Women’s leadership in higher education: Global opportunity, global challenge
- Norzaini Azman, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia
- Tessa DeLaquil, Boston College, USA
- Amalia Di Iorio, La Trobe University, Australia
- Robin Matross Helms, American Council on Education, USA
- Aliya Kuzhabekova, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
- Alma Maldonado-Maldonado, Center for Research and Advanced Studies, Mexico
- Adéle Moodly, Rhodes University, South Africa
- Georgina Yaa Oduro, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
- Rebecca Schendel, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA
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In most contexts around the world, women are now enrolling in higher education at similar – or even higher – rates to men. However, these statistics give the false impression that gender equality in higher education has somehow been reached. In fact, higher education remains highly unequal in terms of gender in almost every country in the world. This is particularly pronounced in the area of leadership, with the vast majority of senior leadership positions still held by men in most contexts, despite the clear potential that women leaders offer for the sector.
This webinar considers this phenomenon through a comparative lens, contrasting the specific barriers and opportunities facing aspiring women leaders in a number of different geographic contexts and elevating the lessons that might be drawn from such an analysis when seeking to rectify some of the imbalances within national systems and individual institutions.
The work presented in this webinar – published this year as an International Brief for Higher Education Leaders – was coordinated by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education and funded through a generous grant from the American Council for Education.
This webinar is being co-hosted by CGHE and the Center for International Higher Education.
CGHE webinars are fully open to participants. They are interactive, enabling attendees to speak directly in the webinar, ask questions of speakers when called in by the chair and see all other participants. At any time you can communicate directly with others, either all together or on a one-to-one basis, through the webinar Chat.
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Norzaini Azman is Professor of Higher Education at the Universiti Kebangsaan (Malaysia). She is currently serving her third term as Chair/President of the Malaysian Society for Research and Higher Education Policy Development. Her main research interests include higher education policy and governance, the academic profession, higher education and sustainability, and leadership in higher education.
Tessa DeLaquil is a PhD student and research assistant at the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College. Her research interests include the philosophy of higher education, considering secularism, pluralism, and political theory as conceptual bases for ethical practice in international higher education and the internationalization of research.
Amalia Di Iorio is a Professor of Finance and Associate Provost (International and Academic Partnerships) at La Trobe University (Australia). In her role as Associate Provost, she has convened a number of Women in Leadership public forums, drawing on her research and the experiences of her students in Melbourne, China, India, Indonesia and regional Victoria.
Robin Matross Helms is Assistant Vice President for Learning and Engagement at the American Council on Education (ACE). Her portfolio includes the Internationalization Laboratory and Learner Success Lab, professional learning program development, and ACE’s international research agenda.
Aliya Kuzhabekova is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at the Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on understanding higher education reform in post-Soviet and other transitional contexts, internationalization and international mobility in higher education, research socialization, and research capacity development, as well as equity issues in higher education, including the study of the experiences of women in higher education.
Alma Maldonado-Maldonado is a researcher at the Department of Educational Research at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV). Her research interests are: Comparative higher education, Latin American higher education, higher education policies and the role of international organizations shaping higher education worldwide.
Adéle L. Moodly is the Registrar at Rhodes University and an Adjunct Professor associated with the Rhodes Business School. Having been in higher education (HE) for almost twenty-eight years, holding extensive academic positions, she has a broad understanding of the South African HE sector. Her research focuses on the two areas of governance and women in leadership in the sector.
Georgina Yaa Oduro is the Director of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) and senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Cape Coast-Ghana. Her research interests include Gender, Sexuality, Youth Cultures, Popular Culture, Ocean Heritage and Marginalized Populations.
Rebecca Schendel is Managing Director of the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE).
