A chilly climate: Experiences of women student government association presidents

Abstract

The lack of women in elected leadership roles trickles down to student governance at colleges and universities (American Student Government Association, 2016). The researcher sought to understand how women student leaders made meaning of their experiences as a leader and how their understanding influences their actions and motivations. Through the use of narrative inquiry, the researcher explored how participants defined and made meaning of their experiences as women student government association presidents. The data collected through a series of three interviews were then formed into individual narratives focusing on context and meaning-making for each participant. Our work resulted in rich data that was categorized into themes. The prevalent theme of a “chilly climate” was salient for each participant, which is discussed in this article. The article concludes with implications for student government advisors, as well as for future research on women student government association leaders.

Two student governments, one university: Transformative advising for student (re)engagement as Covid-19 persists

“…This also means anticipating students' needs, even if students are not explicitly naming them, and identifying areas for growth. For example, advisors can assist students in understanding how identity intersects with student government across race (Fries-Britt & Turner, 2002;Hardaway et al, 2021;Mills, 2020), gender (Workman et al, 2020), sexuality (Goodman, 2021b(Goodman, , 2022a, socioeconomic status (Houze, 2021), and more.…”

Black womyn have always been leaders: Understanding the experiences of black womyn leaders and activism on college campuses

“…BFT offers a reconfiguration of how leadership can be enacted by Black women apart from masculine eurocentric norms (Collins, 1989). Shanika feels a lot of pressure to be perfect as the first Black womyn student body president, potentially due to the connotation that such a position at a PWI engenders–that one must ascribe to masculine eurocentric leadership norms to lead well (Collins, 1989; Workman et al., 2020). Advising Black womyn leaders, student affairs professionals should seek to disrupt the “white‐male‐controlled knowledge‐validation process” (Collins, 1989 p. 752) and affirm the student's identity, skills, and knowledge.…”

Leadership identity development, meaning-making and the intersection of marginalized social identities: a scoping review

“…(Abes, Jones, & McEwen, 2007;Jones & McEwen, 2000;McCain & Matkin, 2019;Renn, 2007). Social identities shape individuals' self-concept as individuals derive meaning from their membership in a social group based on the perceived emotional significance or value attached to that group membership (Tajfel, 1982;Workman, Hull, Hartsell, & Weimann, 2020). Consequently, social identities impact how individuals see themselves and are seen by others.…”

“…) have noted how perceptions of power differential in higher education can influence identity perceptions, how individuals make meaning of the relationships among multiple identities and overall student development for students with marginalized social identities. Given that, leadership scholars must acknowledge intersectionality of social identities to understand the role of privilege and power on leader(ship) identity development (Duran, 2021;Jones, 2016;Workman et al, 2020).…”