Experiences Of Women Leaders Research Articles

Barriers to Leadership: Experiences of Women Leaders in Business and Politics

Barriers to Leadership: Experiences of Women Leaders in Business and Politics

The Experiences of Women Leaders in the Higher Education Sport Sector: Examining the Gendered Organization Through Bourdieu’s Model of Field, Capital and Habitus

This article is the first to examine experiences of women with leadership roles in the U.K. Higher Education sport sector. We carried out detailed interviews with women leaders. We utilized Bourdieu’s model of habitus, capital, and field; Acker’s concept of “gendered organizations;” and Shilling’s concept of physical capital. Our findings show Higher Education operates more inclusively than the wider sport sector, which has the potential to advance gender equality. However, gendered practices remain with women working harder to accumulate and convert capital. Motherhood negatively impacts conversion of capital and respondents without children felt this benefitted their career. Finally, we discuss the impact of menopause on the careers of women and suggest this can impact self-perception.

WHAT WE CAN CHANGE IS OURSELVES: Experiences of Women Leaders In Religious-Based Higher Education Organizations

WHAT WE CAN CHANGE IS OURSELVES: Experiences of Women Leaders In Religious-Based Higher Education Organizations

Barriers to women’s participation in and contribution to leadership in Ethiopian higher education

Women are underrepresented in senior leadership positions across global higher education and there are different reasons for this. This study examines barriers to women’s leadership development in Ethiopian higher education, with particular attention to the role of national and institutional policies and practices. The study used a phenomenological research design to better understand barriers to women’s leadership development in higher education from the views and experiences of women leaders. Data were generated from 12 women vice presidents and official documents. The participants were drawn from each type and generation of universities that exist in Ethiopian higher education. The findings reveal that although there is an improvement in women’s leadership development in Ethiopian higher education, many glass ceilings remain unbroken. The result also reveals that institutional barriers are considered the greatest, as they also exacerbate sociocultural and personal barriers to women’s leadership development. Although ethnicity is one of the major challenges facing higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ethiopia, it is not identified as a barrier to women’s leadership development. The barriers to women’s leadership are multifaced and addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach and concerted efforts from major stakeholders, especially policymakers. Unless there is a systemic response, women in higher education will continue to struggle in pursuing senior leadership positions.

Accomplished women leaders in informatics: insights about successful careers.

We sought to learn from the experiences of women leaders in informatics by interviewing women in Informatics leadership roles. Participants reported career challenges, how they built confidence, advice to their younger selves, and suggestions for attracting and retaining additional women. Respondents were 16 women in leadership roles in academia (n = 9) and industry (n = 7). We conducted a thematic analysis revealing: (1) careers in informatics are serendipitous and nurtured by supportive communities, (2) challenges in leadership were profoundly related to gender issues, (3) "Big wins" in informatics careers were about making a difference, and (4) women leaders highlighted resilience, excellence, and personal authenticity as important for future women leaders. Sexism is undeniably present, although not all participants reported overt gender barriers. Confidence and authenticity in leadership point to the value offered by individual leaders. The next step is to continue to foster an informatics culture that encourages authenticity across the gender spectrum.

Ambitious and driven to scale the barriers to top management: experiences of women leaders in the Nigerian technology sector

The four theories—gendering of careers, glass ceiling, gender stereotypes and work-life balance—of the lack of inclusion of women in the technology sector have a certain face validity when looking at Nigeria, a historically patriarchal nation undergoing significant growth in penetration and diffusion in the technology sector. Consequently, this article is the first to further develop these theories through a critical realist exploration of the experiences of female senior managers in the Nigerian technology sector. The findings show that women technology leaders are ambitious and driven to scale the barriers to senior management roles. These four theories are extended by providing empirical data and insights into how this phenomenon is experienced differently in the Global South. The article recommends that organizations implement policies that support skilled and high-potential women employees to fulfill their career aspirations, thereby disrupting stereotypes and changing the dominant, masculine narrative of the technology industry.

Women as Agents of Change: Exploring Women Leaders' Resistance and Shaping of Gender Ideologies in Pakistan.

Despite a growing focus on processes to promote gender equity, women remain significantly underrepresented in leadership positions in the Global South. In the present study we focus on the role of familial experiences in shaping and contesting gender ideologies of Pakistani women in the workplace. We specifically examine the reciprocal ways in which women leaders and their family members shape each other’s gender ideologies regarding the workplace. Data collected and analyzed for this study were semi-structured interviews with eight women in positions of leadership in Lahore, Pakistan, and interviews with one family members of each of the women leaders (thus 16 interviews total). Using thematic narrative analysis, we identified three thematic phases: learning gender expectations, resistance, and familial transformation. These phases reflect the progression of developing, resisting, and influencing individual and familial gender ideologies. We document the manifestation of these phases in three specific domains: education, marriage and motherhood, and the workplace. We then discuss how these findings contribute to understanding the experiences of women leaders and perceptions of their family members regarding women’s role in the workplace. Findings from our research provide novel insights into the ways globalization and capitalism continue to shape the socio-cultural context for women leaders in the Global South.

Higher Education in the Age of COVID-19: Leadership Challenges and Strategies

Reduced state appropriations and academic program prioritization compounded the pressure on institutions of higher education while responding to COVID-19. This situation has put leaders in uniquely challenging positions. This article, drawing on autoethnographic approaches, summarizes the first-person experiences of women leaders in this setting. Particularly, their reflections regarding the experiences of planning and implementing their COVID-19 responses will be discussed. Recommendations to address the challenges faced will also be illuminated.

Making Meaning of Barriers and Adversity: Experiences of Women Leaders in Higher Education

Extensive research has demonstrated that women aspiring to and serving as leaders face many barriers, which creates a glass ceiling effect for women's advancement into top leadership positions. In higher education, women hold only 26 percent of all college and university presidencies. The objective of this qualitative study was to discover the meaning of adversity for women leaders in higher education. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 26 women in senior leadership roles in higher education. The research question was "How do women leaders in higher education make meaning of adversity?" Participants reported experiencing wide-ranging types of adversity, including gender-based leadership barriers. While adversity had a generally positive effect on participant identity, it had disparate effects on self-esteem, power, connections to others, and worldviews. The common thread was that adversity can lead to growth and opportunity but such benefits are intertwined with pain and loss.

The Professional Journeys and Experiences in Leadership of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Women Bishops

The Problem There are 70.5 million Lutherans in the world, with numbers increasing in Asia and Africa. Currently, only 14% of the Lutheran bishops are women, an increase from 10% in 2011. The role of bishop is a complex leadership position, requiring one to lead up to 150 churches and pastors in a geographical area. With more than 50% of the Lutheran church population comprised of women, their gender and voices are not being represented or heard at the highest levels of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). With one billion women projected to enter the workforce globally in the next two decades, more needs to be written and understood about women church leaders, such as Lutheran bishops. The purpose of this study was to explore the journeys of women who achieved the office of bishop, to glean what can be learned for the benefit of other women who might be called to these higher levels of leadership in the church. The Solution This research suggests that 70% of the ELCA women bishops interviewed had unique career journeys, important spouse support, few women mentors, many challenges, and key leadership competencies required for the role. These findings can be helpful to future Lutheran and other Christian church leaders. It can help current and future women bishops understand what is expected in the role so they can be more successful in it. Leadership development recommendations are also suggested for seminary and higher education administrators and educators. The Stakeholders This research contributes to the literature in human resource development (HRD) by concentrating on the experiences of women leaders in the church—specifically women who have achieved the office of Bishop of the ELCA. The findings offer insights that can benefit scholars and practitioners alike, as well as current and future women leaders across the globe, in the church setting as well as other settings.

Women Religious and Sociopolitical Change in the Philippines, 1930s–1970s

This article develops a framework for the study of spirituality and the congregational lives of women religious in the Philippines from the 1930s to the early 1970s. It explores the multiple and sometimes contradictory meanings of membership of women in religious communities. Set within the history of women religious in the Catholic Church, the study explains the transformations in the originally Belgian order, the Immacule Coeur Marie (ICM), while also drawing on the experiences of women leaders from other congregations. This article looks at the Filipinization of leadership and subsequent reshaping of congregational ideologies in the context of the Second Vatican Council and the Marcos regime. KEYWORDS: Church History • Nuns • Women’s History • Catholic Religious life • Politics and Catholicism in Asia

Guest editor introduction: experiences of women leaders in alternative sites of organization

Guest editor introduction: experiences of women leaders in alternative sites of organization

Lessons in spiritual leadership from Kenyan women

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explicate spiritual leadership lessons of beneficence, courage, hope and ubuntu/humanness that are derived from the experiences of women leaders in Kenya. The paper seeks to connect African data with existing literature on spiritual leadership, to demonstrate where African spiritual leadership is similar to, or different from, western conceptualizations of spiritual leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe study from which this paper is derived employed qualitative methods, specifically interviews with supplemental archival data and observations. Four major themes are explored: beneficence, courage, hope/forbearance and ubuntu/humanness as emerging from the women's leadership stories. These four themes are compared and contrasted against existing literature on spiritual leadership.FindingsIt is found that beneficence, courage, and hope are comparable to existing western conceptualizations, whereas ubuntu is unique to the African context.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper and the larger study were derived from interviews with 16 participants; as such, generalization was not a goal. The paper provides a deeper understanding of spiritual leadership as enacted by African women, with implications for the need for increased research on non‐western, non‐white perspectives on the phenomenon.Practical implicationsReaders may relate to the women's stories and be both informed and inspired towards their own social justice leadership.Originality/valueWhereas the paper is derived from field research conducted in 2005 and published variously in other sources as cited, this paper takes an original perspective in comparing and contrasting African and western understandings of spiritual leadership, and expanding the understanding of the same in a novel way not done in previous publications.

The Lives and Careers of Women Leaders in Shanghai

This article explores the contrasting career routes and experiences of women leaders from differing socio‐historical‐political backgrounds in China, especially those in the city of Shanghai. In doing so, it seeks to examine why particular career patterns and routes to positions of leadership have emerged and how the women themselves understand and account for their different experiences. The intention is to shed light on the part played by cultural and economic changes in China’s social development generally, by comparison with other factors and to highlight the uniqueness of the Chinese case. In particular the role of social relationships in shaping career routes will be emphasized.

Religious Institutions and Women's Leadership: New Roles inside the Mainstream

Religious Institutions and Women's Leadership documents the movement of women into positions of leadership and ministry in mainline American Judaism and Christianity and evaluates how this trend will reshape traditional religion in the United States. Contributors compile data formerly found only in diverse scholarly and denominational publications to offer an enlightening interdisciplinary comparison of women's struggles for a more central role in mainstream religious leadership. In addition to providing historical information, the contributors pay particular attention to the experiences of women leaders in their respective denominations and to the changes they have introduced to worship, theology, and ministry. They trace the economic and social changes currently transforming patriarchal religions and examine such issues as the resistance to female leadership and the question of whether feminist objectives are better formed by women forming separate religious institutions or by remaining in established structures.