Girl Power: Women Leadership in a Multi-Campus Higher Education Institution

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of women campus officials in a multi-campus Higher Education Institution (HEI) like Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (ISPSC). It further aimed to describe and illustrate the leadership manifested by women campus officials in the light of cultural and ethnic diversities among their teachers, students, and other stakeholders. In order to provide a clear discussion on leadership the following leadership theories were utilized in this study: Trait Theory, Behavioral Theory, and Leader-Member Exchange Theory. Furthermore, this study sought to understand the woman leadership from the participants’ experiences in leading multi-campus institution and describe what typifies women campus officials’ portrayal of their roles as relationship managers in their campus. This qualitative study employed case study as its research design since it delved with the officials’ experiences in leading a multi-campus institution. It also looked into what typifies women campus officials’ portrayal of their roles as relationship managers in their campus. The participants of the study were the women campus officials of seven campuses of ISSPC. They were chosen using purposive sampling in which two criteria are set: a) They must have at least 5 years of experience as campus official. b) They are willing to be interviewed and to participate in the study. With these criteria and based on their availability, only 25 participants participated in the study. In gathering pertinent data, an interview guide containing a priori codes was developed. From this interview guide, an aide-mémoire was developed which contained the questions from the developed interview guide. The verbalizations gathered from the interviews were thematically analysed. The themes on the view on women leadership in a multi-campus institution were resilience and adaptability in leadership, collaborative leadership and empowering others, overcoming gender stereotypes and breaking barriers, and strategic vision and long-term impact. Meanwhile the following themes were generated in view of what typifies women campus officials’ portrayal of their roles as relationship managers in their campus: a. nurturing collaborative networks; b. empathetic communication and conflict resolution; c. facilitating student-centered support systems; and d. bridging gaps between administration and campus community. Hence, all findings offer various implications for practice, theory, framework development, education, and policy.