The Gender Gap In Higher Education Management

This book examines persistent gender inequality in higher education, and asks what is preventing change from occurring. The editors and contributors argue that organizational resistance to gender equality is the key explanation; reflected in the endorsement of discourses such as excellence, choice, distorted intersectionality, revitalized biological essentialism and gender neutrality. These discourses implicitly and explicitly depict the status quo as appropriate, reasonable and fair: ultimately impeding efforts and attempts to promote gender equality. Drawing on research from around the world, this book explores the limits and possibilities of challenging these harmful discourses, focusing on the state and universities themselves as levers for change. It stresses the importance of institutional transformation, the vital contribution of feminist activists and the importance of women’s deceptively ‘small victories’ in the academy.

Higher education managers are hardly studied; yet, this group is the fastest growing segment of the higher education workforce. Research attention has been primarily focused on faculty issues; yet, ignoring examination of managers may mask larger systemic, industry-wide, and institutional issues that may affect all women working in higher education. Using IPEDS data for 4,675 institutions, I estimate the change in the proportion of women managers between 1989 and 2011; determine how these changes differ by sector; and identify if a change in the leader of the institution is associated with any changes. Consistent with increase of women in the overall workforce, more women have entered the managerial ranks. They are, however, increasingly being segmented to the lowest resourced and least prestigious institutions, specifically, two-year public and private schools, and non-research intense institutions. This segregation indicates potential systemic, industry-wide and institutional issues may be creating other types of "glass ceilings" for women working in higher education. My final analysis analyzes the impact of changing the president or chancellor of an institution. While any change in the president has no impact on any changes in the proportion of women managers, the gender of the change does have an impact. When the leadership transition is from male to female, the change in the proportion of women managers increases whereas the opposite is true when the transition is from female to male. This finding may indicate that women presidents have yet to break through stereotypes regarding their ability to lead and manage.

Encyclopedic review about gender and its impact on American higher education across historical and cultural contexts. The contributors describe the ways in which gender is embedded in the educational practices, curriculum, institutional structures and governance of colleges and universities. Topics included are: institutional diversity; academic majors and programs; extracurricular organizations such as sororities, fraternities and women's centers; affirmative action and other higher educational policies; and theories that have been used to analyze and explain the ways in which gender in academe is constructed.

This book assists aspiring and current women leaders on how to advance into higher education leadership roles. Drawn from research and the lived experiences of women and non-binary people in higher education leadership, this book serves as a guide in understanding the gender disparity in higher education leadership and how women leaders forge pathways to promotion and success through systemic barriers, obstacles, and a lack of representation. A critical review of traditional leadership theory offers an opportunity to reimagine how effective leadership is framed and valued in higher education. Chapter authors and case studies explore the intersections of multiple identities and their impacts on leadership through lenses, including institutional type, functional areas, ability, gender identity, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Focusing on a bridge from theory to practice that is designed to empower and inspire women leaders at all levels of the spectrum, this book is ideal reading for higher education scholars, students, and faculty aspiring to become leaders.

This book is a definitive examination of higher education: locating it in a wider neo-liberal context involving the state and the market, with a specific focus on recent higher policy and on the elite group of senior managers in universities. Written in a clear accessible style, it provides an in-depth analysis of university structures, cultures and practices at senior management level. Despite the managerialist rhetoric of accountability, we see structures where access to power is through the Presidents' ‘blessing’, very much as in a medieval court. We see a culture that is less than comfortable with the presence of women, and which, in its narratives, stereotypes and interactions exemplifies to a rather nineteenth-century view of women. Sites and sources of change are also identified. In a global context where diversity is crucial to innovation, it challenges us to critically reflect on management and on higher education.

Praise for The Gender Gap in College "Linda Sax has produced an encyclopedic volume comparing women's and men's development during the undergraduate years. We believe it is destined to become a classic in the higher education literature." —From the Foreword by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin "Using findings from an important national data set, Linda Sax has skillfully crafted a definitive work about the gender gap in college. It is a major scholarly achievement that will be influential for many years to come." —Ernest Pascarella, Petersen Professor of Higher Education, University of Iowa "Linda Sax has produced a meticulously researched, carefully documented analysis that identifies many ways that college impacts men and women differently. This book will be an invaluable resource to researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand and serve traditional-age students at four-year colleges and universities." —Jacqueline E. King, assistant vice president, Center for Policy Analysis, American Council on Education

This study analyzes the gender gap at colleges and universities from an institutional context. It asks what the issues are; in what ways women and men leaders are different and alike; whether the gender gap matters. It discusses the glass ceiling in higher education and how it affects curriculum and administration of the institution. Five chapters cover topics that include: (1) the status of women on campus and in leadership roles; (2) persistence factors, institutional context and occupational prestige; (3) gender theory, women's leadership style, communication patterns, and the glass ceiling; (4) individual, organizational, and societal conceptions of leadership, and the relevance of gender to the concept of leadership; and (5) factors influencing evaluation of leaders and leadership modes, evaluation of women as leaders, and who has the right to leadership positions. The study concludes with several strategies for change, including: greater involvement of women in changing hierarchical and patriarchal structures and norms; preparation of women to relocate to find broader responsibilities; and elimination of the behaviors and actions that create a chilly campus for women. (Contains 165 references.) (CH).

The role of women in the workplace has rapidly advanced and changed within the previous decade, leading to a current position in which women are taking over leadership roles and being offered these positions more than ever before. However, a gap still exists with the representation of women in the workforce especially in power positions and roles of authority in organizations. While the representation of women in leadership roles is impressive and exciting for the future, women still face many challenges when taking over these positions of power and face many issues related to gender inclusivity. There is also still gender bias and discrimination against women who have been given the opportunity to become authority figures. It is essential to acknowledge and discuss these critical issues and challenges that women in leadership roles must handle to better understand the current climate of gender roles across various industries and types of leadership. The Research Anthology on Challenges for Women in Leadership Roles discusses the role of women in positions of authority across diverse industries and businesses. By reviewing the biases, struggles, discrimination, and overall challenges of being a woman in a powerful role, women leaders can be better understood for their role in a male-dominated world. This includes topics of concern such as equal treatment, proper implementation of women’s policies, social justice activism, discrimination, and sexual harassment in the workplace, and the importance of diversity and empowerment of women in leadership positions with chapters pertaining specifically to African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern women. This book is ideal for professionals, researchers, managers, executives, leaders, academicians, sociologists, policymakers, and students in fields that include humanities, social sciences, women’s studies, gender studies, business management, management science, health sciences, educational studies, and political sciences.

Women are now part of senior management in higher education (HE) to varying degrees in most countries and actively contribute to the vision and strategic direction of universities. This book attempts to analyse their impact and potential impact on both organisational growth and culture

This volume investigates the dissonance between the supposed advantage held by educated women and their continued lack of economic and political power. Niemi explains the developments of the so-called "female advantage" and "boy crisis" in American higher education, setting them alongside socioeconomic and racial developments in women’s and men’s lives throughout the last 40 years. Exploring the relationship between higher education credentials and their utility in creating political, economic, and social success, Degrees of Difference identifies ways in which gender and academic achievement contribute to women’s and men’s power to shape their lives. This important book brings new light to the issues of power, gender identities, and the role of American higher education in creating gender equity.