Zambezia (2003), XXX (i)Equal Opportunities in EducationalManagement in Institutions of HigherLearning: An Agenda for GenderLINDA CHIPUNZADepartment of Linguistics, University of ZimbabweAbstractTlie article discusses the issue of gender disparities witliin education which havebeen long standing in many parts of the world. The discussion centres on the needfor educational management boards to balance the selection and ranking ofadministrative-cum-inanagerial staff bif practising non discrimination and byensuring equal riglits in the appropriate steps to liiglter positions of management,based on the notion of meritocracy and gender representation. Relevant exampleshave been drawn from the Zimbalnuean context.Concerns about gender disparities within education have been long standingin many parts of the world (Davies 1990, Dorsey et al 1989, Gray 1989,Shakeshaft 1887, Saint 1992). Major differences of status and position, havedivided men and women teachers throughout. Recently, the issue of equityin educational administration has become of increasing concern toeducational policy makers, especially in developing countries. For example,in a review of the national planning documents of a number of countries,Davies (1990) found that inequality in the workplace was a key considerationof their governments. As she noted, although most developing countriesrefer to equality and egalitarianism in their policy documents, they havedone very little to fulfil these noble objectives. In Zimbabwe, for instance,teaching has remained a male dominated profession, as shown by the factthat at 2003, the 15% women secondary school heads in the country weredrawn from only 42% women secondary school teachers. The figures atprimary school level were even more disproportionate, with only 5% of theschool heads being female, drawn from a 50% female teaching force nation-wide (Zimbabwe Government 1994).Within the organisational structures and processes of the educationalinstitutions themselves, gender plays a much larger role than is often realised.Indeed, until recently when women began to speak out loudly about theirconcerns about being marginalised, gender issues in education in thedeveloping countries remained largely un-addressed and, therefore,unresolved. Because of the growing agitation of the issues by women, it isno longer possible for governments to ignore them. That the marginalisation2 Equal Opportunities in Educational Managementof women in educational institutions requires urgent official attention isshown in a recent United Nations report on the status of the world'swomen in educational organisations, which notes that women are poorlyrepresented among policymakers and decision takers. Not surprisingly,women are increasingly dissatisfied with just the opportunity to work andhave begun to demand representation at the highest levels of decision-making structures in education.Meanwhile, society encourages men and women to behave in specificways according to its norms and regards any deviance as inappropriateand unacceptable although, according to Gray (1989: 39), it is quite naturalto be fully androgynous. Consequently, there is resentment when rolescommonly held to be appropriate to one sex are assumed by members ofanother. This is especially true in education where some school headshippositions are considered appropriate for one sex rather than the other. Forinstance, it is normally assumed that nursery, infant, and primary schoolsshould have women heads, and secondary schools (including even all girls-schools) and Further Education Colleges 'should' have men heads. InZimbabwe, for instance, only three of the country's 15 Teacher EducationColleges were headed by women as at 2003. Significantly, two of the threecolleges had male Deputy Heads.Meanwhile, there were barely any women in the top administrativestructures of the country's 10 Polytechnics and 9 Universities, except forone woman who was a deputy head of a technical college. Of the country's9 universities, only one, a Distance Education /Open University, was headedby a woman but only in an acting position. Even among full time academicstaff in Further Education Colleges, women were in the minority. At thecountry's largest and oldest university, the University of Zimbabwe, forexample, out of an academic staff complement of around 1 200 in 2003, only120 were women and, out of these, only 20 held management positions, asdocumented below:Position Number of Positions No. of Women in Office0002105001Vice ChancellorPro-Vice ChancellorRegistrarExecutive DeansDepartmental ChairpersonsDirectors of Centres/InstitutesDeans of StudentsChaplainWardens of Residences1111174151111L. Chipunza 3As is clear from the above, women are very poorly represented in thedecision making administrative structures of the University of Zimbabwe.The question that arises is why this is so.A number of explanations have been put forward. For instance, Subbaraoet al (1994) have argued that one of the reasons why women are under-represented in top positions in educational institutions is that fewer womenthan men apply for top administrative jobs. This claim is open to debate aseven in countries where centralised posting is the norm, as in Britain andFrance, the same gender imbalances still hold (Shakeshaft 1989). The otherreason is that many women have to leave work to have children and,therefore, essentially, are seen as renouncing their interest in a career.Lastly, they maintain that, because women bear the bulk of domesticresponsibilities, it has generally been felt that they could not cope with theadded responsibilities that would be expected of them as managers anddecision-makers. Such attitudes have tended to limit women's participationin positions of power and authority, particularly in conservative societies,such as Zimbabwe, that are deeply rooted in traditional cultures (Saint1992).In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, the marginalisation ofwomen has its roots in the school system itself that has, traditionally,treated the boy child differently to the girl child. Moreover, unequal accessto secondary education in much of sub-Saharan Africa and, indeed, the restof the developing world has severely disadvantaged women in their effortsto achieve professional advancement. In addition, according to Shakeshaft(1989), the girl child is further disadvantaged by the educational system'sinability to cater for their special needs in the curriculum, to enable them tobuild self-confidence and to raise their career aspirations.Equal Opportunities: A Dream or a Possibility?In Zimbabwe, as in many other developing and developed countries, thereare no longer any legal barriers to equality in the teaching profession.Before independence in 1980, black women came fourth in a hierarchy ineducational employment privileges in which white, Asian, coloured andblack male counterparts enjoyed better employment terms over white,Asian and coloured female counterparts, and black male counterparts,respectively. At independence, the incoming Zimbabwe governmentimmediately established policies to redress these inequalities. Obviously,not enough was done, as recent demands by women for equal opportunitiesin the educational sector, reflected in the Commission of Inquiry intoEducation and Training Report (1999: 173), reveal. The problem thatcontinues to challenge policy-makers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere is how todevelop an education service that is free from bias, stereotyping, anddiscrimination in the face of deeply ingrained cultural and religious attitudes.4 Equal Opportunities in Educational ManagementIt also stands to reason that men are not about to give up their privilegesfor the sake of high sounding ideals. Where there is a semblance of equalopportunity, as dictated by either affirmative action or the quota system,men continue to assume greater responsibility for the things that matter. InZimbabwe, for instance, national educational policies, including issuesrelating to the curriculum and examinations, continue to be determined bymen, while women are normally assigned to counselling, hospitality, andsupport services which are 'more in keeping with their feminine nature'(Davies 1990). Such allocations can only lead to a spiral of under-evaluationwhere women are not afforded a chance to demonstrate administrativecompetence and where men's 'natural' leadership ability is givenprominence. Thus, according to Cockburn (1991), educational managementremains, in men's minds, a male hierarchy with women in it. Happily formen, the status quo where men continue to hold onto their positions isretained.Where this has been allowed to erode slightly, for example in thesecondary schools in Zimbabwe, it has only been assisted by the fact thatrecruitment and promotion decisions are always made two or three stepsabove the grade at which the appointment is to be made. It is these 'bigger'men, whose own positions are not threatened who, if necessity compelsthem, will make the decision to appoint some women colleagues toinfluential positions. This perhaps explains why in Zimbabwe, in the HigherEducation Management Structure, there are very few women occupyingany meaningful positions. For example, according to the figures issued bythe National Council for the Ministry of Higher Education and Technology2000, the Minister of Higher Education, his Deputy and two of the fourUnder-Secretaries for Higher Education are men. There is, at 2003, nowoman Regional or Deputy Regional Director of Education. Of the threeDirectors of Higher Education, only one is a woman; of the Eight DeputyDirectors of Higher Education, only one is a woman; and of all the officersholding administrative positions at Head Office, only 7% are women. Thus,it appears, the equality policy agenda stated in the Commission of Inquiryinto Higher Education and Training Report (1999: 137), which states that"Zimbabwe ... upholds equity in the enjoyment of rights to both men andwomen including participation in education" might be a hollow claim onthe part of the authorities.Male Attitudes and ReactionsThe statement that 'a master should not serve under a mistress' (Oram inAcher (1989), continues to hold true in educational management, for attemptsin Zimbabwe to introduce equal opportunities for all have met withresistance from men. What this shows is that women should not expectmen to relinquish their privileged positions voluntarily. As Oram (1989)L. Chipunza 5notes, often, men resent women's advances. This resentment manifestsitself in a number of forms. For instance, women have found some of theirmale subordinate unwilling to accept their authority, with some, suddenlybecoming awkward, or worse still, creating undercurrents that underminethe authority of women in positions of management. Very successful womenare often made targets of hostile comments. When a successful womanmakes a mistake, fails, or has a setback, Phillips (1987) remarks that there ismuch celebration.Men, it has also been observed, readily refer to the highest rankingwomen as 'tokens', supposing that they are in their position, not becausethey are competent, but because they are 'equity flagships' (Cockburn 1991:66). Often, it has been charged that successful women got to where they areby 'fluttering their eyelashes' at male superiors (Spencer et nl 1987: 43). Suchattitudes are indeed a cause for concern and efforts must be made to weedthem out.A Case for WomenGender considerations in school management should be taken more seriouslyas the selection of one head over another may have far-reaching implicationsfor both the school and children, whether male or female. One suchconsideration should be the need for gender balance in management. If allchildren are to be taught in an environment and atmosphere that encouragesthem to grow up and develop in what Gray (1989) calls 'that commonpsychological androgyny that all children share ...,' then the policies ofmanagement must reflect the pluralistic composition of society.In fact, the gender perspective allows us to take a more creative view oftin management role, for, if schools are to be viewed as 'nurturing'in-titutions (Gray 1989), where children receive support, understanding,and encouragement, then they require a form of management that is genderbalanced. Davii -1 I iW0) suggests why a more feminine style of managementmay be more appropriate for schools. She claims that feminine styles ofmanagement, which more often than not include gentility, nurturing, andunderstanding qualities, are more accepting of differences than male styles.Female styles, it is further argued, are also more tolerant of deviance, thusallowing room for personal growth and the natural development of children.Cockburn (1991) argues further in favour of women in managerial positionsby stating that women are especially competent, diligent, industrious, andpractical and would therefore make better managers because, ironically,their experience of running households, a role that has previously oftenbeen seen as standing in the way of many a woman's career, is actually anasset in terms of managerial skills.Another point made in favour of women is that it is in the interest of girlsfor women to hold high office in educational institutions. It is also in the6 Equal Opportunities in Educational Managementinterest o\ balanced education as a whole for both sexes to manage education.Recent studies in Uganda, Nigeria, and Swaziland on specific institutionalinitiatives for women in education appear to have produced a positiveimpact on women's participation at all levels.More to the point, gender analysis within educational management theoryor practice should not be about identifying fundamental sex differences inadministration. It should not be about providing females access to maledominated or male defined occupational hierarchies, either. A nation's bestpotential minds, regardless of gender, should be given the opportunity forfull development. The argument should, in fact, be about identifying whatboth male and female administrators can bring to education. The argumentshould really be about a management ethos that is not based on gender, buton the total individual and his/her potential. For management in education,as indeed anywhere else, has nothing to do with the sex of the incumbent,but the capabilities and characteristics of the individual, male or female. Totake the argument even further, women should not be made to feel thatthey are fighting to join a predominantly male hierarchy. The issue here isthat of an ill-suited educational management framework that acts to excludewomen from decision-making. It is this structure, contends Davies (1990:78), that all concerned must turn their attention to and not 'attempt tochange women into surrogate men'.Strategies for ChangeIn the meantime, however, while men might want to ponder over a systemwhich has, for long, allowed them more and better opportunities thanwomen, women, on their part, would do well to rally behind one anotherand struggle to 'tip the hurdles' (Gunter 1992: 19) in their favour and alterthe social contracts that have for so long held them back. Thus, the newagenda for change can only be 're-written by women in their own hand'(Cockburn 1991: 63) and it is only they who can ensure that the fight forequal rights moves from being a mere addendum to oratory, by the powersthat be, to reality.Strategies for genuine opportunities, and not the mere inclusion of femalesin decision making, ought to be considered seriously under three maincategories, namely, positive discrimination or forceful legislation, training,and institutional development. In the first category, apart from the legislationand the quota system that are already in operation in most developingcountries, women, together with other concerned parties, need to guardagainst a more sinister discrimination which seeks to discriminate onewoman against another. An example of this would be where, during aninterview, women are subjected to discriminatory questions related to theirgender, for instance, questions related to marital status, the likelihood ofL. Chipunza. 7maternity, and ages of their children. Women need to be aware that theycan and should register their objection during interviews, regardless of thefact that they may prejudice their chances because a registered objectionadds weight to the women's campaign to be taken seriously.The second area to tackle is that of training. Efforts should be directed atboth the women themselves and selection boards. Davies (1990) and Dorsey,Gaidzanwa and Mupawose (1989) suggest that women should beencouraged to attend professional development courses, which are extremelyuseful for their struggle. In the past, women have felt unable to attendbecause training is, more often than not, conducted away from work places,thus, they missed out on the benefits of professional development training,including confidence building and self-socialisation aspects, which helpdevelop a feeling of power and confidence in the training participants.As for the selection boards, re-orientation in the form of the type ofquestions asked at an interview, the composition of the interviewing panels,and a re-assessment of the idea of career profiles needs to be carried out,particularly since, for a number of reasons beyond their control, mostwomen do not have unbroken service records. Already on the continent,efforts to expand the number of women managers in African universitieshave received support from a recent initiative coordinated by the Associationof Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Theinitiative seeks to provide a range of professional training and supportservices to women occupying administrative positions in Commonwealthuniversities. As this small group of women is assisted in their professionaladvancement, it is hoped that they will be able to dismantle the variousbarriers that now impede women's access to managerial positions withinhigher education institutions (World Bank Papers 1994).The third strategy for genuine equal opportunities in educationaladministration derives from within the institutions of higher learningthemselves. Mckenna (1992) suggests that women should be encouraged tobecome more assertive and refuse to accept their subordination as inevitable.Both Cockburn (1991) and Spendiff (1992) remind women not to expectmen to relinquish their privileged position voluntarily, but for them to,where possible, assume an extra-ordinary degree of responsibility andinitiative so that it becomes impossible not to notice their talent. For thepresent, it is lamentable that women everywhere have to work twice ashard as their male counterparts in order to achieve the same level ofrecognition. This is all the more reason why women professionals shouldinvest their energy in combating these in-built disadvantages that theyhave to face in the field of education administration and elsewhere.Colleges and universities could also be asked to produce an action planin relation to gender equality. This would compel the relevant authoritiesto confront the gender issue more than they do currently. Yet another8 Equal Opportunities in Educational Managementobvious strategy for change is raising the people's awareness of genderissues and the need to strive for gender equality in all sectors of life. 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