Empowering the Next Generation: An Exploration into the Best Practices That Support the Advancement of Iranian-American Female Leaders in Higher Education

This study examined the experiences of Iranian-American and Iranian female leaders within higher education institutions. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological approach, the research actively engaged a cohort of 18 participants through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews. Four research questions guided this study, highlighting the experiences, perspectives and complexity of these women in their journey towards leadership roles in higher education. The research questions focused on highlighting challenges, methods to overcome them, measures of success and recommendations for aspiring Iranian and Iranian-American leaders. This study aimed to showcase the distinctive intersections of identity, culture, and gender within a lens of leadership experiences of Iranian women in higher education. The narratives provided by these women, not only provide great insights into their personal and professional development, but also offer significant perspectives on the wider context of diversity, equity, and inclusion within academic leadership. As the narratives from interviews were explored and connected to literature, a deeper understanding of challenges Iranian female leaders have overcome emerged. These challenges include, but are not restricted to, a lack of a support network, balancing family and work life, misogyny in the workplace, along with other challenges in the workplace, such as being dismissed or not taken seriously as well as immigration challenges and mental health challenges. Following that, to overcome these challenges, they relied on personal and professional communities to lean on as well as leaning on personal characteristics such as resiliency, being flexible, having strength of character and confidence to overcome those challenges. Measures of success were revealed as reaching professional milestones, publishing, relying on feedback and meeting the needs of their family. Furthermore, recommendations were given to aspiring leaders to build a network and community, support those in those communities, to be confident and persevere, to keep learning and ultimately, to embrace your unique Iranian background. A model was developed for Iranian female and Iranian-American leaders and aspiring leaders in higher education. The model was developed to help Iranian women evolve, grow and sustain through four different areas of internal and external areas of identity, introspection, community and organizations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]