Gender and leadership in public higher education in South Asia: examining the individual, socio-cultural and organizational barriers to female inclusion
基于马来西亚和孟加拉国20位女院长的访谈，研究揭示了女性在大学领导岗位上面临的个人、社会文化和组织障碍，对政策制定者和管理者有参考价值。
The study examines the personal, social, and organizational barriers facing women in university leadership positions in South Asia, building on the cases of Malaysia and Bangladesh. We discussed the topic through the lens of interactionist feminist theory. Semi-structured interviews with 20 female deans from 12 public universities in Malaysia and Bangladesh were conducted, followed by two focus group discussions with eight female deans. The results reveal that personal barriers such as family duties, lack of technological knowledge, interest in taking leadership positions, spousal support and poor time management, and lack of spousal support represented the major barriers for female deans in Bangladesh. Lack of interest in deanship was found to compound the underrepresentation of women in dean roles. The participants identified fewer socio-cultural barriers faced by Malaysian female deans, while Bangladeshi participants met major issues. The organizational barriers for female deans in public universities were reported. The findings hold significant organizational and policy implications.