Unlocking Women’s Leadership Potential

Abstract

Women in academia face unique challenges when it comes to advancing to professorship. Using latest research about gender and academic leadership, we present a training curriculum that is sensitive to the unique demands of women in and aspiring to leadership positions in academia. The context-specific and evidence-based approach and a focus on self-directed leadership development are unique characteristics of the training. It aims to enhance women's motivation to lead, increase their knowledge about academic leadership, and empower them to seek the support they need to proactively work toward appointment to a professorship. We also delineate an evaluation framework, which addresses these targeted outcomes. The findings from a pilot program in Germany confirmed that the curriculum is effective in developing women as academic leaders. The discussion highlights the significance of a context-specific and evidence-based approach to women's leadership development in academia.

The communality-bonus effect for male transformational leaders – leadership style, gender, and promotability

“…Our research suggests that transformational leaders have higher chances of promotion, whereby they would achieve higher level leadership positions. We therefore recommend expanding current approaches to leadership development on the basis of transformational leadership (e.g., Knipfer, Shaughnessy, Hentschel, & Schmid, 2017). However, both men and women should be cautious to lead in a style that is aligned with their inner selves and values (leader authenticity; Ibarra, 2015).…”

Gender in academic STEM: A focus on men faculty

“…Academia is often described as based on values including freedom, meritocracy, egalitarianism and equality (Currie, Thiele, & Harris, , p. 29; Hutchison & Jenkins, ). Although a large body of research in social sciences shows how, in practice, universities diverge from those values and the different ways in which they contribute to perpetuation of inequalities and marginalization (Bailyn, ; Bird, ; Kašić, ; Knipfer, Shaughnessy, Hentschel, & Schmid, ; Wilson, Marks, Noone, & Hamilton‐Mackenzie, ), STEM faculty in this group embraced a traditional ethos about academia. In their view, the structure of higher education did not allow for individual characteristics like gender to become influential for one's opportunities.…”

The Story Only Few Can Tell: Exploring the Disproportionately Gendered Professoriate in Business Schools

“…Knipfer, Shaughnessy, Hentschel, and Schmid (2017) cite role congruity theory as the primary reason for lack of advancement and upward mobility of women academics; that is, leadership positions are linked with masculine traits which men are expected to inhabit; this pattern is also prevalent for named professorships, which are rarely awarded to even the most meritorious women academics (Treviño, Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Mixon, 2018). The theory of gendered organizations discusses persistent gender inequality especially in organizations such as academia that offer long-term security, standardized jobs, and management who control evaluations (Hart, 2016).…”