An exploration of leadership identity and intersectionality through selected life stories of Black women in the South African Public Service

Abstract

Using the life stories of Black women employed by the Department of Employment and Labour, the study explores leadership identity and role congruity through the lenses of intersectionality and post-colonial feminism. Demographically, Black women constitute the majority of women within the senior management service and as such may have the biggest influence on a gendered leadership identity for the Public Service. However, the study investigates how women’s life stories influence the meaning they attach to their gender, race and ethnicity as contributing to their leadership identity and role congruity. Despite the steady progress made in terms of equity representation there is no understanding of how and if Black women in the Department have adapted their leadership identity, what challenges they have experienced and how these challenges could lead to a more gendered leadership understanding. There is a need to explore how the experiences of pre-1994, patriarchy and the triple intersectionality of gender, race and ethnicity affected Black women in senior positions in becoming the leaders that they are, and how those experiences manifest in their leadership interactions. Coupled with understanding the Department’s leadership culture and the expectation placed on women leaders, is the necessity to determine whether it is congruent with the leadership identity of Black women. The tightrope between agency and communion in the workplace is analysed in light of the notion that when women behave outside the gender roles, they are perceived in a negative manner and can suffer prejudice. Thus, the study aims to explore the influence of these variables on the leadership identity of Black women in a comprehensive manner.