Globally,regionally and locally women are more likely to occupy lower positions in organisational hierarchies than men. Botswana is no exception as women are seldom found in leadership and/or managerial positions. In Botswana, most of the research aimed at evaluating the challenges faced by female employees has focused primarily on socioeconomic and legislative challenges. In addition, as far it could be ascertained, there has been no research conducted among women employees in Botswana or elsewhere in the world which focused on understanding the impact of Sensitivity Towards being the Target of Upward Comparison (STTUC) on their performance and/or advancement. While empirical research on the STTUC framework is now just crystallising, past studies have shown that out-performance may be a challenge for some individuals, with the STTUC framework offering insights into this phenomenon. Research has examined various factors that may inhibit the career progress of females but, as far as the researcher has been able to ascertain, STTUC has not been sufficiently investigated as a factor that may hamper such progress. This study suggests such a focus because the work setting constantly places individuals in positions where they are obliged to present their abilities and/or achievements. In order to address the evident gap in existing research, this study investigated the STTUC framework within the organisational context in Botswana, Africa. The main aim of this study was to investigate the antecedents of STTUC and to explore gender differences in the STTUC experiences of black employees in Botswana. The antecedents explored included individual characteristics (specifically, collectivistic cultural orientation, traditional gender role orientation, affiliative needs, interpersonal sensitivity and competitiveness), family-work variables (specifically, instrumental support from the spouse/partner and family-work conflict), and organisational variables (focusing specifically on masculine values within the organisational culture). The study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional survey approach. The sample comprised 464 black employees from a variety of organisations in Botswana. The proposed direct relationships were tested using an independent sample t-test, Pearson product moment correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was also used in the study to assess the extent to which the data supported the proposed conceptual models. Generally, the results provided support for the hypothesised relationships between STTUC and gender; STTUC and the family-work variables, as well as STTUC and certain of the personality variables. Based on the findings, it is recommended that, in addition to making structural changes, including removing the glass ceiling and/or revamping organisational cultures, gender empowerment and/or development programmes may also encompass certain interventions on an individual level in order to help women and other individuals who are likely to experience STTUC to deal with these experiences.

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