Women in management course developed at Massey

Press, 25 August 1988, Page 16

Women in management course developed at Massey

New developments are under way in post-gradu-ate studies in Women and Management at Massey University.

Now in the Business Studies Faculty as a special topic, it is taught by a lecturer in Management Systems, Murna Thomson. The course draws students from Masterate courses in Business Studies. Seven students enrolled for the option. Massey University is leading the way in generating some new entry points for women into the

management “fraternity,” as well as acting as a stimulus for further research in the area. While some universities

offer short-term courses for women in management, Massey is offering a degree creditable option. '

New Zealand women lag significantly behind their overseas counterparts in their occupation of senior managerial positions, says Murna Thomson.

While women seem to have increasing opportunities on many fronts, examination of statistics on women in senior management suggests otherwise.

“Successes are often highlighted in the media and suggest equal opportunity initiatives are now having an impact.

“The ‘first woman’ here and ‘first woman’ there phenomenon is still newsworthy and lulls us into a sense of progress that a closer examination of the figures doesn’t bear out.”

Research suggests that “a tangled web of influences” exists which affects a woman’s progress through a career in management. “Women are frequently denied the chance of selection and promotion on the basis of worth, in both skills and potential. Employers are too often blinkered out by out-dated attitudes,” claims Murna Thomson.

The Business Faculty at

Massey has always encouraged women to take management courses at the undergraduate level, she says. However, given the existing constraints upon women in management, their effect in the workplace may be limited.

“We need to do more research on New Zealand problems, and to continue to develop ways to ‘unblock’ organisations so that women’s potential is fully utilised.”