The narrative in this paper reflects Enase Okonedo’s journey transitioning from Dean of Lagos Business School to Vice-Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University, highlighting challenges women face in academic leadership. It underscores self-doubt stemming from societal stereotypes, cultural expectations, and underrepresentation in senior roles. The author emphasises the need for gender diversity to foster inclusivity, innovation, and equity. Challenges include balancing responsibilities, combating biases, and navigating patriarchal norms. Recommendations include mentorship, leadership training, equitable policies, and structural support for women in academia. Okonedo advocates for deliberate actions to empower women, create supportive environments, and redefine leadership norms in academic institutions.

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Early in 2020, I was slightly taken aback and somewhat surprised when I was informed that I had been nominated to become the next vice-chancellor of the Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria after being dean of Lagos Business School for 11 years. It appeared the surprise was almost entirely mine as many internal stakeholders already expected this. Reflecting on my failure to see the appointment coming raised questions in me as to whether women fail to see the capabilities in themselves or are slightly abashed by their own competence and capabilities and prefer to remain ‘invisible’.

Before this time, considerations faced by deans nearing the end of their tenure and contemplating their next move had crossed my mind. As my exit, due to occur in 2021, neared I contemplated the following options:

1. Return to being a faculty member at the business school
2. Exit academia and return to industry, from which I joined the business school 27 years earlier
3. Consider a different role outside the school in the management education sector
4. Consider the option of progressing to university leadership, and accept the offer to be vice-chancellor.

In common with many women, there were questions in my mind as to my ability to succeed in the proposed role of vice-chancellor at the parent university of the business school. I wondered if I was prepared to lead a much larger institution; how I would deal with the expected challenges of managing a much larger team; and my ability to envision the heights to which I could take the university. These thoughts filled my mind, despite having led Lagos Business School to attain global accreditations and sustaining its global rankings. Yet, I still questioned my abilities to manage. Such self-doubt, as I realised later, is not uncommon in many females on being appointed to leadership positions.

The emotion I experienced at this time, reminded me of having experienced the same feeling twelve years earlier when I had a similar conversation with the then vice-chancellor of the university informing me that I had been nominated to be dean.

Now one might wonder why, despite being deemed capable, having held administrative positions at the business school for close to 10 years before I became dean; working with my team to attain global accreditations, leading the school to expand locally and internationally, would I be assailed with feelings of self-doubt at the prospect of taking on the leadership of the university?

Might it be related to ingrained social and cultural norms prevalent in many countries in Africa, including Nigeria, that hold that men, not women, should be leaders? Could it be because in my society, regardless of a woman’s professional journey and her role, she is expected to be responsible for the children, the family and the home, therefore the prospect of taking on huge administrative responsibilities in addition to being an academic is daunting? Might it be because there are too few women in leadership positions in academia and therefore one wonders at one’s ability to among the few who venture and succeed?

Indeed 10 years earlier, the information of my nomination as dean caught me completely off balance. I never envisaged that in a patriarchal environment, a female becoming dean was a possibility. Indeed, in my role at the time as faculty director, I had identified two individuals, both men, as possibilities for future dean and had been strategic in the assignments I gave them to prepare them for the role!

These experiences lead me to question what educational institutions, policy-makers and other decision-makers are doing, or not doing, to ensure that women can aspire to, be appointed to, and be supported in senior leadership roles in academia.

Challenges and Opportunities Faced as a Woman Leader in Academia

According to the Nigerian National Universities Commission, as of July 2024, of the 274 universities in Nigeria, only 22 had female vice-chancellors. Historically, only 38 out of over 720 individuals who have held the position of vice chancellor in Nigeria since 1960 have been women. This underrepresentation of women in senior academic roles is further exacerbated by the challenges encountered by women leaders in academia mainly rooted in societal stereotypes that position males as the predominant leaders across sectors, including business schools and universities.

Female academics often have to work twice as hard to be recognised, balancing teaching, research, and service with higher demands placed on them than their male counterparts. This stems from a need to prove their capabilities in a male-dominated environment and conform to societal expectations, particularly in cultures where traditional gender roles are prevalent.

Pay disparities are another significant issue, with women often earning less than their male colleagues due to ingrained biases.

Additionally, the lack of female mentors and networking opportunities poses a challenge, as few women have navigated the path to senior leadership roles in academia and in many conservative cultures the idea of males mentoring females is not widely practiced.

Many female leaders also experience ‘imposter syndrome’, doubting the worthiness of their positions and feeling pressured to exceed expectations.

Furthermore, building relationships to support fundraising on a much larger scale while managing perceptions in a patriarchal society that relegates women to the background are additional challenges faced by females in senior leadership roles in universities.

Importance of Gender Diversity in Academic Leadership

When I became dean in 2011, I had only ever heard of one female dean of a business school in Africa, in faraway South Africa. There were no female deans in my region – past or present that I could learn from or look up to. I had to forge my own path, learning from male counterparts and my own mistakes.

Indeed, one experience stands out. Arriving at one of the major airports in Europe to catch a flight, enroute to the US, one of the airline officials engaged me in conversation on what my occupation was. On informing her I was the dean of a business school she was initially disbelieving. When I asked why she doubted this, she explained that all the deans she had ever encountered were older, white men with grey hair! To begin to change the perception of leaders in academia, we must begin to move away from the stereotype of who ‘fits’ the profile of dean of a business school or the vice-chancellor of a university and not only encourage but support females to succeed in senior leadership roles in higher education institutions.

Increasing gender diversity in leadership roles in academia is essential in fostering a more inclusive environment as well as inspiring other females. But this requires deliberate action and intentionality in supporting the progress of women in business schools and universities. Female leaders in our institutions have the potential to provide different perspectives and enrich the diversity of views, break stereotypes and promote equality.

The main reason adduced for the dearth of women in senior leadership positions in academia is that the pool of female professors is much smaller therefore limiting the available choices. This may be true in some countries but perhaps not globally. The number of female professors as a percentage of total professors in Nigerian universities as of 2020 was only 15.17%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics Annual Report 2021.

This contrasts starkly with the United States where women constitute 44% of tenure track faculty, and 36% of full professors in 2021 according to the American Association of University Women.

 The Process of Transitioning to Vice-Chancellor

After contemplating the various options, my decision was swayed by the challenge of taking the helm of a larger institution, envisioning a relatively young university developing into a top university, and working with a team of talented individuals to achieve this.

I was appointed as the deputy vice-chancellor, and remained in this position for one year before becoming vice-chancellor. This transition period gave me a chance to immerse myself in understanding the operational aspects of a university having spent the prior 27 years in a business school environment. The biggest transition was having to change my mindset from dealing with managers and executives – the typical business school clientele – to dealing with a much younger student population, as well as diverse stakeholders across several other disciplines.

At the time I became vice-chancellor, the university had four schools and two main units, and of the six people at the head of each of those schools and units were four men and two women. I would say that compared to many other universities in Nigeria it was a remarkable achievement having a leadership that consisted of 30% females. Nevertheless, I was confronted with not only the challenge of leading a wider university with different challenges from leading a business school but also the fact that I would have to counter the inherent bias that exists around female leaders in some spheres.

Nigeria, like several other countries in Africa, is predominantly patriarchal with the expectation that leaders will be males with females playing a supporting role. Therefore, having to deal with the preconceived stereotypes and prejudices in such a male-dominated society, was itself an added challenge. Fortunately, having led the Lagos Business School for a period of close to 12 years meant there was acceptance and some degree of confidence in my abilities, key factors that aid the success of a senior female leader in academia. Without this prior administrative experience, it may have been tougher.

I experienced the excitement of a new challenge but also some trepidation as to whether I would get the necessary support, especially from the males that I would now be leading at the university. Winning the confidence of your team is critical to success and I had to work on overcoming any scepticism. My first task as deputy vice-chancellor, thanks to the wisdom of my predecessor who suggested this, was to work on a new strategic plan for the university. This was extremely helpful in allowing me to interact more closely with various people within the university, as well as key external stakeholders, and establish the team dynamics required for the task that lay ahead of leading the university.

Differences and Similarities in Leadership Roles

Comparing responsibilities and expectations, the role of a business school dean involves managing faculty focused on business education, while a university vice-chancellor must align faculty from diverse disciplines with the broader university vision. Driving institutional change and ensuring financial viability are key aspects of both roles. However, the scope of influence and impact differs, with university leadership requiring a broader understanding of various academic disciplines and navigating stricter regulatory environments.

For females transitioning to a senior leadership position from deanship in one school to a role leading the university one must be a team leader able to paint a compelling vision that will inspire people to work towards attaining that vision. Working on the strategic plan with members of the team whilst I was the deputy vice-chancellor enabled us to come up with key pillars of what we wanted to achieve over a certain time frame, with everyone – male and female invested in, and aligned, with the vision.

In leading the team, one has to discern and select people who are aligned with your vision and willing to put the interest of the institution ahead of personal interest and/or biases. To achieve this, building trust is essential, as once trust is established the team will follow you as the leader.

In Nigeria, universities are highly regulated and navigating the complex web of bureaucracy can be daunting. One needs strong interpersonal and people management skills to negotiate these.

As women leaders tend to be judged more harshly than their male peers in the workplace, to inspire confidence and win the trust of male colleagues, achievement of milestones should be made known and celebrated. Breaking the strategic plan into short, medium and long-term goals, limiting the introduction of innovations and initiatives to a short list and focusing on these, and shutting out the noise, is a critical skill that has to be mastered in broader university leadership roles.

The challenges of transitioning into a senior leadership role in the university included being responsible for managing a broader group of stakeholders, more than I had been used to the business school, where the primary, and perhaps one of the strongest stakeholder groups, is the business community and the corporate world. At the university, with its different schools and disciplines, one has to understand the peculiarities of those disciplines, which each have their own group of stakeholders, so stakeholder mapping and stakeholder engagement are critical success factors.

Support Structures that Enable a Smooth Transition

In transitioning, I utilised the available support to enable me to settle into the role. A key support structure was having my predecessor as vice-chancellor return to the university, after a short sabbatical, as a faculty member. Having him around meant I was able to bounce ideas off him, seek his views, and benefit from his 12 years of experience as vice-chancellor. His availability and support, which he gave surreptitiously, offering guidance on new ideas and navigating the sometimes complex organisational structure, was extremely valuable.

Another support structure was the University Governing Council whom I reported to. The success that my team and I had achieved at the business school inspired their belief in my ability to get things done. This itself was a further confidence booster.

One of the factors that enables women to excel and thrive in senior academic roles is the knowledge that one has a supportive group of people who are keen for you to succeed and offer you a safe place psychologically so if mistakes are made, albeit not grave mistakes, guidance can be given, and any innovative ideas can be encouraged. To counter any microaggressions or disdain by males who may be sceptical of your plans and new directions the school is taking, females need to be assertive and have forthright conversations to persuade people to be aligned with any innovations and initiatives. I counted on the shared objective of the team and the University Governing Council in wanting the institution to thrive, so I could forge ahead in my role.

Culturally, the society in my country places the larger burden of home-making and child-rearing on females. Conforming to societal norms in this regard in addition to managing a high-profile and expanded role can be challenging for females without the necessary support. Therefore, it behoves institutions keen on fostering an inclusive environment that inspires and encourages more females to move up the leadership ladder, to establish processes and structures that support women as they progress, and establish policies that allow flexibility to support a work-life balance.

To achieve this, universities have to be intentional about promoting gender equity by instituting mentorships and providing professional development activities as well as instituting policies to create a more equitable environment for women to progress. These could be targeted recruitment of female candidates to fill academic positions, and establishing transparent criteria for promotions that discourage or eliminate biases in evaluating female candidates.

Mentorship by other females in leadership positions is necessary to create a pipeline of competent and confident leaders. Therefore, the institution of mentorship programmes for women to mentor younger female academics in navigating the challenges of balancing their role as academics and their role at home is necessary.

Furthermore, leadership programmes could be developed specifically for women to acquire leadership skills. Senior leaders in academia are usually drawn from a pool of professors, but professorship in itself does not adequately prepare women to be successful in leadership roles. Therefore programmes that help to develop the requisite skills necessary for future female academic leaders are essential.

Universities could also consider allocating an annual set amount for funding females to support research of younger female academics so they can progress on the academic ladder to qualify for future leadership roles.

Other initiatives could be to establish policies that allow flexibility to support women in achieving a work-life balance. These could include providing infrastructure support such as having creches within universities.

Beyond this, advocacy within and beyond the university community to encourage more women to pursue a career in academia for a more well-balanced workforce may be required. Finally, gender sensitivity awareness training for administrative staff and faculty would foster an understanding of creating a more gender-inclusive environment within universities.

Academic institutions keen on achieving the benefits of diversity in leadership have to take deliberate action to support, and not subvert, female leaders, and create supportive structures for women to thrive.

Conclusion

The challenges faced by female leaders in academia are similar to those in other sectors, including the corporate world. Overcoming these challenges requires deliberate efforts to ensure women are represented and supported in leadership positions.

Transitioning from a business school dean to a university vice chancellor is not without its challenges but these are surmountable with the necessary support. The recognition that gender diversity in academic leadership is essential for fostering innovation and inclusivity should spur institutions to take the necessary action to achieve this. By overcoming societal norms and supporting female leaders, we can pave the way for not only a more equitable future within academia, but also a more equitable and just society.