BARRIERS CONFRONTING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTORS: THE CASE OF DEMBA GOFFA WOREDA, GAMO GOFFA ZONE

Abstract

This study attempts to investigate barriers confronting women in leadership in public sectors with reference to Demba Goffa Woreda, Ethiopia. It takes into account strategies that can be used to enhance participation of women in leadership in public sectors based on the nature of the sectors. In order to achieve this purpose, descriptive survey design has been employed. The target population of the present study is 510 out of which 146 respondents have been selected through sample size determination. Questionnaire, structured interview, and focus group discussion were employed for data collection. Data has been analyzed with the help of SPSS version 21 by employing descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean and standard deviation), one sample t-test and multiple regressions. The findings reveal that the current status of women’s participation in leadership is high in certain areas and they are found to be department heads, process owners, team leaders, and co-coordinators in the public sectors. The findings also reveal that employee perception related to barrier (b =0.250, p<0.05) with R2=0.62(62%) is significant and positively related to women leadership. This indicates that 62% perceive perception of employee as the main barrier to women leadership when compared to the other variables. This is due to the fact that women get too emotional and frustrated when challenge encounters them. Strategies like reserving quota for women which will promote women leadership are important in enhancing participation of women in leadership. Keywords: women; leadership; glass ceiling