“Someone Needs to be First”: Women Pioneers as Change Agents in Higher Education Management

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The intent of this chapter is to discuss women managers as change agents in higher education. It focuses women’s increased access to senior academic management positions in Swedish higher education and investigates to what extent this increase is accompanied by changes to a masculine management norm. Methodology/approach The chapter draws on a study that involved qualitative interviews with 22 women in senior management positions in 10 Swedish higher education institutions. Findings The analysis highlights how women managers become agents of change by challenging a masculine management norm in a work setting where men have dominated management positions. The women challenged the masculine management norm by their mere presence as women but also by adopting a different management style. It also illustrates the multiple aspects of women’s potential to take on the role as change agent. Social implications The results could benefit the development of gender equality strategies and the making of structural changes in organizations dominated by a masculine managerial norm. Originality/value of the chapter The study is based on unique empirical material. The interviewees are women pioneers in the Swedish Higher Education Sector, contributing to the demographic feminization of senior academic management positions and the organizational restructuring.