Towards a Gendered Skills Analysis of Senior Management Positions in UK and Australian Universities

Women remain outsiders in university leadership and management. The literature indicates that discipline base, career mobility, experience outside academia, selection processes, and gender stereotyping may impact on women becoming senior managers. This article reports on research with current and former Vice-Chancellors, senior managers, and recruitment firms to identify skill requirements for effective leadership and management. Our research indicates gender is an issue in higher education leadership, in recruitment and selection, exclusion from male camaraderie, and preference for transformational leadership. This research will produce a skills benchmark to assess future leadership positions and hopefully cut across current gender bias.