An Examination Of Students’ Attitude Towards Female Senior Members’ Job Performance In Higher Educational Institutions In Ghana: The Influence Of Social Dominance Orientation

Abstract

This study examined students’ attitudes towards female senior members in Ghanaian Universities. The study also considered whether Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) will moderate the relationship between students’ attitude and female senior members’ job performance. The study employed mixed method approach. Ghanaian graduate students and female senior members were sampled for the study. A total of 330 valid questionnaires was used for the quantitative survey analysis and 12 recorded and transcribed interviews were used for the qualitative analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the quantitative data to address the hypothesized relationships whilst thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. It was discovered that students have positive attitudes towards female senior members. The study further revealed that SDO does not influence the positive relationship between students’ attitude and female senior members’ job performance. The results further indicate that there are no obvious structures that serve as a barrier to female senior members’ progress to higher positions in higher institutions. It was also found that the combination of professional work and family responsibility is a challenge to female senior members. This study concludes that students who have received higher education appear to have a positive attitude towards professional women and therefore, HR managers should factor it into their hiring strategy.