THE PERCEIVED NATURE AND EXTENT OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN BOTSWANA
Abstract: Workplace conditions for male and female teaching professionals in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges were analysed to assess whether the profession favours men over women, whether male and female teachers differ in their affective orientation toward work and whether they differ in their valuation of workplace conditions. The results showed that moderate levels of discrimination in recruitment characterize the teaching profession. Group mean comparisons utilising t-tests showed that, although both men and women reported moderate levels of discrimination, female teachers were significantly higher in reporting discrimination during hiring but equal to men in discrimination in the workplace.
Results for gender differences in workplace conditions showed that female teachers substantially differ from men only in eight of 19 workplace conditions analysed. Female teachers were significantly lower in upward communication and task significance (the intrinsic rewards); in pay (extrinsic reward) and in grievance procedures (social support condition) but substantially higher in the four stresses of work overload, role ambiguity, role conflict and sexual harassment. Women were also higher in participation in decision-making. Concerning affective orientations toward work, female teachers were substantially lower in job satisfaction but higher in organizational commitment and intent to stay in the teaching profession. Overall, both males and females were shown to value workplace conditions highly. It was concluded that, although women teaching professionals do not encounter high levels of disadvantages in their jobs, they are not yet equal partners with their male counterparts.
The subject of gender equality, broadly defined, has become a global concern (Bradshaw and Wallace 1996; UNDP 1998). This is clearly indicated by the United Nations Decade (1975-1985), which culminated in the Nairobi Conference of 1985 and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. Moreover, in recognition of the persistent gender inequalities in the world, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on 18 December 1979. Member states, among others, agreed to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment to ensure the same rights, based on equality of men and women. In the developing countries, gender inequality is now receiving much attention relative to the period predating the Nairobi and the Beijing Conferences (Kibwana 1995). The problem of gender inequality is compounded further by the existence of very limited legal structures that support equality between the sexes (Hughes and Mwiria 1989; Kibwana 1995; Miller and Yeager 1994). There are several concerns at the heart of the gender equality issue in developing countries. For instance, access to and ownership/control of economic resources, the distribution of household duties, participation in decision-making at home and in other important policy making institutions, participation in the labour force and justice in the workplace once women join the labour market, access to education, political involvement, and access to positions of authority are some of these concerns.
1.1 Problem of the Study
The existence of gender-based discrimination in the workplace is as old as women's entry into what was once a male domain - the labour market. Today's workplace is a permutation of a pattern of gender differentiated work experiences, occupations, and rewards that has prevailed much longer than the era of industrial capitalism. Women face a number of disadvantages that include often being paid less than men even where they have comparable education (skills) and experience, having less promotional chances and limited access to positions of authority, and being concentrated in particular types of jobs, usually lower status unskilled or semi-skilled service jobs. According to the 1995 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, for example, in developing countries, women still constitute less than a seventh of administrative and managerial personnel. Women's capacity to participate equally in the work force in some situations is seriously undermined by a persistent sexual division of labour in the employment sector (Young 1984). According to Young (1984), the family is the basis for gender inequality. Arguably, the family socializes the male and female sexes to assume roles in society that are differentially valued in favour of male roles. However, he argues that the state colludes in the production of a gendered labour force by permitting fundamental inequalities to persist in both the domestic and public spheres.
Gender discrimination in the workplace spans both private sector and public sector labour markets. In Africa, where the public sector remains a dominant employer, for example, the Civil Services are riddled with differential treatment of male and female employees (Blunt and Popoola 1985; Sharma 1993). While Blunt and Papoola (1985) consider the public service to be characterized by gender insensitivity, Sharma (1993) points out that although the ideal public service is supposed to adhere to ethics governed by the principles of rationality, neutrality, equity, justice and accountability, in reality it often falls short of meeting these ideals in many respects. The Botswana public service, of which the teaching professionals are an integral part, is no exception. Although documentation by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) remains silent on gender discrimination in the public sector in the country, what happens here is not different from what happens elsewhere in Africa among what Blunt and Popoola (1985) describe as corrupt civil services. The existent mainly (macro-level) literature points to inequalities that are specific to the labour market. Women, for example, are at a disadvantage in terms of access to employment opportunities. They experience limited career advancement and suffer sexual harassment and intimidation, among others, in the workplace (Botswana Government 1995; Mannathoko 1995; United Nations and Botswana Government 1998; UNDP 1998).
With specific reference to the teaching profession in particular, gender discrimination has been identified in areas such as career advancement (Bhusumane 1993; Mannathoko 1995) and access to positions of governance and decision-making (United Nations and Botswana Government 1998). Female teachers are liable to sexual harassment and physical and psychological abuse (Botswana Government 1995). However, despite the documentation of gender discriminations in the teaching profession by mainly macro-level data, there exists no comprehensive study specific to the profession that provides the type of micro-level data that are necessary for an in-depth understanding of this social phenomenon. The existing macro-level data though valuable, they are both sparse and incomplete. This study is designed to circumvent this dilemma by providing micro-level data that are specific to the teaching profession. Such data, it is hoped, will facilitate a more complete understanding of the nature and extent of gender inequalities in the teaching profession and the processes producing them.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
This study is designed with three objectives. First, it provides micro-level data that would facilitate a more complete understanding of the nature and extent of gender inequalities and the processes producing them in the modern (formal) workplace in Botswana. More specifically, it focuses on perceived gender discrimination among teaching professionals in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. The study seeks to answer the question: Does the teaching profession give advantages to males over females? That is, do male and female teachers experience comparable or differential treatment in terms of recruitment, participation in decision-making, promotions, opportunities for professional growth, pay, assignment of tasks, and cooperation of supervisors, among others? To this end, descriptive data on the perceptions of women and men in the teaching profession were collected and analysed.
A second objective of the study is to test for gender differences in job satisfaction, professional commitment, organizational commitment and intent to stay in the teaching profession by comparing the mean differences with a view to deducing whether perceived levels in gender discrimination may affect the levels of these employee affective orientations. The third and final objective of the study is to answer the question: Do male and female teachers value the same workplace conditions? To do so, the study compares male and female mean scores in the importance attached to the various workplace conditions studied.
1.3 Justification of the Study
Conducting the study is important for two reasons. First, the study is expected to make a theoretical contribution to the study of the educational institution as a labour market. This would go one step toward doing away with the impediment to the understanding of the magnitude of gender inequality in developing countries, which is the lack of `...valid, reliable, timely, culturally relevant and internationally comparable data' (Adhiambo-Odual 1995, ix; Nzomo 1995, 65). Secondly, it has implications for the development of policy to guide employment relations in the teaching profession in particular and in other work organizations in Botswana where gender-based discriminations may exist.
Any form of gender discrimination in the workplace, whether it affects men or women, is problematic and needs attention. It denies officers who qualify opportunities for training, promotion and career development. This, in turn, leads to lack of motivation and low productivity thereby undermining the very goal of the employing firm - to enhance productivity and delivery of services. To eradicate such discrimination calls for a clear understanding of its nature and extent. This study will contribute significant knowledge (ideas or information) that could become quite useful in the formulation and effective implementation of employment relations for the eradication of gender based discriminations in the teaching profession in Botswana. By examining perceptions about gender discrimination in terms of various structural elements of the educational institution, it will be possible to identify those aspects of the teaching profession for which change might be expected to improve working conditions for females. This, in turn, might boost worker satisfaction and commitment to the profession thereby inducing a more effective delivery of services to students. This is particularly important considering that the education system in Botswana has been increasingly criticised for being ineffective and for producing substandard graduates. In addition, teaching professionals comprise a significant proportion of public sector employees and any improvements in their workplace conditions would constitute a major step forward in the elimination of gender-based discriminations from the sector as a whole.
