Changing the Landscape? Women in academic leadership in Australia.

This paper analyses interviews with 41 men and women in senior academic leadership roles in five Australian universities. It explores whether management cultures change when women hold power. It contrasts interviewees' conceptions of the role gender has played in career success with notions which posit a gender-neutral organization. It probes the impact of the differentially constructed careers of men and women for appointment to senior positions. It identifies factors that sustain women, specifically collegiality, support from senior colleague and a critical mass of other women in power. Finally, in considering the unwillingness of some women to apply for further promotions, it suggests women are still positioned as outsiders to university management, although there is evidence that this is changing

'Girl disease': Women managers' reticence and ambivalence towards organizational advancement

This paper addresses the theme of the special issue by drawing attention to ways in which gender scholarship can influence management and organizational studies in an analysis of the pathways to senior management. Based on an Australia-wide study of the experiences of women and men in senior management, it adds new empirical data to the body of knowledge on women's career advancement at senior levels of organizations. Many women interviewed expressed reticence and ambivalence about the advancement of their careers and their prospects for promotion, which was called 'girl disease' by one woman. Forms of ambivalence varied according to different age and sector cohorts; in particular difficulties were identified in reconciling family responsibilities with the demands of senior level appointments

Not tokens: reaching a "critical mass" of senior women managers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings of a research project involving five Australian universities with over 30 per cent of their senior management positions filled by women. It explores the factors that enabled this to happen and also discusses the responses of the universities to the report. Design/methodology/approach The research was essentially qualitative, based on 81 interviews, 50 with senior women and 31 with senior men. All those interviewed were in senior positions, from Vice-Chancellor down to Dean, Director or equivalent. 46 (24 men and 22 women) were academics; 35 (28 women and seven men) were in administrative, support or general staff positions. Findings Interviewees identified as crucial for the appointment of women having a critical mass of other women in senior positions, opportunities to network, encouragement and support from organisational leaders, friendly and collegial environments and strong organisational commitment to values. Practical implications The paper describes the actions currently being taken by the five universities to build on the research findings and to ensure that their relative success in promoting women is maintained and improved. It considers whether it is possible to transform hierarchical and traditional cultures in order to establish networks of support and to raise questions about gendered assumptions about capacity and ambition

Not doable jobs! - Exploring senior women's attitudes to academic leadership roles

In this paper we analyze selected findings of a recent Australia-wide empirical study that investigated the impact of the presence of senior women executives on management cultures. The study involved interviews with 255 senior male and female executive

The gendered impact on organisations of a critical mass of women in senior management

This paper reports on the findings of a recent Australia-wide empirical study that investigated the impact of the presence of senior women executives on management cultures. The study involved interviews with 255 senior executives in Australian organisations from the higher education, public and private sectors. It sought to analyse gendered organisational practices and procedures embedded within such cultures. We found that both men and women clearly agreed that the presence of women in senior roles had changed management cultures and influenced methods of decision-making. Yet we also found that the influences that women were seen to have on management cultures were often described in terms that reinforced traditional gender stereotypes. The paper argues that valuing management based upon traits and orientations traditionally associated with women and “the feminine” has the potential to further engender inequality at senior levels in organisations.24 page(s

Women executives: managing emotions at the top

22 page(s