Document Type

Paper

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores how several women in leadership roles within higher education administration navigate the overlapping crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased social unrest in America during 2020. As a result of decades of discrimination towards women, there exists a gendered gap in leadership roles within higher education administration. The goal of this study is to highlight the ways women who have ascended to leadership roles in higher education administration persist, especially during this unique time of crisis. Collected through semi-structured interviews and viewed through an intersectional feminist lens, the data led to the emergence of the following categories of findings: leadership characteristics, which includes leading with compassion, leading by example, and leading through partnership; “trained for this” which includes athletics, teams, and role modeling as well as knowing the possibilities and acting; and lastly, mission alignment and fit. The findings from this study provide insight into how women in higher education administration lead in times of crisis and lessons for effective leadership, regardless of a leader’s gender, during future crises.

Start Date

19-2-2021 12:30 PM

End Date

19-2-2021 1:45 PM

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Permission

yes

Share

Import Event to Google Calendar

COinS
 
Feb 19th, 12:30 PM Feb 19th, 1:45 PM

“We are going to be okay”: Women* Senior Administrators in Higher Education during Times of Crisis

This phenomenological study explores how several women in leadership roles within higher education administration navigate the overlapping crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased social unrest in America during 2020. As a result of decades of discrimination towards women, there exists a gendered gap in leadership roles within higher education administration. The goal of this study is to highlight the ways women who have ascended to leadership roles in higher education administration persist, especially during this unique time of crisis. Collected through semi-structured interviews and viewed through an intersectional feminist lens, the data led to the emergence of the following categories of findings: leadership characteristics, which includes leading with compassion, leading by example, and leading through partnership; “trained for this” which includes athletics, teams, and role modeling as well as knowing the possibilities and acting; and lastly, mission alignment and fit. The findings from this study provide insight into how women in higher education administration lead in times of crisis and lessons for effective leadership, regardless of a leader’s gender, during future crises.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.