The impact of gender stereotype-related stress on female education managers: an education management perspective

𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The international tendencies regarding career changes result in the transmutation of social environments, which also imply a shift in gender roles. This paradigm shift effects females in particular, as the traditional female roles are changing: a process which is accelerated in South Africa by the introduction of gender equity legislation. The new legislation implies that the non-traditional work opportunities for women have increased in all sectors of employment and in particular in the education sector as 62.6% of the South African teachers' corps consist of women. Although the above mentioned changes could have positive effects, changes in the workplace could cause stress as a person's career is one of the greatest sources of stress. The above mentioned changes implies that more women will also hold education management positions and that more women will be subjected to career stress, which could negatively influence their productivity and performance. In addition to this, women are also subjected to strain caused by gender stereotyping as a result of patriarchal beliefs. Women seeking equity in the education management world, might constantly be confronted by stereotypical gender views which could enhance their stress levels and cause them to forfeit management efficiency. Due to a lack of profound research on the stress outcomes of female managers, especially in the field of education, this study aims at amplifying the existing body of knowledge on the impact of gender-related stress on female education managers to propose guidelines for coping with the potential negative impacts thereof. In order to achieve the above, this study commenced with a literature overview on the origin of gender roles and stereotypes and the effect of stress and gender stereotype-related stress on the performance and well-being of female education managers, as well as the management thereof. It was found that socialisation processes and outdated societal traditions gave rise to the stereotypical beliefs held by society and that those beliefs are inculcated by upbringing and reinforced by the school. The literature review revealed that stress is enhanced by gender stereotyping. In order to cope with the negative influence of stress, the organisation as well as the individual has a responsibility towards a stress alleviating programme which should include aspects such as training in management skills to increase self -esteem in order to fit into non-traditional occupations, to deal with female stereotyping and male chauvinism. Because the stress levels of female managers, their attitudes towards egalitarianism and their experiences of gender stereotypes, form the core of this study, empirical investigations, consisting of quantitative as well as qualitative investigations were undertaken. Six female education managers from diverse cultures and a variety of management levels were selected as participants for this study. The Occupational Stress Inventory was used to determine the stress levels of the participants and the Sex-Role-Egalitarianism questionnaire to monitor and understand their behaviour outcomes. Thereafter in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with the six female education managers to reveal the prejudice and agony they experience due to female stereotyping in the education sector. The participants revealed harsh examples of lack of respect, direct gender discrimination, misogyny, patriarchy, sexual and emotional harassment, and many more. They also revealed how these practices influence their efficiency as managers, their physical conditions and general well-being. In order to cope with stress, the participants made use of medication, alcohol, yoga and some exercising, but most of them found it difficult to manage their stress as they did not have the time to relax. In the last chapter of the study, the researcher formed a synthesis of the findings and indicated how female education managers were influenced by stereotyping and the impact it had on their stress levels and work performance. A stress management model was also provided for the empowerment of female education managers in order to curb the increasing burden of stress and thus cultivating an efficient and healthy education workforce. ___________________________________________________________________