International Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH)

The purpose of this paper is to determine the barriers that women managers face to climb the hierarchical ladder. Several factors which hamper women managers to progress in their career have been identified. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 women managers. They were both from the public and private sectors in Mauritius, occupying different managerial jobs. Despite the fact that women managers are well qualified, the research identifies that they are unable to reach to top positions. This is due to male bias, stereotyping and the cultural phenomenon which favour men to occupy such positions. With limited number women managers‟ participation, this work cannot be generalised. Future research is needed to analyse other potential barriers which women managers face to reach to top positions. An equal gender policy could be applied to have an adequate representation of women at top level management.