Women in higher education leadership

The British Council in Pakistan commissioned the research in response to concerns in the profession about the under-representation of women in senior leadership positions in higher education (HE) in South Asia. The study  suggests that women are not being identified and prepared for leadership. There is also evidence globally that when women do aspire for leadership, they are frequently rejected from the most senior positions.

However, it was also found that many women academics are reluctant to aim for senior leadership and perceive it as an unattractive career option. There is an urgent need to revision leadership to make it more attractive and hospitable to women and men, rather than focusing simply on counting more women into existing systems and structures.

Multi-dimensional social, cultural, economic and institutional barriers to women in leadership exist, but there are also enablers including training and development, support and mentorship and international networks and mobility.

Enablers

• Internationalisation and opportunities for mobility, networks and research partnerships. These contacts not only provided resources but also introduced women to new knowledge, contacts and professional approaches.
• Institutional policies and practices including affirmative action, work/life balance and family-friendly interventions. However, it is essential that policies are accompanied by strategic implantation plans.
• Women-only leadership development courses that offer practical support, but are also at an appropriate theoretical and research-informed level for senior women academics.
• Mentoring programmes at formal and informal levels.
• Gender sensitisation programmes: Women and men were made more aware of how gender operates as a verb as well as a noun in academic life. For example, it’s not just about counting more women into existing systems and structures, but should include an understanding of how gender differences are produced and maintained by social and organisational practices.
• Private higher education: There is limited and somewhat contradictory literature on how the emergence of private education is affecting opportunities for women academics to enter leadership positions. The significant rise of the private sector is providing complex and contradictory opportunities for women’s leadership.
• Women-only learning space: The preference for sex-segregated education in some contexts means that some single-sex higher education institutions are emerging. These create some opportunities for women to enter leadership positions. However, these leadership positions can be viewed as less prestigious that those in the co-educational sector.
• Professional development — opportunities for doctoral study, and regular updating.

Recommendations

• Policy: Gender to be mainstreamed into higher education policy in relation to students and staff, with equality seen as a central constituent in quality. Policies on gender equality and gender mainstreaming need to be developed and accompanied by strategic action plans, resource allocation and reporting mechanisms. These should include time lines, goals/performance indicators and effective evaluation procedures.

Policy needs to be informed by gender-disaggregated statistics that are updated regularly and made readily accessible.  Policies on recruitment and selection of senior leaders need to be reviewed to aim for more transparency and accountability in decision-making.

• Developing Women: Investment in women’s capacity-building is essential in all countries. This includes research-informed, women-only leadership development programmes; access to doctoral degrees; training and continuous professional development opportunities, mentorship programmes and networks.
• Research and teaching: Evidence is required from research studies on women in leadership. Gender also could be integrated more successfully into research networks in the region. The socio-cultural challenges identified in this study to be addressed via the curriculum e.g. Gender Studies, and also through professional development for staff e.g. gender sensitisation programmes.

(Research compiled by British Council & University of Sussex, Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research)