Betty Ofe-Grant

Using the lens of intersectionality, this study explores how gender, race, and status intersect with broader organisational practices that lead to career progression inequalities for Samoan women. Drawing on the findings of a qualitative study of the Samoan 'brown glass ceiling' that investigated career barriers in senior managerial careers, these women encountered additional obstacles enacted by Samoan and Pacific men and based on cultural perspectives regarding gender, afa-kasi (half-caste) race and 'cultural' status. Consequently, these identity categories were perceived as extra obstacles impacting their career ambitions and perpetuating inequality. We determine the need to consider intersectional identity experiences and power relations within senior management careers that disproportionately maintain inequality for Samoan women as ethnic minorities. This study places Samoan women at the centre of analysis and uses their voices as unique individuals frequently overlooked in the gender, careers, and management literature.

Maulupeivao Dr Betty Ofe-Grant is a New Zealand-born academic of Samoan, Tongan and Hawaiian descent. She is also the Vice President for the National Council of Women, New Zealand, and a Matai (Samoan Chief). Born and raised in South Auckland, Betty’s employment career began in the public sector before moving into mainstream corporate work. Betty noticed the inequities and inequalities that Pacific people encounter, where they continue to cluster and over-represent low-paid and labour-intensive jobs with very little mobility or room for professional development. These experiences led to her research on senior management and leadership positions, glass ceilings, intersectionality, gender and racism, literacy and numeracy, labour migration and work and cultural challenges for Pacific people and other ethnic minorities. As a lecturer, Betty teaches Diversity and Inclusion, HR, and other Management courses at the Auckland University of Technology Business school.