A Feminist Poststructural Discourse Analysis of Inaugural Addresses by Presidents of High-Profile Research Universities

• In Event: 65.067 - Intersectionality and Women in Higher Education: Exploring Issues of Gender, Culture, and Socialization

Abstract

The number of women academic leaders has increased over the last 20 years. In this context, this study explores how men and women presidents of high profile research universities use language in their inaugural addresses. Leadership, gender, rhetoric, and organizational context intersect for women leaders who have to navigate the socially constructed, gendered terrain of leadership in research universities. Rhetoric is an important aspect of leadership and reveals a great deal about the leaders and the institutions they lead. A feminist poststrucural discourse analysis of presidents’ inaugural addresses revealed few instances of women calling attention to their status as pioneer leaders, and rare mention by leaders of their families pointing to the male norm of academic leadership.

Author

• Tehmina Khwaja, College of William and Mary