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Abstract
Holding only 36% of two-year college presidencies in 2015, the progress toward gender parity has not yet been reached for women. Greater awareness of the under-representation of women in college presidencies and heightened retirements presents an opportunity for the academy to shift to be more equitable for women. Even as opportunities arise, current women in senior leadership positions may face barriers that discourage them from seeking a college presidency. To better understand why more women chief academic officers (CAOs) do not transition to the college presidency, this qualitative study explored the perceptions of 11 female CAOs about the role gender played in their career pathways and presidential aspirations. Findings revealed that being a primary caregiver for children and elderly parents was a significant reason some women CAOs did not pursue a presidency. The findings also indicated that some women CAOs found it challenging to balance their daily work outside the home and personal lives. For some participants, the presidency was perceived as undesirable because it was an externally-focused position, indicating that the job's duties, activities, and functions worked in the external environment (external to the college). One of the key recommendations is a redesign of the CAO and presidential roles to have more of an overlapping alignment in their positional responsibilities. This may break the perception of the presidency being undesirable by exposing CAOs to some of the external functions of the presidency. Mentoring and encouragement from mentors were noted by many participants, prompting several participants to accept the CAO position. Finally, the participants discussed the importance of organizational culture in creating a gender-equitable workplace. Practices of the gender equality policies are meant to support organizational goals, and that needs to begin with individual attitudes and behaviors. The impending presidential retirements can be seen as an opportunity for women to advance to the top office or as a challenge because many women CAOs choose not to move into the presidency. There could be a loss of talented presidents as they retire in record numbers without seasoned CAOs to replace them.