women in higher education pathways to leadership pamela l. eddy, ph.d. the college of william and...

Women in Higher Education

Pathways to Leadership

Pamela L. Eddy, Ph.D.The College of William and Mary

Virginia ACE Conference

Introduction

• Definitions

• Portrait of Women in Higher Education• Students• Faculty• Leaders• Staff

• Leadership

• Action

Agency

• The capacity of an agent to act in the world• Ability to make choices• Ability to impose those choices on the

world

• Links to Structure• Limitations on opportunities• Influence on type of opportunities

Waves of Feminism—Empowering Women• First Wave 19th and early 20th centuries

• Suffrage movement• Access

• Second Wave 1960s-1970s• Women’s Liberation Movement

• Reproductive rights• Access and equal right to work

• Women-“second sex”• Third Wave 1990s to the present

• Diversity• “The glass ceiling”• Matrix/Intersections

Changes over Time• Access to higher education

• Shifts from “Mrs.” goals• Opening up of “male” degrees

• Accomplishments• “Firsts”• Capacity

Portrait of Women in Higher Education• Majority of Students

• Majority of Staff Positions

• Variability in Faculty Ranks• More women in lowest positions• More women in community colleges

• Women in Leadership

Students—Attendance Patterns

2-yr public

2-yr private

4-yr public

4-yr private

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000

4000000

WomenMen

Students—Diversity

2 yr public

White BlackHispanic Asian

AmAm Ind Intern'l

4 yr publicWhiteBlackHispanicAsian AmAm IndIntern'l

4 yr privateWhiteBlackHispanicAsian AmAm. IndIntern'l

Students/Fields of Study• Female Disciplines=Lower status and lower pay

• Healthcare: 79% women; 21% men• Education: 79% women; 21% men

• Blended Disciplines• Business: 51% men/49% women• Social Science: 51% men/49% women• Biological/Biomedical Science: 41% men/59%

women

• Male disciplines=STEM• Engineering: 83% men; 17% women• Computer Science: 82% men; 18% women

(National Center for Education Statistics, 2009).

Faculty—Institutional Factors Research-Pub-

licWomenMen

Doctoral-Public

WomenMen

Liberal Arts

WomenMen

Community Col-lege

WomenMen

Faculty—Rank

Prof

esso

r

Asso

ciat

e

Assist

ant

Inst

ruct

or

Lect

urer

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

WomenMen

Faculty—Discipline Education

WomenMen

Humanities

WomenMen

Engineering

WomenMen

Natural Science

WomenMen

Administrative Leadership

2 ye

arBa

cc

Mas

ter's

Docto

ral

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

WomenMen

Staff• Gendered hierarchy/structure

• Males in top leadership• Women in lower level positions

• Sticky Floors/Glass Ceiling• 63% of non-professional staff • 85% of clerical staff

Ideal Worker/Gendered Organizations• Ideal Worker:

Based on individuals who have a someone at home to take care of home issues while they concentrate on work.

• Gendered Organizations: Organizations that advantage the male norm and power. • Disembodied work• More men in top positions

Leadership Theories• Trait Theories

• Power and Influence Theories

• Behavioral Theories

• Contingency Theories

• Cultural and Symbolic

• Cognitive

“Women’s” Leadership/ Great Man

“Women’s” Leadership• Participatory

• Sharing Power

• Generative

• Judged within gender rules

• Relationships

“Men’s” Leadership• Authoritative

• Top-down power

• Transaction/Compliance

• Direct language

• Gender is invisible/male norms

Collaborative Leadership• Leadership throughout the organization

• Lateral decision making

• Systems oriented

• Learning environment

• Shared power

• Inclusiveness/diversity

Multidimensional Leadership

GenderMale Female

CommunicationTop Down Participatory

Sensemaking & FramingStep-by-Step Visionary Connective

CompetenciesMinding the Bottom Line Inclusivity Framing Meaning Systems Thinking

Leader A Leader BLeader C

Leadership Schema

Thinking About Leadership

Voices of Women Leaders

The White House Project Report:Benchmarking Women’s Leadership (2009) • Work to achieve a critical mass of women in

leadership roles in every sector.

• Use financial resources strategically.

• Collect and analyze the data.

• Amplify women’s voices in the public arena.

• Maintain accountability through setting targets.

• Improve flexibility in workplace structures.

Action for Agency; Action for Change• Students

• Acknowledge diversity• Promote gender awareness• Mentoring for Access

• Staff• Preparation for promotion• College committees• Mentors

• Faculty• Strategic “yes’s” • Avoiding administrative overload• Search committee diversity

• Leaders• Development opportunities• Practice collaborative leadership• Committee appointments• Family friendly policies

Action for Agency; Action for Change

Action Plan for You• Reflection on values

• Planning next step

• Reaching out—collaborating

• Gaining experience

• Testing the waters

Thank YouPamela L. Eddy

The College of William and Marypamela.eddy@wm.edu