Women in Leadership: The Future of Christian Higher Education

Karen A. Longman · Patricia S. Anderson

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Gender Diversity and Inequality Contemporary Christian Leadership and Education Educational Leadership and Practices

Abstract

This article presents a discussion of the gender imbalance in senior-level leadership roles within the U.S. member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), highlighting data across the last two decades. The underrepresentation of women in this sector is placed within a theological context and is compared with other sectors of U.S. higher education. Insights from the secular literature provide an introductory context for the article's presentation of the data. Although the CCCU member institutions collectively serve a student body that is 60% female, a 2015 analysis of individuals holding “vice president” or higher titles (e.g., senior vice president, executive vice president) revealed that women held fewer than 30% of those employed in any particular leadership role (e.g., chief academic officer) and only slightly over 20% of all senior leadership roles. Notably, when a national study compared the leadership composition of 1,481 evangelical non-profit organizations with their secular counterparts, the representation of women on boards and senior leadership teams was found to be about half of that found in the secular nonprofits (Reynolds, 2014). Although Christian colleges and universities have an opportunity to set the standard within higher education for identifying, encouraging, and deploying the gifts of individuals across racial and gender lines, a variety of environmental and internalized barriers hinder the affirmation and development of women's leadership identity and advancement. Five recommended action steps conclude the article, with a call to reimagine Christian higher education as being places of learning characterized by fully affirming and developing the potential of all within their span of care.

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References

2001The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.2002Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.1977Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women 2010Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups 2007The difference: how the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies 2008Through the labyrinth: the truth about how women become leaders 2008Positive Organizational Scholarship 2011The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out

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