Three ways to support women’s career progression in higher education

Given that women represent the vast majority of college graduates, are more likely to drive better business outcomes than their male counterparts and often have the emotional and social awareness needed to be successful in a high-level leadership role, it is surprising that women hold less than 40 per cent of the executive leadership positions at colleges and universities. Here are three ways institutions can drive more women into leadership roles and create a healthier work environment in which employees with all gender identities thrive.

Be a great sponsor

We don’t need more data to know that men receive more pay and promotions than women do, but the reason for the disparity might surprise you. In a Harvard Business Review article, “Why men still get more promotions than women”, it is argued that women have enough mentors, but fewer sponsors who are championing them towards success in their next work opportunity or promotion.

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Do you have a star performer on your team who identifies as a woman and hasn’t applied to a leadership-level role in your department? Consider opening up a dialogue on her career goals, letting her know that her strong performance is noticed, and asking how you can support her in taking the next steps when she is ready. If she’s not ready, listen for possible barriers and offer ideas for professional development, staff support or other guidance to illustrate a pathway to promotion.

Given that women often self-rate their performance less favourably than men, external affirmation of high performance is key to building women’s confidence to apply for promotional roles. Almost every promotion I have received was a result of a campus leader directly asking me to apply. Early in my career, I was piled so high with work that I neither considered how it was helping or hurting my promotional possibilities, nor was I strategic about prioritising projects that would get me noticed.

Sponsorship doesn’t end there – sponsors also assume additional roles such as coaching their mentees through the application and interview process, networking with internal or external stakeholders to get information on the position, and serving as a reference if she advances to the final round. Leaders who hold a sponsor role for a woman (or many women!) in their office will see more confident and capable women candidates in their recruitment pools and, ultimately, the organisation will be stronger as a result.

Don’t let time away from the office hinder promotional opportunities

According to the American College President Study (2017) published by the American Council on Education, female college presidents were twice as likely to have altered their career to care for others when compared with their male counterparts in 2016. While there are plenty of great job opportunities in higher education that are not president-level, these data suggest that women might be bearing a disproportionate amount of care-related responsibilities outside work, hindering their career progression at colleges and universities.

Institutions seeking to improve promotional opportunities for women should consider developing leadership opportunities with options for majority- and part-time employment, support workplace acceptance of late arrivals or early departures for caretaking when needed and establish and promote the availability of dependant care programmes. Establish intentional promotion policies and practices that allow for flexibility for those employees seeking career advancement while also juggling a caretaking role at home.

Investigate and address issues for women who identify as BIPOC, women with a disability and/or LGBTQ+ women

According to a recent Inside Higher Ed article, women of colour experience more issues of bias and hostility as they move up through the ranks, which can negatively impact hiring decisions and retention for them in high-ranked leadership roles. Institutions can use staff engagement surveys to determine if organisation-wide efforts, or a focus to improve a department- or unit-level subculture, are needed.

Another key tactic is to go beyond online sexual harassment training and conduct department- or unit-level live training held by your institution’s Title IX officer, human resources leader, LGBTQ+ office leader, disability services office, and/or diversity officer(s) to ensure a diversity of lived experiences are top of mind among decision-makers at your place of work.

Last, dedicate a portion of your institution’s diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) plan to supporting women with diverse and intersecting identities, to have a positive impact on them as they climb up the career ladder.

Sandy Jones serves as vice-president of strategic engagement at Colorado State University Global, where she drives the university’s stakeholder partnerships, brand awareness and enrolment experience.

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