Female leadership is increasing across many sectors, most notably in higher education, where female administrators in Canada represent half or more of institutional leaders. Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic put enormous strain on leaders, who managed increased demands at home while also providing support, vision, and direction for their teams at…

Worldwide, the issue of women in school principal positions is being discussed. Discussions on this matter include, among other things, the underrepresentation and promotion opportunities of female principals, stereotyping, culture and education and competencies of women. Several studies have shown that women do not have to stand back for their…

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to explore how prevalent impostor phenomenon (IP) is among education leaders in the province of Alberta, and to determine what can be done to support these leaders. This study explored the extent to which educational leaders experience impostor phenomenon, and how those experiences varied by…

This case explores themes of equity, leadership, wellbeing, and work intensification. The case follows Jennifer "Jen" Barns, the new principal at Westfield Public School, a JK-8 school in Ontario. Jen is overwhelmed by all the responsibilities of the job. She does not have a productive working relationship with her staff and is unable to…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to understand how individual and environmental factors shape women's interest in seeking higher-level leadership positions within Canada. A need to understand the individual and environmental barriers that influence female academic physicians' lack of advancement beyond middle management was…

Using a sample of women natural sciences and engineering (NSE) faculty members from 13 Canadian universities, we investigated the impact of women academic leaders on women professors' perceptions of gender bias. Logistic regression analyses indicated that professors who perceived more workplace gender bias were more likely to feel that they needed…

This case describes the experience of a principal named Jade working in a diverse school in South Central Ontario. A teacher in Jade's school had been confronted by parents and a school board trustee for reading a book to their class about a family with two moms. The teacher, no longer feeling safe or welcome, eventually decided to switch schools.…

Research has shown that effective support systems are key to an educational CEO for success and tenure in the position. This qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) of women educational CEOs from the United States and Canada allowed for the reexamination of interviews from 37 participants focused on the importance of support systems. Findings…

This article is based on conversations between a mother and daughter about academic leadership. Both authors served in different time periods and at different career points as heads of departments ("chairs") in Canadian universities. A literature review suggested that women's academic leadership is a contested topic, especially in…

This study examines earnings inequality by gender and academic field among senior university administrators, including presidents, vice presidents, associate and assistant vice presidents, and deans, using data from the Canadian province of Ontario. While a 4.4 percent earnings gap between male and female administrators is initially identified,…

Purpose: Global gender diversity and equality indexes have been developed to promote gender diversity and equality at the country level, but it is difficult to see how those indexes are applied to organizations on a daily basis. The purpose of this study is to examine the application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures for…

As a faculty dean, I was constantly surprised over the years by the number of female academics who expressed reluctance to do my job. Why were they so reluctant? Why did they cite intense argument and personal criticism as significant deterrents? Focusing specifically on academic argument, and the crucial role of autonomy in academe, this paper…

The term glass ceiling refers to existing artificial barriers to entry into leadership positions (Wilson, 2014, Booth, 2007). The quest for equity and social justice in educational leadership positions by racialized women, defined in this study as non-white, non-First Nations women, is the focus of this comparative case study. The key source of…

Those responsible for ensuring military members are prepared to meet rigorous leadership challenges must do so to the highest professional standard. To that end, this present inquiry investigates possible gender bias within military leadership training, associated curricula, methods of instruction, and cultural infrastructures. Despite several…

With the exponential advancement of technology, global sharing, industrialization and economic development, national and global cultures are becoming more collective. More importantly, this fundamental paradigm shift is affecting national and global educational leadership cultures. Therefore, the power/distance index (PDI); individualism versus…