Who Leads When Civil Society Organizations Meet?: Gender and Leadership Practice Across Organizational Types

• In Event: Political Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Organizational Politics (Table 8)

Abstract

Despite women’s substantial presence in civil society organizations (CSOs), the relationship between formal leadership titles and actual leadership practice remains poorly understood—particularly across different organizational types. This study examines who leads where in CSOs by analyzing 2,273 convenings held by 50 organizations in a midwestern college town. We used systematic social observation (SSO) to capture leadership-in-practice rather than relying on formal organizational charts or self-reported data. We categorized CSOs into six activity types—advocacy, service, religious, business/professional, hobby/recreational, and neighborhood/community—and we find that women comprise nearly half of all leaders observed during convenings. However, leadership patterns vary substantially by organizational type. Women lead more frequently in advocacy, service, and business/professional organizations, while men predominate in neighborhood/community and hobby/recreational groups. Religious organizations exhibit the most gender-balanced leadership. We also find that although women hold more leadership titles in the organizations in our sample, they represent half of practiced leadership during convenings, revealing gaps between structure and practice. These findings challenge both pessimistic and optimistic narratives about women’s roles as civic leaders, and demonstrate that traditional surveys of organizational titles miss important gendered dynamics visible only through direct observation.

Authors

• Claire Woodward, Indiana University

• Matthew G. Baggetta, Indiana University

• Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University

• Ashlea Raemer, Indiana University