WOMEN LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN THE CASE OF ETHIOPIAN ELECTRIC UTILITY: TRENDS AND EMERGING PATTERNS

Abstract

All over the world, women encounter inter wined problems that hinder them from attaining leadership positions and maintain the leadership positions that they have already acquired and various factors have been identified as reasons to such situations of women leaders. With the ultimate goal of identifying women leadership challenges in Ethiopia as well as in the Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU), this thesis based itself on the baseline fact that there exists an imbalance between women and men leaders/managers as the leadership positions are dominantly occupied by male leaders and gender blind system. Accordingly, this study has identified practical women leadership challenges in the case of EEU. Additionally, the study also gave due attention to trends and emerging patterns in EEU which are becoming obstacles for women in managerial positions in the company. In order to meet these objectives, qualitative research methods were used through employing interview questions, questionnaires, observation, focus group discussion (FGD) and desk review as methods of data collection. Hence, non-probability purposive sampling was used to select the respondents and discussants of the study. The findings of this study thus revealed that there exists a huge gender imbalance between men and women managers and women are highly underrepresented in the top and middle level managerial positions in the company. Educational gap, socio-cultural attitude; gender insensitive organizational culture, lack of organizational supportive system, gender based violence and company recruitment and promotion practice are the major factors for women leadership challenges identified by this study. As a result of these situations, women in the company are highly discouraged to assume and to stay in managerial positions and consequently the company missed the opportunity of having good representation of women in managerial positions and is experiencing poor customer satisfaction. In order to mitigate these challenges, the company should establish a responsive system that meaningfully enhances women’s representation in the top and middle level managerial positions. Accordingly, the company needs to strictly implement affirmative action at top and middle managerial levels, use quota system and as well as clearly needs to set the gender sensitive criteria in recruitment, selection, promotion and transfer of employees at managerial positions. Moreover, the company should put in place a strong system that is responsive enough to the burdens of top and middle level women managers and that fights against gender based violence in the company.