Critical Feminist Leadership in a Catholic Jesuit University During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Racial Justice Uprisings of 2020 and 2021

• In Event: Cultivating Equitable Education Systems for the 21st Century: Women Leaders in Catholic Education

Abstract

Abstract:
2020 and 2021 have seen multiple crises which have shaken institutions across the world to their very core. In particular, institutions of higher education have been changed, some permanently, by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of protests across the U.S. demanding justice for the murders of countless Black people at the hands of law enforcement and white supremacists. The call for strong leadership that is rooted in human values rather than neoliberal ideals is clear. Critical feminist leadership answers that call.

Summary:

Critical Feminist Leadership is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, and prioritizes the following key principles: (1) Authentic relationships, bringing our whole person to work every day; (2) Inclusion: Awareness of, and seeking opportunities for, inclusion—going beyond advocacy for underrepresented and marginalized communities to actively engaging them; (3) Removing barriers to build consensus – creating community in every moment and in every possible way. Building communities in partnership with others, not in isolation, where students, teachers, and administrators have equal voice in the process of education; and (4) Disrupting oppressive systems of education that give preferential treatment to the wealthy, white middle to upper class members of our society. This includes actively devaluing and contesting hegemonic leadership rooted in white supremacy.

This autoethnographic case study seeks to understand what critical feminist leadership looks like during a crisis by observing it in action in an urban Jesuit university’s school of education. Through interviews with key members of leadership, focus groups with students, and the collection and analysis of documents and artefacts, the researchers hope to answer the following research questions:
1. How does a leader who is a critical feminist lead their community during a time of crisis?
2. What elements of critical feminism are evident in their practice as a leader?
3. How is the experience humanized by this leadership style?
4. How are followers impacted by this style of leadership?

This research addresses multiple gaps in the literature. First, although there has been much scholarship on crisis leadership, little has been written about crisis leadership in higher education specifically. Additionally, this research adds to the small but growing body of literature on critical feminist leadership. Moreover, this research situates crisis leadership not as reactionary tool for protecting the bottom line, but as a method by which to advance the Jesuit values of cura personalis, service, and commitment to diversity and justice through critical feminist praxis.

Author

• Ingrid McVanner, University of San Francisco