Work-life Balance Challenges Faced by Female Leaders at South African Universities

Description

Page: 564-572

Maribe Thakgatso Theresa¹, Mabasa Fumani Donald², and Maluka Harriet Rivalani³ (Department of Business Management, University of Limpopo, South Africa^1,3 and Department of ​Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, South Africa²)

In the African culture, women’s roles involved raising children, cooking, and cleaning, but today, women have changed this and made a mark in the corporate world by occupying leadership positions. However, the world of work is changing, which has brought too many challenges to women in leadership at institutions of higher learning, requiring them to balance their personal and professional lives. There are a lot of things that cause work-life balance challenges, which reduce effective performance of women in leadership positions. The main purpose of this research is to examine work-life balance challenges that women in leadership come across at institutions of higher learning. The research is qualitative in nature. The sample size of 16 has been selected and evaluated using Semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Later, based on interviews, 4 themes emerged from the research findings: Failing relationships, child labour, scarcity of family time, and scarcity of attending gatherings. The review of the findings contributes to the literature by recommending a concerted effort from university leadership, policymakers, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and society at large. Women in leadership should also take ownership of their work-life imbalance by setting boundaries and limitations on time spent on their work.