اعتبار رهبری زنان در محیط دانشگاهی
Abstract
1- Introduction
2- Methods
3- Results
4- Discussion
References
Abstract
Purpose: Leadership characteristics and career development of women in a health sciences university in Saudi Arabia was investigated. This was also extended to leadership authenticity of women graduated from a master's in medical education (MME) program.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, A self-administrated authentic leadership questionnaire (ALQ) was utilized where the data were collected at three campuses of a health sciences university. Results: The study sample consisted of 71 MME graduates and 75 academic leaders. Women represented 42.25% of the MME graduates, with an average age of 41.04 (±5.49) years. Among MME graduates, there were 17 (56.67%) women holding the positions of deans, associate deans, or assistant deans compared with 14 men (34.16%) with a p value of 0.59. There were fourteen (46.67%) women holding Doctor of Philosophy compared with 19 men (46.34%) either holding a clinical fellowship of a master's degree. There were no significant differences between the scores of women and men in the four ALQ domains. Among academic leaders. twenty (26.67%) women were academic leaders with an average age of 47.31 (±9.63) years; compared with 55 men (p ¼ 0.53). Twelve (60.00%) women leaders were from professions other than medicine with a p value of 0.07. Seventeen (85.00%) women were appointed at a middle management position; compared with 43 (78.18%) men with a p value of 0.16. Women showed tendency for higher scores in all ALQ domains; however, it did not reach statistical significance.
Discussion: Women received opportunities to be enrolled in the MME program and the authenticity of their academic leadership skills did not significantly differ from men. Women accounted for a quarter of academic leaders, with more appointments in middle management positions and a tendency toward a better authenticity of leadership skills.
Introduction
The effect of gender on leadership ability and career development is an interesting area of leadership studies as women remain underrepresented as leaders in multiple settings Although the earnings of women have increased more than those of men in the United States of America (USA) over the past two decades, women working full time still earn less than their male colleagues.The illegalization of inequality between women and men has improved the opportunities of women in many fields; including education and training. However, gender equality in academia is hindered by the complexity of the work environment. Women with academic careers experience disconnect between the attainment of doctoral degrees and career development. The career progress of women academic leaders is slower than that of their male colleagues. This global issue may reflect the restriction of women's access to career development. Data regarding women academic leadership in Saudi Arabia are scant and conflicting. Although a study by Al-Tamimi reported that women have equal opportunities to study, they do not progress well in academia for reasons such as family responsibilities and social restraints. To promote academic leadership, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, established a master's in medical education (MME) with the aim of preparing professionals to become educators and academic leaders.