The Lived Leadership Experience of Women Senior Student Affairs Administrators

Abstract

This qualitative study grounded in feminist theory uses narrative inquiry to explore the stories of 26 senior women student affairs leaders. We tell the collective story we heard participants bring forward by describing plotlines that reverberated across their accounts. We call these plotlines: Experiencing Communication through Gendered Problematic Frames, Emotional Labor, and Impact on Career Trajectory. The collective narrative offers current and future administrators a better understanding of how women leaders navigate their roles and the gendered nature of leadership.