Women in leadership

Abstract

Leadership has been an elusive but ubiquitous phenomenon throughout human history in all societies. For much of global history, women were not present in formal leadership. In the 20th century, two waves of feminism, in the early part of the century and later from the 1960s onwards, challenged the absence of women from traditional arenas of male leadership. Women began to emerge as leaders in politics, business and other fields. However, the number of women in senior leadership positions remains small in relation to the population of women. This session will ask what are the remaining barriers to the emergence of more women leaders ? Are there particular barriers facing women in the global south? What interventions make a difference? Do women behave differently to men in leadership positions?