THE ROLE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS IN EMPOWRING FEMALEACADEMIC STAFF IN ETHIOPIA HIGHER INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF WOLLO UNIVERSITY.

Abstract

The study was intended to assess the Roleof affirmative actionin empowering female academic staff in selected colleges ofWollo University.This study adapted descriptive research and employed both qualitative research methodologies. The research has been carried out in Wollo University, focusing on four colleges suchas Social Science and Humanity, Business and Economics, Natural Science and Engineering Technology from each college four departments were selected randomly. Number of instructors from each selected department also selected randomly. Totally 80 female instructors were included in the study. Questionnaire, key informant interview, document review and focused group discussion (FGD) were used to gather data.Data analyzed was made bydescriptive statistics, frequency and percentage. Those were analyzed by using SPSS Software Data regarding the necessary of affirmative action the findings reviled that almost all(100%) ofrespondents stated that affirmative action program is very vital for female. Data concerning onchallenges that affect the implementation of affirmative action the finding shows that, 38% of respondents responded that lack of appropriate bodies or leaders is one of the challenges for ineffectiveness of affirmative action. In relation with the interest of female academic staffs to be a leader the great majority (97.5%) of respondents were not interested.The impact of lack of interests of female academic staff to come in leadership area affects the developmentof the society and the countryat large in getting role model for the coming generation. It is recommended that concerned bodies give close attention, motivate and solve challenges that limit their participation in leadership area and those concerned bodies should work together in order to implement affirmative action effectively. Key words: