by Bharti Sharma, ODessa-Elise Downing, Shokoufeh Mirzaei, Tari Hunter, & Olukemi Sawyerr
fizkes/ Shutterstock
The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions still exists in higher education. However, the future can be changed with intentional efforts toward achieving gender equity. This article discusses committing to actionable and quantifiable changes to move the needle closer to gender parity. The American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network of Southern California (WNSC) empowers women leaders in academia through professional networks and inclusive leadership. In addition, the Network provides professional development opportunities to create a pipeline of women leaders in higher education. Presidential Sponsor Dr. Soraya Coley, President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, has led the professional network since 2019. Her commitment, encouragement, and support have demonstrated a focus on inclusive leadership that prioritizes women’s professional and personal development.
President Coley recruited the State Chair of the network, who then recruited the planning committee members. The diverse committee is constituted of faculty, administrators, staff, and executive-level women in higher education, both from public and private institutions. The planning committee’s focus is on creating professional development opportunities that empower women and creating a self-supporting and sustainable organization. Currently, the committee specifically works in three areas:
- Strategic Planning & Organizational Excellence
- Formal Governance Structure Development
- Event Planning & Programming
In addition to serving as committee members, the Institutional Representatives (IRs) serve on the planning committee to facilitate and support network events and publicize the Network’s activities at their home institutions. In the last three years, the planning committee has intentionally recruited, retained, and included more IRs from the southern California region.
Strategic Planning & Organizational Excellence: We began with a primer on what strategic planning entails and determined a process by which we would accomplish this goal. We reviewed the missions and visions of the larger ACE organization and of the ACE Women’s Network. We compared them with those of our Network to ensure that we aligned with the goals of our umbrella organizations. We then conducted an analysis of our network’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). We utilized multiple data sources, including the results of participant surveys, a needs assessment of the network members, a TOWS matrix, industry developments, national trends, etc. The needs assessment enabled us to better understand: a) Who is in our network b) Where they are in the leadership pipeline c) What are their leadership development needs and d) How we can meet these needs.
Based on the different assessment strategies described above, we identified four strategic goals on which we would focus over the next three years:
- Develop a governance structure resulting in transparent and well-documented procedures and practices, succession planning, and clear ways for all institutions and rising leaders to participate in network governance.
- Generate revenues based on membership involvement in professional development activities.
- Develop strategies to identify and encourage women to enter the leadership pipeline as listed in our core principles known as IDEALS (Identify, Develop, Encourage, Advance, Link, and Support).
- Provide leadership development opportunities for women in higher education by identifying the leadership development needs of women in the Network and creating multiple pathways to serve common and diverse needs (Develop, Advance, Link, Support).
The Network’s presidential sponsor and planning committee members provided feedback on the strategic plan and voted to approve the plan’s final draft. This plan will govern the Network for the next three years with actions/initiatives and objectives that have been finalized and approved.
Formal Governance Structure Development: A sub-committee was assigned to exclusively work on the development of the Network’s bylaws. The reason behind creating a governing structure is to achieve the strategic goal of Network sustainability and to instill our practice of inclusive leadership. The major task for developing the governance structure involved researching and reviewing the existing Networks’ bylaws to understand how sister networks operate and define membership. Among the network bylaws that were reviewed are Utah, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Northern California. The committee was able to establish a closer connection with the Northern California Network and exchange ideas on Network membership and sponsorship models. The sub-committee worked diligently to evaluate bylaws and define a structure that meets the specific needs of the SoCal Network. The chart below shows the newly implemented structure.
Event Planning and Programming Committee: The event planning committee’s role is to plan events and develop programs enabling the Network to achieve its strategic objectives. These events and programs are based on assessment and feedback and work towards the established IDEALS. Previously, the Network planned 3-4 Lunch and Learn events and an annual conference. During the pandemic, we pivoted to Connect and Learn virtual events. The events allowed attendees to learn from influential women speakers sharing their leadership journeys. This benefited the attendees and helped recognize and highlight the professional success of women leaders. Last year’s events focused on networking, relationship building, and mentoring, topics in high demand by the membership. In addition, participants were able to engage during breakout and Q&A sessions. Overall, the merit of our network is in the thought with which we generate the programming with a focus on topics that best serve our audience and on speakers who are great examples of women leaders.
Institutionalizing gender equity and inclusive culture is a mammoth task that requires a multifaceted approach for accomplishment. While the emphasis on gender equity has been put on the “leaning-in” of women, equally important is cultivating workspaces that are ready for women leaders. It is important that women have a) similar level of accountability and expectations as their male counterparts, b) welcoming spaces, c) flexibility in parental and caregiving, d) professional development and networking opportunities similar to their male counterparts, and d) coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship. Higher education institutions must identify the barriers to women’s career advancement, prioritize gender equity at all levels in their organizations with a sense of urgency, and commitment to moving the needle.
Acknowledgements: The authors thank all current and past committee members and IRs for their contributions to the ACE Women’s Network of Southern California. We especially thank President Soraya Coley of Cal Poly Pomona for her commitment and encouragement.
Bharti Sharma, Associate Professor and Provost Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Board of Directors ACE Women’s Network of Southern California
ODessa-Elise Downing, Budget Analyst & Payroll Specialist, University Housing Services, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Board of Directors ACE Women’s Network of Southern California.
Shokoufeh Mirzaei, Professor and Chair, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Tari Hunter, Acting Associate Executive Director, Equity, Programs and Leadership, University Student Union, California State University, Northridge
Olukemi Sawyerr, Associate Vice President, Academic Innovation, Professor, Management and Human Resources Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and State Chair, ACE Women’s Network of Southern California
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