The Language Announcing Two Women Leaders in Higher Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: College Presidents Within the Complex Environment

Abstract

Gendered conceptions of leadership influence how we talk about leadership, what effective leadership looks like, and who has access to leadership roles. Institutions of higher education play a central role in the socialization and development of conceptions of leadership. Thus, higher education serves as a critical nexus in education and can serve to maintain the status quo or to actively work to develop critical educators, leaders, scholars, and other stakeholders who can work to further disassemble systems of oppression. Using critical discourse analysis, this study examines how language is used to announce the hiring of two women to senior leadership roles at a flagship university. We discuss how language was used to construct visions and expectations for women leaders.

Authors

• Betsy Winter, The University of Iowa

• Matthew Stier, The University of Iowa