Women’s Issues in Mauritius: Of CEO Attitudes and Platitudes

Abstract

A large sample of Chief Executives of private and public sector organizations in Mauritius were surveyed in an attempt to determine the degree of awareness and the level of supportiveness of top managers to women’s issues. This article explores a range of social‐psychological variables to arrive at an analysis and description of CEO attitudes and perceptions, but also poses the question of whether concrete action is being taken towards addressing women’s issues in general, and women managers’ issues in particular. Findings revealed that the stated degree of supportiveness is relatively high, but that actions, policies and practices are alarmingly women‐insensitive, defying the current spectacularly ‘developed’ status of the country’s economy. Through such a reality, the country also distinguishes itself negatively from the numerous Third World states that have somehow developed advanced action plans in the field of gender.