{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41986"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41986","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Exploring the inclusion of women in work-life policy- and practice-making and its influence on career-advancement decisions at a state-owned entity","abstract":"This study explored the experiences and perceptions of women employees' work-life integration, inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making, and its influence on their career-advancement choices at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), an operating division of Transnet Ltd, a State-Owned Entity in South Africa. The main research question was: “What role does inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making and subsequent work-life integration practices play for women employees when making career-advancement choices?” Vast literature is available on women in the workplace and work-life perceptions. However, there is little exploration of this topic within a State-Owned Entity setting, where women are affiliated to two distinctive groups, namely, the Bargaining Unit (trade unions with collective bargaining power) and Non-Bargaining Unit (management employees without collective bargaining power). The research was conducted using a multi-method qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women employees and managers of women employees to identify the discourses that construct their perceptions of women's inclusion in work-life policy- and practice- making, work-life experiences, and their influence on career-advancement choices. Also, selected policies were analysed to understand how these policies shaped work life and employment equity at the organisation. Some of the key findings of the study include: - Due to collective bargaining and resultant employee related policies, women in the Non- Bargaining Unit did not receive some of the same work-life benefits that their Bargaining Unit colleagues enjoyed. This indicates a ‘union or collective bargaining gap' – where women in the same organisation who have the same needs receive different benefits due to their collective bargaining status. - Participants expressed their desire to be present and meet their responsibilities in both the work and life spheres. This suggests a new construct of perhaps “work-life satisfaction”. - Family-supportive managers was found to be a key positive influence in participants work-life satisfaction. The study concludes with a praxis model, identifying positive elements that are in place at the organisation and suggesting initiatives to build on these to create an inclusive environment where women employees can influence work-life policy- and practice-making and make positive career-advancement choices at the organisation.","abstract_html":"This study explored the experiences and perceptions of women employees' work-life integration, inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making, and its influence on their career-advancement choices at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), an operating division of Transnet Ltd, a State-Owned Entity in South Africa. The main research question was: “What role does inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making and subsequent work-life integration practices play for women employees when making career-advancement choices?” Vast literature is available on women in the workplace and work-life perceptions. However, there is little exploration of this topic within a State-Owned Entity setting, where women are affiliated to two distinctive groups, namely, the Bargaining Unit (trade unions with collective bargaining power) and Non-Bargaining Unit (management employees without collective bargaining power). The research was conducted using a multi-method qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women employees and managers of women employees to identify the discourses that construct their perceptions of women's inclusion in work-life policy- and practice- making, work-life experiences, and their influence on career-advancement choices. Also, selected policies were analysed to understand how these policies shaped work life and employment equity at the organisation. Some of the key findings of the study include: - Due to collective bargaining and resultant employee related policies, women in the Non- Bargaining Unit did not receive some of the same work-life benefits that their Bargaining Unit colleagues enjoyed. This indicates a ‘union or collective bargaining gap' – where women in the same organisation who have the same needs receive different benefits due to their collective bargaining status. - Participants expressed their desire to be present and meet their responsibilities in both the work and life spheres. This suggests a new construct of perhaps “work-life satisfaction”. - Family-supportive managers was found to be a key positive influence in participants work-life satisfaction. The study concludes with a praxis model, identifying positive elements that are in place at the organisation and suggesting initiatives to build on these to create an inclusive environment where women employees can influence work-life policy- and practice-making and make positive career-advancement choices at the organisation.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nassar, Aneesa"],"institution":"Graduate School of Business (GSB)","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Swart-Opperman, Christina"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022","date_published":"2022","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:18Z","subjects":["Work-life satisfaction","Policies","Inclusion","Career","Transnet"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41986","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Swart-Opperman, Christina"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nassar, Aneesa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-10-08T08:13:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-10-08T08:13:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2022"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Graduate School of Business (GSB)"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis / Dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters","MPhil"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Work-life satisfaction","Policies","Inclusion","Career","Transnet"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41986"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study explored the experiences and perceptions of women employees' work-life integration, inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making, and its influence on their career-advancement choices at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), an operating division of Transnet Ltd, a State-Owned Entity in South Africa. The main research question was: “What role does inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making and subsequent work-life integration practices play for women employees when making career-advancement choices?” Vast literature is available on women in the workplace and work-life perceptions. However, there is little exploration of this topic within a State-Owned Entity setting, where women are affiliated to two distinctive groups, namely, the Bargaining Unit (trade unions with collective bargaining power) and Non-Bargaining Unit (management employees without collective bargaining power). The research was conducted using a multi-method qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women employees and managers of women employees to identify the discourses that construct their perceptions of women's inclusion in work-life policy- and practice- making, work-life experiences, and their influence on career-advancement choices. Also, selected policies were analysed to understand how these policies shaped work life and employment equity at the organisation. Some of the key findings of the study include: - Due to collective bargaining and resultant employee related policies, women in the Non- Bargaining Unit did not receive some of the same work-life benefits that their Bargaining Unit colleagues enjoyed. This indicates a ‘union or collective bargaining gap' – where women in the same organisation who have the same needs receive different benefits due to their collective bargaining status. - Participants expressed their desire to be present and meet their responsibilities in both the work and life spheres. This suggests a new construct of perhaps “work-life satisfaction”. - Family-supportive managers was found to be a key positive influence in participants work-life satisfaction. The study concludes with a praxis model, identifying positive elements that are in place at the organisation and suggesting initiatives to build on these to create an inclusive environment where women employees can influence work-life policy- and practice-making and make positive career-advancement choices at the organisation."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring the inclusion of women in work-life policy- and practice-making and its influence on career-advancement decisions at a state-owned entity"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Swart-Opperman, Christina"],"dc:creator":["Nassar, Aneesa"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-10-08T08:13:20Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-10-08T08:13:20Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2022"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study explored the experiences and perceptions of women employees' work-life integration, inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making, and its influence on their career-advancement choices at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), an operating division of Transnet Ltd, a State-Owned Entity in South Africa. The main research question was: “What role does inclusion in work-life policy- and practice-making and subsequent work-life integration practices play for women employees when making career-advancement choices?” Vast literature is available on women in the workplace and work-life perceptions. However, there is little exploration of this topic within a State-Owned Entity setting, where women are affiliated to two distinctive groups, namely, the Bargaining Unit (trade unions with collective bargaining power) and Non-Bargaining Unit (management employees without collective bargaining power). The research was conducted using a multi-method qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women employees and managers of women employees to identify the discourses that construct their perceptions of women's inclusion in work-life policy- and practice- making, work-life experiences, and their influence on career-advancement choices. Also, selected policies were analysed to understand how these policies shaped work life and employment equity at the organisation. Some of the key findings of the study include: - Due to collective bargaining and resultant employee related policies, women in the Non- Bargaining Unit did not receive some of the same work-life benefits that their Bargaining Unit colleagues enjoyed. This indicates a ‘union or collective bargaining gap' – where women in the same organisation who have the same needs receive different benefits due to their collective bargaining status. - Participants expressed their desire to be present and meet their responsibilities in both the work and life spheres. This suggests a new construct of perhaps “work-life satisfaction”. - Family-supportive managers was found to be a key positive influence in participants work-life satisfaction. The study concludes with a praxis model, identifying positive elements that are in place at the organisation and suggesting initiatives to build on these to create an inclusive environment where women employees can influence work-life policy- and practice-making and make positive career-advancement choices at the organisation."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41986"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher.department":["Graduate School of Business (GSB)"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:subject":["Work-life satisfaction","Policies","Inclusion","Career","Transnet"],"dc:title":["Exploring the inclusion of women in work-life policy- and practice-making and its influence on career-advancement decisions at a state-owned entity"],"dc:type":["Thesis / Dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters","MPhil"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:18Z"}