The impact of domestic chores on the career progression of women in higher education : the case of the Durban University of Technology

Abstract

Recent research has shown that even though women have made some progress as compared to where they were twenty years ago, this progress has proven to be resistant to change in terms of higher level and rewarding positions (Turner, 2012; Hofmeyr and Mzobe, 2012; Botool and Sajid, 2013; Mouley, 2013). According to Boushey and Farrell (2013, p6), this lack of progress results from a lack of flexibility and unpredictable scheduling at the workplace. Others argue that career interruption for childbirth and rearing; domestic responsibilities; gender parities at the work place; organiza-tional structures; and policies that do not meet the needs of female employees affect career progress (Wallace and Smith, 2011, p. 3 and Chiloane-Tsoka, 2010, p. 6). The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to examine the nature of the progress of female employees of the Durban University of Technology, and the extent to which domestic responsibili-ties may be an impediment to such progress. Through a survey of the female employees’ perceptions of their progres-sion, the study adopts a feminist theoretical framework to argue that domestic chores are an obstacle to the career pro-gression of women in higher education. The study then recommends that more policies need to be put in place in order to improve the working conditions of women, and to ensure that there is effective monitoring and evaluation of the policies in place.