Institutional and Individual Support as Determinants of Academic Career Progression among Female Lecturers in Selected Public Universities in Uganda

Phoebe Nabawanuka – School of Education, Kyambogo University

Eric Douglas Kalanda – School of Education, Kyambogo University

Berna Lutaaya – School of Education, Kampala International University

Email: dkalanda@kyu.ac.ug

Abstract: Female lecturers in in public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) experience slow academic career progression. This qualitative study therefore explored the institutional and individual support that facilitates their advancement. Guided by the objective of examining how such support enables career progression, the study was anchored in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and informed by liberal feminist philosophy. A multiple case study design was adopted, with the two universities purposively selected. Participants were drawn from different academic disciplines categorized using Becher and Biglan’s typology, with two female lecturers selected from each category, making a total of 16 participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and complemented by document analysis, and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that Institutional and individual support were found to help female lecturers set realistic career goals, make informed career decisions, and reduce work-related stress, thereby enhancing their academic progression. The study recommends that university support systems should be bottom-up, gender-responsive, and context-specific. It also emphasizes the importance of early mentoring by senior faculty, the formation of peer support groups among female academics, and the strengthening and effective implementation of existing institutional support mechanisms.