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