyst, 2002).
Due to developmental and organizational changes as well as societal factors, there has been a disparity in career development between men and women. Basically, no difference exist between men and women career growth, however, it is much complex due to societal gender barriers (O ’neil, Hopkins, & Bilimoria, 2008). Job-related achievement and fulfillment are associated with life problems for modern-day woman; hence women crave to prosper both personally and workwise. Yet, an organizational certainty faced by modern-day
organizational and competent women does not seem to have wedged up with their career choices and preferences of life.
These structural certainties continued previously when men workforces were the custom. However, there has been improvement in females’ achievements in education over the past years (International Labor Organization-ILO, 2016). Women were counted between 40 and 60 percent of the highest graduates in all European Union nations in 2012, records shown a persistent rise in females schooling than men (European Commission, 2016).
However, advancement in female’s education is not reflected similarly in the arena of job, especially where gender disparity exists (ILO, 2016). The absorption of males and females in diverse segments and professions is prevalent over nations, as continuing attributes that contribute to gender disparities in relation to quantity and the worth of careers (French & Strachan, 2015; ILO, 2016).
The role of women in the Ghanaian society cannot be underrated. They serve as fore bearer of the next generation and as creators and suppliers of goods and services especially in the traditional ages. Women in Ghana continue to play vital roles in the work force in modern ages. According to Ghana Statistical Service (2005, 2008), there has been a rise in female’s involvement in remunerated service over the past four years. In Ghana, out of the 64.7% of the female population, 48% are in paid jobs (GSS, 2015). But out of this only few are working in senior management or decision-making positions. Despite efforts by government advocating for gender equality, majority of men occupy top managerial and decision-making positions in Ghana (GSS, 2012). Indeed, the perceptions of women as being inferior to men abound in Ghanaian communities. For instance, the Akans have a proverb that goes like “if a woman buys a gun, it lies in the room of the man” This shows the perception of superiority of the man over the woman. Thus, these traditional perceptions continue to overcome people’s
attempt to ‘preserve’ the African culture or values which in turn justifies the subordination of women (Gyekye, 2012).
Wirth (2001) posits that despite the incredible achievements that women have attained by breaking into paid workforce and professional arenas, their pace of growth has been slower than that of a snail. Wirth (2001) describes this pace as slow and rough depending largely on the country and culture. Several studies have shown that, there is gender inequality in career success of women. The gendered attribute of organizational structures certifies females’ restricted entry to commanding positions in organizations. Conventionally, male qualities are largely associated through respectable organization performances than womanly qualities (Powell et al., 2002 as in O ’neil et al., 2008). Barriers enforced by these gendered societal settings and traditional gender role stereotypes have rendered career progression of females more complex. Character traits, enthusiasm, societal networking, organizational and career sustenance have been identified as factors that hinder people from having optimistic awareness and attitudes about their personal career success (Ng & Feldman, 2014). On the other hand, women are relatively underrepresented in paid jobs due to stereotypes and organizational biases, however, women perform better on their respective roles than men (Górska, 2016). Likewise, females devote fewer amount of time on salaried jobs than males. Also, the amount of household duties women and men perform, correspondingly, specifies that women carry the significant responsibilities for housekeeping and caregiving in double- income families (Hochschild,1989; Frey, 2001 as cited in Toth & Toth, 2011).
According to the International Labor Organization-ILO (2016), job-related achievements as well as fulfillment are associated with life problems for modern-day women; hence women crave to prosper both personally and workwise. Yet, organizational certainties faced by modern-day organizational and competent women do not seem to have taken up with their career choices and preferences of life. These structural certainties continue mainly
from the previous times when manly workers were the custom. However, there is a development in females’ educational accomplishments over the past years (International Labor Organization-ILO, 2016).
According to Ghana Country Gender Profile (2008), the officially, the commercial division hires insignificant section of the population. Thus, about 5 out of a hundred of women and 19 out of a hundred of men of the economically vigorous populace in 1997. Also, females made up of 50.1 % of the total employment –force and are vastly concerted in the agricultural areas. According to the report, 27.4 % of women engage in trade, 51.1 are into agriculture whereas 13.9 % are into manufacturing. Comparatively, twenty-one out of a hundred of the active womenfolk work economically as unpaid household workers in farming as to 9.6 of men. More so Ghana’s largest employer means is the informal sector. The sector mostly employs 80 % of men and 95 % of women. Averagely, womenfolk earned less than 76 % in wage employment than menfolk in 2002 and this leads to wage differentials.
Furthermore, male education for adult is 20% advanced than ladies with a considerable wider gap of 30 % in the Northern regions. Scholars have shown that socio-economic and social factors disturb girls’ education (Ghana Statistical Service 2006). Richardson (2000), career is inadequate and unsuitable concept, subjected to a conventional prejudice in perception and thought. However, the study projected reflections on how the individual makes personal meaning of work in life. Blustein (2001, 2006) also recognized that there is limited choice in the work both men and women undertake to provide for the family and themselves. He anticipated that we further cultivate a comprehensive psychology of work to address how matters of gender, societal recognition, family upbringing and traditional features influence career development. These features may also limit the variety of changes even for those with the privilege of choice.
Hall (1996) proposed that successful career is no more regarded as rising to the uppermost of the professional pyramid, but currently seen as a mental attainment exclusive to the person. Hall (1996) explained further that, the core ambition of career is attitudinal attainment, thus the sense of self-importance and individual achievement that originates after accomplishing one’s utmost significant objective in life, whether attainment, family pleasure or inner peace. Women’s career are affected by a larger variety of lifetime characters and have stronger influence on associations (O’Neil & Bilimoria, 2005). Female’s career success is influenced by some of these roles. For instance, gender role ideology and work life balance.
Becoming a companion and a mother depicts the traditional duty of a Ghanaian female in the community (Sefa-Dedeh & Canetto, 1992). Females are therefore required to marry and give birth. They are also accountable for all domestic tasks and baby-sitting.
Moreover, the female is again obliged to assist in family’s work such as farming, weaving and pottery when necessary. Their jobs were limited to the household and were basically unpaid (Sefa-Dedeh & Canetto, 1992). However, research on gender perception by Akotia and Anum (2012) concluded that, males ‘discernment on gender roles are static and modifies a little with fluctuations in schooling. Their study confirmed that advancement in education utters females ‘discernment on gender roles expressively but not males. Hence, gender role ideology may serve as a hindrance to women career.
