Increasing Gender Diversity in Senior Roles in HE: Who Is Afraid of Positive Action?

Manfredi, Simonetta

doi:10.3390/admsci7020019

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(43 reference statements)

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“…The CG literature shows that diversity of the governance board is a determining factor influencing variables of performance; however, this issue remains unexplored in universities. Within the university specifically, gender is one of the most significant CG issues at a time of profound social change [29]. As to CSR and ethics, the presence of women on the board has a positive influence on ethical behavior of the organization [30], and striking differences emerge in the area of ethics when decisions are made by men vs. women [31].…”

Section: Gender Of the University Rectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate Governance and Disclosure of Information on Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis of the Top 200 Universities in the Shanghai Ranking

et al. 2020

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its disclosure in the university environment is a topic of current relevance, as it makes the entities' commitments visible and provides indicators that enable them to improve the institution management and communication with stakeholders. The goal of this study is to determine to what extent the structure and mechanisms for governance and the demands of stakeholders influence policy for disclosing CSR information, both in general (more related to a strategic perspective) and specifically (more focused on specific social, environmental, economic, and educational issues). The results of our analysis of a sample of the top 200 universities in the Shanghai Ranking show no association of the profile and gender of the university's rector and frequency of board meetings with CSR disclosure policy, but leadership team, the size of governance board, committees in the governance board and stakeholder participation are factors determining disclosure of information on matters of CSR. The results show that proximity to the day-to-day, diversification of functions, and communication with interest groups are crucial to transparency and disclosure of CSR information.Given the growing concern for CSR, this situation requires in-depth study to enable fuller development in the university environment of a theoretical framework based fundamentally on stakeholder theory. We can understand the behaviors carried out by universities based on stakeholder theory. According to this theory, universities, as agents of society, seek to meet the demands and needs of stakeholders and acquire commitments on social and environmental issues. This theory can explain the disclosure of CSR information to fulfil the responsibility of being transparent and thus achieving the commitment of stakeholder [7]. Therefore, one essential point for effective development and integration of CSR policies and strategies in the culture of higher education institutions is identification of stakeholders' expectations and needs-that is, entering into dialogue with these actors [8,9] by establishing communication channels and improving transparency through disclosure of financial and non-financial information [10,11]. Such actions make universities accountable to society and improve the satisfaction of their different social interlocutors by showing understanding that satisfaction of these interlocutors revolves around demand for more information, a more transparent mode of functioning, and the possibility of participation [12]. We propose that this approach involves a top-down strategy in the organizational structure of the universities. This proposal requires the analysis of Corporate Governance (CG) mechanisms in managing the institution and how they find out and assumes the different interest groups-employees, investors, suppliers, customers, local communities, and society in general-that affect and are affected by its activities [13]. One of the contributions of this paper is to establish the relationship between the CG str...

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Section: Gender Of the University Rectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate Governance and Disclosure of Information on Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis of the Top 200 Universities in the Shanghai Ranking

et al. 2020

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“…On the one hand, it is seen that formal institutional commitments, such as filling certain percentages of leadership positions with women and promoting mentoring and counselling for female professionals can be of a great value and boost the inclusion of women in high institutional strata (Mun & Brinton, 2015). On the other hand, since the main obstacles currently faced by women in this context are not of a formal nature but backed on the socially and culturally attributed gender roles, measures to pursue substantial GE institutionally shall be combined with rethinking the gendered institutional logics that attribute value to what is considered female and male and distribute power (Timmers at al., 2010;Manfredi, 2017;Fritz & Van Knippenberg, 2017).…”

Section: Revisiting Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting gendered structural change in leadership in higher education

Vilhena¹,

Pizarro

2021

Investig. fem.

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Introduction and objectives. In the higher education and research sector, efforts have been employed in diverse countries to bring about gendered structural change, and most strategies pursue such a goal through the implementation of formal changes in its structures and policies. Leaning on the feminist institutionalism theory, the aim of this article is to discuss the importance of understanding how the formal and the informal institutional norms interact between each other in initiatives seeking gender equality in leadership and decision-making in the specific context of higher education institutions. Methodology. A qualitative approach has been followed. Interviews with members of the Board of Directors of a higher education and research institution in northern Spain have been conducted and analysed, aiming at identifying the barriers to the access of women to leadership positions and possible measures to overcome them. Results. The analysis confirmed the impact caused by the gendered dynamics present at both individual and institutional levels to GE initiatives. While the importance of formal institutional commitments to gender equality has been recognised, the analysis recalls the attention to the fact that informal settings shape the applicability of formal policies, with continuous references to the traditionally unequal distribution of power and attribution of value to women and men. Discussion and added value. Although much theoretical knowledge has been produced in the field of gender and institutions, especially concerning the gendered bases of institutions, the field still lacks within-process studies on the aspects influencing the obtained outcomes of developed initiatives pursuing gender equality in institutional leadership. The study developed in this paper allows for replication in different contexts, hence contributing to the refinement of the existing knowledge on the dynamics of change in gender-oriented initiatives

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“…In the EU, only 15 per cent of rectors or vice-chancellors are women (European University Association 2016). Manfredi (2017) argues that universities need to tackle the invisible barriers which prevent women from progressing into senior roles, namely: the gendered construction of leadership and the impact of unconscious bias (see Chapter 9) which results in women being constantly judged less favourably than men; and the cumulative disadvantage they face throughout their careers.…”

Section: Women and Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Difficulty in achieving leadership responsibilities in universities is often compounded by a gendered division of labour in academia, with women more likely to have greater teaching, administrative and pastoral responsibilities. These tend to be less valued than research (Manfredi 2017). This topic is also the subject of Chapter 4 (Kinahan et al).…”

Section: Women and Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gender-Sensitive University

Drew¹,

Canavan²

2020

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The Gender-Sensitive University explores the prevailing forces that pose obstacles to driving a gender-sensitive university, which include the emergence of far-right movements that seek to subvert advances towards gender equality and managerialism that promotes creeping corporatism.This book demonstrates that awareness of gender equality and gender sensitivity are essential for pulling contemporary academia back from the brink. New forms of leadership are fundamental to reforming our institutions. The concept of a gender-sensitive university requires re-envisioning academia to meet these challenges, as does a different engagement of men and a shift towards fluidity in how gender is formulated and performed. Academia can only be truly gender sensitive if, learning from the past, it can avoid repeating the same mistakes and addressing existing and new biases. The book chapters analyse these challenges and advocate the possibilities to 'fix it forward' in all areas.Representing ten EU countries and multiple disciplines, contributors to this volume highlight the evidence of persistent gender inequalities in academia, while advocating a blueprint for addressing them. The book will be of interest to a global readership of students, academics, researchers, practitioners, academic and political leaders and policymakers who share an interest in what it takes to establish gender-sensitive universities.

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Increasing Gender Diversity in Senior Roles in HE: Who Is Afraid of Positive Action?

Cited by 24 publications

References 35 publications

Corporate Governance and Disclosure of Information on Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis of the Top 200 Universities in the Shanghai Ranking

Corporate Governance and Disclosure of Information on Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis of the Top 200 Universities in the Shanghai Ranking

Promoting gendered structural change in leadership in higher education

The Gender-Sensitive University

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