scholarly journals Bumping into the Glass Ceiling: Exploring Women’s Experiences Seeking Positional Leadership Roles within the Student Affairs Profession in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (Winter) ◽  
pp. 192-195
Author(s):  
Jamie Storey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Student Affairs ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Formal Leadership

Despite women’s aspirations to obtain formal leadership positions within institutions of higher education in South Africa, they continue to face barriers that impede their ability to achieve senior management positions. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the meaning women ascribe to the experience of seeking formal leadership positions within the field of student affairs in South Africa.

Women in senior management positions at South African universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Ramohai
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
South African Higher Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present reasons for the mobility of women in senior management positions in South African higher education. Against the backdrop of women underrepresentation and retention challenges in institution of higher learning in this country, it is pertinent to share the experiences of senior women, with the aim of understanding institutional structures and cultures that make it difficult for women to survive in senior positions. Design/methodology/approach The paper used a qualitative approach. The focus of this paper was on the women who had held or were still holding senior management positions in higher education in South Africa. The requirement for this paper was that these women should have moved out or across institutions while at a senior management position. This paper drew from five women from different institutions and involved them in in-depth interviews. The women who fitted the category of senior management in this paper included deputy vice chancellor, deans and heads of departments. Findings The findings indicated that the decisions to opt out of senior management positions for the women ranged from personal to institutional. The personal reasons that emerged from this paper pointed mainly to issues of salaries. The women opted to move out of their positions for better salaries which they believed they would get in the private sectors or in other institutions. Professional development also led women to move to more promising spaces that could afford them an opportunity to grow. Apart from these personal reasons, hostile institutional cultures were cited by all women as the most serious contributory factor to their turnover. Of these, they cited patriarchal practices that led to oppression and dominance, which made it difficult for them to cope in the senior positions they held. Originality/value This paper aimed to respond to a gap in research on senior management women’s mobility in higher education, specifically in South Africa. According to Samuel and Chipunza (2013), there is a serious concern that pertains to retention of senior management within African higher education. However, most studies do not provide a focused attention on women but offer a general interpretation of senior management turnover. There seems to be lack of research that aims at understanding the contextual reasons that lead to turnover of women senior management in South African higher education. Against the backdrop of low representation of women in senior positions in specifically South African higher education and calls for equity, the study looked at the reasons why higher education institutions at times fail to retain this most sought after group (women) in these positions of power. Understanding issues around this matter has the potential to contribute towards improved practices while adding a voice to discourses around gender equity and equality.

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: A Conceptual Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Leader Impostorism

2021 ◽  
pp. 014920632110203
Author(s):  
Ronit Kark ◽  
Alyson Meister ◽  
Kim Peters
Keyword(s):  
Popular Media ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Motivation To Lead ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
Formal Leadership ◽  
Leader Role

Impostorism, a phenomenon whereby a person perceives that the role they occupy is beyond their capabilities and puts them at risk of exposure as a “fake,” has attracted plentiful attention in the empirical literature and popular media. However, despite evidence that impostorism is frequently experienced by people in leadership positions, there has been little consideration of why this happens. In this theoretical article, we explain why formal leadership roles—roles that are characterized by elevated expectations, high visibility, and high levels of responsibility—are fertile ground for impostorism experiences. We also discuss how the associated self-conscious emotions of shame and fear, can increase leaders’ risk-aversion and enhance leader role performance, yet at the same time drive emotional exhaustion, and reduce their motivation to lead. This can ultimately inhibit leaders from seeking, claiming, and thriving in leadership roles. We offer individual-, dyadic-, and organization-level contextual characteristics that can either enhance or reduce this phenomenon. We also discuss how supportive organizations can mitigate leadership impostorism. Furthermore, we highlight how women and minority-status leaders may be more vulnerable to this experience and conclude by suggesting the practical implications of the leader impostorism phenomenon for individuals and organizations.

Using bridges made by others as scaffolding and establishing footings for those that follow: Indigenous women in the Academy

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Fredericks ◽  
Nereda White
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Aboriginal Woman ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Education Careers ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Aboriginal Person

The first recorded Aboriginal person to graduate with an undergraduate qualification from any Australian university was Aboriginal woman Margaret Williams-Weir in 1959 ( Melbourne University, 2018 ). Williams-Weir graduated with a Diploma in Education. There have now been six decades of graduating Indigenous Australian women in the discipline of education, and many other disciplines. In this article, we explore Indigenous women’s presence in higher education through the narratives of our lives as Aboriginal women within education and the lives of other Indigenous women, noting their achievements and challenges. We acknowledge that while the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women participating in university study and becoming engaged in education as a discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate levels has increased, we are still significantly underrepresented. Similarly, while we have seen increases in Indigenous university staff within the education discipline, the employment of Indigenous academics has not reached parity with non-Indigenous academics levels and too few are employed in the professoriate and in senior management positions. We will show how we would not have been able to develop our education careers within higher education without the bridges built by those like Dr Williams-Weir and others who went before us. We will share how we have worked to establish the footings for those Indigenous women who will follow us and others. In this way, we work within the context that is for the now and the future.

scholarly journals Sponsorship and social identity in advancement of women leaders in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 466-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caren Brenda Scheepers ◽  
Anastasia Douman ◽  
Preya Moodley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Female Executives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
African Context ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Executive Level

Purpose In South Africa, women in senior management positions experience social identity dilemmas, necessitating more research into this domain. While research has been conducted into coaching and mentoring of these women, limited scholarly attention has been paid to sponsorship. This paper aims to explore the social identity of women at senior management levels and sponsorship as a proposed mechanism to develop talented women. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative research included two studies using two sample groups, both of which included executive-level respondents in corporate organisations. One study focussed on sponsorship; here, the 29-strong sample included 14 male and 15 female executives, of whom 15 were White; 9 were African and 5 were Indian. The second study, consisting of only African, coloured and Indian (ACI) female executives (23 interviewees), focussed more broadly on their development path to the C-suite. Findings A common theme across the two studies was the inclination to give developmental support, in turn, once supported. There were prerequisites in this support-giving, however. For example, sponsors identified criteria that protégés had to meet. Despite evident gender inequality at senior management levels in South Africa, this paper reveals that in the Study 1 sample, gender and race were ostensibly irrelevant when choosing a sponsor or who to sponsor. A closer examination revealed a gender-based expectation, embedded in the South African context. Study 2 showed that ACI women above 50 years of age were more inclined to mentor others; even when they themselves were not mentored, some purposefully developed other ACI women. This paper thus suggests age as an important additional diversity dimension in relation to the career development of ACI women towards the C-suite. The findings have implications for the career development of individual ACI women and for organisations in reaching equality. Research limitations/implications Gender differences with regard to perceptions also revealed that male respondents perceived sponsorship more as task-based actions, whereas female respondents focussed on relational elements. The paper concludes with recommendations on how individual ACI women and organisations can proactively develop talented women. Originality/value The paper offers insight into the gendered expectations of sponsors and gendered perceptions around merit in identifying protégés worthy of sponsorship. ACI women’s social identity changed when they joined the C-suite to identify more with their roles as executives and became less associated with their original ACI women group.

scholarly journals Student Affairs and Hurricane Katrina: Contextual Perspectives from Five Institutions of Higher Education in New Orleans

NASPA Journal ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K Gardner ◽  
Kristy Miller ◽  
Marco J Barker ◽  
Jennifer Loftin ◽  
Marla Erwin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Student Affairs ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Public Versus Private

Fifteen student affairs administrators from five institutions of higher education in New Orleans were interviewed regarding their experiences immediately before and after Hurricane Katrina and how the crisis affected their work. Participants were chosen for their diversity among racial, gender, and institutional contexts. Analyses of the interviews resulted in four themes that describe the differences between how public versus private institutional cultures affected these administrators’ responses and the decision making that occurred in the wake of the storm. These themes include (a) decision making, (b) communication, (c) resources and limitations, and (d) student affairs status. Implications for policy, practice, and research are included.

Exploring Distributive Leadership in South African Public Primary Schools in the Soweto Region

2015 ◽  
pp. 283-304
Author(s):  
Raj Mestry ◽  
Suraiya R Naicker
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Distributive Leadership ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Leadership Framework ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Formal Leadership

The increasing expectations of the principalship and the intensification of the challenges facing schools today have resulted in the emergence of distributive forms of leadership in schools worldwide. These developments prompted research in schools in South Africa, more specifically in the Soweto region, to inquire if distributed leadership had manifested. Soweto is a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa that is associated with the historic struggle against the apartheid government (pre-1994). A qualitative approach executed by means of focus group interviews was employed at three schools to explore the views of teachers who did not hold formal leadership positions. It was found that distributive leadership had not transpired in the schools that are largely rooted in classical leadership practices. This chapter provides an account of the study while elucidating the concept of distributive leadership and examines the role of formal leaders within a distributive leadership framework.

What Does It Mean to Be a “Woman Leader” in Academia?

2020 ◽  
pp. 210-235
Author(s):  
Berrin Yanıkkaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Leadership ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Civil Status ◽  
Pay Differences ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Woman Leader

This chapter seeks to determine how patriarchy and capitalism together work to oppress women in academic leadership positions. In today's globalized world, higher education institutions, both state and private, either have strong ties with the corporate world or are run as if they are corporations themselves. Women who work their way up to management positions in academia are forced to accommodate patriarchal and capitalist ways of leading, which undervalue democratic processes such as getting legitimacy from people and deliberation, as well as other ways of “doing things” or “leading” differently. This study aims to discuss the multi-layered forms of gender-based discrimination in regard to civil status, age, ethnicity, class, and pay differences in academic leadership positions.

What Does It Mean to Be a “Woman Leader” in Academia?

2021 ◽  
pp. 227-244
Author(s):  
Berrin Yanıkkaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Leadership ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Civil Status ◽  
Pay Differences ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Woman Leader

This chapter seeks to determine how patriarchy and capitalism together work to oppress women in academic leadership positions. In today's globalized world, higher education institutions, both state and private, either have strong ties with the corporate world or are run as if they are corporations themselves. Women who work their way up to management positions in academia are forced to accommodate patriarchal and capitalist ways of leading, which undervalue democratic processes such as getting legitimacy from people and deliberation, as well as other ways of “doing things” or “leading” differently. This study aims to discuss the multi-layered forms of gender-based discrimination in regard to civil status, age, ethnicity, class, and pay differences in academic leadership positions.

scholarly journals Entry barriers and “Glass Roof” in University Management in Colombia

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (65) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Cristian Bedoya Dorado ◽  
Mónica García-Solarte ◽  
Juan Sebastián Peña-Zúñiga ◽  
Steven Alejandro Piñeros Buriticá
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
University Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

Management in the context of higher education has been characterized by the predominance of male participation, mainly in senior management positions. As a result, women’s low participation is mainly concentrated in lower management positions, and their chances of escalating hierarchical positions are mediated by various factors ranging from subjective to socially naturalized. The objective of this research is to analyze the barriers women face to enter and escalate positions in university management in Colombia. Under a qualitative design, 26 semi-structured interviews were applied to university managers from different institutions of higher education in Colombia. The transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis through three categories: individual, internal, and external barriers of the university. It was found that women face entry and promotion barriers marked by experiences, and conditions of inequality and discrimination in a male-dominated context. These barriers are conditioned by personal elements, organizational culture, and the social role of women. In addition, women’s trajectories involve mediation between professional development and family life. The study reveals experiences that contribute to understanding the research phenomenon from the webbing of senses and meanings. It is posited that the “glass ceiling” is mediated by variables in the internal order, and by the relationship between universities and their context.

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