Leading the Academic Department: A Mother–Daughter Story

Abstract

This article is based on conversations between a mother and daughter about academic leadership. Both authors served in different time periods and at different career points as heads of departments ("chairs") in Canadian universities. A literature review suggested that women's academic leadership is a contested topic, especially in relation to organizational cultures and associated gendered expectations. New directions were identified, as scholars move towards comparative studies, poststructural theoretical approaches, analysis of neoliberal trends in universities, and awareness of variation among women. We noted that "Canada" was largely missing from most of the literature reviewed and that middle management had received less attention than senior roles. Our method was collaborative autoethnography, a means of sharing thoughts about one's experiences and analyzing them with regard to wider social issues. Quotations are taken from a taped discussion in early 2018 and are organized around similarities and differences in our narratives. The conclusion raises issues about the difficulties associated with performing this particular middle management role; questions around the consequences of chairing for women in different age groups; the implications of increasing reliance on contingent academic labour; apparent differences between the Canadian experience and what has happened elsewhere; and promising directions for future research.

Introduction to Special Issue on Gender and Leadership and a Future Research Agenda

“…Acker and Millerson [7] are mother and daughter and focus on the similarities and differences in their careers as heads of department (separated by 13 years) in the Canadian higher educational system. Both of them assumed these middle management roles as 'good citizens', with little preparation, no clear role definition and a heavy workload.…”

“…Thus, for example, both Fitzgerald [9] and Carvalho and Diogo [10] use a narrative methodology; Harford [11] uses edited life stories within the life history research tradition; while Burkinshaw et al [12] use in-depth interviews and seminars. Acker and Millerson [7] use a highly innovative approach involving a collaborative autoethnography by a mother and daughter; while Peterson [13] uses a content and contextual analysis of job advertisements for Vice Chancellors.…”

“…There is an increasing appreciation of the importance of context for the identification of leaders and a movement away from a focus on traits [7]. Concepts such as distributed leadership [8] sit uneasily with the very clear hierarchical structure of HEIs.…”

Evaluating the likelihood of the glass cliff phenomenon for female ceos in college and universities

“…Additionally, Kulich et al (2015) found gender differences in line with the GCP in only select conditions. Overall, there are more supportive studies of the GCP (Acker & Millerson, 2018;Brady et al, 2011;Elsaid & Ursel, 2018;Main & Gregory-Smith, 2018;Morely, 2014;Peterson, 2016;Ryan & Haslam, 2005) than those that failed to observe a GCP (Cook & Glass, 2013).…”

“…Qualitative studies on the GCP in colleges and universities exist (Acker & Millerson, 2018;Morely, 2014;Peterson, 2016). Female leaders describe their roles as inherently perilous with a higher workload, increasing and wide-ranging managerial requirements, loss of research productivity, less prestige, and heightened role conflict (Peterson, 2016).…”