ABSTRACT
All organisations have a ‘climate’ or culture. This may not be visible but it is certainly felt. It becomes concretised over time through values and deeper cultural roots that are reflected in and reinforced by leadership within the organisation. Typically, and historically, for higher educational institutions these dominant (albeit often unrecognised) values have been associated with whiteness and maleness.
The majority of those in leadership positions in higher education globally are men whether this is defined as holding the rector/president/vice chancellor position or that of a full professor (see Chapter 3). Critical leadership studies problematise the concept of leadership as well as asking whether changing the gender profile of those in leadership positions is sufficient to create inclusive organisations. In this chapter we challenge the attractiveness of the concept of leadership and suggest an explicit focus on power; we ask who accesses leadership positions in higher education and the implications of this and present a typology.
