Leadership of Women in Higher Education Institutions - Literature review Example

LITERATURE REVIEW By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Women’s Leadership in Higher Education Institution in Saudi Arabia – Literature Review Introduction Following the progressive changes that happened in Saudi Arabia, development of women’s leadership effectiveness and capacity in higher education has become crucial. The objective of this literature review is to critically examine research and scholarship on women’s leadership in Saudi’s higher education. The paper discusses the main obstacles that women leaders face in higher education in Saudi Arabia and globally. Because of different structural as well as cultural characteristics of the Saudi society, majority of women in leadership positions in Saudi’s higher education experience more difficulties than the men. Basically, the Islamic instructions and traditions reign in Saudi Arabia; as a result, it has limited the role of women in Saudi society. In spite of the opportunities such as education and health provided to the Saudi women, women are still having limited opportunities particularly in economic as well as political aspects because of the inimitable social norms. As it will be evidenced in this literature review, the majority of Saudi women face various types of discrimination because of reasons attributed to traditional Saudi social structure and culture. Women and Leadership in Higher Education Institution in Worldwide Madsen (2012) examined the recent pieces of literature that focused on women’s leadership in higher education across the globe. Madsen (2012, p.5) observed that in academia there is a high gender discrepancies; for instance, the White House Project Report demonstrated that in United states women make up 57 percent of all students in college, but in doctoral degree–granting institutions’ presidencies, higher education presidents, and full professors women only account for 14%, 23 %, and 26% respectively. The report as cited by Madsen (2012) established that the presidents have remained constant for more than a decade. The study also established that women comprise only 30 per cent of the membership in university or college boards. Madsen (2012) observed that when higher education institutions allow successful female leaders to work with staffs, faculty as well as students (female or male), there is high inclination that they would help change people’s viewpoints towards women leaders. Furthermore, such women could act as mentors and influential role models to young female students seeking to pursue the leadership path. In their study, Shahtalebia et al. (2011, p.3645) observed that the presence of women in key leadership positions is extremely low; still, women are working hard to prevail over these difficulties. The authors further observed that women’s perseverance and exactitude to perform their jobs has enabled them carry out their duties effectively. Therefore, strategies utilised to increase women representation at higher education’s leadership positions together with those developed to provide them with the needed capacities as well as skills have to be pursued together in an integrated manner. According to Almaki et al. (2016), the social role of Muslim women across the globe has dramatically changed in the past two decades. This is mainly attributed to the growing number of women at every education level as well as in various employment fields and public life aspects. Presently, women have shifted their focus to main leadership roles in the higher education and also take participate in the process of making decisions both in private and public sectors. Almaki et al. (2016) observed that women occupying leadership positions face a number of challenges, and sometimes they quit because of the multiple barriers. Despite the equal opportunity in the society, the majority of women in the Muslim societies as observed by Almaki et al. (2016) are experiencing discrimination and marginalisation. Although women enrolled in colleges and universities are high as compared to the men, they still face some challenges in terms of educational participation. Some of the barriers that prevent women from assuming the leadership positions in higher education include gender-based stereotypes, gender discrimination, the prevailing cultural concepts and beliefs, and the negative social perception of the work done by women (Almaki et al., 2016, p.78). According to Renn (2012), women’s universities, as well as colleges, have increased across the globe, although most of the tertiary institutions have remained open for both women as well as men. In almost all countries, women have been given the opportunity to attend elite universities that were formally dominated by male students and other countries like United States women account for the majority university and college students. Even though postsecondary students in a number of countries (such as North America, Europe, and Australia) comprise mainly of women students, the probability of women attending college is less compared to men. Furthermore, they are less inclined to enter important academic fields such as social development and economic. For example, in India, as mentioned by Renn (2012) the number of women's colleges was approximately 780 in 1987, but by 1997 it had increased to 1195. This increase in women’s higher education institutions is mainly attributed to the increased number of universities and colleges in rural India that sought to offer traditional religious women suitable setting to learn. Sudan opened the first women’s medical school in 1990 known as Ahfad University while in 2001 Kenya opened Kiriri Women's University of Science and Technology. Renn (2012) posits that nearly all continents, in both developing and developed countries have women’s higher education institutions. Alomair (2016) observed that the obstacles and barriers on women’s leadership position in higher education is attributed to fear of failure, lack of self-confidence, unconscious bias, in-group preferential treatment, and complicatedness associated with work/life balance. Alomair (2016) established that determined women in higher education normally take a back seat on leadership roles since they find it challenging to integrate home and family responsibilities with the leadership position that is always demanding. This is further exacerbated by the lack of organisational support such as flexible work schedule, quality day-care, and moral support. For this reason, Madsen et al. (2012) established that programs for leadership development are very important not only for women but also men. According to the authors, the majority of American women orientation towards self-promotion is very minimal. Therefore, leadership development programming curriculum should be changed in order to consider the existing differences and should include lessons that focus on issues of life balance, academic politics, confidence, women leadership challenges and career planning. In Sader et al. (2005) study they observed that globalisation processes have impacted higher education; therefore, gender equity and women’s leadership in higher education has been affected. Sader et al. (2005) observed that there is need for committed women leadership to transformative leadership as well as gender equity, which should be backed by men and women at every level in the higher education institution. Using South Africa as a case study, Sader et al. (2005) emphasise that education institutions should create ethos where the voices of women are widely heard, and these institutions should also create improved women’s institutional capacity that would facilitate the empowering of other women. This cannot be realised easily considering that countries with legislations and policies for gender equality such as the United Kingdom and Australia have high male prevalence in the higher education’s leadership positions (Morley, 2013). Clearly, only a few women occupy the senior leadership positions in higher education institutions, and this connotes that women are under-represented globally. Gender Differences in Leadership Style Leadership success according to Dunn et al. (2014) is patterned by the fact that both men and women deemed successful leaders often exhibit diverse leadership styles and behaviours. In the higher education context, administrators normally falsify their personalities in order to reflect their individual talents and traits as well as to satisfy the constituents’ gendered expectations. Therefore, such factors act together to shape higher education leaders and how they define success as well as demonstrate leadership, leading to broadly diverse styles of administrative leadership. Although the existing evidence regarding the differences of leadership style between women and men is differing, Kent et al. (2010) study results was somewhat consistent since they looked at leadership based on women and men behaviours. Snaebjornsson and Edvardsson (2013) concurs that the existing literature on leadership styles is confusing since concepts such as sex, gender, men, and women are often cited when reviewing leadership style. A number of articles as cited by Snaebjornsson and Edvardsson (2013) agree that there are some gender differences with the view to leadership styles, but others refute such claims. Still, Snaebjornsson and Edvardsson (2013)hold the view that women leaders are inclined to show participative and democratic leadership styles while men tend to apply autocratic leadership style. While men prefer the transactional style of leadership, women are leaning more towards the transformational style of leadership. According to Helgesen (1990), as cited by Snaebjornsson and Edvardsson (2013) women prefer working in a web-organisation rather than in a company with a hierarchical structure. Both Kent et al. (2010) and Snaebjornsson and Edvardsson (2013) have analysed a number of iconic books that focussed on leadership as well as culture, such as Bass and Bass (2008), House et al. (2004), and Hofstede (1996). All these books pointed out that there are some difference in leadership styles with regard to culture; societal effects, perception, attitudes, and so forth. In his multi-cultural study, Hofstede (1996) formulated a number of cultural dimensions (uncertainty avoidance, individualism, power distance as well as masculinity) in order to exemplify the differences in cross-cultural societies. These cultural dimensions have an effect on the style of leadership preferred by men and women. According to Cuadrado et al. (2012), men tend to be task oriented and autocratic due to their connection with the instrumental dimension components of gender stereotypes (such as dominant, independent, aggressive or self-sufficient). On the other hand, women are inclined to be more relationship oriented and democratic due to their correlation with the communal dimension components (such as being caring, sensitive, generous, friendly, or empathetic). Therefore, being interpersonally and democratically oriented is often considered to be women leadership styles while masculine leadership styles include autocratic, task oriented, and instrumental styles. Jonsen et al. (2010) echo this argument maintain that there is gender differences in leadership, whereby women are prefer being transformational, inclusive, participative as well as democratic. On the other hand, Jonsen et al. (2010) posit that male leaders often demonstrate transactional qualities. Women and Leadership in Higher Education Institution in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, Alomair (2016) observed that women empowerment has played a crucial role in the country since it has enabled many Saudi women to take part and also make contributions to the modernization and progression of the nation. Considering that the rate of enrolment in higher education is higher for females than the males, it is evident that the women’s prospective needs are supported. Therefore, developing female leadership should be extended to higher education students in order for the female students to be furnished with competencies and capacity required to advance their careers. The Ministry of Higher Education (2010) concurs that the number of women enrolling in Saudi’s higher education institutions has experienced a remarkable development based on development strategies, initiatives, as well as programs. Such development as indicated by Ministry of Higher Education (2010) offers women some educational opportunities and promotes equality. In Kattan et al. (2016) study, they observed that the majority of Saudi women leaders encounter many challenges than the male leaders because of different structural and cultural characteristics. Statistics released by the Ministry of Education in 2015 as cited by Kattan et al. (2016) pointed out that women accounted for 63 percent of the total students studying in universities across Saudi Arabia. Still, despite women’s education gender gap increasing, the rate of women's entrepreneurship and employment is still very low as compared to the male counterparts. The success of women in leadership depends on their ability to capitalise on their abilities and talents, which can be achieved by enrolling in higher education institutions in order to improve their intellectually. There are still some obstacles that women face when they assume leadership positions such as matching their educational qualification with the leadership roles. The women’s leadership qualifications are somewhat less favourable as compared to those of the male counterparts. As pointed out by Thompson (2015), women in Saudi Arabia are often depicted as a homogenous group, constrained, or equally influenced by the problems that face them in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Although women represent many constituencies with different interests as well as characteristics, like sectarian, regional, socio-economic, or tribal. Thompson (2015) posits that the increasing public life participation amongst women, which includes women appointment to the Majlis al-Shura as well as the increasing employment opportunities, pose the question of the role played by women leaders in the transformation of the society. Still, women empowerment is considered to be beneficial not just to the society but also society at large, but still establishing credibility as change agents remain to be the main challenge. Women leaders in Saudi Arabia are facing serious problems at three levels: national, societal as well as family. Families have been cited as the main factor that limits their participation in a leadership role. In Alsubaihi (2016) study, he made some recommendations that would help reduce the challenges that women face when they assume leadership positions in Saudi higher education institutions. Alsubaihi (2016) suggested that decisions making decentralisation and authority delegation for women in decisions making the process that are crucial in higher education. Furthermore, the author believes that forming formal and informal professional networks for women, which facilitate open discussion, could help alleviate the leadership challenges in Saudi Arabia. Such networks according to Alsubaihi (2016) could enable women to interact amongst themselves and share information, experiences, as well as examine the existing challenges and provide solutions. In addition, improving mentoring relationship for women leaders in higher education can help increase leadership effectiveness. Women's Participation in the Decision Making In Universities in Saudi Arabia Thompson (2015) posit that all the people have the right to take part in decision-making process that defines their life. The equal participation in making decisions is attributed to this right. Given that women account for the majority of students in universities, Thompson (2015) asserts that women understand the higher education situation well; therefore, they must be allowed to equally participate in decision making. Miranda (2005, p.4) posit that because women in the majority of countries have less influence in decision-making processes, introducing gender issues platform that promotes equal rights for both men, as well as women, may be ominous; therefore, women become discouraged from participating in confrontation or heroic advocacy where winning becomes more and more uncertain. Women empowerment has become more valuable to women leaders and the society in general. In a study carried out by AI-Ahmadi (2011) as cited by Al-kayed (2015, p.37) on 160 women leaders from Saudi Arabia in governmental sectors, it was established that structural challenges, especially the ones related to centralising the process of making decisions, lack of participation as well as authority in creating strategy, are some of the major challenges that face Saudi women leaders. This is mainly attributed to the notion that accessibility to Saudi leadership positions in is somewhat latest; therefore, issues associated with managerial efficiency and capabilities has arose. Al-kayed (2015) established that cultural challenges have become less crucial as compared to other problems that women leaders face. Profante (2014) observed that higher education decisions are commonly made by male leaders; therefore, what women leaders say is less significant. Said-Foqahaa (2011) also observed that although the significance of participation of women in making decision is widely known, offering vocal support has been translated into not more than equal participation. Actually, Said-Foqahaa (2011, p.255) observed that the use of language has turned out to be a crucial part of the cultural system, which introduces the superiority of men as well as the women’s superficial entrance in the decision-making process. In Saudi higher education institutions, decision making is commonly reserved to men. Most of the decisions are achieved through mutual understanding or consultation, mostly based on the opinions of the majority members. In his study, Al-Ahmadi (2011) noted that women in nearly all government sectors were working under the men’s dominance; as a result, their leadership performance is influenced negatively. Summary To sum up, it is without a doubt that preparing future higher education leaders is still a crucial need in modern-day institutions not only in Saudi Arabia but also globally. As evidenced in the literature review, the majority of universities and colleges are currently looking for design programs which create leadership skills due to the reduced number of women in leaders in higher education. It is without a doubt that most Saudi women face different types of discrimination due to reasons attributed to traditional Saudi social structure and culture. References Al-Ahmadi, H., 2011. Challenges facing women leaders in Saudi Arabia. Human Resource Development International, vol. 14, no. 2, pp.149–66. Al-kayed, L., 2015. Leadership Challenges for Women Managers in Public Universities in Saudi Arabia. Global Journal of Human Social Science, vol. 15, no. 4, pp.35-43. Almaki, S.H., Silong, A.D., Idris, K. & Wahat, N.W.A., 2016. Challenges Faced Muslim Women Leaders in Higher Education. Journal of Educational and Social Research, vol. 6, no. 3, pp.75-86. Alomair, M.O., 2016. Female Leadership Capacity and Effectiveness: A Critical Analysis of the Literature on Higher Education in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Higher Education, vol. 4, no. 4, pp.81-93. Alsubaihi, S., 2016. Challenges For Women Academic Leaders To Obtain Senior Leadership Positions In Higher Education In Saudi Arabia. Thesis. Malibu, CA : Pepperdine University. Cuadrado, I. et al., 2012. Gender Differences in Leadership Styles as a Function of Leader and Subordinates’ Sex and Type of Organization. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, vol. 42, no. 12, pp.3083–3113. Dunn, D., Gerlach, J.M. & Hyle, A.E., 2014. Gender and Leadership: Reflections of Women in Higher Education Administration. International Journal of Leadership and Change, vol. 2, no. 1, pp.9-18. Jonsen, K., Maznevski, M.L. & Schneider, S.C., 2010. Gender differences in leadership – believing is seeing: implications for managing diversity. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 29, no. 6, pp.549-72. Kattan, M.M., Heredero, C.d.P., Botella, J.L.M. & Margalina, V.M., 2016. Factors of Successful Women Leadership in Saudi Arabia. Asian Social Science, vol. 12, no. 5, pp.94-107. Kent, T.W., Blair, C.A., Rudd, H.F. & Schuele, U., 2010. Gender Differences and Transformational Leadership Behavior: Do Both German Men and Women Lead in the Same Way? International Journal of Leadership Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, pp.52-66. Madsen, S.R., 2012. Women and Leadership in Higher Education: Learning and Advancement in Leadership Programs. Advances in Developing Human Resources, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.3–10. Madsen, S.R., Longman, K.A. & Daniels, J.R., 2012. Women’s Leadership Development in Higher Education: Conclusion and Implications for HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.113–28. Ministry of Higher Education, 2010. Women in Higher EducationSaudi Initiatives & Achievements. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Miranda, R.L.T., 2005. Impact of women’s participation and leadership on outcomes. Washington DC: United Nations. Morley, L., 2013. Women and Higher Education Leadership: Absences and Aspirations. Stimulus Paper. London,: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education University of Sussex. Profante, A., 2014. Achievements and challenges in the educational realm in Saudi Arabia. European Scientific Journal, 1, pp.207-22. Renn, K.A., 2012. Roles of women's higher education institutions in international contexts. Higher Education, 64(2), pp.vol. -91. Sader, S.B., Odendaal, M. & Searle, R., 2005. Globalisation, higher education restructuring and women in leadership: opportunities or threats? Agenda, vol. 19, no. 65, pp.58-74. Said-Foqahaa, N., 2011. Arab Women: Duality of Deprivation in Decision-making under Patriarchal Authority. 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