Mid-Career Dilemmas of Female Academics: An Indian Perspective

Mid-Career Dilemmas of Female Academics: An Indian Perspective

Jyothi Kumar, Anupama Nayar, Divya Sundaram, Aradhana Satish Nair
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 24
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-4451-1.ch008
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Abstract

Historically, many studies have shown discrimination, bias, and barriers for women entering leadership roles in Indian institutions of higher education. The objective of the present study is to understand the mid-career dilemma of Indian women leaders based on their personal experiences. The study follows a phenomenological approach. The phenomenological approach as a qualitative research methodology provides for analysing the subjective experiences of individuals and their interpretations of these experiences. Data for the study were collected using a structured questionnaire. The study aggregates the views of women leaders and understands the challenges they face in pursuing their careers and maintaining their leadership roles. The study explored the transitions experienced by women through the ages, and hence, a qualitative paradigm with thematic analysis provided a better scope for understanding the experiences of women leaders.
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Introduction

Historically, many studies have been conducted showing discrimination, bias and barriers for women entering leadership roles in Indian Institutions of Higher education. This study undertakes to explore the changing nature and content of mid-career dilemmas of Indian women academics exacerbated by the challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic and how this information can affect the design and implementation of workplace equity policies. The study will be conducted in a prestigious Indian private University which has five campuses across India. Data reveals that approximately 42% of doctoral degree awardees in India are female, signifying the increasing number of educated women (Government of India, 2018). It is also a fact that in the current Indian academic ecosystem women are hardly visible in senior leadership positions, and the majority (66.22%) of women struggle to reach middle-level leadership positions (Banker & Banker, 2017; Ghara, 2016). Only 6.67% of women are in senior leadership positions, like that of Vice Chancellor, Director, or Dean (Banker & Banker, 2017), in India. The numbers show negligible increase of 15.64% when the positions of Principal, Professor and Associate Professor are added to the list (Ghara, 2016). Though underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions in higher education is a global phenomenon (Banker & Banker, 2017), the case in South Asia generally (Morley & Crossouard, 2015) and India particularly (Banker & Banker, 2017) is bleak.

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