Conditions sociales et accès au leadership chez la femme dans l’administration publique camerounaise : étude menée auprès des femmes enseignantes du ministère de l’éducation de base

Abstract

The present work entitled “Social conditions and female access to leadership in the Cameroonian public administration: a study carried out on female teachers at the central service of the Ministry of Basic Education". Access to leadership is a promotion within the organization. Promotion, according to the general status of the public is the index of recognition of work well done and proven competence. Logically, the jurisdiction should lead to an appointment, promotion up the hierarchy. But we found that , despite the existence in law of the equal access to work and promotion for all in Cameroon as in private public structures , equality guaranteed by the State and the international community, qualified and competent women continued to be marginalized and under-represented in decision-making positions. In other words, degree, seniority, skills, equality, there's an imbalance between men and women in leadership. This fact is evidence of a problem known as the “Glass Ceiling ", a term that illustrates a set of artificial barriers created by prejudice behavioral or organizational that prevent qualified women get access to leadership positions in their organizations. Bit (1997). What is theoretically contrary to Inving Fisher’s (1996) principle of human capital that you can access the jobs on a large investment opportunity and higher wages taking into account just trained human capital skills, experience and knowledge which determine a certain ability of the individual to work? Although opinions are divided on the causes of this phenomenon, there's reason to believe that this lack of representativeness is due to social conditions. Our study aims at investigating the relationship between social conditions and female access to leadership. The formulated main research question was; • Do there exist a relationship between social conditions and female access to leadership in the Cameroon public administration? In attempt to answer this question, the following research hypotheses were formulated. • There exist a relationship between social conditions and female access to leadership in the Cameroon public administration. This general hypothesis has been highlighted into four research hypothesis: • RH1: There exist a relationship between social roles and female access to leadership. Xiv • RH2: There exist a relationship between personality and female access to leadership. • RH3: There exist a relationship between negative social stereotypes linked to the female gender and female access to leadership; • RH4: There exists a relationship between the type of family and female access to leadership. The study was carried out on teachers at the central service of the Ministry of Basic Education in the Yaoundé III Sub-division, Mfoundi Division. With the help of questionnaire, the research was carried out on 136 teachers. From this sample, data was collected and analysed with the help of a chi square test in view to verify the research hypotheses. In the analysis, the first three hypotheses were retained while the last hypothesis was rejected. We shall thus conclude that, there exist a significant relationship between social conditions and female access to leadership. In light to bring a handful of solutions to the problem evoked, we have addressed suggestions to politicians, administrative authorities, parents, and women and to the masculine gender in the goal of ameliorating the social conditions of women and permitting them to have access to leadership.