Date of Award

5-11-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

School Name

Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education

Department

Education

Major Advisor

Dr. Mike Vetter

Second Advisor

Dr. Grant Smith

Abstract

In the United States, women are underrepresented on college governing boards and trusteeships, occupying only about one-third of those positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). In the Southern United States, female representation is dramatically lower, with women holding somewhere between 11-15% of those board positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). Feminist research identifies persistent sexism as the reason for the continued gender inequities. Sexism in social and organizational structures may present as microaggressions, a lack of agency, lack of female role models and mentors, explicit and inherent gender-based biases, lack of flexibility in work arrangements, and women being assigned work that does not progress to leadership roles. Another factor that can serve as a barrier to women serving in college leadership positions is the “Stained Glass Ceiling” – which is religious-based gender discrimination at religious-affiliated colleges and universities (Dahlvig & Longman, 2014; Longman & Lafreniere, 2012, p. 50). This limitation results in part from certain faith-based beliefs regarding the roles women can and should play in leadership positions, if any at all (Adams, 1995; Johnson, 2011; Langford, 2010).

There have been fewer than a dozen research studies addressing the experiences of, or issues related to, women on boards of trustees, the first going back to the early 1970s (Anderson, 1993; Generett, 1978; Godfrey, 1971; Green, 2000; Newman, 2010; Scott, 2010; Sims-Harris, 2019; Twale & Burley, 2003). The body of research has tended to be narrow in focus, for example, either geographically or by institution type. This qualitative case study seeks to build on the body of research by investigating the experiences of women trustees at private, religious-affiliated colleges in the South, using critical feminism as the theoretical framework. The overarching objective of the study will be to capture the experiences of study participants who are serving on college boards of trustees at religious affiliated institutions. The study will be bound by 1) participant (current female trustees); 2) institution type (private, religious-affiliated institutions); and 3) location (in the South). The research questions guiding this study are:

1. What are the experiences of women trustees at private, religious-affiliated colleges in the South?

2. What barriers have these women trustees faced because of their gender and how have they overcome them?

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