A Review of Women’s Leadership Conferences: Ways Public Research Institutions Support Female Students Opting-In

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of women’s leadership conferences at public research universities. A search of the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education revealed a list of 157 research universities. Of these institutions, 40 held a women’s leadership conference. Implications are discussed in how a women’s leadership conference supports female students opting-in. The story of women and leadership is complicated. According to Eagly and Carli (2007a,b), women are finding their way to leadership positions. A complex labyrinth has replaced absolute barriers, and women exhibit creative and resourceful strategies in navigating a non-linear leadership path (Eagly & Carli, 2007a,b). Although women remain significantly underrepresented in top leadership positions, the labyrinth Eagly and Carli described remains a metaphor of explanation. Journal of Women in Educational Leadership, 2017 2 Issues associated with women’s persistence toward leadership positions begin in the sociological beliefs of a woman’s role and the responsibilities of work and family (Carli & Eagly, 2007; Eagly & Carli, 2007a; Keohane, 2007). Women, regardless of marriage or status, remain closely linked to biased views of work capacity. For example, women are not expected to be the sole source of financial support within a family; and thus, they are perceived to not require the salary that a male peer earns. Women are viewed as the primary caregiver to children; and thus, they may be given less responsibility due to the perception a woman has less time to commit to work-related projects. The bias associated with role congruity (Eagly & Karau, 2010), and how role expectations define the boundaries of a woman’s world, contribute to an overriding shadow on how women’s work is interpreted and rewarded in the leadership domain. The definition of gender and societal roles have changed (Eagly & Carli, 2007a; Rhode & Kellerman, 2007). Men and women share household duties and childcare. The firm boundaries of gender roles are bending. As women’s educational qualifications increase, their presence in leadership positions increases. In 2016, women represented 50.8% of the United States population and earned more than half of all bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees (Catalyst, 2016). Women comprise nearly half the workforce and make-up 36.4% of mid-level management and 25.1% of senior management positions (Catalyst, 2016). The fact that only 4.6% of women lead S&P 500 companies lends credence to an understanding of how women are supported within the labyrinth framework and provides an important context for how women sustain their leadership journeys.