Advancing Women in Leadership Journal
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Role Performance of Female Headteachers in Primary Schools: A Case of Bondo District, Kenya
Get PDFThe purpose of the study was to determine the role performance of female head teachers in primary schools in Bondo district of the republic of Kenya. Descriptive survey design was used in the study. As the population of female headteachers is not so big, 16 out of 17 schools were used for the research. Questionnaire and interview guide were used to gather information from the respondents. Data were analysed using tally marks and total frequencies to generate frequency accounts out of which percentages were calculated. Information collected through interview schedules and discussions were thematically described.The findings revealed that in all six administrative tasks, the female head teachers\u27 performance was generally good. It is expected that the results of this study may help to shed light on how female head teachers perform their roles as administrators and to provide some indication of direction that could change the perception of the role of female head teachers from negative to positive. Results may also provide an indication of what additional steps may need to be taken to address the elevations of more female teachers to leadership roles. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the government should come up with mentors among the female head teachers, thoroughly train some of them who will in turn be in a positions to offer assistance and more guidance to their counter parts. This will help motivate female teachers to pursue leadership roles
Stepping Stones: Nine Lessons from Women Leaders in Academic Medicine
Get PDFWomen now make up half of all medical school matriculates; yet few women hold leadership positions in academic health centers. The reasons for this gender gap are complex and have been the subject of much discussion. However, the experiences of women who successfully ascend to positions of senior leadership are rarely examined. It is critical to develop a greater understanding of women\u27s paths to leadership positions in order to inspire and enable more women to seek such opportunities. Using a semi-structured protocol, we interviewed 16 women leaders who were willing to share their career journeys in a public forum. These leaders were asked to share pivotal moments or milestones, referred to as "stepping stones," in their careers. The interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed for significant patterns and consistent themes. Nine themes were identified and included: hold fast to your values; be open to unexpected opportunities; surround yourself with people who believe in you and people you believe in; be assertive in your communication and actions; continually refine your leadership skills; don\u27t take things personally; stay organized; build positive relationships and welcoming environments; and when and if necessary, prove them wrong. The women leaders had strikingly similar lessons to share. This study develops a deeper understanding of the career paths of women in leadership positions, setting the stage for future study as well as encouraging and empowering more women to climb the leadership ladder
Making Meaning of Barriers and Adversity: Experiences of Women Leaders in Higher Education
Get PDFExtensive research has demonstrated that women aspiring to and serving as leaders face many barriers, which creates a glass ceiling effect for women\u27s 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
Big Jumps in Women\u27s Presence in Parliaments: Are These Sufficient for Improving Beliefs in Women\u27s Ability to Govern?
No full textIn this article, I examine whether sudden, big jumps in women\u27s presence in parliament are sufficient for improving beliefs in women\u27s ability to govern in the two cases with pre and posttest data: Iraq and Spain. I explain why big jumps lend themselves to tests of sufficiency, defend the theory confirming advantages of this analytic approach and discuss the advantages of the Iraqi and Spanish comparison. The Iraqi and Spanish tests of sufficiency include pre and posttest models of the effect of the big jump using ordinal regression analysis. The analyses are run over 5026 Iraqi respondents and 2411 Spanish respondents to surveys administered before and after the big jumps. The analysis confirms that big jumps are sufficient for improvement of beliefs in women\u27s ability to govern in Iraq and Spain
An Examination of Indo-Trinidadian Females\u27 Identity Beliefs: Implications for their Centered Leadership
Get PDFDiscussions around the development of Caribbean women have, to a great extent, marginalized Indo-Trinidadian with scant anecdotal evidence of their leadership potential and identity beliefs. I sought to examine Indo-Trinidadian women\u27s identity beliefs and how this is linked to the concept of leadership. The underlying theoretical framework of this qualitative methodology study was Centered Leadership (Brash & Cranston, 2011). The questions posed were, what are the beliefs as regards Indo-Trinidadian females\u27 identity and how do such beliefs reflect the subscales of Centered Leadership? Most of the 50 participants belonged to the 18 to 36 age range with 20 of them possessing high school certificates, 19 Indo-Trinidadian females lived in North-East Trinidad, and 12 were salesclerks. All participants displayed high levels of self-efficacy, 80% indicated that they used positive methods of eliminating stress and they felt empowered emotionally, physically, and mentally. In responding to questions about their belief in freewill, 84% of respondents indicated that they favored free-will over destiny. Four participants who lived in other countries indicated that they did not have any major issues assimilating a new culture. Moreover, 10 of the participants verified the findings. Indo-Trinidadian women\u27s identity and belief systems closely matched the five stages of Centered Leadership: (a) meaning; (b) framing; (c) connecting; (d) engaging; and (e) energizing
Occupational and Mental Health Consequences of Women\u27s Experiences of Gender Discrimination and Negative Workplace Acts in the Legal Profession
Get PDFWomen have been entering the legal profession increasingly over the last three decades, yet continue to leave the profession at significantly greater rates than men. Previous research has documented the influence of workplace discrimination in influencing women\u27s entry and retention in the legal profession, but less research attention has been directed toward the occupational and mental health consequences for these women. The present study examined whether negative acts in the workplace, gender discrimination, and work-life conflict were associated with negative occupational and mental health consequences for women lawyers. Questionnaires containing measures of negative acts in the workplace, gendered elements of the work environment, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, burnout, and mental health symptoms were mailed to a stratified random sample of Canadian women lawyers, resulting in a sample of 277 women lawyers from Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Findings supported our hypothesis that negative workplace experiences, including gender discrimination, would predict lower levels of job satisfaction and greater levels of burnout in women lawyers. In terms of mental health outcomes, work-life conflict emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived stress and anxiety, while negative workplace acts significantly predicted depression. The findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing negative acts and gender discrimination in the legal profession in order to increase women\u27s job satisfaction and to safeguard their health and well-being
Women Leaders within Higher Education in the United States: Supports, Barriers, and Experiences of Being a Senior Leader
Get PDFFundamental 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
The Gendered Parenting of Political Leaders
Get PDFDo we have different expectations of male and female politicians regarding parenting when young children are involved? If so, what are the implications for political citizenship? The aim of this article was to examine the construction of parenting and gender in the portrayal in Swedish print media of high-ranking politicians Gustav Fridolin, leader of the Green Party, and Birgitta Ohlsson, a Liberal Party member of the Swedish Government. The study covers reporting from 2010 up to the end of 2012. Methodologically, a discourse analysis based on discourse theory was performed, implying a textual analysis of 39 articles through gender theoretical lenses. Although fathers were seen as primary caregivers in some of the articles, a recurrent phenomenon was the repetition in Swedish newspaper articles of the idea that mothers rather than fathers should be considered primary caregivers. Furthermore, since Ohlsson was criticized for not choosing parental leave and the critical remarks about Fridolin were instead about him choosing parental leave, the different expectations on women as mothers and men as fathers in politics imply that even in a Nordic country context young children are a greater obstacle for female rather than for male politicians. Thus, gender inequalities between women\u27s and men\u27s political citizenship continue to persist in Sweden
Women Who Continue to Pursue Science: Motivated not only Despite but also by Concerns about the Future
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to explore how women pursuing science fields are able to do so despite their concerns about the future (e.g., difficulty combining family and career, undesirable work environment). Do these women change their values, ignore the stereotypes, or manage in some other way? Thirty college women pursuing science and engineering participated in a semester-long program where they discussed their concerns with several peers and female professionals. Quantitative data showed students\u27 concerns and values remained strong over time. Qualitative data revealed students became aware that peers and professionals shared their concerns, and this helped them to feel part of the field. Surprisingly, they were now motivated not only despite but also by the concerns that once discouraged them. These results suggest that career programs can help women to recognize shared concerns, become motivated to change the field in the ways that concern them, and to reimagine their futures
Crossing the Great Divide: Changing the Culture of Women Through Gender Equity in Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Get PDF“Crossing the great divide” (of mathematics) involves a journey not unlike many arduous journeys. In order to reach your destination, the traveler must prepare for difficult road conditions and allow for alternate routes. In this presentation, consider gender equity as the destination and imagine there are a number of routes that we could take while making our journey. Recognizing that there may be different definitions for gender equity and the route you take depends on your definition. In their definition of gender equity, Grossman and Grossman (1994) state that “gender equity can be viewed in terms of treatment of students, gender differences in roles for which schools prepare students and gender disparities in educational outcomes” (p. 119). Koch and Irby (2002) describe gender equity as “to be fair and just toward both men and women, to show preference to neither, and concern for both” (p. 4). Walker and Foote (2001) define gender equity within a culture to mean “all individuals having freedom from limits imposed by self or society that would prohibit both males and females from pursuing the fields of knowledge and skills suited for them” (p. 101). Others describe gender equity in terms of the educational environment, one in which individuals have not only opportunities, but real efforts are made to equalize, reform, and improve (Nash & Dougherty, 1991). Using these definitions, gender equity can be viewed as a subset of a larger set identified as educational equity