Examining Students’ Perceptions of E-Learning in a Women-Only Environment

Abstract

In terms of achieving growth and profitability, women play an important role in public and private organizations. Despite the increase of women in the workforce, they continue to be underrepresented in managerial positions. Appropriate initiatives need to be implemented in an organization to manage and retain women talent. Online courses catered specifically to women can provide women professionals with relevant development opportunities throughout their career, as these women-only programs allow women to freely discuss their particular issues and concerns in a supportive and safe climate. Apart from being flexible and cost effective, these online women-only courses provide an optimal learning environment for women to share and analyze the unique strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities facing women in the workplace. Yet, several questions exist concerning the design and delivery of such online courses, particularly from the student’s perspective. In this study, students' perceptions of e-learning in a women-only environment are examined. An exploratory study of female students enrolled in an Executive Certificate of Leadership for Women, which is a customized online program facilitated by international PhD qualified women faculty, is conducted to understand students’ perceptions of the various attributes of a women-only online learning course.