Cultivating brave spaces for diverse academic women in higher education leadership
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Date
2024
Authors
Dixon, Sandra
Batta, Millie
Journal Title
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Volume Title
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Abstract
Diverse women continue to be unrepresented in academia. Institutional structures and
governance are strongly influenced by Eurocentric and androcentric worldviews. These
ideologies construct, maintain, and legitimize biases, affecting the career progression of
diverse academic women in senior leadership positions. This paper uses the intersectional
theoretical framework (ITF) to inform how salient aspects of identity, such as race and
gender, impact the lived experiences of diverse academic women (DAW). We draw from
both empirical and conceptual discussions in the education, gender, and leadership literature
to analyze relevant areas, such as the internal silencing of DAW and the need for us to move
beyond inclusion to expansion in higher education. Attention is given to topical discourse
surrounding gender and publication, conflict management, stereotypes, and cultural safety
relative to DAW. Next, a discussion of the critiques and gaps in the academic literature is
provided. Further, the Awareness, Rationale, and Choices (ARC) model highlights how
leadership may be re-imagined by addressing matters of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
within academic institutions. The article concludes with the need to cultivate brave spaces in
higher education leadership structures, whereby DAW can nurture their intersected identitie
Description
Keywords
Academic leadership , Diverse academic women (DAW) , Awareness, Rationale, and Choices (ARC) model , Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) , Intersectional theoretical framework (ITF) , Higher education
Citation
Dixon, S., & Batta, M. (2024, March 1-3). Cultivating brave spaces for diverse academic women in higher education leadership. [Paper presentation]. 15th Women's Leadership and Empowerment Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.