Advancing Women in Leadership Journal
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Overcoming Injustice: A Tradition of Resilience
Get PDFNumerous studies have explored the concept of resilience and its influence in the face of alienation, adversity, or abnormality (Benard, 1991; Cairns & Cairns, 1994; Gordon, 1995; Krovetz, Speck, & Luther, 1991; Werner, Smith, & Sagor, 1996). Even more noteworthy, a significant body of this research has considered the role of resilience in the management of social complexities such as gender bias and institutional racism (Bressler, 1967; Centra, 1970; Davis, Loeb, & Robinson, 1970; Heussenstamm, & Hoefner, 1971; Kiernan & Daniels, 1967; Marjoriebanks, 1980; Middleton, 1963; Newman, 1980; Reed, McMillan, & McBee, 1995; Seginer, 1986; Solomon, 1989; Taylor, 1970; Wilson, 1979).
Gordon’s (1995) work views resilience as the ability to thrive, mature, and increase competence when confronted with adverse circumstances. These circumstances, which can be either biological or environmental, become obstacles as one attempts to increase social competence. Sometimes the circumstance may be chronic and consistent and other times severe and infrequent. In any case, it represents a loss of opportunity to thrive, mature, and increase capacity for competence. Studies by Gordon (1995) and Luther (1991) found that resilient people possess an internal locus of control, not found in non-resilient people, and that the resulting social competence held by the former group plays an important role in overcoming stressful situations.
Dealing with racism at school, in the workplace, in neighborhoods, and in business has long been a stressful situation for African Americans. It is one of the primary forms of adversity with which resilience researchers have concerned themselves (Bressler, 1967; Centra, 1970; Chesley-Carter, 1998; Davis, Loeb, & Robinson, 1970; Kiernan & Daniels, 1967; Taylor, 1970).
From these studies that link resilience to racial prejudice, several things are clear. People need 1) cultural identity, 2) psychological acceptance, 3) feelings of relevance, and 4) fulfillment of cultural needs and goals. Another thing that the research on resilience tells us is that people need people. In study after study (Cairns & Cairns, 1994; Christenson, 1992; Garmezy, 1991; Gordon, 1995; Jorgensen, 1979), it appears that the influence of a dependable role model, constant buddy, or a caring adult figure (in the case of youth) is a highly significant factor in one’s overcoming obstacles
The Perceived Impact of A Post-Secondary Education Program On Kenyan Catholic Sisters\u27 Understanding of Their Lives As Women Religious
Get PDFKenyan women religious serve in ministries that provide essential aid in their communities. These ministries include vital positions in the fields of education, healthcare, social work, finance, and agriculture, among others. However, approximately 80% of women religious in sub-Saharan Africa lack the post-secondary education necessary to adequately meet the evolving demands of their ministries (Wakahiu & Shaver, 2015). For this reason, women religious in Kenya have been provided an opportunity to participate in a uniquely delivered, fully funded, post-secondary education program. Although two qualitative studies had previously been conducted on this post-secondary education program, none had addressed the impact of the program on the participants\u27 understanding of their lives as women religious. As a result, this qualitative study endeavored to answer the questions: Has participation in the program transformed Kenyan sisters\u27 understanding of their lives as women religious? And, has participation in the program influenced how Kenyan women religious view themselves in their ministries? In-person interviews with program participants and staff (N = 17), as well as document reviews, were conducted in order to effectively answer these questions. Upon analysis, three themes were revealed, including enhancement of ministry abilities (academic, professional, congregation strengthening, spiritual), empowerment (self-confidence) and relational engagement (social interaction, self-awareness, leadership). From these themes, the concept of servant leadership emerged as the ultimate perceived impact of the post-secondary education program on Kenyan Catholic sisters\u27 understanding of their lives as women religious and view of themselves in ministry
Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Leadership Capacity: Mentoring, Networking, Training
No full textTo overcome barriers to leadership opportunities that exist for women and promote gender equality in the workforce, it is essential for organizations to provide leadership development programs specifically targeted towards women. The purposes of this research were to: (a) examine the ways participants were able to apply their knowledge and skills after participating in a leadership training program and, (b) explore the non-organizational experiences and benefits participants realized after participating in a leadership development program. All participants in this study were females. Key findings from this study indicated that as a result of participating in the Leadership Academy leadership training program, most participants expressed high levels of self-confidence regarding leadership positions as well as knowing their individual strengths. Results of the qualitative findings suggested four emerging and descriptive themes that demonstrate perceived benefits: confidence builder, network facilitator, opportunity booster, and paying it forward. This study adds to existing literature suggesting that formal women-focused leadership training programs can facilitate gender equality in the workforce.  
Shaping the Future for a Sustainable World: Perspectives of Women Leaders from Commonwealth Open Learning Institutions
Get PDFWomen are crucial in shaping the future of a sustainable world as they have valuable ideas, experiences, and stories on leadership and change. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of 19 women leaders from 14 Commonwealth open learning institutions regarding women\u27s leadership and a sustainable future. The findings indicate that women leaders are aware of their crucial role and the need to encourage other women to take up leadership or decision-making positions. However, there is sometimes a disconnect between envisioning a sustainable future and translating that vision into reality. Key constructs to advance women in leadership positions are revealed as having a mentor, building powerful networks, empowering women in ICT, and championing climate change
Women of Color on Campus: Coalitions and Alliances for Survival and Success
Get PDFThe university has the image of being a haven of sorts, a place where ideas can be explored and a person can grow intellectually and personally, regardless of gender or race/ethnicity. Although universities have been historically dominated by men, women have made great gains in the last few decades. Yoder (1999) states women earned more than half of all bachelors and masters degrees and about 40% of all Ph.D.s and professional degrees. More and more women are entering faculty and other professional positions at universities. Does this mean that universities are havens for women, places where we can grow personally and professionally without encountering the barriers that face professional women in business or other work environments
Parent Advocacy in a Gendered Organization: Participatory Research, Action, and Analysis
Get PDFHegemonic gender relationships pervade the organization of schooling in America (Marshall, 1992, 2000; Yeakey, Johnston, & Adkinson, 1986; Young, 2000; Young & Laible, 2000). Men generally occupy privileged roles as administrators. Women ordinarily serve in subordinate positions as teachers and parents (read: mothers). The exercise of authority in schools, then, has come to be associated with the male voice: hierarchical, rule-oriented, dispassionate, and even harsh (Jones, 1988; Shakeshaft, 1989, 1998). Hegemony silences women’s voices so that their calls for compassion and connectivity become “non-authoritarian, marginal pleadings for mercy—gestures of the subordinate” (Jones, 1988, p. 121).
Hegemony of gender served as the fundamental premise of this study of four women as they struggled to achieve social justice for their children with disabilities. The mothers created a grassroots organization called Face-to-Face and, for two years, battled the male-dominated school administration and Board of Education. The study examines the gendered organization of schooling in one, small, rural school district in the American Midwest, and serves as a lens for viewing the hegemony of gender in American society
Feminist Leadership: Building Nurturing Academic Communities
Get PDFAmerican higher education currently faces "harsh realities" (Altbach, 1999). "It has been argued," according to Altbach, "that higher education\u27s golden age - the period of strong enrollment growth, increasing research budgets, and general public support - is over" (p. 272). There is a wave of change on the horizon. "Never before have we experienced the kind of change currently rocking our society" (Zahorski & Cognard, 1999, p. 2). Preparing our academic institutions for this change "promises to be perhaps the greatest of the many challenges in the decades ahead" (p. 2). Some of the changes that currently challenge higher education include "fiscal austerity, downsizing, heavy faculty workloads, underprepared students, a growing cohort of nomadic adjunct faculty, a tenure system under fire, [and] a demand for greater accountability and productivity from a disenchanted public" (p. 2). Perhaps the greatest challenge at present is the changing face of American higher education due to the influx of new populations of students. In parts of the country, p eople of different nationalities, cultural identities, and races are sharing academic spaces creating hybrid identities, new languages, and new academic cultures (Association for the Study of Higher Education, 2006). Policies, institutional practices, teaching methods, methods of assessment, and leadership will all need to change to better serve constituents in these evolving academic communities
Rethinking Leadership: Leadership as Friendship
Get PDF"…our brother who has been educated at schools and universities. Do we wish to join that procession, or don\u27t we? On what terms shall we join that procession? Above all, where is it leading us, the procession of educated men?" --Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas, 1938
Virginia Woolf (1938) in Three Guineas asked where the procession of educated men was leading us. She raised fundamental concerns about the procession of men who had been educated in colleges and universities. Answering her own question, she pointed out that the procession was leading to war. The political and social system, she believed, generated competitiveness, tyranny, possessiveness, and violence (Carroll 1978). In Three Guineas, when a man from a peace society asks for help in preventing war, her response is: "We can best help you to prevent war by not repeating your words and following your methods but by finding new words and creating new methods" (p. 143).
If Woolf were writing today, she would raise similar questions about leadership and would be critical not only of where leadership has taken us but also how people in general tend to view leadership. The early popularity of the so-called Afghanistan "war" and Iraq "war" would confirm for Woolf her earlier views. She would, however, be pleased to note the number of people and groups that have been leading from a different model for leadership. Their leadership could be characterized as leadership as friendship.
This paper proposes a rethinking of leadership that challenges the dominance of the military battle metaphor and proposes an alternative metaphor--friendship. The paper first discusses the nature of metaphors and critiques the military battle approach to leadership. It then focuses on friendship as a metaphor for a relational conception and practice of leadership. The paper concludes with examples of people who lead within such a framework
Voices of Leadership: The Effects of Voice Pitch on Percieved Leadership Capabilities
Get PDFPrevious research shows that voice pitch plays a significant role in leadership selection (Mayew et al., 2013) and that moremasculine traits, including voice pitch, are typically associated with successful individuals in leadership roles. The present studyextended prior research by examining how sex and gender characteristics of voices influence the perception of leadershipqualities within a military environment. Specifically, the design of the study was a 2 (sex of voice: male, female) × 2 (gender ofvoice: masculinized, feminized) × 2 (sex of participant; man, woman) mixed model design, with the sex and gender of voiceserving as the within subjects factors, sex of participant as a between subjects factor, and ratings of military leadership potentialserving as the dependent variable. Results from an analysis of variance showed that participants rated men’s voices significantlyhigher than women’s voices for leadership potential. However, feminine voices were rated significantly higher than masculinevoices. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between sex of voice and gender of voice that showed that the masculinefemale voice received the lowest ratings of leadership potential. Male participants also provided lower ratings on average to allvoices when compared to female participants. We discuss these findings in terms of gender role congruity and the influence ofandrogyny and gender norms on perceptions of women’s leadership potential in a male-dominated, hierarchical environment
Gender Equity Models in Science Teaching and Learning Mirrored Structures, and Designs for Chang
Get PDFIn this paper I develop a \u27mirrored structures\u27 model that applies to three NSF-funded gender and science projects aimed at improving girls understanding, attitudes, and abilities in science, mathematics, and technology. All are concerned with the under-representation of women in science, math, and technology. All three facilitate girls\u27 success at critical educational junctures particularly the middle/ junior high transition where girls are lost to science. The three projects have developed rich and varied programs aimed at increasing understanding, confidence, and ability in the science, math, and technology for girls, and for their teachers, their parents, and administrators. The projects are different but share some common underlying elements and in many ways are typical of the multi-tiered gender equity programs across the country. Together the three programs offer powerful evidence for understanding systemic change within diverse geographies. All three programs share similar philosophies3 there are many different ways to achieve equity goals but it is essential that participants at all levels capitalize on existing strengths, their particular "ways of knowing". I argue that the \u27mirrored structures\u27 model cuts across all levels of participation within all three projects.
The projects, are: FIRST (Female Involvement in Real Science and Technology) in Oakland, California; The Voices project: Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science Mathematics and Technology in rural Appalachia, West Virginia; and Girls Inc. of Lynn, Massachusetts\u27s Operation SMART (Science Math and Relevant Technology). While the model offered in this paper was based originally on the FIRST project, it is applied to the Voices and Operation SMART programs.
Together they provide exemplars for examining systemic change because the programs emphasize not only the changes within the target audience, elementary and middle school girls, but also an expanded group of teachers, parents, and administrators within school districts that serve diverse student populations. By systemic change, I mean change at multiple levels of participation which can interact in both positive and negative ways. Change can be better understood by analysis of these relationships and by maximizing the positive interactions as leverage points