Abstract
The study of disaster-specific leadership of female university students has been largely neglected, especially during on-campus emergency eviction and evacuation. Based on the COVID-19-triggered, on-campus evictions across Canada and the United States, this cross-national partnership examined the out-of-province/state and international female university students’ leadership during the entire eviction process. Through in-depth interviews, this study revealed the female university students’ leadership behaviors during three stages: (1) pre-eviction: their self-preparedness formed an emotional foundation to support others; (2) peri-eviction: their attitude and leadership behavior enabled them to facilitate (psychologically and physically) their peers’ eviction process; and (3) post-eviction: they continued to support their peers virtually and raised the general public’s awareness regarding the plight of vulnerable and marginalized populations. This article argues that the female university students’ leadership that emerged during the eviction process became complementary to and even augmented the universities’ official efforts and beyond. This leadership represents empirical evidence that contributes to the existing literature on gender and leadership by demonstrating female youth as empowered stakeholders rather than as merely passive victims. Future studies could develop detailed stratification of gender and age dimensions in order to portray a more comprehensive picture of the younger generation’s leadership in hazards and disaster research and practice.
Highlights
Sociodemographic variables in combination with other societal determinants continually shape how people cope with global climate change, disasters, and other world-wide crises (Laska and Morrow 2006; Mercer et al 2010; Goltz and Mileti 2011; Phillips et al 2012; Peek et al 2020)
Through in-depth interviews, this study revealed the female university students’ leadership behaviors during three stages: (1) preeviction: their self-preparedness formed an emotional foundation to support others; (2) peri-eviction: their attitude and leadership behavior enabled them to facilitate their peers’ eviction process; and (3) post-eviction: they continued to support their peers virtually and raised the general public’s awareness regarding the plight of vulnerable and marginalized populations
The differences were rooted in various societal factors of Canada and the United States, and both countries’ differing emergency response policies at federal, province/state, and municipal levels
Summary
Sociodemographic variables (such as gender, age, and ethnic origin) in combination with other societal determinants (including cultural, economic, social, and political) continually shape how people cope with global climate change, disasters, and other world-wide crises (for example, pandemics and terrorism) (Laska and Morrow 2006; Mercer et al 2010; Goltz and Mileti 2011; Phillips et al 2012; Peek et al 2020). In April 2020, scholars from Canada and the United States established a cross-national research partnership to qualitatively examine various impacts of the evictions on out-of-province/state and international university students who were living on campuses in both countries This pilot study reported on emerging themes of female students’ leadership during the entire eviction process. In the context of post-secondary education, leadership usually is administered through a topdown approach, starting with the professional emergency managers, and moving down to the second-tier leaders, that is those who directly engage with students, faculty, and staff This top-down emergency response strategy helps to prevent the loss of lives and reduce the short- and longterm physical, social, and economic impacts of disasters (for example, property damage, the elimination of educational programs and faculty positions, and the suspension and even the discontinuation of some critical ongoing research processes) (Ahmad 2007; CUNY 2021). This disaster-driven, student-specific leadership will, characterize those who educate the generation of young leaders to serve broader communities, and in the long run, enhance these communities’ resilience and achieve holistic, sustainable development
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
