Demystifying underrepresentation of women leaders in higher education: comparative perspectives on gender-based leadership barriers and gender equality

Underrepresentation of women leaders in higher education is a global phenomenon. This qualitative study explores Chinese educational leaders’ lived experiences and comparative perspectives on (under)representation of women leaders and gender equality in Chinese universities. Informed by Chinese feminisms and critical feminist perspectives, the study investigates gender-based leadership barriers at the macro (societal), meso (organisational), and micro (individual) levels. The findings elucidate diverse interpretations regarding leadership and gender equality. The comparative perspectives highlight context-specific complexity and challenge the simplistic male/female binaries often prevalent in leadership and gender research. The study offers nuanced insights into how gendered power relations and leadership are produced and maintained through social and organisational practices. The implications of advancing gender equality in higher education leadership and transcending Western-centrism and nationalism are discussed.