Reflection on Female Leadership Experience in Higher Education

Abstract

Developments in female access to HE have been significant in recent history with women taking increasingly larger shares in accessing higher education programmes globally. Whilst access to education has increased, it remains just that – access. This increase has not been equally reflected in female leadership of HEIs and decision making bodies. Multiple reasons are attributed to this but most prominent are career breaks and caring responsibilities. Exclusion from after work social activities could also be a factor for this. A broad comparison of the UK and Arab world shows similar patterns but given the relative youth of some of the HE sectors in the Arab world, numbers of female leaders are significantly reduced. The global HE sector has witnessed a huge shift in the last few decades both in terms of structures and student expectations. Universities have generally adapted to this change to ensure their relevance and survival. Though HEIs are the most obvious custodians for merit based progression; the pace of change in female participation at leadership levels remains slow and given the pressures institutions are facing to respond to the global digitalisation revolution, larger female representation needs to be expedited.