4.3. ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN STUDY
4.3.5. Indicators of the success of a mentorship programme
4.3.5.5. Work tenure of women
4.3.5.5.1. Continuity of working in the organisation currently employed
The study sought to determine the work tenure of women in the construction industry. Table 4.34 shows whether mentees like to continue working for the organisation that they are currently employed at, for at least the next three years. It was found that 50.1% of the mentees do not want to, 40.9% would like to, whilst 9.1% were unsure. Also, 63.6% of the mentors responded that their mentees would like to continue working in the construction industry, while 36.4%
responded that they would not like to. This infers that the responses of mentees and mentors differ; whilst mentees indicated they would not like to continue working for their organisations for at least the next three years, mentors are of the view that their mentees do want to continue working in their respective organisations for the next three years.
Table 4.34: Work tenure of women
Work tenure of women Mentees Mentors
N % N %
Yes 9 40.9 7 63.6
No 11 50.1 4 36.4
Unsure 2 9.1 0 0
TOTAL 22 100 11 100
4.3.5.5.2. Possible reasons why mentees would leave their organisations
Table 4.35 shows the reasons why mentees would consider leaving their organisations. Female mentee participants reported that mostly they would leave specific organisations because they have learnt enough from that organisation and need to learn something new (39.1%) The second reason why they would leave was because they are not satisfied with their salary (34.8%). The third reason was that they are not satisfied with the way they are treated in their work place (8.7%), and the fourth reason was that they do not get enough experience from their workplace (4.3%). Mentee participants added other possible reasons as follows: they want to do consulting (4.3%); they fear they will not be able to reach personal goals of development in such a male-dominated field (4.3%) and they would take on new challenges (4.3%). On the reasons for leaving an organisation, mentor participants reported as follows: female mentees have learnt enough from the organisation, and need to move on to learn more (83.3%), and female mentees are not interested to work for the construction industry anymore (16.7%). The majority of mentees and mentors perceived that mentees leave when they have learnt enough from their organisation and they need to move on to learn more.
Table 4.35: Reasons why mentees would leave their organisations Possible reasons mentees would
leave their organisations
Mentees Mentors
N % N %
(I have / she has) learned enough from the organisation, (I need / she needs) to learn something new
9 39.1 5 83.3
(I am / she is) not satisfied with my
salary 8 34.8 0 0
(I am / she is) not satisfied with the way I am / she is treated in the work place
2 8.7 0 0
(I do not get / she is not) getting enough experience from the work place
1 4.3 0 0
(I will / she will) be consulting 1 4.3 0 0
(I fear I / she fears that she) will not be able to reach my/her personal goals of development in such a male-dominated field.
1 4.3 0 0
(I / She) would like to look out for a
new challenge 1 4.3 0 0
(I am / she is) not interested to
work for the construction industry 0 0 1 16.7
TOTAL 23 100 6 100
4.3.5.5.3. Mentor perceptions on the reasons mentees would stay in an organisation Table 4.36 shows the reasons why mentors think that their mentee would not leave the organisations. Most of the mentors responded that their mentees are great assets in the organisations (71.4%), while few responded that there is a lot their mentee still need to learn from the organisation (28.6%). This means that mentors consider their mentee to be valuable to their organisation.
Table 4.36: Shows the most of the reasons why mentees would leave their organisations Reasons mentee would stay in the organisation N %
She is a great asset in the organisation 5 71.4 There is a lot that she still needs to learn from the
organisation 2 28.6
TOTAL 7 100
4.3.5.5.4. Termination of appointed position
The study investigated the termination of appointed positions of the female mentees.
Table 4.37: Termination of appointed position
Termination of appointed position N %
Never 18 90.0
Once 1 5.0
Three times 1 5.0
TOTAL 20 100
In Table 4.37, the amount of times the appointment of mentees have been terminated is shown as follows: 90.0% of the mentees job appointments were never terminated, 5.0% have had their appointment terminated once and 5.0% have had their appointment terminated thrice.
Therefore, this means that few female mentees’ job appointments have been terminated.
4.3.5.5.5. Female mentees consideration working in other industries
The study pursued to determine whether female mentees would like to work for another industry.
Table 4.38: Would like to work for another industry Work in another industry N %
Yes 9 40.9
No 10 45.5
Unsure 3 9.1
TOTAL 22 100
Table 4.38 shows that 40.9% of mentees would like to work in other industries; 45.5% of mentees would not; and 9.1% of mentees were unsure. This implies that there is not much difference in female mentees wanting and not wanting to change and work in other industries.
4.3.5.5.6. Motivation of mentors to retain female mentees in the organisation
The study sought to determine the willingness of mentors to motivate their female mentees.
Table 4.39: Motivation of mentors
Motivation of mentor N Percentage
Yes 7 63.6
No 4 36.4
TOTAL 11 100
From Table 4.39, the motivation of mentor to retain the mentee the organisation is shown. It was found that 63.6% of the mentors would motivate their mentees to stay on, whereas 36.4% would not. This therefore, suggests that the majority of mentors are interested in the development and growth of female mentees.
The findings suggest that over the next three years, the majority of the female mentees would not like to continue working for their current organisation, although they would like to stay in the construction industry. The majority of mentors however, believe that their female mentees would like to continue working in their organisation. This means that even though female mentees will most probably leave their current workplace, they are unlikely to leave the construction industry.
It emerged that the most possible reasons why female mentees leave their organisation is that they want to increase their knowledge and are not satisfied with the salary they earn. Most mentors also perceived that the reason their female mentees leave their organisations is that they wanted to learn something stimulating. Findings show that most of the mentors would like their female mentees to remain in their current organisation because they are great assets; this is the reason why mentors encourage their female mentees to continue working in their current organisations. This implies that mentors do make an effort to retain their female mentees in their respective organisations. The majority of the female mentees’ positions have not been terminated during their careers, but women decide to leave their jobs for other organisations in the construction industry. Furthermore, if women keep on changing workplaces within the industry because they are not encouraged enough by their mentors then this will result them leaving the industry, unless they are able to persevere and have passion about the construction
findings are in alignment with the findings of Del Puerto et al. (2011:1) and Dainty et al.
(2001:299). The reasons women decide to leave their work place include: wanting to develop their skills and to be exposed to new surroundings, being repeatedly asked to do minor tasks, experiencing high degree of stress on the job, lack of encouragement from supervisors, being undervalued and low potential of career advancement, lack of role model mentors, balancing family and work commitments (Dainty et al., 2001:299; Loosemore & Waters, 2004 cited in English, 2014:online, Hatipkarasulu & Roff, 2011:online). Findings of Klasen and Clutterbuck (2002:104) contrast the current findings that female mentees who are in mentorship programmes are not only retained in the industry but also in the organisations because they feel valued, and as a result they choose not to leave. Chao (2007:201) and Lingard and Lin (2010:411) add that the duties of mentors is to minimise the challenges of stereotypes and realities to work-family issues.