Making Meaning of Adversity: Experiences of Women Leaders in Higher Education

238 Pages·2016·1.11 MB·English

by  Amy B. Diehl

Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Knowledge Repository @ IUP
Theses and Dissertations (All)
8-20-2013
Making Meaning of Adversity: Experiences of
Women Leaders in Higher Education
Amy B. Diehl
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
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MAKING MEANING OF ADVERSITY:
EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

A Dissertation

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research

in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Amy B. Diehl

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

July 2013
© 2013 Amy B. Diehl

All Rights Reserved
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Indiana University of Pennsylvania
The School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Sociology

We hereby approve the dissertation of

Amy B. Diehl

Candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

______________________ ____________________________________
Susan Boser, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology, Advisor

______________________ ____________________________________
Kathryn Bonach, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology

______________________ ____________________________________
Dana Hysock Witham, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology

ACCEPTED

___________________________________ _____________________
Timothy P. Mack, Ph.D.
Dean
School of Graduate Studies and Research
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Title: Making Meaning of Adversity: Experiences of Women Leaders in Higher Education

Author: Amy B. Diehl

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Susan Boser

Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Kathryn Bonach
Dr. Dana Hysock Witham
Despite the fact that women now earn more bachelor’s, master’s and doctorates than
men, a gender gap for women leaders persists in the field of higher education. Women hold only
26 percent of all college and university presidencies with a large variance by type of institution.
Women lead 33 percent of associate’s level institutions but only 22 percent of doctorate-granting
institutions. Extensive research has demonstrated that women aspiring to and serving as leaders
face many barriers. The objective of this study was to discover the meaning of adversity in the
lives of women leaders in higher education by documenting accounts of women who have
navigated through obstacles, barriers and adversities.
This study used qualitative research to understand the meanings which participants gave
to their experiences with adversity. Twenty-six women holding senior leadership positions in
higher education participated in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted to allow
participants to recall their experiences with adversity and to reflect on the meanings of these
experiences.
Participants experienced wide-ranging types of adversity, including gender-based
leadership barriers. While adversity had a generally positive effect on participant identity, it had
disparate effects on self-esteem, power, connections to others and worldviews. The common
thread was that adversity can lead to growth and opportunity but such benefits are intertwined
with pain and loss.
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To make sense of adversity, participants spent time in a sensemaking cycle, in which they
attributed meanings, chose actions, updated understandings, and revised predictions and
assumptions about the future. Coming to a sense of closure related to participant self-esteem and
empowerment. Participants who were unable to make sense of their adversities experienced
decreased self-esteem and empowerment while participants who found a meaning or concluded
that no meaning exists experienced increased self-esteem and empowerment.
Despite the adversity they have faced, participants in this study have survived, and most
have even thrived. In navigating adversity, these women actively reframed obstacles and barriers
and increased their resilience and self-efficacy.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
No one does it alone. This dissertation would not have been possible without my own
support network. First, to my advisor, Dr. Susan Boser, thank you for taking my project, guiding
me through the qualitative research, analysis and writing process, and for providing thoughtful
feedback and encouragement even from remote locations in Nepal. Thank you Dr. Kathryn
Bonach and Dr. Dana Hysock Witham for your interest in my topic, for your thorough reading
and critique, and for pushing me to do better.
Thank you to Dr. Rick Ruth, my mentor and supervisor, for asking for updates
throughout my Ph.D. program and research project and for sharing your wisdom and advice.
Thank you especially for providing me with the time I needed to work on the research and
writing of this dissertation.
Thank you to numerous colleagues at work. Thank you to Dr. Dennis Mathes for sharing
your dissertation and your research experience with me. Reading your dissertation sparked my
interest in qualitative research and made me realize that completing a dissertation was an
achievable goal. Thank you to Mary Lou Sowden for sharing your enthusiasm for the
Administration & Leadership Studies (ALS) Ph.D. program which led me to enroll in the
program myself. Thank you to Dr. Nellie Cyr for your interest in my topic and your
encouragement to keep going when it seemed there was no end in sight.
Thank you to my management team (Bill Pooler, Dana Denlinger, Ravi Anne, Andrea
Rosenberry, John Vandebrake and Trudy Smith) for picking up the slack while I was gone.
Thank you to my ALS cohort-mates for sharing the ups and downs of this transformative
experience. Especially thank you to Susan Donat and Christina Yoder for our monthly meet-ups
and for your support and feedback throughout the research process. Thank you to Dr. Amber
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Stephenson for going through dissertation defense first and for sharing your experience and
encouragement.
Thank you to my numerous friends (Laura & Jeff, Ieva & Mike, Caren, Seth & Renee,
Elise, and Erin) for sharing your homes with me for needed R&R time, for asking for updates
about my project, for listening with genuine interest, and for sharing life with me.
Thank you to my mom for being an example of excellence in all you do both at work and
at home. Thank you to my family for always being there for me: my parents, Gary and Thelma;
my brothers, Andrew and Anthony; my sisters-in-law, Amy and Danielle; and my nephews,
Zachary and Benjamin. Thank you to Mom and Danielle for so many delicious home-cooked
meals while I’ve been busy with school and writing.
Most importantly---my 26 participants. This is your story. Thank you for your candor,
honesty, sharing and encouragement. You are truly inspirations. It is my hope that your stories
will inspire readers of this dissertation just as you inspired me.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 13 
Terminology .................................................................................................................. 14 
Definitions ................................................................................................................. 15 
Typical University Leadership Structure .................................................................. 15 
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 18 
Rationale and Significance ............................................................................................ 23 
Gendered Institutions ................................................................................................ 24 
Feminist Standpoint Theory ...................................................................................... 26 
Gender-Based Leadership Barriers ........................................................................... 27 
Gender Diversity ....................................................................................................... 28 
Significance ............................................................................................................... 31 
Research on Women in Leadership .............................................................................. 32 
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 36 
Meaning-Making ........................................................................................................... 36 
Symbolic Interactionism ........................................................................................... 37 
Social Constructivism ............................................................................................... 37 
Sensemaking ............................................................................................................. 39 
Meaning-Making and Adversity ............................................................................... 41 
Historical Background .................................................................................................. 42 
Women’s Education .................................................................................................. 42 
Women Faculty ......................................................................................................... 48 
Gender-Based Leadership Barriers ............................................................................... 54 
Macro Level Barriers ................................................................................................ 57 
Meso Level Barriers .................................................................................................. 64 
Micro Level Barriers ................................................................................................. 73 
Meaning of Adversity Research .................................................................................... 78 
Individuals ................................................................................................................. 79 
Leaders ...................................................................................................................... 80 
Women Leaders in Higher Education ....................................................................... 80 
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Chapter Page
3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 82 
Qualitative Research Design ......................................................................................... 82 
Research Paradigm ........................................................................................................ 83 
Researcher Positionality ................................................................................................ 83 
Sampling Strategy ......................................................................................................... 85 
Sample Method ......................................................................................................... 86 
Sample Size ............................................................................................................... 87 
Participant Variation ................................................................................................. 89 
Data Collection Methods .............................................................................................. 95 
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 96 
Data Collection and Transcription ............................................................................ 97 
Data Coding .............................................................................................................. 97 
Logical Analysis ....................................................................................................... 97 
Interpretive Analysis ................................................................................................. 98 
Qualitative Research Software .................................................................................. 98 
Representation of Findings ........................................................................................... 98 
Data Quality .................................................................................................................. 99 
Member Checks ........................................................................................................ 99 
Peer Debriefing ....................................................................................................... 100 
Negative Case Analysis .......................................................................................... 101 
Progressive Subjectivity .......................................................................................... 101 
4 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 103 
Types of Adversity ...................................................................................................... 103 
Strategies to Overcome Adversity .............................................................................. 108 
Meanings ..................................................................................................................... 114 
Micro Level: Identity .............................................................................................. 117 
Micro Level: Self-esteem ........................................................................................ 124 
Micro Level: Power ................................................................................................ 132 
Meso Level: Connection ......................................................................................... 141 
Macro Level: Worldview ........................................................................................ 148 
Experiences of African-American Participants ........................................................... 152 
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 154 
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