Leadership, Gender and Empowerment: Female Student Experiences at Kalamazoo College
Abstract
Previous research has shown the challenges and complexities of females in
leadership, specifically because our societal conceptions of leadership are rooted in
masculine understandings and practices because men have most often held positions of
leadership (Eagly 2000). Due to this, female leaders have received little recognition for
successful and/or effective leadership because they are most often leading in a masculine
context (Brookfield & Preskill 2009). The Women's Leadership Research Center at
Kalamazoo College interviewed the same population of female students once a year for
their four academic years. This study uses that data to evaluate campus experiences that
have enhanced and diminished female student leadership aspirations throughout their
college years.
Findings show that female students are empowered in situations that embody
female leadership characteristics of collaboration, consensus and affirmation. Female
students are most often disempowered in experiences that embody traditionally male
characteristics of competition and individualism. Current and future female students
would benefit from the conscious implementation of feminist pedagogical practices as
well as continued recognition and support from faculty and administrators. It is also
recommended that Kalamazoo College regularly implement a study of female student
experiences to assess variations related to the changes being implemented at the college.