| dc.description.abstract | Across the world, there is increasing acceptance that inclusion of women in strategic
decision
-
making positions is important if companies are to increase productivity. In
Kenya, the number of women graduating from universities over the last 15 years has
increased tremendously. This has translated to an increase in the number of women
entering the labour market with experience levels equal to that of men. Consequently, it
wa
s expected that the ambitious ones would eventually move into the executive suite at
the same pace as men. However, something went amiss.
Although corporations claim to be institutions in which advancement up the corporate
ladder is based on performance a
nd skill, the reality is that despite men and women's
similar educational attainment, ambition and commitment to their careers, men generally
progress faster and attain higher
-
status positions compared to women. In an attempt to
reverse the trend, women ha
ve actively sought mentors and sponsors just as men but have
still failed to break through the glass ceiling at the same rate as men (Carter & Silva,
2010). According to Carter & Silva, (2010) this gap could be explained by the concept of
sponsorship in wh
ich women are under sponsored relative to their male peers. This study
therefore sought to focus on women in senior management in listed banks at the Nairobi
Securities Exchange (NSE) to substantiate the role played by sponsorship in their
advancement to k
ey decision
-
making positions
A two
-
stage qualitative approach was employed for this study. The first step involved
interviews with key informants who were women retired from senior positions in listed
banks and persons who had served in boards of listed b
anks. The second stage involved
interviewing all identified women in the top two tiers of key decision making positions in
listed banks. There after purposive sampling was used to select three cases that
underwent in
-
depth case study to clearly establish t
he role of sponsorship in their career
advancement.
A variety of data sources were used for this study. Semi
-
structured interviews were
conducted face
-
to
-
face with the senior women in management and people whom the
women in senior management are well known
to. Secondary data from professional
membership associations such as the Kenya Bankers Association was also reviewed. The
data was then triangulated to increase validity of the findings.
The data collected was then categorised according to identifiable th
emes and patterns.
Ideas and concepts providing descriptive labels for each category were then coded for
analysis, examining relationships between them and comparing them with pre
-
existing
literature and theory The major findings were that sponsorship is key to the advancement of women. Women,
besides delivering sterling performance need sponsors to advocate for them and make
their achievements visible in high-level meetings, which they are not privy to. Having a
sponsor also proved invaluable in enabling women to take up daring roles and risks as
someone provided cover in the event something went wrong.
The findings of this study will contribute to a wider appreciation of the concept of
sponsorship in increasing the representation of women in key decision-making positions.
It will also serve to illuminate the path of women in middle management looking at
breaking through the glass ceiling | en_US |
