Education for Sustainable Leadership: Fostering Women’s Empowerment at the University Level

Mónica Segovia-Pérez,Concepción De La Fuente-Cabrero,Pilar Laguna-Sánchez

doi:10.3390/su11205555

Mónica Segovia-Pérez, Concepción De La Fuente-Cabrero + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205555

Copy DOI

Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Oct 9, 2019
Citations: 24	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: King Juan Carlos University

Abstract

Education is imperative to driving sustainability and gender equity. Moreover, it is extremely important to develop initiatives in sustainable leadership education for women in order for them to acquire skills and competencies in leadership and to improve their self-perception of their capabilities. The purpose of this study was to assess a Women’s Leadership Program for university students. The sample consisted of 50 students enrolled in the program. A mixed-method approach was applied. Quantitative methods with a survey were conducted to evaluate the training and attainment of leadership skills. In the data analysis, a descriptive statistics variance analysis, using a Welch statistic and T2 Dunnett test, was applied. Qualitative research methods were conducted through three focus groups to evaluate changes in their perceptions of themselves and their self-confidence. The results suggest that the female students in the program obtained a level of leadership knowledge with practical tools for their future. The program inspired them and confirmed changes in their self-confidence and view of their personal capacities, including reflection on facing challenges in the work environment. The findings support the effectiveness of specific education in breaking two barriers, identified in the literature, for women in managerial positions: lack of training and self-confidence.

Highlights

Education is crucial for the achievement of sustainable development and is extraordinarily important for women’s empowerment [1]
In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and incorporated, as part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and to “achieve gender equality and empower all woman and girls” [2]
In the Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): Learning Objectives, UNESCO aims to promote gender equality in education as one of the behavioral learning objectives (ESDG 4) and recommends that education for sustainable development should be included in all formal education curricula, including primary, secondary, and higher education [5]

Summary

Introduction

Education is crucial for the achievement of sustainable development and is extraordinarily important for women’s empowerment [1]. In the Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): Learning Objectives, UNESCO aims to promote gender equality in education as one of the behavioral learning objectives (ESDG 4) and recommends that education for sustainable development should be included in all formal education curricula, including primary, secondary, and higher education [5]. In this context, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focuses on the need to acquire a set of key transversal competencies applicable to different contexts and purposes, along with professional careers [6]. Most of the competences suggested by UNESCO [5] are related to the competences appropriate for a leader, such as critical thinking, collaboration, strategy, integrated problem-solving, anticipatory competency, normative competency, systems-thinking competency, and even self-awareness competency

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion