Moving up in higher education can be a tough ladder to climb for women, and even tougher for women of color.
The Virginia Network is a state-level network that was created by —and is supported by — the American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education in an effort to prepare more women for presidential positions in higher education.
One of the network’s hallmark programs is their annual conference. Because the network is interested in identifying and developing the careers of women from diverse backgrounds, once every three years the conference focuses on women of color.
This year’s conference was held recently at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
“The goal of the conference was to encourage engagement in all aspects of leadership for all women, particularly women of color,” said Pareena Lawrence, president of Hollins University in Roanoke and who served on the president’s panel during the conference at ODU.
“The conference created a space where complex issues and strategies for success, advancement, and managing multiple roles were discussed,” she said. “Panelists shared stories that illustrated the importance of listening to all stakeholders, having multiple mentors, having a sense of humor, having the ability to compartmentalize, to take calculated risks, and, on occasion, a leap of faith when making important strategic decisions.”
Last year ACE released a report (Pipelines, Pathways, and Institutional Leadership) that included a look at the “pipeline myth,” or the belief that there are too few women qualified for leadership positions in higher education.
The report concluded the pipeline is actually preparing women at a greater rate than it does men. Female students, the report found, have earned half or more of all baccalaureate degrees for the past three decades, and half or more of all doctoral degrees for nearly a decade.
“Despite the number of female graduates available for leadership positions, women do not hold associate professor or full professor positions at the same rate as their male peers,” reads the report. “The data show that women are not ascending to leadership roles, given that they hold a greater share of the entry-level, service, and teaching-only positions than their male counterparts. This is true for all women when looking across degree granting postsecondary institutions; the trend is exacerbated for women of color.”
Lawrence said the goal of the Virginia Network is to identify women leaders in higher education; develop women’s leadership abilities; encourage women to use their abilities and talents; advance more women into leadership positions; link women leaders to one another; and support the tenure of mid-and senior-level women administrators and educators.
“Another important message is to always remember why we are doing what we are doing, and not to lose focus on that, while we get involved in the day-to-day operations and the crisis of the moment,” she said. “And we need to remember to open doors for others, just as someone opened a door or two for us.”
