446+Chan+Copyedited Final.docx


VOLUME 42, 2023
ISSN 1093-7099

EDITORS: BEVERLY J. IRBY, NAHED ABDELRAHMAN, BRAD BIZZELL, AND JULIA BALLENGER
ASSISTANT EDITOR: JORDAN DONOP



Advancing Women in Leadership Vol. 42, 73-79 , 2023
Available online at http://www.awlj.org/
ISSN 1093-7099

Full Length Research Paper

SHAPING THE FUTURE FOR A SUSTAINABLEWORLD: PERSPECTIVES
OF WOMEN LEADERS FROM COMMONWEALTH OPEN LEARNING

INSTITUTIONS
Josephine Ie Lyn Chan & Dewi Amat Sapuan

Josephine Ie Lyn Chan: Research Fellow, Wawasan Open University, josephinechan@wou.edu.my
Dewi Amat Sapuan: Associate Professor, Wawasan Open University, dewisapuan@wou.edu.my

Accepted May 1, 2023

This study aimed to examine the perspectives of female leaders from Commonwealth open learning institutions on women's
leadership and a sustainable future. Nineteen women leaders from fourteen Commonwealth countries responded to an
open-ended survey. Using a thematic qualitative analysis, four critical constructs for advancing women in leadership emerged:
having a mentor, building a powerful network, empowering women in ICT, and championing climate change. The findings
suggest that female leaders are conscious of their critical role and must motivate other women to take up leadership or
decision-making roles. Nevertheless, there seemed to be a disconnect between envisioning a sustainable future and actualizing
that vision. The study highlights the importance of women in shaping the future for a sustainable world, as they offer valuable
insights, experiences, and narratives on leadership and change.

Keywords: women leaders, open learning, Commonwealth countries, sustainable world, future

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light the significant
dependence of society on working women, particularly those on
the frontline and at home. At the same time, it has spotlighted
the long-standing structural inequalities experienced across all
realms. This served as a wake-up call to societies and economies
worldwide, demonstrating the importance of placing women at
the center of efforts to recover from the pandemic. In response,
United Nations Women, the sole United Nations entity that
focuses on gender equality and women empowerment, has
initiated policy and intervention measures and a global gender
response tracker to assess if countries' efforts are gender
sensitive. The agency found that 20% of the 206 countries
tracked had no gender-sensitive measures implemented.
Women's leadership and contributions must be central to
resilience and recovery to prevent a reverse of the limited
progress made on gender equality and women's rights (United
Nations, 2020).

Envisioning A Sustainable World

According to Meadows (1994), everyone needs to envision a
sustainable world where people and nature live in harmony and
human needs are taken care of without exploiting the natural
environment. For this to happen, a revolutionary change involves
a collective call toward values people hold, how they view the
world, and how society defines progress and organizes itself
(Senge et al., 2010). However, more importantly, people need to

think differently, taking inspiration from the environment.
Though the Industrial Revolution brought development and
economic success, it also resulted in the exploitation of
renewable and non-renewable resources, the creation of
industrial waste, and consumer and commercial toxicity (Senge
et al., 2010). To achieve a sustainable world, people must learn
from past mistakes and have exceptional leadership from
individuals to organizations. The question then is, what can be
done to make this happen?

Women Leaders in Higher Education

A sustainable world can be achieved through education (Blewitt,
2010). Education offers the potential to foster a green
knowledge-based society, providing the necessary skills and
knowledge to leverage the potential of new technologies and
social media to adapt and transform the complex and
unpredictable world into a more sustainable one. Moreover, the
current sustainability challenges can be prevented if higher
education teaches and practices a more robust form of
sustainability rather than simply offering a few token courses
(Clugston & Calder, 2014).

To bring about this shift in mindset, new cultural narratives,
values, and ethics must be developed to enable everyone to live
in a way that all can survive. It requires a significant shift in
individuals’ lifestyles, the functionality of communities, and the
formation of social and economic policies. To achieve this, the

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university leadership must strongly embrace the concept of
sustainability and empower their faculties to produce graduates
who can support, practice, and lead in social movements to
create a sustainable world.

In the past, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has reported
that women are making their presence felt in higher education,
introducing new teaching, learning, and administrative
approaches in the 21st century (Latchem et al., 2013). However,
women leaders in higher education remain underrepresented in
developing countries (Morley, 2013). Men are preferred for
leadership roles due to the perceived notion of them having the
“toughness” to perform well in these positions (Ahad & Gunter,
2017). Past studies have also highlighted the struggles of women
in attaining leadership positions in higher education where
family members' resources, support, and attitudes are crucial
factors in this regard (Morley & Crossouard, 2015). To
encourage more women in leadership roles, there must be
adequate support in the form of social networking, family, and
mentor support, changing the mindset of employers towards
women's potential as leaders, and at a higher level, diversity and
inclusivity policies must be implemented (Maheshwari & Nayak,
2020). Vietnam, an economy developing rapidly, has laws to
reduce gender inequality, yet women leaders in higher education
remain scarce (Maheshwari & Nayak, 2020).

Based on the above references to past studies, women in higher
education face various challenges in leadership roles (Ahad &
Gunter, 2017; Maheshwari & Nayak, 2020; Morley, 2013;
Morley & Crossouard, 2015). While discrimination, stereotyping
and subtle biases persist, it is important to share the narratives of
women leaders in higher education to bring about meaningful
and sustainable change in the future.

The Context of Study

In open learning institutions, women are often catalysts of
change, using new methods and technologies to serve and reach
out to individuals and communities. Nonetheless, in most cases,
these women are employed in low- to mid-level, part-time, or
untenured positions. Thus, interventions are necessary to
recognize and represent these women at the senior
decision-making levels of their institutions or organizations.

Since 2018, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and
Wawasan Open University have conducted various training
programs advocating for women to lead transformation in open
learning institutions. This year's program, entitled 'Women
Leaders: Shaping the Future for a Sustainable Future', aligned
with COL's goal of advocating gender equality and giving
women the right to assume leadership positions in their
respective institutions or careers. Twenty-six participants from
sixteen Commonwealth countries took part in this program.

The program was designed with the understanding that the
participants had prior experience as leaders in various positions
and aspired to assume more impactful leadership roles in their
respective institutions or careers. Through panel discussions and
presentations revolving around the main open education and

sustainable themes of Women and Leadership, Educational
Technology, and Women and Climate Change, participants
reflected on their experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, and
distilled lessons learned.

Purpose and Rationale for Study

This study aims to investigate the key constructs and challenges
that shape a sustainable future for women leaders who
participated in the training program. The findings of this study
are crucial for accelerating progress towards the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, which includes a specific goal of
gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Methods

In this study, we utilized thematic analysis to analyze the written
responses to the open-ended survey questions. Thematic analysis
is a widely used method in qualitative research that involves
identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within data. It is a
flexible and iterative approach that allows for the identification
of both explicit and implicit themes. The program organizer
lead, selected to assume the role as an independent rater in this
process, conducted a separate exercise of assigning codes and
documenting coding decisions. We followed the steps outlined
by Braun and Clarke (2006) for conducting thematic analysis.
First, we familiarized ourselves with the data by reading through
the responses multiple times. We then independently generated
initial codes that identified meaningful units of text related to our
research question. These codes were collated into potential
themes and reviewed for accuracy and coherence. The
percentage agreement on the inter-rater reliability assessment is
80%. Minor changes were made to the coding scheme to
improve its clarity. We then refined the themes, checked their
relevance to the purpose of the study, and selected representative
quotes from the data to illustrate each theme. This process
allowed us to identify key themes and patterns in the data related
to the experiences of women in leadership positions. Also,
according to Singer and Couper (2017), open-ended survey
questions allowed respondents to freely express their opinions on
specific topics instead of being confined to responding to a range
of statements using a Likert scale. As a result, we obtained more
detailed and meaningful data on the topics under examination.

Women leaders from Commonwealth open learning institutions
who participated in the 'Women Leaders: Shaping the Future for
a Sustainable Future' event held from August 1 to 3, 2022, were
conveniently sampled for this study. The women leaders, as
respondents, were informed that their participation was
voluntary and that their responses would remain anonymous
throughout the data analysis process. A survey containing
open-ended questions was physically distributed to the
twenty-six participants from sixteen Commonwealth countries
and collected that same day. There was a 73% response rate.

Table 1 shows that the nineteen respondents were represented by
fourteen Commonwealth countries, with Malaysia having the
most representatives at 32%. All respondents held mid to senior
leadership positions in their respective higher learning

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institutions, while most of them were from the universities
(84%), with the majority between the ages of 40 – 59 (79%).

Findings and Discussion

Based on the thematic data analysis grounded in the purpose of
the study, several key themes emerged which shed light on the
influencing constructs and challenges faced by women leaders in
shaping a sustainable world. In this section, we present and
discuss these themes in detail, providing insights into the
experiences and perspectives of women leaders who have
participated in a leadership development program.

Having a Mentor

In the past, mentors have typically taken on various roles for
their mentees, such as serving as role models, offering
sponsorship, providing guidance and protection, and helping to
ensure acceptance by others (Forret & Dougherty, 2004). They
also provide support and strategies to help women reposition
themselves intellectually, socially, and professionally
(Blackmore et al., 2015; O’Meara & Stromquist, 2015).

However, based on the responses of the women leaders surveyed
for this study, the role of mentors has extended to include
leadership in ICT. Given the recent Covid-19 pandemic,
mentoring need no longer be in-person or face-to-face. With the
emergence of new technologies, remote mentoring has become
possible. The profile of a mentor on leadership in ICT has been
further refined, with respondents noting the need for mentors to
be passionate, people-centric, motivating, inspiring, experts in
their field, professional, and knowledgeable of the latest
technological trends. The respondents also highlighted the
importance of having mentors to provide a strong foundation of
their leadership skills in ICT and beyond.

Van der Weijden et al. (2015) have noted that formal mentoring
can support women in furthering their careers. They found that
young professors with mentors became more positive towards
their work and research activities. This finding reinforces the
respondents’ opinions on the value of having mentors. They
have mentioned that mentors can help identify potential

leadership roles, guide career decisions, and reach leadership
goals. Mentoring can thus provide the foundation for women
leaders to build strong peer networks where they do not need to
face their struggles alone. By sharing experiences and taking
collective action, women leaders can become more assertive and
occupy more leadership positions (Brabazon & Schulz, 2020).

The respondents also highlighted the importance of a
psychologically safe environment to foster a successful
mentor-mentee relationship. This includes the need for trust and
openness to learning and change. Furthermore, women leaders in
ICT often face challenges regarding mentoring and leadership
due to a lack of time, opportunities to mentor or be mentored,
trust, and confidence. Respondent 6 noted, "The challenge is that
people are often scared of asking for help. Therefore, we do not
take full advantage of the possibilities or positive career growth
likely from effective mentoring and leadership."

According to Tran (2014), mentoring plays a critical role in
shaping positive experiences and success pathways for women
of color in higher education institutions in the US. This is
because the personality, personal experiences, and professional
backgrounds of individuals can influence the experiences of
mentoring or being mentored. The respondents in the study were
aware of the importance of mentorship but highlighted the
difficulty of finding a mentor. As one respondent stated,
"Women need role models for inspiration...but the question is
how to get them? How to get and be connected with a mentor?"
(Respondent 7). However, powerful networks could be the
answer since mentoring is no longer unidimensional but
multidimensional, with various mentoring relationships
occurring among individuals (de Janasz & Sullivan, 2004).
These relationships form powerful support networks (Brabazon
& Schultz, 2020).

Building a Powerful Network

The respondents are aware of the power of networks, and they
shared that building a powerful network should be a priority for
leaders, as its benefits are innumerable. One of the common
advantages of having a solid network is tapping into the
knowledge, skills, and experiences of people in the network or
communities of practice, which increases one's and others'
capacity. Respondent 10 stated, "Networking helps open up
minds to appreciate diversity, to recognize opportunities, and to
contribute to a wealth of knowledge through the interpersonal
exchange, publishing, and conferencing."

Powerful networks can be a powerful tool for advancing careers,
enabling smoother problem-solving, decision-making, accessing
the latest updates and finding the right industry or research
partners. As Respondent 15 stated, "Building a powerful
network is connecting with the right people at the right time and
sustaining the network." This importance is also reflected in past
studies, which have highlighted the advantages of networking in
terms of career achievements (Forret & Dougherty, 2004), such
as access to information and resources, career sponsorship, and
professional and personal support (Casciaro et al., 2014).

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Although building external networks is possible, doable, and can
be validated, some respondents highlight similar challenges. For
instance, maintaining a robust network for work or research can
be challenging without institutional or top-management support.
Communities of practice and professional learning communities,
which can often foster healthy professional competition, are not
always promoted in higher learning institutions. Contrastingly,
other respondents revealed that their institutions actively
encourage networking, resulting in numerous collaborations for
institutional and staff development with other universities and
new global and local partnerships that are necessary for the
institution's progress. Another respondent noted that building,
sustaining, and maintaining networks are now an almost
automatic agenda item in her institution's daily processes.

The respondents brought up the challenge of linking effort,
ideas, or intentions with a person's affiliation being discouraging.
This is consistent with Gibson et al. (2014), who argued that
networking should be based on having a common purpose which
drives both internal and external networking behaviors, focusing
on the quality and usefulness of the relationships. A respondent
also shared that networks in the higher education industry are not
as open in sharing information as manufacturing networks,
potentially due to the lack of common purpose or usefulness in
sharing information. Respondents also opined that international
connections are more challenging than regional networking,
which is deemed feasible. However, it is still challenging for a
pioneering open university to build powerful networks due to the
lack of local benchmarks to navigate regional and international
networks.

Additionally, the respondents raised the concern that powerful
networks may be affected by the lack of women in senior
positions since most institutions are under male leadership.
Through powerful networks, women leaders are seen as
"creating safe spaces for other women and girls and supporting
one another" (Respondent 15). Despite networking differences
between men and women, female leaders with strong
relationships in their networks have an intensive inner circle of
two or three other women connected to diverse but
non-overlapping contacts (Yang et al., 2019). This tight,
female-dominated inner circle provides the women leaders with
gender-specific information and support, while the more
extensive network provides relevant job market information.
Moreover, McNae and Vali (2015) discovered that networks are
essential for women leaders in higher education in Papua New
Guinea, especially when making decisions. Although some
women in the higher education environment are subject to
nepotism, restricting access to leadership positions, other women
use this system to secure leadership roles. This action highlights
that individual women may view their leadership position as an
opportunity to facilitate the advancement of other women.

Lastly, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, respondents have
discovered that technology has made communication and
networking within and outside of institutions more accessible.
Through online platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and

WhatsApp groups, women leaders can empower other women in
ICT and take advantage of new technologies.

Empowering Women in ICT

All respondents in this study view knowledge of ICT as essential
for leadership. They recognize they are change agents to
empower women in ICT, particularly in the post-pandemic
period. To reach this goal, they emphasize what is required:
lifelong learning, connection to society, recognition of changing
trends, mentorship, and support for ICT at the grassroots level,
opportunities for ICT experiences and participation, and
allocation of ICT resources.

Institutions empower both men and women in ICT, offering
them similar opportunities. During the pandemic, many stories
were shared about the increased use of ICT, particularly among
digital immigrants who found adapting more difficult than
digital natives. Staff and students had to be educated on the
technology to ensure successful online assessments. The
pandemic highlighted the importance of being tech-savvy, and
women began to share knowledge and offer peer guidance in
ICT. Despite this positivity and the increased availability of ICT
training, women leaders still faced challenges in providing equal
opportunities, affordability, and confidence for ICT education,
with funding being a significant barrier. This lack of access to
ICT knowledge, skills and gadgets particularly impacts women.
Furthermore, using and acquiring IT is time-consuming and
requires people to learn in their free time (Muthama et al., 2013).
This situation means that women are disadvantaged, as they
often must prioritize family chores in their free time. As a result,
there is an apparent disparity in technological advancement
between men and women.

Despite women's challenges and limitations when embracing
ICT, the survey respondents recognized the importance of
leveraging new technologies while holding leadership positions
in higher learning institutions. They have come to "gradually
understand the power of social media and how it can help in
decision-making rather than just being more efficient"
(Respondent 1). Leading a higher learning institution in the
post-Covid-19 era requires using crucial new technological tools
and social media to engage with Generation Z students, who are
digital natives. As a result, the teaching and learning processes
have changed to this new normal. One respondent shared that
her institution plans to establish a Development and Training
Academy to arm faculty members with the necessary technical
skills and strategies.

New technologies and social media are powerful communication
tools. Senior et al. (2014) opined that emails are particularly
effective for women faculty leaders in establishing closer ties
with their student community. These interactions could create
inspirational role models for students, helping them to shape
their future aspirations. Ultimately, technology can facilitate
interactions between women faculty leaders and the student
body, thus improving the overall learning environment of the
higher learning institution.

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New technologies and social media are increasingly influential
in daily decision-making, so women leaders must have the
necessary skill set to leverage these tools appropriately. Some
respondents believe it is essential for women leaders to stay
up-to-date on new technologies to ensure their use has no
adverse consequences. Adapting to new technologies is
becoming increasingly important for university leaders, although
not all have fully embraced social media and its potential to
reach a large audience (Sharma et al., 2022). As role models in
their communities, women leaders should strategically use social
media to promote their university's branding and messaging.

With new technologies revolutionizing the higher education
sector, data privacy, distinguishing between trustworthy and
false news, and the digital divide among marginalized
populations are among the worries expressed by respondents
concerning adopting new technologies and social media.
Respondents call for training initiatives to address these
anxieties, especially for older faculty members who may lack
familiarity with the latest technologies.

Championing Climate Change

There is an increased awareness of the necessity to protect the
environment from further harm. As part of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals, SDG 13 encourages climate action to
combat climate change and its implications. Sieghart (2021)
revealed that women are more concerned about climate change
and its potential effects on future generations than men.
Consequently, female leaders are more likely to enact
climate-focused changes that may help reduce global warming.

This present study reinforces that the reality of climate change
has been accepted by the respondents, who have experienced its
effects first-hand. Women have specially adjusted to this new
reality, though unpredictable weather patterns have made
planning and incurring costs more difficult for institutions.
While typically seen as small contributors to the problem,
countries in the tropics still feel the financial strain of climate
change in specific industries and disaster recovery efforts
(Respondent 16). It is widely accepted that climate change could
have severe and detrimental impacts on the environment and
human lives. All the respondents seemed to agree that this is an
issue not to be taken lightly and that everyone should take
responsibility for it: "It is everybody's business" (Respondent 8).

Despite acknowledging the issue, there appears to be a lack of
proactive measures or active initiatives to address it. One person
remarked that there is "no internalization of how much we
contribute toward the destructions that we witness". The
responses showed that there is an underplaying of the systemic
effects of inaction or delayed action. More plans are being
proposed for leaders to address the problem than personal or
institutional initiatives are being implemented. Additionally, the
expressed concerns about the effects of the problem seemed to
be localized. For example, one respondent said the impact had
not been felt much in their country apart from the increasing

temperature. Another person mentioned that countries in the
tropics were not significant contributors.

The overall sentiment is that many tasks must be completed to
address the issue of climate change effectively; convincing
supporters of conspiracy theorists, changing habits and
behaviors, providing a supportive environment, training
mindsets, and raising awareness of practical approaches for daily
practice. The respondents were convinced that acting is
achievable for anyone and that women leaders are particularly
well-suited to lead the charge (Birindelli et al., 2019; Kovaleva
et al., 2022; Pierli et al., 2022). For instance, Pierli et al. (2022)
discovered that women leaders of five companies in Italy
actively promoted and implemented environmental and social
practices due to their natural tendencies to listen, share, and
collaborate. Women leaders who advocate for sustainability
often have a systematic or holistic way of thinking, the ability to
manage complexity, and a commitment to inclusivity in their
leadership approach.

The respondents believe that one can start from the family unit
and be a role model for others. On the educational institution
level, various initiatives have been suggested, such as
developing programs on sustainability as mandated by the Prime
Minister, integrating topics on climate change into classrooms,
conferences, course designs, and business operations, and
recognizing the importance of becoming a green university. On
the macro level, the government and NGOs have numerous
roles; however, the problems encountered in the country are the
lack of monitoring, waste bins, and proper waste disposal
systems.

The lack of tangible initiatives to address the problem of climate
change is evident when one respondent states that there is a
sense of comfort in simply seeing someone else championing the
cause. Respondent 3's remark of "someone needs to take steps to
lead others to do more…" implies that while people are aware of
the damaging effects of climate change, they lack the knowledge
and ownership needed to act.

The respondents raised several challenges climate change poses,
such as resistance to change, difficulty in changing people's
habits and behaviors, and inadequate implementation and
monitoring of climate change policies. This finding is in line
with the findings of Kovaleva et al. (2022), who found that,
despite the increasing participation of women in climate change
issues and decisions in Africa, they face numerous challenges
due to limited knowledge, mentors, and political will.

Women leaders must be equipped with specific skills to face the
challenges ahead successfully. According to Rimita et al. (2020),
foresight, agility, and conscientiousness are critical 21st-century
skills that these leaders need to effectively navigate the volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business landscape.
Foresight is essential for predicting what could happen and
making necessary adjustments. Agility is also critical, enabling
them to respond to changes and adjust their strategies when
needed quickly and effectively. Moreover, conscientiousness

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ensures they have the necessary information to strategize, make
wise and timely decisions, and guide others in taking the right
actions. The ultimate question remains: how can women leaders
enhance their leadership capacities and drive transformations?

Conclusion and Implications

The current study aimed to investigate the perspectives of
women leaders from open learning institutions in
Commonwealth countries regarding their role as educational
leaders in shaping a sustainable future. Their shared thoughts
and experiences showed that the women leaders knew their role
in this pursuit and their challenges. However, what was
sometimes shared indicated the need for more comprehensive or
specific strategies, which could affect implementation when
cascading to lower levels within the institutions. There appears
to be a disconnect between envisioning a sustainable world and
translating that vision into reality through feasible and concerted
actions. This idea could be explored in future research.

The experiences and insights of women leaders have highlighted
several implications for the consideration of other women
leaders in higher education:

1. Women leaders must be provided with mentorship to
succeed. Mentoring offers a secure space to grow and learn
while providing access to valuable networks and
connections.

2. Women leaders need to create strong networks to enact
change. Networking is essential for new ideas and
innovations and provides the opportunity for multiple
perspectives to make better decisions.

3. Women must be empowered in Information and
Communications Technology (ICT). Despite men
dominating the ICT career field, girls and women must be
given equal opportunities. Social media and new
technologies can be used to cultivate global citizens.

4. Women leaders must champion climate change issues.
Universities have started integrating sustainability and
climate change into their curricula and projects, hopefully
inspiring the next generation to become informed and
caring global citizens.

Further insights into nuances from respondents’ narratives could
not be captured due to the limitation in using written surveys to
collect data. Data collected was not rich enough to explain how
distinct country cultures influence representatives’ narratives.
Nevertheless, findings from this study are sufficient to guide
institutions on how to begin or reflect on their sustainability
initiatives.

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