Perceived Impact of Culture on the Progress of Women as School Leaders in South Africa

The advancement of women as leaders in socio-economic and political sectors remains a challenge worldwide. In the South African education sector, although the low participation of women in leadership positions is well acknowledged, there lacks a clear and detailed explanation of the challenges of this reality. Drawing from in-depth interviews conducted with 52 participants across the Gauteng Province Department of Education, an exploratory research design was adopted in this article to explore how culture serves as one of the basic challenges faced by aspiring women leaders. The study found that cultural norms and beliefs made women's leadership difficult and served as a gatekeeper to their ascendency to leadership positions. Culture sustains patriarchal tendencies and stereotypes that continue to be barriers to women leaders and aspiring women leaders. The study proposes the roll-out of transformational leadership at the departmental level to mobilise the promotion of female leaders within schools.