Women in higher educational leadership review

Organization of The Literature Review The literature review will begin with a brief introduction to the issues surrounding women underrepresentation in their leadership of advanced learning organizations. The section will then analyze some of the reasons that have been identified as perceived barriers limiting the appointment of women into leadership positions in higher education. This section will further detail the dynamic systems which are concerned with women empowerment. The analysis will focus on how these systems have supported women to take up management roles and responsibilities in institutions of higher learning institutions. The final part of this literature review will discuss some of the approaches that are currently in use to increase women representation in higher education leadership positions. Another article by Fitzgerald (2013) has reported that in several UK institutions of higher education, the vice-chancellors as well as the deputies are all men.

Women lack representation at the top management even though they comprise a significant part of the population in such institutions. It is estimated that 56% of students in higher education and 54% of the staff are women (Fitzgerald, 2013). Despite this, men still get the lion’s share in terms of seats at the top management. However, the situation in the UK is not unique; it is simply a reflection of the situation internationally. Below are some of the perceived barriers limiting women’s entry into leadership. Perceived Barriers Beliefs The belief that gender equality has already been achieved is among the major barriers preventing the entry of more women into leadership. A survey by Kosoko-Lasaki (2016) revealed that most managers as well as employees in higher education institutions believe that they have already achieved gender equality.

The survey also showed that a very small percentage of senior managers view equality and diversity as a major concern for the higher education institution (Kosoko-Lasaki, 2016). Thus, it is evident why there is very slow progress in the efforts to increase the number of women representatives in all the senior ranks. Therefore, the problem of women underrepresentation might not be as a result of other external barriers but as a result of the women themselves. The women might fail to succeed due to different factors such as low confidence or the lack of ambition to go for the senior management positions. Low self-confidence leads women to fail to apply for positions of leadership. The report by Beaman (2012) revealed that most women are wary of applying for leadership positions.

Women who apply for such positions often do so after endorsements and encouragement from their peers. Women are often disadvantaged in this sector since research has shown men to be more geographically mobile than the women. In addition, Women might be tied down by other obligations such as children (Madsen, 2012). With regards to Conservatism, Higher education institutions tend to be very risk-averse especially in the appointment of senior officials. Today, these institutions are operating in a highly competitive environment hence they must ensure that the manager of the institution can handle all the pressures (Gallant, 2014). Therefore, the institutions cannot afford the cost brought about by a bad appointment. Nonetheless, the empowerment initiatives should focus more energy on training women how to be leaders.

This way, we will see an expansion in the total number of womenfolk leaders in different sectors including in higher learning organizations. Approaches Being Used to Increase Women Representation There are several approaches that are being pursued in an endeavor to increase women representation in leadership positions. One such approach is the mentoring of women; here the aspiring female leader meets regularly with a mentor who is already a leader (Fitzgerald, 2013). The two-exchange information which is usually beneficial for the aspiring leader since it can set her up to become a future leader. The search terms were as listed below; Search terms: Higher Education institutions, Women leadership, barriers to women leadership in Universities Theoretical/Conceptual Framework The literature review was guided by the Feminism theoretical framework.

This is a theory that talks about the equal rights of men and women (Nye, 2013). The theory was the best fit for this study since it does not condemn men or masculine ideas. Some think that feminist promotes hatred against men; this is not the case. In fact, the theory calls for equality for both genders. Summary In summary, women underrepresentation in the management roles of higher education institutions is as a result of a combination of different factors. These factors include the beliefs held by current managers, missing efforts by women and structural issues. Each of these issues is unique in its own way; thus, the whole issues of underrepresentation cannot be addressed using a single solution. Rather, there is need for the combination of several solutions that will eventually increase women representation in the management roles.