Research Proposal on Leadership Among Maldivian Women in Higher Education Institutions

Research Proposal on Leadership among Maldivian Women in Higher Education Institutions

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Abstract

This paper will focus on the leadership among women senior administrators and educators in higher education institutions within the Republic of Maldives. The challenges they face and also their keys to success will be discussed in the paper. It will refer from eight published sources. Some studies have been carried out regarding women's leadership position in different fields. Some studies reach different conclusions. This proposal will help the researcher to conduct an accurate and valid study using reliable instruments. The proposal will outline the required measures and possible conclusions of the research. It will also discuss the possible future research related to this study. Research questions and hypothesis that will be carried out during the research will be discussed. A qualitative and quantitative analysis will be utilized in this study. Participants will be women senior administrators and educators in higher education institutions in Maldives. There are social issues that face senior women administrators and educators that this research will indicate. Gender equality in the leadership brass of higher education institutions in the Republic of Maldives is a big challenge in the development and advancement of education in Maldives. Thus this research will assist in pinpointing the causes to gender inequality, and the possible solutions that may be carried out by all the stakeholders in the education sector.

Keywords: Administrators, higher education institutions, leadership, and Maldivian women.

Introduction

This paper proposes the research that will be carried out on the participation of Maldivian women in higher education leadership. There is inequality in the leadership participation between men and women in Maldives (Maxwell, 2015). Male gender comprise of the largest part of the populace who have access to education (Maxwell, 2015). However, in Maldives, females are more academically qualified in education sector than males. The number of women who are achieving higher education continues to increase with time (Maxwell, 2015). Thus the gap reduces as civilization advances in Maldives. Women in the senior administration of universities and colleges take different pathways to achieve the leadership position. Some of them might take longer than others based on different qualities. Some women might stagnate in a certain position longer than others which will also be researched in this study.

There are barriers that Maldivian women face to achieve the leadership position which will be focused on the project too. There are complex economic, cultural and social challenges that face women administrators in Maldives (Maxwell, 2015). Discrimination and unequal capacity relations which might be the culture in some of the universities result into the challenges that the Maldivian women face to achieve leadership in higher education. Some of them might be rejected or irrationally dismissed from the senior positions in the universities to discredit them (Barrit, 2010). Other women insinuate that the leadership position in higher education is unattractive thus would opt to avoid seeking it. Gender discrimination in the society is the key barrier that obstructs achievement of the oppressed gender into leadership positions. Women who have family responsibilities are hindered from pursuing their carriers in the leadership of higher education. Women face challenges while interacting with their bosses, co-workers and their juniors. Some of the people they work with undermine their authority which complicates their working relations (Barrit, 2010)