Every year, ACE and the ACE Women’s Network Executive Council host virtual panel discussions featuring successful women in higher education. The discussions are recorded and available to watch online. I watched the “Women in Leadership and Their Well-Being” session and found it very interesting. I also plan to watch the other sessions from this year. Here are some important points I learned from the conversations
Women in Leadership and Their Well-Being
Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley said it’s important to manage time well and stay organised. She suggested that women should spend some time each weekend getting ready for the week. Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson mentioned that the idea of “work-life balance” can be misleading. She explained that women often feel pressured to handle too much without taking care of themselves, which can lead to burnout.
Importance of Prioritization:
Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley said it’s important to manage time well and stay organised. She suggested that women should spend some time each weekend getting ready for the week. Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson mentioned that the idea of “work-life balance” can be misleading. She explained that women often feel pressured to handle too much without taking care of themselves, which can lead to burnout.
- Stand-out quote:
“Focus on what’s most important right now. It might change quickly, and that’s okay. Give yourself permission to switch priorities when needed, and don’t feel guilty about it.” – Dr. Buckner Jackson
Learning to Say No:
Gellman-Danley said that women often take on too much. She suggested learning to delegate and only taking on extra work if it’s something you really care about. Buckner Jackson added that the pressure to do more can come from feeling like we have opportunities that women in the past didn’t have, but we also need to remember that we can choose what we say no to.
- Stand-out quote:
“We have to be intentional about drawing the line, because naturally we will bend to overperform, to overwork, to over show up, so we have to be intentional about setting a boundary.” – Dr. Buckner Jackson
Uplifting Other Women:
Dr. Jann L. Joseph asked how we can create a network of women supporting each other and uplifting one another. Gellman-Danley said we should be careful not to achieve success at the cost of other women, and that women leaders should set a good example. Buckner Jackson said it’s important to create a sense of community in your networks and to be open and honest when interacting with other women in your communities.
- Stand-out quote:
“Boundaries are safe, and boundaries govern your behaviour and your responses… When I think about boundaries, I think about values. Not a measure of integrity, but what means most to you. What are you unwilling to lose? What are you unwilling to let go of, and what will you do to protect that?” – Dr. Buckner Jackson
Advocacy: A Proven Strategy to Challenge the Erosion of Women’s Rights
Advocacy for Students:
The Dobbs decision has made people worry about the mental health of students who have unplanned pregnancies, which can cause them to leave college. Dr. Gloria Thomas said that colleges and universities need to work with nonprofits and community groups to help students get the resources and support they need. She also said we should collect data to see which groups might be struggling and figure out where we need to improve.
- Stand-out quote:
“We’ve made progress, but we still have a lot of inequities… Just a third of college presidents are women, yet we’re more than 50, 60 percent of the students… Students need to be able to relate to people who are instructing them…We need people in these spaces who can encourage students and keep them going and motivate them. They are the workforce of our futures.” – Dr. Thomas
Women Serving as Leaders:
Thomas said that women leaders can inspire others by being true to themselves, not letting society dictate who they should be, and valuing their own perspectives. Dr. Maria Gallow added that to do this well, women need to know and stick to their important beliefs, even if it means being on their own sometimes. By doing this, women leaders can show future generations what’s possible. Women leaders also need to be careful about who they include in making decisions, making sure that policies also think about people who aren’t straight, white, or cisgender.
- Stand-out quote:
“When each of us goes to the negotiating table, or is afforded an exception, that we work not to create it so that it’s individualized, but that it’s sustained and institutionalized… We don’t often think about that when we take a job as a president and you negotiate — can these policies be applicable, can they be institutionalized, not just for people where we are but all the way down?” – Dr. Piñeres
Situating Ourselves in History:
Dr. Kim Lee started the talk by saying that we’ve made progress in achieving gender equality. She said that speaking up for women’s rights can help us see how far we’ve come. But we still have a lot of work to do, especially in helping women who face challenges because of their race, sexuality, or other factors. One way to keep moving forward is to make sure that the number of women working in colleges matches the number of women studying there, so that the college environment reflects the student body.
- Stand-out quote:
“We also recognize that we have made progress regarding women’s rights. Consider the right to vote, and access to opportunities and professions where we were once not visible, especially as leaders… We are now bishops, neurosurgeons, and for the first time, we have a woman as Vice President.” – Dr. Lee
