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The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of women university presidents related to becoming leaders or learning to lead. This manuscript highlights the research focused on the immediate family backgrounds and influences on these presidents. The research question was as follows: With regard to their family backgrounds and influences, what are the lived experiences of women university presidents related to developing into the leaders they have become today? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was an investigation of the experiences and perceptions of barriers to the presidency of 43 African American female college and university presidents. Findings suggested that exclusion from informal networks, lack of preparation and lack of career goals were primary barriers. Strategies to overcome these barriers included exceeding job expectations, being visible and developing leadership skills. Mentoring was also suggested as a way to overcome barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is to determine the availability of mentors for African American female administrators who hold or have held senior-level administrative positions in higher education in New York State. We examine whether or not these African American female administrators were given the opportunity to work with mentors at their institutions. If they were not given this opportunity, we attempted to determine how they maintained their positions without the aid of mentoring, and how and if mentoring could have facilitated their career development. This study also examines how mentoring could have eased the strain felt by African American women in these high level positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this research is to explore the career routes and advancement procedures for both academic and support staff in English universities and the extent to which these might constitute barriers to progression. Design/methodology/approach -- The research was conducted in four universities, two pre-1992 universities and two post-1992 universities, based in one region of England. Secondary data were collected in the form of equality monitoring statistics and documentation relating to the universities' advancement procedures. Primary data were collected through 26 semi-structured interviews with senior people involved in decision-making about promotions. These included HR specialists and senior academics such as Deans, Pro Vice-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors. Findings -- The research shows that women are now progressing well to the promoted lecturer grade, but that their careers stall beyond this level, Women's less developed research profile is the main impediment to them gaining professorial status. In "old" universities, the processes used for progression to some senior academic management roles are obscure and may operate as a form of indirect discrimination. There is some evidence that women adopt a version of the transformational leadership style, but it is not clear whether this helps or hinders their career progression. In addition, women are more reluctant than men to put themselves forward for advancement and they value work-fife balance. Originality/value -- This paper provides new evidence about the operation of advancement processes in universities. It points to specific areas where university HR processes and equality monitoring need to be improved. It also contributes to the debate about leadership/management and the extent to which women adopt a style which is different to that of men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this research is to examine the hypothesis that under-representation of women in Australian universities reflects barriers in the academic promotion process. Design/methodology/approach -- This study uses three complementary approaches. Promotion policies and guidelines are examined using content analysis of documents from all Australian universities. A sample of 17 universities was selected for interviews with key gatekeepers to examine promotions practice. Data on promotions by level and gender were analysed for 16 of these universities 2000-2002. Findings -- The analysis of promotions policies and guidelines established a range of practice. Policies supporting women's participation and success in promotions included explicit consideration of part-time and non-traditional careers, clear equity statements, and gender representation on promotions committees. Interviews emphasised the importance of support for and identification of female candidates, and the need for the establishment of institution-wide and performance targets for senior managers. Implicitly, most interviewees accepted the premise that women experienced barriers in the promotion process, including reticence in applying and stereotypically gendered notions of merit. However, the analysis of promotions data showed a more encouraging picture. Application rates and success rates for women are similar to men's and, at professorial level, slightly higher. Nonetheless women remain under-represented at senior levels, comprising only 16 per cent of the professoriate. Practical implications -- The study provided a report to the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) with a number of recommendations for improving University promotions policies. These recommendations are available on the AVCC website and have applicability beyond the Australian university sector. Originality/value -- This study is an original study across all Australian universities which has international applicability and policy relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on interviews with 18 UK women academics and managers on quality and power in higher education, this article interrogates the impact of quality assurance discourses and practices on women in higher education. Micro-level analysis of the effects of audit and the evaluative state seem to suggest that hegemonic masculinities and gendered power relations are being reinforced by the emphasis on competition, targets, audit trails and performance (Morley, 2003a). Furthermore, pedagogic space for exploring social justice issues is closing with the emphasis on learning outcomes and student consumerism (Morley, 2003b). Yet women are also gaining new visibility as a consequence of the creation of a new cadre of quality managers. Quality assurance, as a regime of power, appears to offer both repressive and creative potential for women. This article will explore whether quality signs and practices are gendered and whether these represent opportunity or exploitation for women in the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines workplace experiences of six senior women administrators in South African institutions of higher education. Given that women have historically been under-represented and continue to be under-represented in the higher education sector, it is important to gain insights into their experiences and to inform the process of creating institutional environments that are supportive of their professional endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Switzerland, we are still far away from gender-equality at Universities. Only recently, the federal government of Switzerland set the goal of doubling the percentage of women in the ranks of professors from 5.7% to over 10 percent. In the following I describe the actual situation in different fields of higher education according to gender relations and give some evidence about recent nationwide efforts to fight female discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a review of the major interpretations of the changing gender relations in FE management. In so doing, the key question of whether FE, at senior level, remains a 'boy's club' is addressed. In relation to this, the article considers the degree to which those women recruited to senior and middle management positions in FE are being required to 'carry the burden' of organisational change. Drawing on recent research across the FE sector, the article reveals some of the ways in which women FE managers attempt to balance the desire for interesting and challenging work, against the demands of intensified effort in a gendered organisational culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Further Education Colleges in the UK are involved in a continuing period of radical organisational, curricular and financial restructuring. In the midst of this the gendered character of management across the sector appears to be changing. This article explores the extent of demographic, social and cultural feminization of management following the post-1993 establishment of colleges as independent corporations. It addresses issues surrounding organizational cultures, women in professions, women as managers and theories about the spread of so-called new managerial ideologies, inspired by the private sector, to the public sector. For support the article draws on two studies of women managers in FE colleges, one focusing on women with a commitment to feminisms or equal opportunities, the other utilizing organizational data as well as data from male and female interviewees. It is suggested that whilst some social and cultural as well as demographic feminization of FE management is taking place, this is much more marked at the middle management level whilst senior management remains more men's work than women's, albeit tinged with changing notions of masculinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a brief feminist critique of the conceptual frameworks and methods commonly relied upon to examine leadership in colleges and universities. Reference to a previous study in which a male and a female college president's conceptual orientations contributed to the suppression of women's particular experiences and to the exclusion of their distinct voice from the examination of leadership; Feminist reinterpretation of the definitions of leadership provided by the two presidents.

Focuses on Anne Jemima Clough, first principal of Newnham College in Cambridge, England. Growing up in the atmosphere of Victorian middle-class values; Encounter with a series of misfortunes by the Cloughs; Re-entrance to the field of women's education; Co-founding of the Liverpool Schoolmistresses' Association; Clough's main function at Newnham; Clough's death in February 1892.

This article presents information on the need for change in attitude of women administrators in the U.S. Change would mean that the administrators of the earth would remain mindful of, and grateful to, the company of human actors, rather than oppress, dominate or hold them in sway. It is not enough that women have, do and will become administrators. It is incumbent upon women administrators to change the structure and accountability of administration from within. This bringing about of change is, in my opinion, the inheritance of women because women have historically so very little invested in the status quo; while men have their entire legacy invested in maintaining things as they are, that is, some men on top pulling the strings make the women dance. From the point of view of self-interestedness and the intoxication of power, men have scant reason to change the model. But from the point of view of wanting to respect and be respected by women, men have excellent reasons to change the model. Women, meanwhile, have manifold, manifest reasons.

More than a decade after Australian universities first responded to the requirements of the EEO/AA legislative framework, women remain marginalised and seriously under- represented in Australian universities. This paper provides a snapshot of the current status of women’s participation in the senior levels of universities and examines some of the reasons why universities are still providing a “chilly climate” for women and other minority actors. It is argued that Australian universities can no longer afford to frustrate, alienate and marginalise some of their most creative organisational actors when they are facing a new era of rapid change and competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the results of a survey and follow-up interview of black women college administrators, at predominantly white colleges, in selected positions, such as president, vice-president, dean, director, department chairperson, and the assistants and/or associates to the aforementioned positions. The author gives a profile of a middle-management group of women who are at different colleges in the City University of New York system. Also included are a review of the literature and recommendations for both the University and black women seeking careers in college administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]