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Fixing the Women or Fixing Universities: Women in HE Leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Paula Burkinshaw

    (Leeds University Business School, The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Kate White

    (Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Mount Helen VIC 3350, Australia)

Abstract

The lack of women in leadership across higher education has been problemitised in the literature. Often contemporary discourses promote ‘fixing the women’ as a solution. Consequently, interventions aimed at helping women break through ‘the glass ceiling’ abound. This article argues that the gendered power relations at play in universities stubbornly maintain entrenched inequalities whereby, regardless of measures implemented for and by women, the problem remains. The precariousness for women of leadership careers is explored through two separate but complementary case studies (from different continents and different generations) each one illuminating gender power relations at work. The article concludes by arguing that it is universities themselves that need fixing, not the women, and that women’s growing resistance, particularly of the younger generation, reflects their dissatisfaction with higher education leadership communities of practice of masculinities.

Suggested Citation

  • Paula Burkinshaw & Kate White, 2017. "Fixing the Women or Fixing Universities: Women in HE Leadership," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:7:y:2017:i:3:p:30-:d:109122
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anita Göransson, 2011. "Gender Equality and the Shift from Collegiality to Managerialism," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Barbara Bagilhole & Kate White (ed.), Gender, Power and Management, chapter 2, pages 50-77, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Amal Abdellatif & Maryam Aldossari & Ilaria Boncori & Jamie Callahan & Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya & Sara Chaudhry & Nina Kivinen & Shan‐Jan Sarah Liu & Ea Høg Utoft & Natalia Vershinina & Emily Yarro, 2021. "Breaking the mold: Working through our differences to vocalize the sound of change," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 1956-1979, September.
    2. Emma Watton & Sarah Stables & Steve Kempster, 2019. "How Job Sharing Can Lead to More Women Achieving Senior Leadership Roles in Higher Education: A UK Study," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Sara Diogo & Teresa Carvalho & Zélia Breda, 2021. "Nomination vs. election: do they influence women’s access to institutional decision-making bodies?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 879-898, September.
    4. Blessing Kanyumba & Melanie Lourens, 2022. "Career development for female academics in Australian and South African universities: An integrative review," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(2), pages 391-401, March.
    5. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Marzena Podgorska & Anna Musiol-Urbanczyk & Maciej Wolny, 2020. "Sustainable Development and Motivation Opportunities from the Perspective of Women in the Polish Science Sector in the Light of Statistical Data and Surveys," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 456-473.
    6. Gladys Merma-Molina & Mayra Urrea-Solano & Salvador Baena-Morales & Diego Gavilán-Martín, 2022. "The Satisfactions, Contributions, and Opportunities of Women Academics in the Framework of Sustainable Leadership: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Bustelo, María & Salido, Olga, 2024. "Gender biases in the evaluation of knowledge transfer: A meta-evaluative analysis of the Spanish “Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Sexennium”," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    8. Janelle Thomas & Cate Thomas & Kirsty Smith, 2019. "The Challenges for Gender Equity and Women in Leadership in a Distributed University in Regional Australia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-9, May.
    9. Polly Parker & Belinda Hewitt & Jennifer Witheriff & Amy Cooper, 2018. "Frank and Fearless: Supporting Academic Career Progression for Women in an Australian Program," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-18, February.
    10. Kate White & Paula Burkinshaw, 2019. "Women and Leadership in Higher Education: Special Issue Editorial," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-7, July.
    11. Karen A. Longman, 2018. "Perspectives on Women’s Higher Education Leadership from Around the World," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-6, July.
    12. Margaret Hodgins & Pat O’Connor & Lucy-Ann Buckley, 2022. "Institutional Change and Organisational Resistance to Gender Equality in Higher Education: An Irish Case Study," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, May.

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