Leadership and strategic management: women as senior managers in Turkish and Australian universities

Abstract

This paper analyses leadership and strategic management of female senior managers in universities in Turkey and Australia based on qualitative interviews. While the representation of women in senior management in Turkey is lower than in Australia, in the professoriate the representation of women in Turkey is considerably higher. The research found that senior managers interviewed in Turkey mostly did not consider that their female colleagues experience any barriers or that they may bring different qualities to senior management teams. By contrast, Australian senior management argued that women brought added skills and qualities to senior management, that senior management teams functioned more effectively with a balance of males and females, and that Vice-Chancellors can intervene to improve the gender balance of senior management. The paper argues that women make an important contribution to leadership and strategic management in universities in Turkey and Australia. However, the impact of management culture and lack of support mechanisms in the continuing under-representation of women in senior management, particularly in Turkey, needs to be addressed if universities are to transform their leadership and organisational culture.