Gender, Culture and Leadership: Learning from the Experiences of Women Academics in Pakistani Universities

Abstract

This paper has been drawn from a larger PhD research project on women's experiences of academic leadership in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. This qualitative study aims to examine the influence of socio-cultural factors on women's leadership experiences in higher education. In-depth interviews were taken from eleven participants, who were selected through purposive sampling method. The data analysis is informed by Foucauldian discourse analysis. This paper argues that leadership norms are discursively produced, according to the cultural system of Pakistani society, to limit women's participation at senior leadership positions in higher education. This research article encompasses a combination of four themes highlighting the cultural dynamics in women academic leadership: (a) socialization of women as leaders (b) gender stereotypes and labeling women in academic leadership (c) harassment and critical attitudes and (d) discursive construction of the balance between family and profession. The findings reveal that women leaders confront with gendered leadership discourses, stereotypes, harassment, and overwhelming personal and professional commitments. While, strong socialization, family support, housemaids and mentors facilitate them in their professional success. It is suggested that women should utilize the culturally informed strategies to negotiate discriminative practices and widely share their success stories with other women to improve their visibility in higher educational leadership.

In search of performance-oriented leadership behaviours in the Ghanaian financial service sector: the role of knowledge sharing

“…Another novelty from this study will be the assessment of the role of knowledge sharing (KNS) in explaining how these three leadership behaviours influence OP. Thus, earlier research has tended to focus on the role of work engagement and innovation (Bhatti and Ali, 2020;Juliani et al, 2021;Son et al, 2020). Therefore, future researchers would be required to operationalize their studies to examine other conduits through which leadership behaviours can result in organizational success.…”

A temporal gaze on work-life balance in academia: Time, gender, and transitional episodes in Bangladeshi women faculty narratives

“…Like Batti and Ali’s ( 2020 ) observations on the critical role of familial support for SA women academics, Hamida’s familial support and career success were pivotal in her temporal agency, especially during her mid-career success. She said, ‘My husband has always been very supportive, so he would go and pick my daughter up at school.’ Although family and in-laws’ gendered expectations of women as homemakers are common in South Asia (Ali & Rasheed, 2021 ), Hamida recounted how career success alleviated gendered expectations: Because, as a woman, you’re expected to have some roles in the family, with the in-laws.…”

“…Few studies exclusively consider WLB, much less a temporal gaze, among South Asian (SA) women academics (Basak & Akter, 2022 ; Happy, 2021 ; Hossain & Rokis, 2014 ; Welmilla, 2020 ). While scholarship on SA women academics covers a wide range of issues, such as academic freedom, job satisfaction, academic identity, research contributions, and career experiences in male-dominated disciplines (Das & Parabhoi, 2020 ; Fakhr & Messenger, 2020 ; Safiullah & Sumi, 2014 ), most focus on SA women’s inability to access top levels of academic leadership due to gender inequality (Ali & Rasheed, 2021 ; Bhatti & Ali, 2020 ; Farooq et al, 2020 ; Gandhi & Sen, 2021 ). While some SA women require family support to pursue leadership roles (Ali & Rasheed, 2021 ), others forgo leadership treating work as part-time for family (Bhatti & Ali, 2020 ; Morley & Crossouard, 2016 ).…”

“…While scholarship on SA women academics covers a wide range of issues, such as academic freedom, job satisfaction, academic identity, research contributions, and career experiences in male-dominated disciplines (Das & Parabhoi, 2020 ; Fakhr & Messenger, 2020 ; Safiullah & Sumi, 2014 ), most focus on SA women’s inability to access top levels of academic leadership due to gender inequality (Ali & Rasheed, 2021 ; Bhatti & Ali, 2020 ; Farooq et al, 2020 ; Gandhi & Sen, 2021 ). While some SA women require family support to pursue leadership roles (Ali & Rasheed, 2021 ), others forgo leadership treating work as part-time for family (Bhatti & Ali, 2020 ; Morley & Crossouard, 2016 ). SA studies on women academics warrant an analysis of temporality underlying WLB since women negotiate various work and life roles through socio-cultural gender norms where the family takes precedence and/or is the means for advancing women’s careers via resources, such as time (Welmilla, 2020 ).…”

Women’s Experiences as Educational Leaders: Evidence from Islamabad Model Schools

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