No / Arts Council England

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The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the leadership experiences of woman presidents of nonprofit agencies who are perceived as successful. Recognizing that participants' descriptions of their leadership experience are both similar and different, those similarities and differences are explored and analyzed. Commitment to the organization's mission, communicating a vision into action, fostering collaboration, and an adaptable leadership approach all contributed to the success of these female board presidents. A case study design was used to obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of women leaders on nonprofit boards of directors. In-depth interviewing, observations with field notes, member checking, and written materials were utilized as data collection techniques. The selection of eight current and former board presidents for this study involved purposeful, criterion-based sampling. The researcher selected subjects based on their knowledge and experience with the phenomenon under investigation. An interesting finding from the study was that participants shared the same motivation and commitment to nonprofit work, as well as similar leadership qualities despite their differences in socioeconomic background, ethnicity, race, and age. The data also revealed these women place a high value on the social element of nonprofit work. Research supports that women overall are more likely to attach importance to helping others then men who place more significance on status and prestige. This finding based on the literature review and data analysis, suggests further research should include a comparative study of leadership qualities of men and women nonprofit board presidents to determine if there is a consistent leadership model.Nonprofits need to recognize that future leaders are out there waiting to be trained and among them are women who have transferable skills along with a passion and commitment to an organization. Those nonprofit agencies who understand the value of training and board development will be cultivating the leaders of tomorrow.

Thesis advisor: Judith A. Clair / Building from existing theory and research on gender and work and leader identity development, this dissertation informs our understanding of professional women's experiences with coming to see themselves as leaders as they move along the leadership path in organizations. Given limited work that considers variation among women at a similar point in their development, I introduce the construct of a gender-leadership frame to capture the various ways in which women construct their gender as relevant to their leadership. I consider how these constructions are both shaped by the organizational context and have implications for leader identity development. I conducted a qualitative, inductive field study of women developing as leaders (n=55) in a large, global bank to explore these ideas. I found that women hold different constructions of gender and leadership (gender-leadership frames) and that various elements of the organizational context prompt women to shift their frames, feel conflicted in their frames, or remain within one reinforcing frame. Further, I found that these different frame experiences orient women toward certain types of self-questioning and enactment of their leader identities. Together, these findings demonstrate that different ways of thinking about one's gender in relation to one's leadership may help explain women's different choices, aspirations, and development on the leadership path. Coming to see oneself as a leader does not happen in a vacuum, but rather is a complex process in which non-work identities (here, gender) play a role in one's understanding of who she is and can be as a leader. Not only does gender play a role in women's self-views as leaders, but scholars and organizations must appreciate women's different experiences and perspectives which have tangible implications for their motivations to pursue leadership opportunities and growth within their organizations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

This qualitative study sought to understand better the experiences of women leaders in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. Seven women leaders were interviewed. They shared personal experiences, reflections, feelings, ideas, and actions related to their leadership positions in different arenas, such as corporate, political, academic, and non-profit organizations. Phenomenology was the most appropriate tye of inquiry for this study because its objective was to develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women in leadership positions in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. I conducted a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews to discover commonalities among the experiences of the participants. A list of preliminary themes emerged. I made follow-up contacts with the participants to verify the findings, and themes were revised and accepted. The analysis revealed insights into six themes: preparation, innate characteristics, move under principles and ethical values, the job itself is very important, to find a balance between personal and professional time as a goal, and benefits that the leadership position give to them. A total of five subthemes emerged under four of the six themes: academic, the women leaders want to have an impact in social responsibility activities, they like challenges and being competitive, independence, and recognition.

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The purpose of this research was to understand the contexts that support the barriers to women’s advancement and to identify the conditions under which women leaders overcome the barriers to attain top corporate leadership positions. I have identified and discussed three distinct approaches for understanding how we can increase women’s representation and influence in the executive and director ranks within top U.S. corporations. The first approach investigates the complexities of leveraging the social and cultural capital attained through post-secondary education in order gain entry into the corporate elite. The second approach examines gendered stereotypes of risk-taking versus the organizational risk-taking realities that are inherent in women corporate leaders’ climb to the top. The final approach considers the impact of external pressures in increasing the prevalence, power and influence of women corporate directors. Findings reveal some of the complexity in both the antecedents and consequences of gender diversity within top leadership of large U.S. firms. Taken together, the results convey the organizational and societal contexts that lead to more diverse corporate leadership.

This research investigated cultural and social factors that influenced or allowed Saudi women to become leaders. It also examined those values that are synchronous with cultural and social factors that improved their access to leadership opportunities. An understanding of the factors and values that enabled these Saudi women to succeed leads to better knowledge of formation of leadership character. The context in which these Saudi women achieved their successful goal of becoming leaders, provides insight into their development as leaders and contribute to leadership studies in a traditional and religious context. The empirical data, gathered through in depth structured interviews using multiple rounds of interviews, was interpreted to produce a framework focused on the achievement of leadership and the cultural and social factors that enable or inhibit women leadership. The research revealed culturally based constructs related to gender. Whilst men are given responsibility and favoured for responsible positions, women are not inferior to men. Significantly, the women regarded themselves as no different from men in terms of bearing responsibility, being independent and achieving success. It confirmed the expectation depicted in the conceptual framework that women’s attributes or values are critical and significant in their successful journey to leadership. Sixteen such values and attributes emerged from the data. Significant among them were empathy with employees, ability to adapt, strength of character, expert knowledge and solidarity among women. By understanding the values that help women to achieve, sustain and evolve their leadership skills, which social and cultural dynamics enable or inhibit them in becoming leaders, and which organisational factors are critical for their success, this research has contributed better knowledge of Saudi women leadership achievement. Knowledge about women leadership in the Saudi context is thus advanced. This reveals that there is a role of the family and especially the father’s role, individual’s aspirations and action, the personal and professional struggle that Saudi women leaders experience, and the interpersonal relationships that they establish with their male counterparts to succeed. The research contributed understanding and knowledge of those values held by successful women leaders that are both unique and shared with successful leaders around the world. It revealed the social and cultural factors and dynamics, in the opinion of the participants that inhibit or enhance their ability to gain leadership roles and to work as effective leaders. The research revealed the organisational factors or dynamics affect women leaders.

Although women have been progressing in the U.S labor force into supervisory and management positions, the number of Asian American women in leadership roles continues to be limited. There is support in the literature for research on factors associated with the leadership development of Asian American women. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the racial and gender experiences and perspectives of 7 Asian American women in U.S. health care organizations and how they developed into leaders. Feminist and sociocultural theories were applied to gain insight. Interviews were carried out to comprehend the manner in which gender and racial characteristics informed the leadership styles of the 7 Asian American female participants selected using a purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis yielded 5 key themes (destined to accomplish, support from unexpected, disadvantages incurred from race and gender, according to the rules, and kind deeds). The findings offer an enhanced explanation of the lived experience of these Asian American women and how racial and gender characteristics influenced different parts of their intentionality and shaped their relations within organizations. In particular, the participants described encountering traditional gender biases, stereotypes and cultural assumptions that hindered their sense of belonging and perhaps influenced and impelled their success. In addition to contributing to the literature, the study may offer useful insight to Asian American women seeking leadership positions. Furthering Asian American women's prospects in organizational leadership positions may promote more diversity in the U.S workforce and address inequalities.

Thesis ( M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2015. / The study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the gender dynamics which promote or retard the full participation of women in decision-making and leadership positions in the Nkangala District Municipality (NDM), Mpumalanga. Local Government, through municipalities, is the most strategic sphere of government. This is so because municipalities are the institutions of government that are closest to the people. Municipalities, through the various services provided, present critical service delivery institutions for women to actively participate in and influence decisions. Therefore the study contends that these institutions of local government are gendered. Against this backdrop, an analysis of gender representation of women and men in decision-making and leadership positions in the NDM was conducted. The aim was to assess the state of gender equality in the NDM. Further, the study explored this gender representation in relation to how it translates to women’s authority and influence in decision-making and leadership. This qualitative research study triangulated data collection using questionnaires, interviews and observation. The study focused on both the administrative and political components of local government. In the administrative component; interviews were conducted with Municipal Managers (MMs), Executive Directors (EDs) and Managers. In the political component, interviews were conducted with Executive Mayors, Speakers, Chief Whips and Members of the Mayoral Committees (MMCs). These constitute the decision-making and leadership positions in municipalities as institutions of local government. The study revealed that amidst the national and international policy and legislative provisions on women’s empowerment and gender equality, women continue to be confronted with institutional gendered challenges. Amongst others, the study revealed that there are pervasive gender dynamics, stereotypes, attitudes and perceptions towards women in decision-making and leadership positions in these institutions. Also, that there are minimum institutional mechanisms and strategies that encourage and support women’s participation in decision-making and leadership positions. The provincial and national gender machineries’ roles and responsibilities with regard to municipalities’ monitoring, oversight and overall support is not as vibrant. Drawing from the findings, the study concludes with a proposal for a Women’s Leadership Empowerment Model WLEM). A comprehensive model that will comprise of professional capacity-building and training, on-the-job coaching and mentorship, regular peer assessment and review for a to continuously support women in and into decision-making and leadership positions.