The MDI published a research report on Women in Top Management in The Gambia in August 2000.

The report is on sale for D100.00. All proceeds from the sales go towards the MDI research fund. If you would like to buy a copy, you can contact Mrs Amie Janneh-Faal at the MDI on telephone extension 43.

Summary of the findings

Women in top management is a relatively new phenomenon in The Gambia, and though there are certain women in very high-profile positions, such as the Vice President, Mrs Isatou Njie-Saidy, and the MDI's Director General, Mrs Fatou Jabang, - this country has a very long way to go before women will have equal status to men in the workplace.

The report looked at the opportunities and constraints facing women in management. And from the outset the researchers were confronted with how few women are actually in management positions. The original intent was to survey three women in top management positions in each government department but the researchers soon discovered that there weren't enough women in such positions. So the survey group had to be extended to all management levels. The same applied to the NGO and parastatal sectors but not to the same extent. Most significantly, over 90 percent of women top managers surveyed had been in their positions for less than five years, and over one-third had been in position for only one year, which again emphasis the point that women top managers is relatively new.

Of course, women have not had the same access to education as men. However, the report shows that education is not the only force preventing women from accessing management positions. The Gambia's 1993 Housing and Population census shows that there were more men in legislative and managerial positions without any education at all than women in this same category of occupation with university degrees. So if men without any education at all are given the opportunity to hold top positions in The Gambia, then why aren't women given this same opportunity?

The research showed that several factors were impeding women's advancement, including workplace policy, workplace attitudes and women's role in the home. Workplace policy often handicapped women. For instance pregnant women would not be allowed on out of country training or women on maternity leave would be passed over for promotion. Also, the workplace is not flexible towards parenting, providing no crèche facilities or flexi-time. Regarding workplace attitudes, some of the women surveyed said they felt under stress to outperform their male colleagues, in order to be accepted. Finally, the dual role of working woman and mother/housewife presents a huge barrier to women advancement. Though some working women get moral support from their husbands, this does not translate into sharing the workload at home, and it still left to the women to carry out most domestic work.

Interestingly, divorced women with dependent children experienced less stress which suggests that the presence of a husband, rather than the existence of children, increases the pressure on women to be "domestic".