Factors affecting women's promotion to top managerial positions in Sudan

This study was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, to the Population Council's West Asia and North Africa (WANA) Regional Office in Cairo. It was conducted in eighteen institutions; ten from the public sector and eight from the private sector. It investigated the challenges facing working women in order to be promoted to top managerial levels in Sudan and aimed at identifying working women's position in their formal institutions compared to men. The research was oriented to figure out the measures and criteria for promotion up the hierarchy. It also attempted to highlight the factors that affect women's promotion, pinpointing whether it is affected by socio-cultural, attitudinal or institutional factors, as well as to investigate how women perceive their promotion to top managerial levels. A sample of twenty two interviewees (fifteen women employees and seven men employees) from top managerial levels in the public and private sectors, as well as ten case studies were selected purposively. In depth interviews were carried out to collect primary data. The study revealed that women's promotion is negatively affected by socio-cultural factors, and that high qualifications and skills requirements are not the solely determinants for women's promotion in institutions. It also confirmed that women are more job-focused than career-focused, beside that they are often not aware of the strategic importance of the decisions they make related to their career development. However, the study concluded that there is a relatively positive change in women's promotion to top managerial levels and they became more oriented towards attaining their rights. Keywords: Gender, promotion, management, top managerial positions, Sudan, women's development
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Introduction The involvement of women in economic activities has been an important issue, as it is central and basic to their empowerment. Through years, a [...]