ABSTRACT
Women leaders’ professional lives are shaped at the intersection of multiple complex factors, as reflected in the diversity of female leadership experiences and practices across societies. The discourse of ‘female leadership’ is shaped not just by the biological gender but more importantly by how biological gender is socially constructed in a society at a particular time in history. The complexities of women’s leadership experiences across societies increasingly unveil the interplay of diverse factors including religion, culture and socio-political systems. This chapter draws on a study of women vice chancellors in Pakistan, exploring how these women educational leaders perceived, experienced and practised leadership, drawing attention to the intersections of gender, culture and religion. The discussion focuses on how education and educational concepts and practices in a proclaimed Muslim country such as Pakistan are shaped by its cultural and belief systems that not only shape the discourses of gender and leadership but also determine how gender is constructed and experienced in that context.
