Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country

This study explored barriers faced by women in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews with 12 deans from six public universities located in Selangor, Malaysia, were conducted for empirical data collection. This study finds internal p...

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Main Authors: Islam, Md Asadul, Jantan, Amer Hamzah, Hunt, Abigail, Hashim, Haslinda, Chong, Choo Wei
Format: Article
Published: Inderscience Publishers 2022
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101381/
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author Islam, Md Asadul
Jantan, Amer Hamzah
Hunt, Abigail
Hashim, Haslinda
Chong, Choo Wei
author_facet Islam, Md Asadul
Jantan, Amer Hamzah
Hunt, Abigail
Hashim, Haslinda
Chong, Choo Wei
author_sort Islam, Md Asadul
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study explored barriers faced by women in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews with 12 deans from six public universities located in Selangor, Malaysia, were conducted for empirical data collection. This study finds internal politics, male domination, lack of benefits (both financial and non-financial), and biases of top management personnel as the organisational barriers faced by women in accessing leadership positions. However, whilst subsequent organisational barriers are similar to the organisational barriers identified in accessing positions, the negative perception of colleagues and their lack of support, together with lack of childcare facilities, have also emerged as barriers for women who already hold leadership positions in the public universities of Malaysia. Finally, implications of the findings, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-15T13:34:41Z
publishDate 2022
publisher Inderscience Publishers
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-1013812023-09-22T23:51:56Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101381/ Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country Islam, Md Asadul Jantan, Amer Hamzah Hunt, Abigail Hashim, Haslinda Chong, Choo Wei This study explored barriers faced by women in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews with 12 deans from six public universities located in Selangor, Malaysia, were conducted for empirical data collection. This study finds internal politics, male domination, lack of benefits (both financial and non-financial), and biases of top management personnel as the organisational barriers faced by women in accessing leadership positions. However, whilst subsequent organisational barriers are similar to the organisational barriers identified in accessing positions, the negative perception of colleagues and their lack of support, together with lack of childcare facilities, have also emerged as barriers for women who already hold leadership positions in the public universities of Malaysia. Finally, implications of the findings, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed. Inderscience Publishers 2022-01-19 Article PeerReviewed Islam, Md Asadul and Jantan, Amer Hamzah and Hunt, Abigail and Hashim, Haslinda and Chong, Choo Wei (2022) Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 27 (1). 121 - 142. ISSN 1751-0252; ESSN: 1751-0260 https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=120442 10.1504/IJBIR.2022.120442
spellingShingle Islam, Md Asadul
Jantan, Amer Hamzah
Hunt, Abigail
Hashim, Haslinda
Chong, Choo Wei
Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title_full Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title_fullStr Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title_full_unstemmed Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title_short Exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
title_sort exploring barriers faced by women leaders in accessing and holding leadership positions in public universities in an emerging country
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101381/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101381/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101381/