Importance of female leadership in higher education

“Importance of female leadership in higher education”

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

                    -Sheryl Sandberg

Female leadership matters a lot. They are very creative, passionate to do new things and very powerful as leader. They have very different view about world. They are always hopeful and see the world with lens of opportunity.

Women are by-nature team oriented, intelligent, full of new and useful ideas, and collaborative. They prefer personal development but at the same time focus on making lasting changes in the country and society by supporting the people.

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires other to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”   Dolly Parton

Whenever we consider the field of education, females play their key role as a teacher. The number of female teachers in educational institutes is versatile both nationally and internationally. The education sector is usually associated with females. They perform their duties as a teacher very well and guide their students in a very good and positive way which helps in different areas of life.

DODS Diversity and Inclusion offer a snapshot on current disparity between male and female in educational institutions and workplaces:

1. 63% of teaching staff in secondary school are female, while in contrast only 38% of head teachers.
2. At primary school, men are present at senior level at a ratio of almost 2:1while just 14% of staff are male and 27% of head teachers are male.
3. Across all state-funded schools, female head teachers earn on average 5700 pounds (7170.86$) less than male head teachers overall.
4. Within higher education, only one in four professors is female, despite half of lecturers being women, and more than nine out ten institutions paid their male employee more than female employee.

Female have excellent spirit of leadership, they know how to take their team forward successfully. They bring different and useful qualities, skills and ideas to leadership which shows positive results.   

Many studies have shown that female leadership is more effective than male. But female have less opportunities in this society as compared to male.

Nancy Pelosi was the first Speaker of Representatives in US. She said “Be Yourself, You are the only person who can make your contribution. Your authenticity is your strength-be you.”

Bernice Sandler:

                         She opened the door for women in higher education. Although she was not the member of university president but she opened the way for many of the women. When she completed her doctorate, she applied for variety of teaching jobs, although she was qualified for jobs, but still she was unable to get job. She was told she “came on too strong for a woman”, Ozumba said.  This comment upset her and led her fight against sex discrimination. In 1972, the members of  Congress, she helped shepherd the passage of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program receiving federal funding. 

Hanna Gray:

She is the first female president of the university of Chicago. She stepped into leadership role in 1978 at a time when university was facing declining enrollment and financial trouble according to UC Berkeley’s Christ.

According to Christ, a major reason behind her success as a president was delegating and communicating with the faculty at university and the governing structures in place already.

These are role models for other women to follow and they also denied the discrepancies among women and men in any field of success. Many women faced the cruel reality of this world and get success and proved themselves.