Women's Access to Higher Education Leadership: Cultural and Structural Barriers

Abstract

The Labor Force 2008 projections reflected that the rate of growth for women in the labor force will increase at a faster rate than that of men (Fullerton, 1999). In 2008, the majority of employed women (39 percent) worked in management, professional, and related occupations (U.S. Department of Labor, 2008). Although women's participation in the U. S. labor force has increased, and women occupy 44 percent of management jobs in American companies, top management ranks remain dominated by men (Powell, 1999; U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998). Goodman, Fields, and Blum (2003) refer to the exclusion of women from top managerial positions as evidence of a glass ceiling. A glass ceiling is defined as "...those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational biases that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organizations into managerial-level positions" (U.S. Department of Labor, 1991, p. 1). This glass ceiling is evident in the supposedly progressive world of higher education. While women have made significant inroads into the senior leadership of American higher education, parity for women presidents has yet to be reached. In 2006, the percentage of college presidents who were women represented 23 percent which more than doubled the 10 percent of women college presidents in 1986. However, the rate of change has slowed since the late 1990s. These trends suggest that higher education institutions have been slow to expand opportunities for women to enter senior leadership (American Council on Education, 2007). This research focuses on the exclusionary practices and lack of access to higher education leadership for women. It is argued that attitudinal and organization biases against women in higher education tend to exclude women from upper-level leadership positions. Therefore, from a social justice perspective, the researcher will examine cultural and structural conditions and practices that create barriers to and opportunities for the advancement of women in higher education leadership.