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Politics of Asking Questions:
Examine whose interests are served, assumptions, and consequences.
Consider resisting systemic inequalities.
Attention to Language/Discourse:
Analyze how language shapes participant selection and story framing.
Evaluate interview prompts' influence on participant positions.
Consider language ambiguity and openness.
Reflexivity:
Explore personal experiences' impact on research.
Assess assumptions and values alignment with feminist objectives.
Consider the negotiation of physical, embodied, or affective realities in research.
Representation and Intersectionality:
Acknowledge and address differences between researchers and participants.
Identify participants' social locations and their relevance to understanding accounts.
Make visible points of difference in data representations.
Mobilizing Research for Social Change:
Explore ways research can transform culture and discourse.
Consider making research more accessible beyond academic paywalls.
Encourage reimagining and reconstructing rather than just critiquing.
Burkinshaw, P., & White, K. (2017). Fixing the women or fixing universities: Women in HE leadership. Administrative Sciences, 7(3), 30. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=bth&AN=125301964&site=eds-live&custid=s7439054
Study Overview:
Focuses on women in leadership positions in higher education (HE), examining the challenges they face.
Explores the impact of organizational culture and gender power relations on women's careers in HE.
Utilizes semi-structured interviews and online surveys as research methods to gather data.
Gender Dynamics in Higher Education Leadership:
Organizational restructuring in HE affects gender power relations, with men predominantly occupying higher positions.
Women struggle to access funding for research, face interrupted careers, and encounter part-time work.
Pressure to adopt strong managerial models often reinforces gender inequities rather than reducing them.
Communities of Practice:
Leadership communities of practice establish norms and relationships, shaping shared understanding and collaborative behaviors.
Women often experience marginalization within these communities, facing status disparities and exclusion.
Masculinity in Leadership:
Traditional masculine leadership models dominate HE, with behaviors such as assertiveness and dominance being rewarded.
Women face challenges in navigating these norms, as their leadership styles may differ from the accepted masculine standards.
Gender Mainstreaming Approach:
Advocates for involving both men and women in changing organizational culture to create a more inclusive environment.
Calls for a shift from focusing on fixing women to improving working conditions and career opportunities for them.
Impact on Women's Career Progression:
Women's agency alone cannot explain their underrepresentation in senior positions; structural factors play a significant role.
Precarious work environments and exclusionary structures may discourage aspiring women leaders from pursuing senior positions.
Resistance and Challenges:
Younger aspirational women resist senior leadership positions due to exclusionary structures and practices prevalent in HE.
Women may continue to experience precarious leadership careers unless organizational culture is addressed.
Conclusion:
Fixing women alone will not address the gender inequities in HE leadership; there is a need to focus on fixing organizational culture.
Structural changes are necessary to create a more inclusive environment and support women's career progression in HE.