Women's Leadership Development Research Articles

Guided by a "Gentle Luminary": The role of others in women's leadership efficacy development.

This article presents a narrative inquiry study on the role of others in college women's leadership efficacy development. It begins by presenting the significance of the study and existing literature on college women's leadership development, including scholarship around the role of others in leadership development. The methodology is presented, followed by an in-depth exploration of the findings around the role of specific family members, peers, and teachers in college women's leadership efficacy development. The article concludes with implications for practice.

Investigating the Impact of Gender on Leadership Styles and Career Progression in the Malaysian Workforce

Gender diversity in leadership is a critical issue worldwide, and its impact on organizational performance and productivity has been extensively studied in various contexts. In Malaysia, where gender equality is still a work-in-progress, understanding the relationship between gender and leadership is particularly pertinent. This research seeks to provide an overview of the current state of research on the impact of gender on leadership styles and career progression in the Malaysian workforce, identify gaps in knowledge and suggest future directions for investigation. Specifically, this research explores the theoretical framework that underpins gender and leadership styles, outlines the methodology used for investigating gender and career progression in the Malaysian workforce and presents the findings and implications of this research. Finally, this research suggests strategies and interventions to improve gender diversity and enable women's leadership development in Malaysia.

Women employee development: Mindfulness and their well being

This research paper explores the answer to the main question: Do women employees face work-life balance issues taking a toll on their well-being? The study also analyses the factors that affect the well-being of women employees today. A survey was conducted among teachers, and IT professionals to gather data, and correlation analysis was employed to study the relation between the variables: Family Support, Long Working hours, and Work overload affecting the well-being of women employees. The findings indicate that Multi-tasking, Long working hours and work overload are significantly influencing Mindfulness regarding Women's leadership development. When it comes to Family support, 98% of the responses showed that their families support them in times of work overload, which is a good thing. Based on these findings, several recommendations are proposed in the Reference section. By implementing those recommendations, women employees’ well-being & work life can be improved.

Women leadership development in local governance in South and Southeast Asia: a critical analysis

PurposeThe main goal of the study is to participate in academic debates and explore women's leadership and related challenges and opportunities in governance, and the extent to which women’s leadership has been enhanced by administrative reforms. The goal is to broaden the scope of action by promoting women's engagement and leadership in local government.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative study that uses inductive content analysis to examine the relationship between administrative reforms and women’s leadership development in the context of local government in Southeast and South Asia.FindingsThere is a positive impact of administrative reforms on women's leadership development. There is evidence that women are preparing for leadership roles in administration, which is a sign of progress in political change and modernization of society. They have been empowered by political and administrative education in a transformative way.Research limitations/implicationsThis article contributes to the literature that expands knowledge about governance, female leadership and administrative reform. They are interrelated because they are precursors to the development of women's leadership in countries.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can help governments in South and Southeast Asia become more aware of strategies to promote gender balance in governance. The unsatisfactory situation was found to exist because of problems related to socio-political, economic, cultural, and personal development.Originality/valueThis study is the first to highlight the relationship between administrative reform and the development of women in leadership positions in a rarely studied developing country.

Exploring Sustainable Strategies for Improving Women's Leadership Development in Primary Schools in Kenya

Exploring Sustainable Strategies for Improving Women's Leadership Development in Primary Schools in Kenya

An exploratory study on barriers and enablers for women leaders in higher education institutions in Mexico

Mexico, the second-largest economy in Latin America after Brazil, has a gender gap index score of 76.4% in 2022 compared to 75.7% in 2021 and is ranked 31 out of 146 countries for 2022. Mexico has become one of the world's leaders in gender-political equality, which shows that the gender ceiling is cracking, and it is yet to see if gender parity is achieved in other sectors as well. The women's leadership topic has been widely researched in many countries, but with this changing dimension in the political sector, it is important to know if any changes are happening in the education sector as well. This exploratory research aims to identify what motivates women to take up leadership roles and whether they still experience barriers in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study was conducted with 22 women participants from Mexico's HEIs. The study used a qualitative narrative research design to understand what enablers and barriers are experienced by Mexican female academics. The study identified four key barriers and four enablers that affected women's career and leadership development. Gaining a deeper understanding of the barriers and enablers that affect women's career and leadership development can be used to investigate how culturally appropriate developmental relationships can create ways to overcome the barriers they experience. Further, the study's implications can support human resource development initiatives.

Factors associated with general self-efficacy of women leaders in India

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to examine the impact of both work and non-work domain contextual factors (family support, workplace social support, mentoring support, networking and visible assignment) on the general self-efficacy (GSE) of women leaders in India. Also, we tried to explore whether GSE is connected to women leaders' career aspirations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a survey-based study where data was collected and analysed from 145 women leaders working in a large public sector organisation in India.FindingsResults suggest that except for workplace social support, all other factors have a significant positive impact on the GSE of women leaders. GSE is also significantly associated with women leaders' career aspirations.Originality/valueUniqueness of the article is that we have empirically tested the enablers and deterrents of women leadership in the GSE context, taking note of both work and non-work domains of women leaders. The implications of the results for women's leadership development have been detailed.

The problematic persistence of gender reflexivity in women's leadership development

PurposeResearch on women's leadership development over the past two decades has seen a move away from feminist theory that embeds action at a structural level as the objective of consciousness raising realised during the programme. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the stalling of collective action needed to challenge the continued under-representation of women in leadership roles.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual. Gender reflexivity – as the basis for claims within women's leadership development programmes (WLDPs) that are based on identity work to enable wider transformation of organisations in respect of structural barriers – is examined and critiqued.FindingsWomen's leadership development is unlikely to be able to used as a vehicle for structural change whilst it remains focused on self-acceptance, self-management and self-development of the individual participants. Gender reflexivity, as the warrant for change and transformation, is not used in a way that can deliver organisational change. Part of this is the way in which it is misapplied within human resource development and part of this is the continued lack of framing WLDP as a historical practice in support of the current logic of leadership.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the development of a critical approach to women's leadership development from a feminist theory perspective.

Exploration of Women's Leadership Development Challenges and Transformational Learning: A Positional Paper

My review of the positions that involving decision-making roles shows that women still hold less than 26% of the decision-making roles within Fortune Magazine’s list of Top 500 companies, higher education, and politics. Fortune 500 boards of directors and entrepreneurs show increasing rates of women in decision-making roles. Surveys related to the division of labor in households show that women are still responsible for the majority of the work needed to keep the household running. These factors, along with challenges such as a lack of positive social feedback for aspiring women leaders, gender stereotypes, educational methods, and a lack of prominent role models, can affect women’s development as leaders and the number of women in leadership roles. This paper explores social feedback, gender stereotypes, conditional teaching, and lack of role models as affecting women’s potential and development as leaders. This review also explores applying lessons from the transformational learning literature to women’s leadership development process. Keywords: transformational learning, leadership development, identity development, women's leadership development, gender stereotypes, social constructs

Standing on the shoulders of giantesses: how women technology founders use single and mixed gender networks for success and change

PurposeBuilding on research about entrepreneurship and social capital, the purpose of this paper is to explore how women founders of technology-based ventures in Canada access and use formal external entrepreneurial networks to build their companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on 25 semi-structured interviews with women founders of technology firms and leaders of formal networks.FindingsThe authors demonstrate the positive impact of women only networks (WON) for founders including increasing entrepreneurial diversity, access to financing, and founder credibility and sponsorship. The authors show how women founders use mixed gender and WON to build their businesses and conclude that membership in WON can be a vital step.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size is small and most participants reside in highly urban areas, which may limit generalizability. Findings may not generalize beyond Canada due to cultural and structural differences.Practical implicationsThe research suggests that external WON should be encouraged as important resources for founder identity work which may enable positive change.Social implicationsThis research can assist in designing initiatives that support women entrepreneurs and promote gender parity.Originality/valueThe authors draw on research in women's leadership development to explain how WONs for entrepreneurs help founders create overlapping strategic networks – a unique form of social capital – and serve as identity workspaces for the identity work women founders must complete. The authors argue that the identity work in WONs can be a mechanism by which gender structures are challenged and eventually changed.

Strengthening Sisters: How Latter‐day Saint Missionary Service Prepares Women for Leadership

Women, especially those from highly religious societies, are underrepresented in professional and civic leadership positions. Considering how women's life experiences, especially from religious volunteer opportunities, can be reframed as training for broader leadership roles could help address this disparity. The potential for women to learn leadership skills from volunteer religious service is an overlooked, but possibly important, means of transferability to larger leadership roles. The current article describes a qualitative study of women's perceptions of leadership skills gained while serving as full‐time volunteer missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints during young adulthood. Respondents described perceptions of leadership skills developed throughout missions as well as perceptions about how they are currently using these skills. Findings suggest many women perceived growth in leadership skills from missionary service, especially in the areas of interpersonal interactions and relationships, although they reported currently utilizing skills more in church and family roles rather than professional or civic ones. The study is discussed in the context of literature related to gender and types of leadership approaches, as well as Relational‐Cultural Theory. Implications for facilitating respondents' post‐mission skill transfer to future leadership roles are presented. Larger scale applications for women's leadership development are also considered.

Exploring Executive Coaching as a Smart Education Employee Development Tool for Executive Women in Complex Organizations

Over the past 10 years, executive (leadership)-based coaching with senior managers has become widely adopted by the corporate community and is quickly expanding into nonprofit and governmental sectors. Leadership coaching has been mainly for the purpose of improving or enhancing management skills; however, there are many personal aspects involved such as the enhancement of behavior. Adapting a leader's behavior is accomplished through such tools as individual assessments, feedback, developmental planning, executive coaching, and implementation of a plan. In reviewing the literature, it was found that focusing on appropriate combinations of key factors such as applying coaching within the relationship and effectively employing a women's leadership development program (WLDP) can effectively facilitate women's leadership development. This article represents a real-world coaching framework that can be implemented effectively in a variety of professional educational programs in organizations.

Implications of Women leadership development with respect to Feminism

This paper is anticipated to examine the role of global feminism and gender stereotype behavior on women's leadership development. Moreover, the present research is accentuating to shed light on how global feminism and gender stereotypes have affected the female employees work life generally, and leaders especially. This study is aimed to analyze the current status of women's leadership development, and to investigate how to improve it in future. Women have always been an unsung hero of the society and stereotyping hinders women's career progression over the globe. The study selected 15 female leaders from various sectors, I.E, (education, media, medical, and NGOs) from Islamabad. The present study followed the inductive research approach through semi-structure interviews. The study divulges that leadership does not confine in the cage of gender stereotyping. The study shows that it is right time to remove such barriers from the society giving everyone equal opportunity to lead and achieve outstanding organizational performance. The study has significant implications towards mainstreaming women leaders in every walk of life. This research will enhance the digging of knowledge, skills and wisdom in women generally and of Pakistani women specifically.

Women Leaders in Agriculture: Data-Driven Recommendations for Action and Perspectives on Furthering the Conversation

The presence of women in positions of power in the agriculture industry is lacking. This article highlights findings generated from the 2016 Southern Region Women's Agricultural Leadership Summit attended by women from 13 southern states. The research revealed that women working in Extension should (a) formally connect with leadership mentors, (b) envision themselves in leadership roles, and (c) support one another as they work to lead in the agriculture industry. To further the conversation, we provide recommendations that are inherent in the data and intended to assist early-career women professionals as well as middle managers and administrators who desire to advance women's leadership development in Extension.

Perspectives on Leadership Development for Women as Change Agents

Perspectives on Leadership Development for Women as Change Agents

Integrating Care and Critical Reflection in Women's Leadership Development Programs

Women's leadership development programs (WLDPs) have been suggested as programmatic additions for achieving gender-equity in organizational contexts. These programs are conceptualized as transformative learning spaces affording women the opportunity to explore uncritically examined assumptions and create new perspectives of themselves as leaders. This paper explains how these types of transformative learning environments are predicated on dialogue that encourages critical reflection in the context of caring relationships. Recognizing that women may arrive in leadership programs with varied capacities for both relational learning and critical reflection, this paper seeks to explore the communication practices needed to create the dialogic conditions of care and critical reflection. It outlines the results of a qualitative study that examined critical incidents of dialogue in a women's leadership development program to demonstrate the ways in which facilitators communicate to create these conditions. The results suggest how taking a communication perspective on dialogue may increase a facilitator's capacity to integrate care and critical reflection.

Unconscious Gender Bias: Implications for Women's Leadership Development

Journal of Leadership StudiesVolume 12, Issue 1 p. 62-67 Symposium Unconscious Gender Bias: Implications for Women's Leadership Development Susan R. Madsen, Susan R. MadsenSearch for more papers by this authorMaureen S. Andrade, Maureen S. AndradeSearch for more papers by this author Susan R. Madsen, Susan R. MadsenSearch for more papers by this authorMaureen S. Andrade, Maureen S. AndradeSearch for more papers by this author First published: 21 June 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21566Citations: 35Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume12, Issue1Spring 2018Pages 62-67 RelatedInformation

Women Leaders' Perspectives and Experiences of Leadership Development

Ideas and theories that consider the intersection of leader diversity and development needs are in thebeginning stages of exploration and understanding. The purpose of this study is to explore and understandhow women in organizational leadership roles describe their lived experiences of leadership development.Women leaders participated in semistructured interviews with the researcher to explore the participants'perspectives and lived experience of leadership development. Five core meanings and themes wereelucidated from interview responses using phenomenological analysis methods. Each theme is discussedand recommendations for future research are considered. The results of this study can be used to informspecific individual-level considerations for women's leadership development, improve leadershipdevelopment applications, and describe potential actions needed to address the issues that influencewomen's leadership applications.

Transformational Learning in Women's Leadership Development Training

Recent years have seen a sharp increase in interest in women's leadership development. However, the nature of change for women in leadership development training and the processes within the training setting that produce change remain under-explored. This paper examines the learning processes within training settings in the context of the Women's Leadership Series (WLS), a leadership development initiative for scientists and managers within the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It documents this process within a multi-stage framework and concludes that transformational learning can indeed take place in the context of a classroom and in the specific setting of leadership development training.

Understanding "Why" One University's Women's Leadership Development Strategies are So Effective

One research university has brought formal training to campus to support women and provide the needed leadership training in a cost-effective manner. Based on a coaching method used at Harvard in their Women's Leadership Forum, our initiative has completed its fifth cycle and provides an on-campus leadership development and support program for women. This paper offers insights into the Women's Leadership Initiative provided by focus group participants and also highlights the overall impact and effectiveness using survey data. Keywords: Women, leadership, higher education, skill-development