Women's participation as leaders in society: an adolescent girls' perspective

Abstract

This paper explores the adolescent female perspective on women's participation as leaders in society. Using a qualitative approach, the study outlined in this paper investigated this phenomenon through the use of student focus groups. Participants were students in their final year of schooling from secondary girls' schools located in Australia, with one school located in South Africa. This study found that students identified the patriarchal nature of leadership positions, women's possible lack of desire to hold a leadership position, and the impact of gender stereotypes as concerns. However, students were mostly positive with regard to their ability to overcome these issues in the future. It is recommended through the findings of this study that girls are given voice through their formal schooling in order to discuss issues of gender and leadership, and as a consequence, an awareness of issues concerning gender inequity may be created.