ABSTRACT

There are more women than ever in leadership roles, throughout society, and librariąnship is no exception. More women than ever are assuming roles as leaders in librariąnship, as directors of our professional organizations, as directors of our library education programs, as leaders of thought and vision, and, perhaps most notably, as directors of our libraries small and large, academic, public, and special. Ever since its founding more than a century ago, the library profession has been populated primarily by women, yet led by men. Although this is now changing, ours is still a highly feminized profession in which men continue to hold most of the leadership positions. In 1991, although 80% of the library work force consisted of women, 80% of all management positions were held by men. 1 However, during the last two decades women have made notable strides in reaching library leadership positions, and there is no reason to think that this trend will not continue. 2