Women In Senior Leadership Positions Research Articles

Institutional Agents: A Significant Facilitator of the Advancement of Women Leaders

Research on women's employment in the Arab world has highlighted a scarcity of women in senior leadership positions, often suggesting cultural conservatism and embedded gender-segregation within organizational structures. While these perspectives are not unfounded, these views may not fully capture the varied lived experiences of women leaders in the Arabian Gulf, particularly in the UAE. This study examined the influence of institutional agents on the career advancement of women leaders. The authors employed a phenomenological approach to explore the professional experiences of highly educated, women Arab leaders. The focus was specifically on their perceptions of gender discrimination, networking opportunities, and access to institutional agents. A sample population was purposefully identified; as such these findings may not be generalizable to the broader population. Data were collected via open-ended interviews and analyzed through multiple stages of coding stages using Atlas.ti. The results of this study present certain contradictory evidence to the existing literature. Notably, the women in this sample reported that gender discrimination was not a significant barrier to their career advancement. Further, the institutional agents most frequently identified by this sample of women were men. These findings suggest emerging narratives of a more gender-inclusive work culture. Moreover, these results offer a unique perspective that UAE professional environments may be more inclusive than previously reported. The findings of this study suggest that a more educated and diverse workforce could be contributing to a more inclusive atmosphere, challenging traditional views of workplace dynamics in the region.

Men's experience in masculine contest cultures

AbstractResearch clearly shows that increasing the number of women in leadership positions yields financial benefits for the organization. Despite this, there has been limited upward movement in the percentage of women in senior leadership positions. Few studies have examined the linkage between masculine culture and the implications for men. Using a mixed methods approach with two studies, this research focused on four aspects of masculine contest cultural norms and how they impact male identity and perceptions of career advancement. Study 1 used a qualitative interview study of 10 male executives and found that masculine contest culture norms were evident but were being perpetuated and reinforced by organizational culture instead of individual masculine identities. In addition, Study 1 demonstrated a shift in masculine contest culture norms reducing the emphasis on the strong male archetype. Study 2 examines the relationship between masculine contest culture attributes impacting perceived opportunities for career development and promotion. We evaluated these relationships through a large‐scale survey study and found that at higher levels of masculine contest culture norms, men's perceptions of procedural justice for career development and promotion were lower compared with women. Broadly, the findings suggest that masculine archetypes of leadership negatively affect men and women.

Navigating the river: Experiences of women academic leaders in Vietnam

Gender inequities in leadership positions in academia persist globally. However, there are significant variations depending on country contexts, and devising strategies to overcome these will require a thorough understanding of the country-specific barriers. While the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions has become a burgeoning field of inquiry in recent years, few studies have been conducted to investigate this problem in Vietnam. This qualitative research uses photo elicitation interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to bridge this gap. It examines six Vietnamese women’s lived experiences as academic leaders and argues that by analysing the metaphors they use, we can extend our understanding of the issues academic women face. In Vietnam, the metaphor of a river that constantly changes represents the careers of women in academia. The study highlights the need to equalise and progressively introduce developmental opportunities to set Vietnamese women up for success in academic leadership. JEL Classification: i2i23

Breaking Through Despite the Odds: Learning from the Career Experiences of Successful BAME Women

The obstacles that minority groups face can often result in perceptions that success is beyond one’s control, further resulting in feelings of powerlessness, dependency, detachment, and resentment. Unlike their white counterparts who face ‘glass ceiling’, ethnic minority women who have less support and even fewer opportunities to advance, encounter “concrete ceiling” or “concrete walls” which are more difficult to break. Societal and organizational structures often put prejudicial barriers in their path which overlook merit, thereby impeding their advancement to senior positions. Being constantly overlooked, despite being competent, can negatively impact their leadership aspirations. So how do these women shield themselves from the frustration and marginalization that comes with the racial and gender prejudice they face and how do they achieve career success? To understand this, we interviewed 50 ethnic minority women in senior leadership positions. Deviating from the norm in business and management literature, we adopt a positive psychology perspective and delineate elements of Hope to examine their career goals, their motivation to reach these goals (agency) and how they go about achieving these (pathway). We found that the women in our study were hopeful in their goal pursuit, aware of the disadvantages they faced, anticipated these, and successfully identified pathways to achieve their goals and advance their careers. We develop a conceptual model based on our findings which has theoretical implications for both diversity and career success literatures.

The appropriate leadership styles in times of crisis: a study of women in senior leadership positions in corporate South Africa

PurposeAs women increasingly take on leadership roles during these turbulent times, the differences in their leadership styles in comparison to males in similar positions will continue to attract attention as it has in the past. The aim of this paper is to explore appropriate leadership styles that women in senior leadership positions facing the glass cliff have at their disposal.Design/methodology/approachThis research method was qualitative. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews from a total of 17 participants in corporate South Africa; purposive and snowball sampling was used to select women in senior leadership positions.FindingsParticipants expressed overwhelming support for a transformational leadership style due to its characteristics; however, women leaders believe a style or combination of styles are used based on the situation at hand.Research limitations/implicationsUsing only qualitative research has limited the scope and applicability of this study significantly.Practical implicationsThe representation of women in senior leadership positions has increased over the years more especially in organisations where there is crisis, attention now is the difference in kind of leadership styles they use.Originality/valueVery few research studies have gone in-depth into the effectiveness of the leadership styles that were used by women in corporate South Africa. The study, therefore, presents a major implication indicating that to show positive results, women need to be able to identify an appropriate leadership style based on carefully reviewing their specific organisational situation.

Impact of Mentoring on Academic Career Success for Women in Medicine: A Systematic Review.

Research has shown that barriers to career success in academic medicine disproportionately affect women. These barriers include inadequate mentoring, which may perpetuate the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions. The purpose of this review was to summarize the qualitative and quantitative evidence of the impact of mentoring on women's career outcomes and to inform future interventions to support the promotion and retention of women in academic medicine. The authors conducted a systematic review of original research published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals through March 20, 2020. Search terms related to mentorship, women, and academic medicine. The authors searched MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Current Contents Connect via Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO. They excluded studies not specifically addressing women and those without gender-stratified outcomes. They extracted and analyzed the following data: study design, population, sample size, response rate, participant age, percentage of women, mentoring prevalence, and outcomes. Of 2,439 citations identified, 91 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 65 quantitative and 26 qualitative studies. Mentoring was associated with objective and subjective measures of career success. Women perceived mentorship to be more valuable to their career development yet were more likely to report having no mentor. Additionally, women were more likely to report lower levels of research productivity, less career satisfaction, and greater barriers to promotion. Qualitative results indicated that women had less access to informal mentoring and family responsibilities had a greater effect on their career outcomes. Professional networking, female mentors, and relational aspects of mentoring were common themes. This review examined gender disparities in mentoring and the impact on research productivity, promotion success, and career satisfaction for women in academic medicine. Institution-supported mentoring programs are needed to facilitate identification of appropriate mentors and promotion of a more equitable academic career environment for women.

Fifteen-year trends in participation of women in presentation and leadership positions in the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, 2006 to 2020

ObjectiveThe implementation of integrated vascular surgery training programs was recently shown to be associated with an increase in women entering the field. However, whether this has precipitated a subsequent increase in the active participation of women in academic vascular societies remains unclear. We sought to examine the trends of academic inclusion of women vascular surgeons and surgical trainees over the past 15 years at the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery (SAVS). MethodsScientific programs for annual meetings of the SAVS, and program matriculation statistics from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, were reviewed for the period of 2006 to 2020. Yearly rates and 3-year averages of conference and society participation and vascular surgery training program matriculation rates were calculated and compared with proportion testing. Spearman correlation testing was used to compare trends, with ρ ≥0.600 defined as a strong correlation. ResultsExamining 3-year means, the average number of women authors per SAVS abstract increased from 0.78 to 1.42 over the course of the study period (P < .001), and the overall rate of women authors steadily increased from 12.8% to 21.5% (P < .001). Although this remains less than the proportion of women matriculating into vascular surgery programs in 2019 (29.3%; P = .007), the upward trend of women entering vascular surgery overall, and particularly vascular surgery fellowship, strongly correlates with the average number of women authors on abstracts at SAVS (ρ = 0.709 and ρ = 0.737, respectively). The percentage of women presenting authors increased from 9.7% to 28.4% (P = .004), but there was no increase in the percentage of women senior authors (10.1% to 9.6%; P = .92). In the 15-year period, only one abstract of 347 (0.3%) had full authorship by women vs 35.1% with full authorship by men (P < .001). Although the increase of women matriculating into vascular surgery programs over the study period did not correlate with the increase of women in senior leadership positions (ρ < 0.600), there was an increase in the number of women in committee chair positions (0.0% to 25.9%; P = .005), which correlated strongly with increasing society membership (ρ = 0.716). Additionally, there was an increase in women holding executive council positions from 0% to 10.0% (P = .08), although this was not statistically significant. ConclusionsParticipation of women authoring and presenting papers at the SAVS has increased over the past 15 years at a rate that strongly correlates with the increasing rate of women entering vascular surgery training programs. It is important that society leadership opportunities continue to parallel this trend as we seek to further improve diversity in vascular surgery.

Exploring the Disparity of Minority Women in Senior Leadership Positions in Higher Education in the United States and Peru

In this essay, the author compares and contrasts accessibility to higher education senior leadership for women in the United States and Peru. This paper addresses the disparity and challenges of women in higher education senior leadership focusing on minority women such as indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women in Peru and women of color in the United States. The author further calls for empirical research on the character traits, career path, motivations, definitions of success, and challenges of women who serve in executive higher education leadership positions. This paper further contributes to the field of comparative and international higher education, both domestically and abroad, while addressing demographic challenges such as sex and race for women in and seeking higher education administrative leadership career goals.

Enabling and empowering women in leadership in South African universities – Assessing needs and designing a response

Gender equity and women’s access to senior leadership and management positions in universities are a major challenge not only in South Africa but on the African continent, too. For women to take up senior leadership roles more potently, it is essential that they not only cope with and compete in patriarchal systems but more so, are equipped to change patriarchal hegemony and shift the management discourse and culture to a pluralistic leadership culture where transformational leadership becomes the norm and praxis. This paper examines a needs analysis for leadership and professional development competencies of women in senior leadership positions in South African higher education and presents the discussion on these findings, based on the data collected from 74 participants. The conclusion reveals the participants’ enthusiasm for personal leadership development as well as their readiness for impacting their leadership contexts. These findings, in turn, shape the content development of the Women in Leadership programme, designed by Higher Education Leadership and Management under the auspices of Universities South Africa.

Women in Higher Education: Are They Ready to Take Up Administrative Positions?—A Mixed-Methods Approach to Identify the Barriers, Perceptions, and Expectations

Higher education is anticipating vacancies in senior leadership positions over the coming years. Women are likely to be candidates for these openings, as the number of women pursuing doctoral degrees is rising. However, in the present scenario, there is a dearth of women in senior leadership positions in India. With a purpose to identify the factors influencing the decision of women to take up senior leadership positions, a cross-sectional survey was planned in India. Female faculty ( n = 136) employed on a tenure basis in state public universities were the respondents. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions. About 48% of the participants expressed that they decline opportunities for administrative positions. The distance to the workplace was found to be a barrier to take up senior leadership positions. Recommendations to promote the readiness of women to take up senior leadership are discussed.

Career Progression of Women Academics in Pakistani Universities: Enablers and Barriers

There is a dramatic increase in the number of women students in higher educational institutions but this had not been matched by growth in the number of women in senior leadership positions in Pakistani Universities. The current study was designed to explore the barriers and enablers that influence the professional development of women academics in Pakistan. Furthermore, the study investigated how female academicians manage the balance in their personal and professional life. Semi-structured interviews followed by a probing strategy were conducted to seek responses to these questions. 10 female academicians were selected purposively from two public sector universities of Lahore. Thematic analysis was conducted by using an inductive approach. Member check was applied for the reliability of themes drawn from the data. Each theme was explored in-depth and themes emerged from a smaller number of women were treated separately under the category of unique theme. Women considered their professional career development as a source of pride and gratification. Women academicians at the senior level enjoyed leadership roles as compared to young academicians; who were more involved in teaching and research. Females complained that they had not the information on policies relevant to their job and merit is neglected most of the time by higher authorities. Females claimed that they faced a biased attitude of their senior male colleagues/heads of departments but were highly motivated to face these challenges at the workplace.

A case study of the experiences of women leaders in senior leadership positions in the education district offices

This research was inspired by two critical factors relating to women leaders in senior positions in education district offices. Firstly, women leaders are continually plagued with stereotyping, and secondly, women are repeatedly undermined by male colleagues. Although the South African Constitution and other related legislation prohibits any form of gender discrimination, inequalities and injustices against women still prevail. Women are subjected to a false notion that they lack the resilience and experience desired when faced with hard-hitting or threatening situations. The primary focus of this study was to explore the experiences of women leaders in senior positions in the Gauteng East Education District office. To underpin this study, intersectionality and feminist theories were selected. Using a qualitative case study, one of the main findings of this study revealed that women in senior leadership positions in education districts persistently struggled to balance their work and family life amidst rooted patriarchal systems and cultural traditions. These women primarily lacked the aspiration to apply for senior leadership positions, but through formal mentorship, dedication and resilience took up senior leadership positions in education district offices.

At the Intersection of Gender and Culture: Women’s Leadership Identity Development

Examining the leadership identity development process of women in multicultural work settings is important to understand why the percentage of women in senior leadership positions is still universally low (Catalyst, 2017). This research examines the interaction of women’s gender and cultural identities on their leadership development process. It employs an intersectionality-informed qualitative approach to explore how women’s multiple identities interact and intersect in a number of ways to create distinct experiences of leadership development. The main findings of this paper show that depending on the gender stereotypes in a given culture and their equivalent in a new culture, women evaluate their organisational context, their own capabilities, and the opportunities available to them differently. This in turn affects their ascension into leadership roles. These findings make a significant theoretical contribution to the leadership identity development model put forth by DeRue and Ashford (2010), detailing ways in which women’s gender identity, cultural identity and an intersection of the two impact their leadership identity development process.

A grounded theory study exploring the contribution of coaching to rebalancing organisational power for female leaders

Objectives: Many studies examine female leadership and gender diversity, yet a gap exists in the literature regarding coaching female leaders. This study examines how leadership coaching influenced the development of nine women in senior leadership positions at a large NGO.Design: A qualitative approach was used, employing a grounded theory methodology informed by a critical realist epistemology and an abductive research logic.Method: Semi-structured individual interviews with a handpicked sample of nine participants, each of which operating within three levels of their CEO and having received leadership coaching within the past three years.Results: These suggest a male-dominated workplace culture, gender bias and the participants’ lack of confidence and entitlement (or ‘psychological glass ceiling’) resulted in the women feeling that they lacked legitimacy. The findings indicate that leadership coaching increases feelings of legitimacy for women in senior leadership roles, through enabling them to form their leadership identity, build confidence and be seen as leaders.Conclusions: This study concludes that coaching can be deployed to help female leaders combat feelings of a lack of legitimacy and thus even out power imbalances. Further research could assess how far these findings might be generalisable and therefore serve to inform the gender pay gap debate.Keywords:Executive coaching; leadership coaching; coaching psychology; women; female leadership; male-dominated; workplace culture; power; psychological glass ceiling.

The Emergence of Museum Education in Portugal: Madalena Cabral and the National Museum of Ancient Art

AbstractHistorically, women's contributions to museology have been long overlooked due to an entrenched patriarchal culture. While the 20th century was characterized by the emergence of women in senior leadership positions, their story is under‐represented in the literature, and that lack of narrative distorts the historical record. This essay addresses the work of Madalena Cabral, a woman and artist who was an influential Portuguese art museum educator of the twentieth century. Over four decades (from 1952 to 1992) she developed a unique and visionary approach at the National Museum of Ancient Art (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, MNAA) in Lisbon. She was a member of catholic groups interested in the study of religious art, textile design and architecture and was an activist in defense of the professional status of museum educators nationally and internationally. A synthesis of her ideas will be presented alongside a commentary of what can be learnt from her contribution to museum education. This essay focuses on the lasting legacy of Cabral's work based on written records, photographs and oral memories of those who met and worked with her.

Leadership Gender Disparity Within Research-Intensive Medical Schools: A Transcontinental Thematic Analysis.

The underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions of academic medicine continues to prevail despite the ongoing efforts to advance gender parity. Our aim was to compare the extent of gender imbalance in the leadership of the top 100 medical schools and to critically analyze the contributing factors through a comprehensive theoretical framework. We adopted the theoretical framework of the Systems and Career Influences Model. The leadership was classified into four tiers of leadership hierarchy. Variables of interest included gender, h-index, number of documents published, total number of citations, and number of years in active research. A total of 2448 (77.59%) men and 707 (22.41%) women met the inclusion criteria. Male majority was found in all regions with a significant difference in all levels of leadership (chi square = 91.66; P value = .001). Women had a lower mean h-index across all positions in all regions, and when we adjusted for number of years invested, M Index for women was still significantly lower than men (T test = 6.52; P value = .02). Organizational and individual influences are transcontinental within the top 100 medical school leadership hierarchy. Those factors were critically assessed through in-depth analysis of the Systems and Career Influences Model. Evidence-driven actionable recommendations to remedy those influences were outlined.

Introduction to Special Issue on Gender and Leadership and a Future Research Agenda

Despite the feminisation of universities in terms of their student intake [1,2], formal positions of academic leadership in higher education remain concentrated in male hands[…]

Looking Good and Being Good: Women Leaders in Australian Universities

In this article, I argue that women in senior leadership positions in universities continue to face a number of tensions and ambiguities in their everyday working lives. Drawing on the metaphors of ‘looking good’ and ‘being good’, I highlight the gendered assumptions that senior women encounter. As senior leaders, women are simultaneously required to negotiate an inherently masculine culture yet at the same time are expected to exercise a level of femininity. Their physical presence, appearance, clothing, gestures, and behaviours are central to the bodily exercise of leadership. As the data presented illustrate, women’s leadership bodies and bodily performances reflect gendered institutional norms and assumptions about how leaders should look and act.

Banking on Diversity: Does Gender Diversity Improve Financial Firms' Risk Oversight?

This Article surveys empirical studies examining the narrow question of whether the inclusion of greater numbers of women in senior leadership positions and on boards of directors may reduce excessive risk taking in financial institutions. While there is a significant literature exploring the impact of gender and racial diversity on better corporate governance and improved corporate performance, only a handful of studies have examined the potential influence of senior executive and board gender diversity on risk management in financial services firms. Employing the results from these studies, this Article surveys a growing literature examining the narrow question of whether including greater numbers of women in senior leadership positions and on boards of directors enhances the performance of financial services firms. Only a handful of studies have examined the impact of senior women and female board members on financial services firms. Based on the conclusions presented by the studies, this Article is among the earliest contributions in the literature to examine whether increasing the representation of women in leadership positions in the financial services industry may enhance risk management in financial markets. While research examining the impact of diversity on firms’ financial performance presents varying results, the early evidence on the impact of diversity on risk management oversight for financial institutions offers significant promise. After surveying the empirical literature exploring gender diversity and risk management, this Article explains that there may be other important reasons to encourage board diversity among financial services firms.

Women Leaders within Higher Education in the United States: Supports, Barriers, and Experiences of Being a Senior Leader

Fundamental change is underway in higher education requiring more leaders and a different type of leadership at all levels. However, statistics indicate the women are under represented at the senior-most levels. Our research focused on 35 women at the senior-most levels of institutions of higher education and explored their journey into senior leadership roles and their experience of being a leader in higher education today. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, coded, and analyzed. Included is a statistical comparison of the experiences of white women and women of color. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the experiences of women in senior leadership positions in higher education. The women leaders in this study provide more detailed descriptions of the positive aspects of being in a leadership role than have been previously reported. The positive aspects of being in a leadership role are important to document in order to provide balanced perspective on the experiences of being a senior leader and a woman in higher education.