Women Making a Difference in Leadership in Universities: a Case Study of Women Academic Managers in Uganda

Abstract

The correlation between women’s leadership styles and characteristics and those which organisations need to face the challenges of the new globalized context has not to date translated into an advantage either for our universities or in terms of the position of women in them. As Kandiko Howson, (2016); Altbach, (2016); Mulyampiti and Kanabahita (2013), Kwesiga et al, (2012),Ahikire (2011), Abiola, 2009, Endeley and NchangNgaling (2009) point out ‚women are grossly under-represented in higher education management‛ citing that hardly any exception in the global picture exists. Men outnumber women at about five to one at middle management level and at about twenty to one at senior management level. In terms of administrative positions, it was found that ‚women are more likely to succeed as registrars, librarians or heads of personnel, than if they aspire to be vice chancellors (or their deputies) or directors of finance or even deans of faculties.‛ As a result, the studies cited conclude ‚women deans and professors are a minority group and women vice-chancellors and members of University Boards are still a rarity.‛ Findings are based on a case study approach where we purposively identified the sites and the participants in the study to try and elicit individual views. We use personal histories of ten university women who are or have been at the rank of Professor and have served at different levels of the leadership ladder to examine the ways in which women are consistently excluded from managerial and leadership positions. These processes enable us to undress the intricacies related to challenges women face while trying to build and be part of the leadership dynamics, while at the same time they encourage us to look to feminine styles for the transformation of universities into democratic entities. We then used these case studies’ participants to suggest ways in which universities can build gender balanced leadership cultures.We find that first, women have certain unique soft traits for the work place with great potential for impact on organizational success and they are outperforming men in particular instances, but they are not earning salaries or obtaining leadership roles commensurate with their higher levels of performance. Second, women’s career paths are dotted with major difficulties such as discrimination, often subtle but not always, as well as the requirement for higher input of energy than their male counterparts to achieve the same goals. Finally, that mentoring is critical in the career paths of female professors, most women interviewed have had women mentors and a small percentage received successful mentoring from men.