The influence of cultural African traditions and power relations on senior women leaders in education district offices

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the understudied topic of women’s leadership in education district offices. Despite
government legislation, women are still under-represented in senior leadership positions in education. They are
confronted with discriminatory power relations and insubordination that impacts their leadership. We used a
qualitative methodology and African feminist theory to frame the study. Two important themes emerged from
the analysis of the data: both cultural African traditions and power relations impact women negatively. We also
learned that the women experienced respect and cooperation from colleagues (particularly males) given
relationships forged while holding previous leadership roles. Their ability to reflect on past experiences
contributed significantly to their self-confidence and to their feeling successful in their new posts