<p> Since the women&rsquo;s liberation movement in the 1970s, the number of women in the American workforce has increased dramatically; however, the percentage of women in the C-Suite&mdash;those who reach the status of chief officer&mdash;remains below 10 percent nationally (Soares et al., 2013). This disparity, sometimes called the &ldquo;glass ceiling,&rdquo; remains, even though many companies have adopted important initiatives to promote women&rsquo;s advancement. Although research has identified a complex set of factors involved in women&rsquo;s achievement of the highest levels of success in contemporary corporate settings, including measurable achievements, such as education, experience, and technical proficiency and intangibles, such as emotional intelligence, leadership styles, and communication skill, a significance difference in women&rsquo;s ability to break through the glass ceiling has still not been made. </p><p> Aimed at bridging that gap, this qualitative study gathers, through personal interviews, the experiences and perspectives of seventeen individuals, both men and women, of different races, cultures, and backgrounds, all of whom have reached the level of chief officer. Respondents were queried about their perception of the factors necessary to reach the C-Suite, as well as any factors required especially for women to arrive at that destination. The data gathered in the interviews included the subjects&rsquo; experiences from the process of their own advancement to the C-Suite and their observations of others&rsquo; experiences. The data were coded and analyzed according to recurring themes and patterns in the interviewees&rsquo; answers. The results point to a complex, nuanced, dynamic set of factors in the life of an otherwise qualified individual. Namely, four (4) such factors play a primary role in propelling aspiring women into the C-Suite: 1) executive traits; 2) preparation; 3) networking; and 4) engaging organizational culture. The findings offer an empowering promise that women can not only identify and gain the tools they need to accomplish their C-Suite goals, but also actively pursue and cultivate these assets in a way that offers success in both life and career. </p>

<p> This case study explores the dynamics of a small long-term leaderless group of five, Jungian-oriented, women therapists. The group, meeting from 1992 to 2005, was originally convened to explore how women's initiatory journey is distinctive from men's. Refusing to adopt a leader, its non-hierarchical structure merited further exploration. The research questions were as follows: What are the individual and collective meanings given to a successful, long-term leaderless women's group? What aspects of the group contribute to its meaningfulness, vitality and longevity? </p><p> The dissertation adopts the metaphor and meta-framework of the Father's House and Mother's House, referring to two distinct ways women's consciousness develops. The Father's and Mother's House form a continuum that ranges from women's adaptation to conventional values and structures to women's ways of knowing and being. Extensive literature reviews describe consciousness in The Father's House, The Mother's House and Women in Groups. </p><p> Case study data illuminate both individual and group perspectives on the group's life. They include audio-taped individual interviews and group sessions, including typical and crisis sessions, along with researcher observations and reflections. The researcher conducted the study as a participant member. </p><p> Narrative analysis reveals three phases in the group's life: an initial phase exploring the dreams and visions of Christiana Morgan and Jung's <i> Visions Seminars;</i> a second phase of moving into a void with an unfolding emergent process; and a third phase following 9/11 in which the group attended to psychological trends manifesting in collective consciousness. </p><p> The Weaving chapter relates the group's experiences to the literature on women's groups, noting a key challenge faced by the group and by women generally&mdash;the dynamic of connection, disconnection, and re-connection. </p><p> The final chapter presents major conclusions drawn from the research: Women's groups serve a developmental function for women and can impact the collective in transformative ways. The Visions group found that the prevalent archetypal drama of saviour, victim, and persecutor must give way to new ways of relating. This study adds to our understanding of groups that learn organically and shows how a group functions when it lives in the Mother's House.</p>

<p> Despite the significant participation of women in the workforce, the gender wage gap has failed to close. The policy analysis examines the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA), a bill first introduced to Congress in 1963 and defeated on September 15, 2014. The PFA would help secure equal pay for equal work between males and females. The analysis of the PFA is based on a modified version of David Gil's framework. The analysis found that the gender gap persists across race and ethnicity, all levels of educational attainment, and careers. The PFA is the latest legislation addressing pay equity, following a succession of bills such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009.</p>

<p> Similar to staffing patterns in public school systems, the majority of faculty employed in the 1,174 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) member schools are women, suggesting that school leadership pipelines are filled with female faculty, along with middle- and senior-level administrators who demonstrate daily their executive leadership capacity. Yet women remain unable to achieve access to head of school leadership positions at a rate equal to their male colleagues. Utilizing qualitative research methods and the lens of post-structuralist feminist theory, this phenomenological study examines the gendered nature of leadership roles in independent schools and the ways this cultural phenomenon informs the strategies used by African American and White women seeking mentor-prot&eacute;g&eacute; relationships, networks of support, and sponsorship from "recognized" independent school leaders. Utilizing a feminist framework to examine the cultural context that informs women's leadership preparation (Olesen, 1994, 2003), semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants whose lived experience as independent school leaders and/or as executive search consultants for independent schools illuminated points of tension between settled and unsettled periods in the lives of aspiring women leaders and explored the strategies of action (Swindler, 1986) used to negotiate points of discursive disjunction (Chase, 1995, 2003). This study contributes to the present discourse regarding the role gender plays in the normalization of independent school leadership, proposes questions for further inquiry, and suggests strategies of action for independent school communities, trustees, and professional organizations to use when crafting policy, planning leadership training/development, and succession planning that addresses gender disproportionality.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1855. Adviser: Karen Kelsky. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-241) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> The computing profession in the United States would benefit from an increasingly diverse workforce, specifically a larger female presence, because a more gender-balanced workforce would likely result in better technological solutions to difficulties in many areas of American life. However, to achieve this balance, more women with a solid educational foundation in computing need to enter the computing workplace. Yet a common problem is most colleges and universities offering computer-related degrees have found it challenging to attract females to their programs. Also, the women who begin a computing major have shown a higher tendency than men to leave the major. The combination of these factors has resulted in a low percentage of females graduating with a computing degree, providing one plausible explanation for the current gender imbalance in the computing profession. </p><p> It is readily apparent that female enrollment and retention must be improved to increase female graduation percentages. Although recruiting women into computing and keeping them in it has been problematic, there are some who decide to pursue a computer-related degree and successfully finish. The study focused on this special group of women who provided their insight into the pursuit and completion of an undergraduate computing degree. It is hoped that the knowledge acquired from this research will inspire and encourage more women to consider the field of computing and to seek an education in it. Also, the information gathered in this study may prove valuable to recruiters, professors, and administrators in computing academia. Recruiters will have a better awareness of the factors that direct women toward computing, which may lead to better recruitment strategies. Having a better awareness of the factors that contribute to persistence will provide professors and administrators with information that can help create better methods of encouraging females to continue rather than leave. The investigation used a sequential explanatory methodology to explore how a woman determined to pursue an undergraduate computing major and to persevere within it until attaining a degree.</p>

<p> Compared to actual infidelity, little research has been carried out on intended infidelity. Based on male-female differences in sexual interest, stronger male than female interest in extra-dyadic sex (EDS) was predicted. The effects of relationship quality and individual differences in sexual interest, sensation seeking, and masculinity on intended EDS were also assessed. Males scored significantly higher than females on almost all sexual interest variables and indicated a significantly greater interest in EDS. </p><p> Sexual interest, as measured by socio-sexual orientation (SO), was a much stronger predictor of intended EDS than gender or relationship quality. SO fully mediated the effect of gender on EDS; however, sensation seeking and masculinity revealed no mediation. Contrary to expectations, relationship satisfaction had a greater impact on intended EDS at higher levels than at lower levels of SO. Willingness to have sex with someone who is already in a relationship proved the strongest predictor of intended EDS. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Infidelity, Male, Female, Sexuality, Extra-dyadic sex (EDS), Relationship quality, Socio-sexual orientation (SO).</p>

<p> Females, in this modern age of feminism, have excelled in all fields of study and graduate from college in larger numbers than males. However, few women go into the STEM fields (Hill, Corbett, &amp; St. Rose, 2010). To close this gap in mathematics-related fields, it is paramount that high schools produce female students who are advanced in Mathematics. The problem was the underrepresentation of females in mathematical fields of study, with a more pressing issue of underrepresentation of females in college preparatory mathematics classes at the high school level. The purpose of this study was to determine if the geographical region of a high school contributed to the resulting ratio of males to females enrolled in college level mathematics courses. In this mixed methods study, 21 urban, 14 suburban, and 30 rural public school districts in Missouri, were selected and the ratio of males to females enrolled in Calculus for each district was obtained. The researcher's rationale for this comparison was that the culture of each geographical region created bias affecting females' choice in their fields of study. </p><p> The research question was: Does the ratio of males to females differ between urban, rural, and suburban high schools in advanced mathematics courses? Two types of analyses were applied in this study and obtained the following results. The data analyzed in the study did not support a difference in ratios when comparing urban, rural, and suburban schools, nor did it support a difference in male to female ratios enrolled in advanced placement coursework. The data did not support a relationship between the ratio of Calculus students and the district budget, but did yield a mild positive correlation when comparing the ratios of male to female students in Calculus and male to female mathematics teachers. </p><p> Historically, lower enrollment of women in the STEM fields than males is a trend supportable by the findings of this study. In rural and suburban areas there were fewer females than males enrolled in advanced mathematics. However, in the urban areas a slight difference yielded more females than males enrolled in similar coursework.</p>

<p> Demonstrations in response to the harsh austerity budget in Greece which cut valuable government services, and the civil unrest in Athens specifically, are an outward, visible response to economic crisis. In an androcentric society such as Greece, women are disproportionately affected by the austerity measures because of the feminization of budget cuts. This ethnographic study explores how middle class women in Athens are coping economically, politically and socially in a national and global financial crisis. Through studying middle class Greek women, one can intensively illustrate the faults of neoliberal economic policies that pride themselves on the creation of the so-called middle class while simultaneously eliminating it. This research examines the survival strategies and adaptation methods of middle class women in Athens as well as placing them within the global economic context further displaying the fallacy of neoliberal economic policies as an economic growth agenda.</p>

<p> This dissertation explores the artistic expressions of Native womanhood by Native women artists. The intention is to offer further examples of creative acts of resistance that strengthen Native identities, reinforce female empowerment, and reclaim voice, and art. This qualitative study utilized the narratives and the artwork of six Native women artists from diverse artistic practices and tribe/nation affiliations. Visual arts examples included in this study are digital images, muralism, Ledger art, beadworks, Navajo rugs, and Navajo jewelry. Through Kim Anderson&rsquo;s theoretical Native womanhood identity formation model adopted as framework for this study, the results revealed three emergent themes: cultural connections, motherhood, and nurturing the future. Native women artists lived experiences shaped their visual expressions, influencing their materials, approach, subject matter, intentions, motivation and state of mind. This dissertation discloses Native womanhood framework is supportive of visual expressions created by Native women.</p><p>