Leadership Development of Female Managers in Universities Through the Lens of Transformational Leadership Theory
Keywords:
Female leadership, Leadership development, Higher education management, Transformational leadership theoryAbstract
Within the unique context of higher education, with its complex governance, entrenched hierarchies, and persistent gendered expectations, this study examines the leadership development of female managers through the lens of Transformational Leadership Theory. Drawing on conceptual analysis of existing research on gender and academic leadership, it explores how women in academia mobilize collective vision and drive innovation while navigating traditional organizational structures. The analysis argues that cultivating transformational leadership among female academics is fundamentally shaped by two interrelated factors: organizational culture, which enables or constrains leadership behaviors, and access to strategic platforms for influence, which determines whether women can exercise leadership beyond formal positional authority. Consequently, leadership development programs grounded in this theory, such as vision-building workshops and mentoring for strategic influence, are essential to enhance women’s capacity to lead institutional change. Ultimately, intentionally fostering transformational leadership among female managers constitutes a strategic imperative for universities seeking to enhance organizational adaptability and achieve sustainable transformation.
References
Alameeri, K., Alshurideh, M., & Al Kurdi, B. (2023). Factors and Challenges Influencing Women Leadership in Management: A Systematic Review. In Studies in Computational Intelligence (Vol. 1056, pp. 1487–1502). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12382-5_82
Ayenalem, K. A., & Taye, M. T. (2025). Women leadership in higher education: a comparative systematic review of participation and barriers in Ethiopia and beyond. Discover Education, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00654-9
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Blackmore, J. (2014). Wasting talent? Gender and the problematics of academic disenchantment and disengagement with leadership. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(1), 86–99.
Bryman, A. (2007). Effective leadership in higher education: A literature review. Studies in Higher Education, 32(6), 693–710.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
Dezsö, C. L., & Ross, D. G. (2012). Does female representation in top management improve firm performance? A panel data investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 33(9), 1072–1089.
Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become leaders. Harvard Business School Press.
Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569–591.
Guarino, K., & Borden, V. M. H. (2017). Faculty service loads and gender: Are women taking care of the academic family? Research in Higher Education, 58(6), 672–694.
Hastie, M. J., Lee, A., Siddiqui, S., Oakes, D., & Wong, C. A. (2023). Misconceptions about women in leadership in academic medicine. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, 70(6), 1019–1025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-023-02458-7
Ibarra, H., Ely, R. J., & Kolb, D. M. (2013). Women rising: The unseen barriers. Harvard Business Review, 91(9), 60–66.
Majbar, E. B. (2026). Exploring Intrinsic Challenges and Pathways to Women’s Leadership in Morocco. In Gender and Politics: Vol. Part F1796 (pp. 89–107). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-92127-8_5
Morley, L. (2013). The rules of the game: Women and the leaderist turn in higher education. Gender and Education, 25(1), 116–131.
Novovic, G. (2023). Gender mainstreaming 2.0: emergent gender equality agendas under Sustainable Development Goals. Third World Quarterly, 44(5), 1058–1076. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2023.2174848
O'Connor, P. (2015). Understanding success: A case study of women university presidents in Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sairam, S., & Madhavi, R. (2025). Women’s leadership aspirations in higher education: Navigating the cultural and societal barriers. In Understanding Women’s Avoidance of Leadership in Higher Education (pp. 229–264). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-0260-7.ch009
Sinha, C., Ingabire, M.-G., & Schryer-Roy, A.-M. (2025). Bridging the know-do gap: improved adolescent sexual and reproductive health and health information systems in West Africa and the Middle East. Reproductive Health , 22(Suppl 1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-025-01987-2
Van den Brink, M., & Benschop, Y. (2012). Slaying the seven-headed dragon: The quest for gender change in academia. Gender, Work & Organization, 19(1), 71–92.
Zeng, X. (2025). Gender differences in personalized psychological interventions for college students: a narrative review integrating the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Journal of Men’s Health, 21(5), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.22514/jomh.2025.063
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
