Numerous studies in higher education have examined women’s leadership in academic institutions both within specific countries and from an international perspective (Barnard et al., 2022; Norander & Zenk, 2023). While there has been a growing body of research exploring the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian and South African higher education leadership, there is still uncertainty about why these countries’ gender policies have not led to significant change (Igiebor, 2021) and this warrants a comparative study of them. In the UK, significant changes in gender equality have emerged over the past decade, driven by the agenda of equality, diversity, inclusivity and access in universities. Initiatives like Athena SWAN, Aurora and Leadership Matters have been effective in increasing gender diversity in managerial leadership. Yet, as noted by O’Connor (2020), achieving gender equality in academic leadership requires structural changes.
This blog post, focusing on women’s underrepresentation in higher education leadership, outlines research findings from the first phase of the AURORA project (‘Addressing Women’s Underrepresentation in Higher Education Leadership in Nigeria and South Africa’). The AURORA Project (2023-4), which is supported by a Gender Equality Partnerships grant from the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme, addresses the inequalities restricting women’s ability to apply for, undertake and promote leadership positions in higher education. International partners include Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), University of South Africa (UniSA) and Lagos State University in Nigeria (LASU).
The review aimed to identify challenges faced by women academic leaders and highlight the suggested measures for enhancing gender equality in leadership. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science and ERIC databases. We included journal articles written in English published from 2013 to 2023. Overall, we identified 37 articles on women in academic leadership from the focus contexts.
