Underrepresentation of Women in Top Management Roles: A Phenomenological Study of Public Sector Educational Institutions of Pakistan

This qualitative study explores the underrepresentation of women as a lived experience through the Interpretive Phenomenological Approach in Public Sector Educational Institutions of the Wah Region. 6 male and six female high school managers were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed to generate themes using Smith's Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The findings of the study strongly indicate the existence of gross underrepresentation of women in top management positions. The study concluded that this underrepresentation is due to the male-dominated organizational culture that hinders women's progress toward professional grooming and career advancement. This study is significant as it highlights the dichotomy in public sector educational organizations, which claim to be female-dominating in terms of presence, but equal representation is given only at the lower management level. As the hierarchy ladder goes up, the Glass Ceiling Effect or underrepresentation prevails.