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Using support mechanisms to balance work and family life: how mid and senior level student affairs administrators overcome challenges

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Using support mechanisms to balance work and family life: how mid and senior level student affairs administrators overcome challenges

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USING SUPPORT MECHANISMS TO BALANCE WORK AND FAMILY LIFE: HOW MID AND
SENIOR LEVEL STUDENT AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATORS OVERCOME CHALLENGES

by

Aba DeLynda Cassell

___________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2012

Copyright 2012 Aba DeLynda Cassell

ii

Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to the many people who have
supported me throughout this arduous process.
Dr. Stowe, thank you for your patience, your tough love, and your
encouragement. Being a member of your group has truly been meaningful to me. To
Drs. Malloy and Picus, thank you for your support, your willingness to participate on my
committee, and your input which allowed me to create a meaningful study. To my
thematic group mates (Hasmig, Veronica, Sandy, Carolyn, & Julie), we made it! Thank
you for the opportunity to support each other and to share experiences good and
overwhelming, throughout the process.
To my mom, I love you. You have been on this emotional roller coaster ride with
me and I thank you for your constant encouragement, reassurance, love, and support.
To my honey, La Mar, you too have had a seat on this ride, thank you for always
making me laugh, listening to my concerns, and reminding me that it would all work out.
To my boss, Dianne, thank you for checking in on me and asking how the process
was going. Your understanding and support will always mean a lot to me.
To Cecy, thank you for being my writing buddy. Amber, my editor, I really
appreciate you!
To my family, sands, friends, and colleagues you have all supported me and made
me feel that I was one step closer to my goal. Your constant encouragement continued to
inspire me and kept me motivated.
From the bottom of my heart, Thank you!
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii
List of Figures ......................................................................................................................v
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vi

Chapter One: Overview of the Study ...............................................................................1
Background of the Study .....................................................................................................2
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................10
Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................11
Research Questions ............................................................................................................12
Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................12
Assumptions .......................................................................................................................13
Limitations of the Study.....................................................................................................14
Delimitations of the Study .................................................................................................14
Definition of Terms............................................................................................................15
Organization of the Study ..................................................................................................16

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature.........................................................................17
Social Role & Expectancy Theory .....................................................................................19
Societal Expectations .........................................................................................................23
External Barriers ....................................................................................................26
Glass Ceiling ..............................................................................................27
The Old Boys Network ..............................................................................29
The Queen Bee Syndrome .........................................................................30
Internal Barriers .....................................................................................................32
Leadership ..........................................................................................................................36
Support Systems ................................................................................................................42
Family and Friends ................................................................................................43
Employers and Colleagues .....................................................................................44
Mentoring ...........................................................................................................................46
Role Models ...........................................................................................................48
Challenges to Support ........................................................................................................49
Attrition ..................................................................................................................52
Strategies ............................................................................................................................54
Priority Identification .............................................................................................54
Outsourcing ............................................................................................................55
Achieving Balance .................................................................................................55
Summary ............................................................................................................................56

iv

Chapter Three: Research Methodology.........................................................................59
Research Design.................................................................................................................60
Sample and Population ..........................................................................................61
Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................62
Data Collection ......................................................................................................63
Instrumentation ......................................................................................................65
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................66
Ethical Considerations ...........................................................................................68

Chapter Four: Findings ...................................................................................................70
Participants .........................................................................................................................71
Research Questions ............................................................................................................74
Research Question #1 Analysis .........................................................................................76
Research Question #2 Analysis .........................................................................................95
Research Question #3 Analysis .......................................................................................112
Summary ..........................................................................................................................126

Chapter Five: Discussion and Implication of Findings .............................................127
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................128
Research Questions ..........................................................................................................129
Summary of the Findings ................................................................................................129
Implications for Practice and Policy ................................................................................133
Recommendations for Future Research ...........................................................................137
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................140

References ................................................................................................................................. 141
Appendices ......................................................................................................................145
Appendix A: Recruitment Letter .........................................................................145
Appendix B: Interview Questions ........................................................................146
Appendix C: Office Observation Checklist .........................................................148
Appendix D: Activity Log Questions ..................................................................149
Appendix E Interview Questions for family member, colleague, or mentor .......151
Appendix F: Matrix of Interview Protocol to Research Questions......................152

v

List of Figures

Figure 1: Blackhurst’s Chart for Life Satisfaction 40
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework 63
Figure 3: Interview Question Matrix 66
Figure 4: Creswell’s Model for Qualitative Analysis 68
Figure 5: Participant Overview 71
Figure 6: Overview of Themes 75
Figure 7: Perceived Barriers toward Leadership Advancement 76
Figure 8: Support Mechanisms used by Participants 96
Figure 9: Mentor/Role Models Relationships 105
Figure 10: Strategies for Balancing Work and Family Life 113

vi

Abstract
Female student affairs leaders who also have family responsibilities find that a
primary challenge they encounter is society’s expectations concerning their roles and
responsibilities in both realms. Research discovers that women experience internal and
external barriers that hinder their advancement opportunities however; women’s success
is attributed to multiple support mechanisms specifically family, employers, peers, and
mentor/role models. Additionally, research finds that there is no ‘one size fits all’
solution for women to balance, so finding what works is most important.
Women in student affairs positions also have a difficult time coordinating both
work and family lives due to the demanding nature of their careers. They find that too
often the time commitment of their jobs cuts into quality time with their loved ones
forcing them to prioritize. Nonetheless, the question remains, how do successful senior
level female student affairs administrators establish strategies for success?
The purpose of the study has three parts: to identify support systems utilized by
senior level women leaders, the challenges they experience, and the strategies they
establish to allow them to effectively maintain work and family life balance. The study
will be conducted using interviews, office observations, referral interviews, document
review, and activity logs. A case study design allows for an in-depth study of events and
experiences in the lives of the participants. The study will document three senior level
women leaders who work in higher education with diverse populations.

vii

The data will be analyzed using Creswell’s six steps and a qualitative methodology to
better understand the challenges, supports, and strategies that senior level student affairs
administrators experience in attempting to balance their work and family lives.

1

Chapter 1: Overview of the Study
Sustaining work-life balance is a challenge for many female leaders with families
in student affairs positions at colleges and universities. Balance for the purpose of this
study is defined as “meeting and fulfilling the demands within one’s personal and
professional life in alignment with one’s needs, values, priorities, and the demands placed
on them” (Beeny, Guthrie, and Terrell, 2005, p. 138). Female leaders who have familial
responsibilities find that a primary challenge they encounter is society’s expectations
concerning their roles and responsibilities. These expectations force them to examine
internal and external barriers that affect their choices along with their ability to advance
professionally (Growe, 2000; Searby & Tripses, 2006). Consequently, some female
student affairs administrators are discouraged by these challenges and choose to leave the
field entirely. For those who remain, a key factor influencing their decision stems from
available support mechanisms. These women find support from family, employers, and
mentor/role models to be the most essential component in their career development and
their ability to contribute at home (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008; Mendez-Morse, 2004).
They also find that too often their work lives cut into time with their loved ones and
forces them to choose between the two.
Women in midlevel student affairs positions have an increasingly difficult time
coordinating both work and family life due to the demanding nature of their careers. The
overwhelming nature of the job means that many times they have to work late, take work
home, or are on call for work related activities (Komives & Woodard, 2003). Since
student affairs work is primarily related to student assistance and development, they work
2

in many capacities ranging from admissions to technology all while serving various types
of student needs. Despite these challenges, a growing percentage of female leaders who
are successful in their careers are also succeeding at balancing family and work life
(Cheung & Halpern, 2010). Although women have made great advances in the field,
more information is needed to determine what strategies for success may assist other
women in similar positions (Cheung & Halpern, 2010).
Background of the Study
The study will explore the roles and responsibilities of mid and senior level
female professionals with family lives. It is essential to understand these roles along with
the challenges and support mechanisms that allow women in student affairs to be
successful. This section will explore the following areas: historical context of women as
educators, societal expectations, leadership, support systems, and strategies for balancing.
Historical Context of Women as Educators
Women transitioned from wives and mothers to career professionals during World
War II when men went to fight for the country and women found themselves needing to
join the work force to support their families. In academia, women were often placed in
positions such as Dean of Women, the intent being that they would serve as both
advocates for students and as disciplinarians for female students (Astin & Leland, 1991).
They were thought to be a good fit for these roles because of their caring and nurturing
personas along with their ability to make others feel a sense of pride, respect, excitement,
and optimism about setting and achieving goals (Dulin, 2007). These characteristics
proved effective and under the direction of the Dean of Women, the degree completion
3

rates of female students increased. Since then, the number of women in the workplace
has steadily grown which has made many employers who did not support working
women, uncomfortable (Coronel et al, 2010; Duffy, 2010). Moreover, the increase of
women in the workplace has not changed society’s acceptance of women’s need to
balance intimate relationships, work, and family. This lack of acceptance according to
Loder (2005) was “arguably the foremost equity problem for working women in the 21
st

century” (p. 744).
Although female administrators have made great progress in their roles as Dean of
Women, their contributions were set aside when men returned home from World War II.
They were immediately removed from their positions and were expected to return to their
roles in the home. Since a ‘women’s place was in the home,’ society supported these
ideals and placed a great deal of pressure on women to comply (Eisenmann, 2005).
Furthermore, societal expectations greatly influenced women’s decisions.
Societal Expectations
Historically, the struggle to balance work and home life stems from managing
societal expectations surrounding work and family life (Knopik & Moerer, 2008).
Societal expectations reinforce the idea that women should stay home and take care of
their families (Hanson, 1991; Raskin, 2006). This was demonstrated in the early 1900’s
when over half of all American wives were housewives (Hansen, 1991; Raskin, 2006).
Once women decided to begin working, many were plagued with criticism about their
priorities. Despite this criticism, some women worked while others chose to attend
school to further their educations; those who chose to attend school received mixed
4

messages. Many in society felt that it was acceptable for women to pursue an education,
as long as the courses they took could be applied to their home lives. Societal pressures
forced a perception of how women were to view themselves and to create their decisions
about both career and family lives. This criticism created feelings of self doubt and guilt
that women internalized. Moreover, internal and external pressures as a result of societal
expectations, made the task of maintaining both work and family lives increasingly
difficult (Cheung & Halpern, 2010; Coronel et al, 2010).
Traditionally, female leaders in student affairs have faced barriers while working
in higher education. They still face external pressures or obstacles outside of their
control on the job such as, the glass ceiling, the old boys’ network, and the queen bee
syndrome (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Coronel et al 2010). These external
pressures were the most significant in contributing to the challenges and barriers that
women faced.
The glass ceiling is defined as an unexplainable and artificial barrier that has
halted the advancement of many women and minorities through their administrative
careers despite their qualifications (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Scanlon, 1997). A
great deal of research refers to the glass ceiling as a primary mechanism that prevents the
advancement of women from midlevel to senior level administration positions
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Coronel et al 2010; Scanlon, 1997). The continuation
of the glass ceiling is based on society’s perceptions of women’s roles along with
5

unsupportive workplace mechanisms, for example employers overlooking qualified
women when making promotion decisions. A subsequent gender related barrier is the old
boys’ network.
The old boys’ network idea is fostered by older men supporting and mentoring
younger men to nurture their leadership development and assure that they will be the next
leaders in the organization, in contrast to female administrators in the field who have to
fend for themselves (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Méndez-Morse, 2004; Searby &
Tripses, 2006). This network is closed to women based solely on their gender and limits
opportunities for making connections or creating mentoring relationships within. A more
recently recognized barrier is the queen bee syndrome which involves women
discriminating against other women.
A queen bee leader is a woman who either wants to be one of the few women
with leadership power, or who feels threatened by other aspiring women, causing her to
refuse to help them or help in unconventional ways (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010).
This fear of queen bee’s taking advantage or competing in ‘support’ relationships has
gravely impaired women on the path to leadership and discouraged mentor seeking
(Searby & Tripses, 2006). External barriers are often present and appear to heavily
influence advancement decisions for women. However, these are not the only barriers
that female student affairs administrators must endure.
Oftentimes, the internal or self inflicted pressures women in student affairs feel in
attempting to fulfill both of these responsibilities successfully are not discussed. Internal
barriers are defined in this study as personal barriers in which an individual needs to
6

make changes. These barriers can be driven by sacrifices, dissatisfaction, and feelings of
guilt and stress, which can lead to attrition (Guendouzi, 2006). Many times, neglecting
the self-renewal and personal development aspects of both personal and professional well
being can be hazardous to their health and detrimental to women’s success (Havice &
Williams, 2005; Marshall 2009; Reisser, 2002). In essence, women who are too giving to
both their careers and families will burnout. In contrast, if women decide to put their
careers at the forefront, they fear that others will view them as selfish and question their
ability to be good mothers. As a result, some women choose to sacrifice their own needs
to meet the demands of their family’s needs (Guendouzi, 2006). Internal barriers can
simply get in the way of leadership advancement and midlevel women who are
determined to advance must figure out how to overcome these barriers to move toward
success.
Leadership
Midlevel female student affairs leaders in education have struggled to balance
work and family life along with advancement (Coronel et al, 2010). Throughout this
struggle their abilities to lead effectively has been questioned and doubted. Many women
have found success in using a transformational leadership model (Cheung & Halpern,
2010). Transformational leadership emphasizes shared governance and empowering
employees. This method of leading proved effective for women and as a result,
advancement of women gained momentum. In 2008, women accounted for 63% of the
administrative staff in student affairs (American Council on Education, 2008). Moreover,
they held 45% of the midlevel leadership positions in student affairs. As a mechanism to
7

shorten the length of time they would spend in midlevel positions, many women returned
to school to advance their educations (Blackhurst et al, 1998).
Based on degrees conferred in education in 2007-2008, women outnumbered men
in degree attainment at all levels. At the Masters level, they earned three times (40,055
men /135,825 women) more degrees and twice (2,773 men / 7,517 women) as many
degrees at the doctoral level as men (Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, 2010-
2011). Women in the field of education used degree attainment as a mechanism to
increase their qualifications and expedite the promotion process. Additionally, the
number of women in the field is predicted to increase in the near future in all categories
(Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, 2010-2011).
Most women are determined to ‘have it all’; the career and the family (Cheung &
Halpern, 2010; Coronel et al, 2010; Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008). To accomplish this
goal, women have found ways to overcome personal and professional challenges and
utilize support systems available to them and those they have created (Loder, 2005).
Various forms of support have aided women leaders in achieving work and family life
balance, however women administrators credit family support as most important in
finding balance (Marcinkus et al, 2007).
Support Systems
Women who are able to balance work and family life attribute their success to
strong support systems, family, employers, mentors, and role models. Support systems
are defined as people who have a strong interest in the success of an individual and a
willingness to provide assistance to help ensure that success (Myers & Ginsberg, 1994).
8

These support systems appear to be the key to women ‘having it all’ (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010). Of the support systems that will be discussed, family is the most
essential.
Moreover, family support is said to be significant for women student affairs
leaders attempting to achieve educational and career goals (Marcinkus et al, 2007;
Méndez-Morse, 2004). Some studies suggest that a significant amount of the support
comes from family members and close friends other than spouses (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010; Guendouzi, 2006). This support also includes spouses who, care for
children while women work, restructure their work schedules to accommodate the family,
and are willing to relocate for a spouse’s career advancement.
A majority of women find support in employers and colleagues, which aids in
their ability to balance the work part of their lives (Ten Brummelhuis & Van Der Lippe
2010). Marcinkus et al (2007) explained that “social support has positive consequences
for improving health, reducing stress, and mitigating work-family conflict,” which can
counteract some of the above mentioned challenges (p. 86). For most women, support is
what they needed to feel successful in their careers and secure in the care of their families
in their absence (Méndez-Morse, 2004).
Significant support relationships such as mentoring and role models provide
guidance to help women achieve success in their careers (Searby & Tripses, 2006).
Mentoring relationships appear to be the more influential of the two (Méndez-Morse,
2004). Role model relationships are also effective and act as an alternative to formalized
mentoring relationships.
9

In contrast, a lack of support professionally has a negative impact on women and
their ability to balance work and family. Lack of support from employer relationships
along with work policies can lead to less job satisfaction, less organizational
commitment, and greater turnover (Marcinkus et al, 2007). There are many challenges
facing women student affairs leaders who hope to advance their careers while having
successful home lives. In order to overcome these challenges it is imperative to identify
strategies for success.
Strategies for Balancing
Research has found that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for women to
balance work and family life (Loder, 2005). Therefore, it is important that women adapt
strategies that work for their lifestyles in order to balance both realms (Cheung &
Halpern, 2010). A number of researchers offer suggestions for solutions that may work
for working professional women such as, priority identification and outsourcing. Priority
identification means setting goals and determining a plan of attack to accomplish these
goals. This allows women to merge their two separate roles into one essential role,
allowing the essential responsibilities to take precedence. Next, outsourcing as a means
of support consists of hiring help when time and material resources are limited
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Cheung & Halpern, 2010). Outsourcing would allow
women to spend more quality time with their families without the pressures of
completing household tasks.
10

These strategies along with others are utilized by women to create balance in their
lives however, guidance in determining additional strategies and constructing effective
plans for successful navigation of work and home lives needs to be further explored.
Statement of the Problem

Senior level women in student affairs continue to be underrepresented in
leadership positions due to lack of support to overcome challenges in the field of
education (Cheung, & Halpern, 2010; Killingsworth et al, 2010; Trinidad & Normore,
2005). This lack of female representation is not due to a lack of hard work or effort. To
get approval in the workplace, women find themselves working harder, putting in longer
hours, and making greater sacrifices. Many agree that women in student affairs are
expected to dedicate their complete selves to the field in order to be successful (Beeny,
Guthrie, Rhodes, & Terrell, 2005). Yet, the lack of professional support and
advancement opportunities is still prevalent and exists in the form of societal
expectations, internal and external barriers, gender bias, and a lack of satisfaction that
prevents midlevel student affairs administrators from effectively balancing their work and
family lives. Additionally, midlevel women administrators are taking on more
responsibility at home even when they have supportive spouses (Ezzedeen & Ritchey,
2008). Moreover, statistics show an increasing population of women finding ways to
effectively balance both work and home responsibilities (Cheung & Halpern, 2010).
These methods for balancing need to be widely shared.
Societal based challenges create barriers for women in their professional roles and
as their roles as mothers. Approaches to overcome existing challenges are necessary to
11

aid in the continued advancement of female student affairs leaders. Women who succeed
continue to strive to overcome these difficulties by building support systems, continuing
their educations, and creating strategies that help them to be successful. They determine
a plan that works for their specific lives and their families. As a result, more balancing
strategies for success need to be determined. Also, strategies for successfully
overcoming challenges and creating support networks to move towards advancement
opportunities need to be established.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, to determine what support systems
help women leaders in student affairs balance family and work life. In an effort to
support aspiring women leaders in the field, strategies of success must be shared by
accomplished mid and level women student affairs leaders, along with methods for
balancing. Second, to understand the challenges that women student affairs professionals
have faced in their quest for leadership roles. Identifying challenges and barriers will
provide concrete examples of various types of experiences women encounter in the field
(Ten Brummelhuis & Van Der Lippe, 2010). Moreover, addressing some of these
challenges that women face creates greater awareness of the issues and allows for allies
to support women’s advancement. Third, to use the information learned from support
systems utilized by women leaders, and the challenges they experience to establish
effective strategies, or work-life policies, to allow women to effectively maintain work
and family life balance (Ten Brummelhuis & Van Der Lippe, 2010). It is essential to
12

discover additional strategies in order to aid the success of as many female student affairs
leaders as possible and to encourage aspiring women leaders to progress in the field of
education.
Research Questions

The research questions for this study are:
1. What challenges do female student affairs leaders experience in balancing work
and family life?
2. What kinds of support systems are perceived to help female leaders maintain
work life balance?
3. What strategies do female leaders in student affairs use to maintain family and
work life balance?
Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is to make a positive contribution in the field of
education by examining mechanisms that affect the ability of female leaders in student
affairs to balance family and work life. By examining the challenges and support
systems available for female student affairs leaders, it may be possible to determine
strategies to aid them in meeting their goals of having both a career and a family. In an
effort to determine why some women achieve leadership success, it is essential to explore
the challenges and support systems women experience on their professional journey.
However, losing women in the field due to the difficulty of balancing work and
family has multiple negative implications (Jo, 2008; Marcinkus et al, 2007). Since
women make up more than half of the administrative staff in most universities and are
13

credited for maintaining an influential spirit and bringing vitality of the university, their
absence would be evident. Also, women are in roles of trust and are heavily relied on by
faculty and students to function effectively (Rosser, 2000). Besides, with the loss of
women, character assets that they provide would be lost such as, building relationships,
communication, consensus building, etc. (Trinidad & Normore 2005). Strategies for
success are necessary to guide, encourage, empower and create awareness for aspiring
female leaders. Moreover, in the field of education, practitioners need to be able to
access this information to affect change in educational practices and policies to allow
female leaders to increase their ability to balance work and family life.
Assumptions
For the purpose of this study, it is assumed that:
1. Procedures and methods were administered and implemented under highly ethical
standards.
2. Participants answered questions honestly.
3. All participants were maintaining balance, had families, and were working in
mid-level or senior level administrative student affairs positions.
4. This study would provide valuable information that would contribute to the field,
and interviewing these participants were representative of the specified
population.

14

Limitations of the Study

In this study, the limitations were:
1. The study was limited to a small and unique sample. Three case studies of mid-
level or senior level female student affairs professionals were used.
2. That such a small sample size prohibits generalization of the findings.
3. Time was a limitation as the study needed to be completed within an 8-10 week
period.
Delimitations of the Study
For this study the delimitations were:
1. The study design was a case study that focused on the accomplishments,
challenges, and success of three mid-level or senior level female student affairs
professionals who are able to balance work and family life.
2. The study is specific to mid-level or senior level female student affairs
professionals in California and should have some characteristics of similar
experiences.
3. The study was limited to 3-6 interviews a total of 4-6 hours over a period of two
months with each participant. I also conducted one interview with a member of
the participant’s selection: a mentor, colleague, family member, dependant over
18, or a spouse.
4. Repeated contact with the participants was made. They were asked to keep an
activity log describing work and family challenges and successes during the
study.
15

5. A work place observation was conducted to establish a connection between work
and home life.
6. Work family leave policies, job descriptions, and resumes were used to provide a
context for the women’s responsibilities at work.
Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this study, the following terms are defined as:

1. Balance: “meeting and fulfilling the demands within one’s personal and
professional life in alignment with one’s needs, values, priorities, and the
demands placed on them” (Beeny, Guthrie, & Terrell, 2005).
2. External barrier: an obstacle outside of one's control.
3. Glass Ceiling: “an unexplainable and artificial barrier that has halted the
advancement of many women and minorities through their administrative careers
despite their qualifications” (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Scanlon, 1997).
4. Internal barriers: personal barriers in which an individual needs to make changes.
5. Support Systems: “a person or persons who have a strong interest in the success
of an individual and a willingness to provide assistance to help ensure that
success” (Myers & Ginsberg, 1994).
6. Urban: Located within a densely populated and culturally, ethnically, and
economically diverse community or within a densely populated metropolis with
high concentrations of students of color.

16

Organization of Study
This study consists of five chapters. The first chapter discusses the background,
statement of the problem, purpose of the study, and significance of the study. In the first
section of chapter one, the background of the topic explained why women leaders have
historically continued to struggle to balance work and family life. An overview of the
challenges and support systems available to women to help them succeed in these two
arenas was also discussed. The second chapter is the review of the literature. It consists
of multiple main sections: social role theory and expectancy theory, societal expectations,
leadership and its impact on women, support systems, mentoring, and strategies. There
are also subsections: external and internal barriers, attrition, specific support types, and
challenges to support. The third chapter thoroughly describes the research methodology
including the research protocol and conceptual framework. Chapter four is the analysis
of the qualitative study along with theme identification. The research questions will be
answered and a full discussion of themes based on the data will be revealed. The fifth
and final chapter consists of the summary of the findings, implications for practice and
policy, recommendations for future research, and the conclusion, which will complete the
study.
17

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
It had been commonly known that women climbing the professional ladder would
face challenges and barriers such as, gender bias, lack of support, and societal
expectations (Coronel, Moreno, & Carrasco, 2010; Growe, 2000; Knopik & Moerer,
2008; Searby & Tripses, 2006). This review of the literature will further explore some of
the specific challenges that female student affairs professionals have faced in their quest
for leadership advancement. Gender bias presented in the form of the glass ceiling and
old boys’ networks have historically prevented opportunities for women to advance in the
work place. These challenges turned into missed opportunities when employers
overlooked qualified women when making promotion decisions. Oftentimes these
decisions were made based on societal expectations of the role of women. All of the
above barriers limit women’s ability to achieve career goals-in the field of education, as
well as influence their desire to move from mid-level student affairs administration to
senior-level administrators (Guendouzi, 2006; Jo, 2008; Loder, 2005; Searby & Tripses,
2006).
However, women who were able to maintain successful work and family lives did
so when support mechanisms such as family, employers and mentors were available
(Cheung & Halpern, 2010; Ezzedeen & Richey, 2008; Méndez-Morse, 2004).
Furthermore, family support was the most important factor. Having supportive spouses,
partners, parents, and siblings coupled with having employers who were understanding
and allowed for more flexible scheduling helped women feel they could manage both
realms (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Ten Brummelhuis & Van Der Lippe, 2010).
18

Employer support included clearly stated policies that acknowledged family and
maternity leave, and sent the message that employee’s responsibilities outside of their
work capacity were valued. Additionally, mentoring either formal or informal was a
support mechanism that has aided many women in reaching their goals (Betz &
Fitzgerald, 1987; Elkin, 2006; Schmidt & Wolfe, 2009; Searby & Tripses, 2006).
Women found that advice from someone who has similar experiences in the field was an
invaluable contribution to their success. Many women who are student affairs leaders
were able to use the experiences of others along with their support systems to devise
strategies that aided their success and allowed them to continue to make strides in their
personal and professional lives.
The research surrounding female leader’s quest to maintain work and family lives
is vast. From social role theory and expectancy theory which provide two theoretical
backgrounds and further explain the significance of the various roles women hold (Allen,
1995; Dulin, 2007) to societal expectations which bring external and internal barriers
related to the struggle women experience in their roles as mothers and working
professionals. How these barriers impact women’s ability to advance in leadership is
addressed and a discussion surrounding the importance of various support systems at
home and work is reviewed. Mentoring and role models supplemented the support
section, along with challenges to support systems. These challenges and lack of support
amplifies feelings affiliated with discontent and increases the likelihood that women will
leave the field entirely making attrition the final point of focus in the challenges section.
19

The final segment presents strategies from professionals in the field to aid female student
affairs leaders in achieving balance at work and home.
The review begins with the social role and expectancy theories which outline the
theoretical framework of the study. Social role theory addresses the origin of the barriers
that exist for professional women by exploring gender roles versus social roles. While
expectancy theory explores how women determine the desire to advance.
Social Role and Expectancy Theory
Two theories, social role theory and expectancy theory, are utilized to explain the
mechanisms that influence the behavior of female leaders. The topic of female student
affairs leaders and work-family life balance has many complex dimensions. In order to
understand these dimensions, it is essential to understand the philosophies that impact the
actions and behaviors of women. First, social role theory is based on relationships and
how women interact with individuals, groups, and society in general (Dulin, 2007).
These interactions affect how women feel and their beliefs of society’s perceptions and
attitude towards them. Second, expectancy theory suggests that women are motivated by
specific aspects that they value in their lives or that make up their self concept, i.e.
promotion and family (Allen, 1995). Self concept or efficacy derives from a person’s
ability to be successful in work.
Social role theory was developed during the 1980’s by Eagly and explored the
interactions between people, groups and society, as well as economic systems (Dulin,
2007). These economic systems were driven by social structures, family, community,
and organizations which were key influences in the lives of women and men. The
20

motivation behind the social role theory was to evaluate what mechanisms controlled
behavior of adult men and women and how the mechanisms were different based on
gender (Eagly, 1987). In social role theory, the differences between men and women
were divided into two dimensions: agentic and communal. The dimension that directly
affected women was communal and related to being selfless, concerned for others and a
desire to be on one accord with others (Eagly & Carli, 2003). For many women, this
desire to advocate for students is evident in the choice made to enter the field of
education; where women are expected to give of themselves and their time tirelessly
(Astin & Leland, 1991; Komives & Woodard, 2003). Most importantly, Eagly’s (1987)
research verified that society had defined gender roles that were set for both men and
women, which made gender roles a pertinent issue. Eagly (1987) discovered that
behavior depended more on how people were treated by society over how they were
raised. In other words, societal implications had a more significant effect on behavior.
For instance, men were expected to be the provider and not fully involved in the familial
aspects of their lives, while women were the caretakers. Eagly also explained that people
typically acted according to expected behavior, which continued to perpetuate gender
differences. For instance, women were more inclined to feel guilt and stress about
working and being away from home due to pressures from society to be “good” mothers
and “wives” (Astin & Leland, 1991). To counteract the pressure, women had
relationships with their families that contributed to their feelings of security when they
were working, helped with taking care of home responsibilities aside from child care, and
that encouraged them to accomplish their goals. Women’s ability to take care of home
21

while remaining work professionals, demonstrates their development of sense of self and
understanding of their strength and talent in a changing environment, according to social
role theory (Powell, 2009).
Additionally, in regards to the work environment, social role theory’s
identification of gender roles demonstrated how stereotypes put female leadership styles
at a disadvantage. Men were more respected leaders who endured less judgment than
effective women leaders in the same types of roles based on gender stereotypes, which
signified that gendered division of labor presumed that men and women occupied
different occupational and family roles (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). Still, women
were found to be effective leaders, more so when their roles involved the above
communal characteristics, like placing the welfare of others before themselves (Dulin,
2007). This self-sacrificial attitude tended to be a characteristic of women working in
student affairs. They had to maintain positive relationships with their employers because
it will ultimately affect their ability to adjust their schedules to spend time with their
families, be promoted from mid to senior level positions in their field, or feel satisfied
and supported in their work environments.
Expectancy theory addressed women’s actions based on values about themselves.
Allen (1995) used expectancy theory to explore the process of motivation and
mechanisms that linked rewards to behavior for the individual. It was based on the idea
that the more attractive something looked, the more effort a person would use to achieve
it. Expectancy theory was developed in 1964 by Vroom to explain an individual’s
motivation to make, “choices, expend effort, and complete tasks” (Friedman, Cox, &
22

Maher, 2008, p. 582). In expectancy theory, motivation was divided into three
components: expectancy, outcomes and value. The belief was that effort would lead to
performance, performance would lead to outcomes, and values would develop based on
these outcomes. A woman’s desire to have a successful work and family life was the
driving force behind this theory. An increase of effort occurred only when the individual
saw a link between her actions and her desired reward. Allen (1995) explained that for
female leaders, the desire was to advance from midlevel student affairs administrators to
positions as senior-level administrators. These goals caused them to work above and
beyond their roles, take on a great deal of responsibility and give up their free time
(Coronel et al, 2010). The desire of many career women with families was also to have
significant roles in the lives of their children so they rearranged their schedules, gave up
sleep and sacrificed their health to achieve their goals (Allen, 1995). Additionally, time
was a frequently discussed value. Few women wanted to take on additional
responsibilities that would take them away from their families. This prevented the
fostering of new relationships. For example, women discussed not having a mentor
although they knew of the potential benefits. Moreover, spending additional time outside
of work golfing with “the guys,” as a means of networking was not appealing for women
who already felt guilty about being away from home for work activities (Guendouzi,
2006). Expectancy theory allowed women to re-evaluate these negative experiences and
estimates of their self-efficacy to determine the best strategies to utilize their efforts.
In both theories, women could be motivated by the desire to lead. In social role
theory, leading allowed women to have greater contact with people, groups, etc and
23

allowed them to foster more meaningful relationships. In expectancy theory, leading
allowed women to reach their goals and to have some autonomy to determine how they
would spend their time at work and home. Again, both theories influenced behavior in
different ways. Expectancy values were subjective and influenced by a woman’s
perception of herself and social role dimensions were subjective and influenced by
society’s perception of gender.
Social role and expectancy theories addressed the origins of the pressures women
experienced from society and their own self concepts of being working mothers.
Moreover, mid and senior level women administrators in student affairs face additional
societal pressures at work due to the demanding nature of their jobs. Women’s
interactions with others has always been valuable, therefore, they continue to work to
provide positive outcomes in these relationships. To add, women work to successfully
advance in their careers which allowed them to better control their work lives so that they
were able to build meaningful home lives. Both theories addressed separate but
instrumental roles in how women were perceived and the pressures they placed on
themselves to be successful. To fully understand the origin of these pressures, a closer
look at societal expectations needs be explored.
Societal Expectations
Historically, the struggle to balance work and family life stems from managing
societal expectations by redefining the role of women. Prior to 1960, society viewed
women as home makers. The standard was that over 50% of wives in American families
stayed home and took care of their families (Raskin, 2006). Again, women experienced
24

lots of mixed messaging in regards to the expectations of their roles leaving them unsure
if they were to stay home or educate themselves. Many chose to expand their education
by attending college, only to receive messages that encouraged supporting their families
and forsaking the notion of careers (Eisenmann, 2005). After this period, many men and
women held on to traditional ideals of women’s roles and refused to view them as
anything other than mothers and wives. Additionally, the pressures to heed to patriotic
duty once men returned from war were great from both the cultural and psychological
perspectives, encouraging women to be in the home (Eisenmann, 2005). Nonetheless, the
number of women in the workplace has steadily grown beginning with roles as
administrators to roles as university presidents (Coronel, Moreno, & Carrasco, 2010).
Societal expectations play a role in creating challenges that affect how women move up
the professional ladder while maintaining home lives. Societal expectations create
external barriers such as the glass ceiling, the old boys’ network, and the queen bee
syndrome. These expectations also construct internal barriers in the form of self inflicted
pressures and time limitations.
Raskin (2006) conducted a study reviewing the roles and identities of three
working women as they discovered how their work-family lives affected their identities.
She discovered that Western society still views stay-at-home moms as the norm for
raising well adjusted, healthy children. Today, in some countries, the primary
responsibility of women is housekeeping and childcare and family is considered a sacred
institution (Coronel, Moreno, & Carrasco, 2010). Coronel, Moreno, and Carrasco (2010)
studied work-family conflicts and work related barriers for educational women leaders in
25

Spain. The findings were that women were not being supported by their work
organizations. This lack of support prevented them from being able to advance while
maintaining an active role in their family’s lives. The women in the study refused to
choose their professional roles over their families and felt discouraged from having
careers as choosing between the two was a constant struggle. They were socialized to
believe that they were different from men as explained in social role theory, therefore
they must be self sacrificing when it involved their families.
Women were more likely to view the family role as part of their social identity
than men (Powell, 2009). This view derived from women’s inherent ability to nurture.
In many cases, if a career woman was asked to describe herself in a nonprofessional
context, she would say she was a mother, wife, administrator, etc. This amalgamation of
family and self demonstrated that women connect their identities with their family lives
causing women to experience internal conflicts surrounding their self-efficacy.
Powell (2009) found that self-efficacy or self concept was built when women felt
assured about their abilities and decision making. Furthermore, ideas of self were
derived from “who one was” internally and the social context or environment in which
women were exposed. Also, when women had a strong sense of self, they were able to
make wise decisions which helped in achieving personal success (Powell, 2009). Powell
(2009) discovered that societal expectations could play a major role in presenting external
barriers in the careers of women.
Gergen (1991) viewed the relationship between one’s self and their environment
by discussing social context/system as compared to action and context. Meaning, a
26

person’s actions could be viewed differently depending on the context and the
environment could affect a person’s characteristics therefore, it was essential to
understand the individual (background and experiences) in their environment (context).
The societal expectations of women to stay home and be good mothers and wives
may have had an adverse affect on working women if they felt they were not fully able to
manage their home lives. Career women found that they must constantly “defend” both
of their roles as mothers and professionals and endure societal pressures in addition to
pressure from themselves to be good maternal figures. As a result, some women
experienced feelings of guilt and stress and these feelings or internal pressures could have
led to serious health concerns that prevented well-being and were brought on by
perceptions of social roles (Ressier, 2002). This adverse affect negatively impacted
women’s values and effort in relation to expectancy theory. Consequently, women felt
that they did not need to stay in the field to be successful or that reaching senior level
positions were worth it so some women left the field and others worked in midlevel
positions for years before choosing to make a transition, if at all. Societal expectations
had a profound effect on women’s decisions about family and career.
External Barriers
The under representation of qualified women in leadership has created a gender
gap that exists in education and in other areas of the workplace as an external barrier
(Growe, 2000). An external barrier for the use of this study is defined as an obstacle
outside of one's control. The gender gap played a role in leadership ability in two ways:
27

the comparison of men versus women and the demand for either sex as leaders. Brown
(1979) explained that traditional frameworks used in the study of leadership may not
have adequately explained women’s behavior.
Moreover, Knopik and Moerer (2008) found that men and women have different
factors that affected their leadership abilities. Knopik and Moerer (2008) researched
literature to determine if there were differences between men and women in their
leadership abilities. They discovered that the leadership differences between men and
women were based on gender specific barriers. These barriers prevented women from
advancing in a similar pattern to men. Women’s gender and leadership abilities were
most affected by the following external barriers: the glass ceiling, old boys’ network and
the queen bee syndrome.
Glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is defined as an unexplainable and artificial
barrier that has halted the advancement of many women and minorities through their
administrative careers despite their qualifications (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). The
primary reason for this barrier was based on gender. Congress amended the Civil Rights
Act in 1972 which created Title IX to aid in preventing sex-based discrimination. Title
IX stated that: “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
educational program or activity receiving federal assistance” (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000). Despite this law, glass ceiling tactics were still perpetuated due to
28

society’s perceptions of women’s roles. Many men maintained and refused to change
their negative attitudes towards women although they had to work with them
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010).
Baumgartner and Schneider (2010) conducted a study to determine how some
women succeeded at breaking through the glass ceiling. Qualitative interviews were
conducted using seven female leaders who shared their experiences surrounding six
issues that women encountered in the quest for leadership advancement. They also
explained how they overcame professional obstacles and developed their success
philosophies. A significant finding for the study was dispelling the belief that women in
upper management were oblivious of the glass ceiling and women in mid and lower level
positions were extremely aware of it. All of the women in the study recognized and
understood the role of the glass ceiling even if they had bypassed it. Also, participants
suggested four strategies for breaking the glass ceiling: setting goals, promoting oneself,
determination, and research and education. First, setting goals meant knowing what you
wanted and going after it. Second, promoting yourself implied having good
communication skills and understanding the fine line between pushing yourself and
pushing yourself onto others. Third, determination prevented others from deterring you
from your dreams. Fourth, research and education meant taking advantage of networking
and educational opportunities that could help you to advance.
The glass ceiling is an external barrier that continues to be perpetuated today in
order to prevent the advancement of qualified professional women, despite implemented
work policies and laws like Title IX. Some women are able to overcome this barrier and
29

advance to create their own success stories. However, another gender related barrier that
exists to limit the advancement of women leaders is the old boys’ network (Baumgartner
& Schneider, 2010).
Old boys’ network. The “Old Boys Network” is similar to the glass ceiling in its
intention to limit opportunities for women. The old boys’ network is believed to be the
reason the glass ceiling exists and is directly connected to men’s attitudes towards
women. One of the participants in Baumgartner and Schneider’s (2010) study indicated
that the old boys’ network was a ‘‘group of peers that played together and worked
together according to their own set of rules’’ (p. 567). More explicitly, the “Old Boys
Network” was fostered by older white men supporting and mentoring younger white men
to nurture their leadership development to assure they would be the next leaders in the
organization thus isolating female administrators and leaving them with limited
recruitment and mentoring opportunities. Searby and Tripses (2006) conducted a study
to determine what impacts women’s decisions to enter into mentoring relationships.
These relationships along with professional networks were important since they allowed
women access into the old boys’ network. A central problem discovered was the lack of
consensus that a problem among women even existed. However, many of the women in
the survey agreed that they were “out of the loop” in regards to career development (p.
180).
Baumgartner and Schneider’s (2010) study discussed four strategies for success
for women who had overcome the glass ceiling and specified ways of bypassing the old
boys’ network. They found that determination and prioritization would help women to
30

move toward the “need to gain access or acceptance into the network” (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010, p. 567). Additionally, in order to cope with the old boys’ network, they
needed to anticipate negative attitudes and detach from stereotypes and not be afraid of
involving themselves in networking activities. Detaching from stereotypes related to the
inability to receive criticism or reluctance to getting involved meant taking up golf or
learning about other sports which allowed for more discussion with male colleagues.
Both the glass ceiling and old boys’ network are long standing barriers that have
existed for generations and continue to prevent countless women from achieving their
goals (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Searby & Tripses, 2006). Baumgartner and
Schneider (2010) found that women need to overcome the negative idea and fear related
to the old boys’ network in order to become a part of the network. The queen bee
syndrome which involves women discriminating against other women is a more recently
recognized gender related barrier.
Queen bee syndrome. The queen bee syndrome is a gender affiliated barrier that
affects women and tends to be exhibited by women who have attained upper leadership
positions. A queen bee leader is someone who either wants to be one of the few women
with leadership power, feels she earned her position through hard work which is the way
it should be done or feels threatened by other aspiring women causing her to refuse to
help them (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Searby & Tripses, 2006). Some women
were even hesitant to seek out mentors fearing they may be sabotaged by queen bee
leaders (Searby & Tripses, 2006).
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Searby and Tripses (2006) study found that, women felt an approach-avoidance
conflict, which meant that they were as fearful as they were attracted to the idea of
having a mentor (Lewin, 1934). The attraction was based on the available opportunities
that could be provided from the relationship, but the fear was based on the idea that they
could have a negative experience from the relationship. They worried that they would
make themselves too vulnerable to a woman and find that she was their biggest
competitor. This fear has gravely impaired women on the path to leadership positions
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Sealy & Tripses, 2006).
Searby and Tripses (2006) found that “women may be their own worst enemies”
(p. 181) since queen bees do not support other women. In fact, they may be completely
oblivious to the struggles of mid and lower level administrators and enjoy their own
status as one of few women leaders. Moreover, the fear that trust will be broken and
weaknesses will be exposed is a key reason behind the fear of a mentoring relationship.
The authors found that the lack of female professional support from: role models,
networking and mentors to be troublesome.
Elkin (2006) described power imbalance as one of the challenges women
experienced in dysfunctional mentoring relationships. Based on Elkin’s literature review
of positive and negative mentoring relationships, a number of outcomes are discovered.
The goal of Elkin’s (2006) study was to review the outcome of mentoring relations on
protégés, mentors, and organizations. For some women, once they were able to find
mentors they discovered that the relationships were not beneficial to their goals, or the
mentor had ulterior motives and negative attitudes. As a result, of negative egocentric
32

attitudes, women experienced bullying, sabotage, harassment and negative relations.
Bullying was considered a negative relation when the protégé was exploited and must
either become submissive or resist and risk becoming the enemy of the mentor.
Submission eliminates the protégé’s power development and hinders professional growth
causing the protégé to become dependent on the mentor. Furthermore, some mentors
chose to purposefully and maliciously harm the protégé’s career by pestered them based
on race, sexuality, or gender, taking advantage of the control they had over the protégé.
Baumgartner and Schneider (2010) found that the queen bees interviewed in their
study discussed their perceptions on how to best support other women and believed that
their support may have appeared to be unsupportive. They discussed the need to be
mindful about appearing to favor other women and explained that women should look for
help elsewhere and not solely rely on queen bees for career advancement.
The glass ceiling and old boys’ network were mechanisms in place to prevent
access to leadership opportunities for women (Searby & Tripses, 2006). Mechanisms
such as the glass ceiling, old boys’ network and queen bee syndrome forced determined
women to work harder, put in longer hours and to make more sacrifices to get approval
from the workplace (Coronel et al 2010). In contrast, various studies have discovered
that successful career women relied on their internal self-concept rather than approval
from external sources for validation of success (Powell, 2009).
Internal Barriers
Unfair treatment of women regarding leadership advancement creates feelings
that affect sense of self, psychological well being, pressure and stress (Guendouzi, 2006;
33

Reisser, 2002). Internal barriers are defined as personal barriers in which an individual
needs to make changes. This section will discuss internal barriers in the form of, stress
and guilt, self-renewal and wellbeing, and limited time, to understand what additional
aspects prevented career progression for women.
Guendouzi (2006) conducted a qualitative study of five teachers in order to assess
how they balanced their professional and domestic responsibilities. The women were
interviewed three times and revealed strategies for support. He found that oftentimes,
women’s feelings of internal or self inflicted pressure were ignored. These feelings that
were driven by stress, guilt, self-doubt and self-efficacy have profound effects on a
woman’s decision process. Numerous women were reared to believe that their personal
interests came last once they had a family (Coronel et al, 2010). Moreover, if they
decided to put themselves at the forefront, they would be viewed as selfish and their
ability to be “good” mothers was questioned. As a result, some women chose to sacrifice
their own needs to meet the demands of their family (Guendouzi, 2006). Guendouzi
(2006) stipulates that a number of women chose to keep these feelings hidden for two
reasons. First, they wanted to take care of everyone around them and second, they
wanted to lead similar to men. They believed that if they could remove the emotion from
work situations, they could be successful (Guendouzi, 2006).
Reisser (2002) conducted a study of Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAO’s) to
determine the strategies they used to self-renew and develop themselves personally. She
interviewed five of her colleagues and shared her own perspective about finding personal
and professional balance. Each SSAO was able to discuss his or her strategies for
34

renewal and professional development that proved effective and how he/she was able to
manage such hectic lives. The idea for all was to find ways to re-energize in order to do
good work, as well as continue to grow. Moreover, neglecting ones self-renewal and
personal development was found to be detrimental to their wellbeing making women’s
desire for success hazardous to their health (Havice & Williams, 2005; Reisser, 2002).
Havice and Williams (2005) conducted a study on University Presidents, men and
women to better understand how they achieved balance. A majority of the presidents
interviewed were in their current positions between 6 to10 years. The purpose of the
study was to provide words of wisdom for administrators at all levels in the field. The
study found that presidents prioritized their commitments and found ways to schedule
time with the important people in their lives. However, one participant explained that he
did not feel he was effectively balancing both. He commented that in his life “someone
is always getting shortchanged” (p.133).
Beeny et al (2005) conducted a study of SSAO’s to determine how men and
women approached balance. They found that career women felt pressured from, society,
partners, children, and themselves to be more available. Time as a limitation led to a
discussion about the ways professional women balanced the demands of their work and
their family lives. According to Beeny et al (2005), women were compelled to make
choices based on their values and needed to determine if they were living lives
“congruent with their values,” and that they were content with their decisions. Searby &
35

Tripses (2006) also learned that women in the study felt that they did not have the time to
nurture new support relationships because it would create an additional responsibility
they would have to schedule.
Additionally, Beeny et al, (2005) found that another internal factor that influenced
a woman’s ability to successfully balance work and family was the amount of time spent
doing the job. Again, female SSAO’s were in agreement with the sentiment that women
must dedicate their “entire beings” to the field in order to be successful on the job (p.
144). Due to their minimal decision making power, mid-level women administrators
were often placed in impossible daunting situations which ultimately may discourage
some women from the field. Research was consistent that women currently in the field
believed that the recruitment of other women would be difficult in the future if the work
expectation and demand on time did not change (Beeny et al, 2005).
For those who chose not to overwork, by refusing overtime and turning down
assignments they potentially sacrificed opportunities for advancement (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010; Coronel et al, 2010). The choices that women made in order to be with
their families demonstrated that they prioritized their families over their careers and by
making this choice, they may be presumed to be less than leadership material (Coronel et
al, 2010). These actions may demonstrate to higher-ups that these women were unable to
handle the responsibilities that came with senior level management in student affairs.
Baumgartner and Schneider (2010) found that women felt they had to shorten their
36

family leaves in order to stay on track for advancement. In hindsight, many executive
women wished they would have taken more time off instead of sacrificing time with their
families.
Internal barriers were based on the pressures women place on themselves to
balance work and family life. An additional challenge came in the form of balancing
time commitments. As a result of these internal pressures, women experience stress,
guilt, and serious health problems. Many researchers have examined and identified ways
of coping with this stress and provided solutions and strategies, which will be discussed
in the strategies section. Next, the study addressed the impact of leadership and the quest
for advancement on women leaders.
Leadership and its Impact on Women
Historically, women have been committed to fighting for equal rights for all
women. During the women’s movement, women fought for the right to vote, maternity
leave, reproductive rights and a means to overcome the glass ceiling (Astin & Leland,
1991). Since the movement, women have remained aware of the importance and
necessity of maintaining leadership roles. Loder (2005) studied how female
administrators negotiated work and family life in changing times. The qualitative study
of 31 black and white female administrators evaluated strategies women from different
generations used to manage their work and family lives. The study found that the major
responsibility of managing work and family life fell on the woman. Although the views
of some women have changed over time, they are still more traditional than the views of
women born after the women’s and civil rights movements. Women born after these
37

movements were more inclined to speak up for themselves and address issues they felt
strongly about. They supported women working and having families which oftentimes
contrasted with views of their mother’s and grandmother’s (Loder, 2005). Although their
way of thinking was different, some would say more radical, they faced some of the same
challenges as their mothers. Loder (2005) explained that the work place had not yet
experienced a cultural transformation in terms of gender role expectations. Therefore,
traditional roles of women still held steady in many environments. Raskin (2006) found
that the previous generation was less concerned about balancing work and home than the
current generation.
Over time, different types of leadership models have emerged which has changed
traditionally held definitions of women’s roles. Trindad and Normore (2005) studied the
relationship between leadership and gender. The goal was to review the literature on
women’s leadership and to discuss gender issues and leadership. Their study found that
women embraced democratic and participative leadership styles. As a result,
transformational leadership was the preferred style. Additionally, they were hopeful that
educational leaders would meet the challenges of changing social and professional
expectations, while protecting those they served.
Havice and Williams (2005) studied how University Presidents balanced
professional and personal lives. They conducted oral histories using Schein’s conceptual
framework which involved three domains: professional, family and self oriented. Twelve
strategies were identified as ways to balance personal and professional lives. The study
determined that achieving balance in one’s personal and professional life was an
38

ambitious goal, yet a goal they attempted to achieve. Havice and Williams (2005) also
discovered that all of the University Presidents in their study (both men and women) were
using transformational leadership. Transformational leadership again focused on
participatory leadership and shared governance by empowering employees. These types
of leaders were also more inclined to mentor others (Havice & Williams, 2005). Women
proved to be more effective in transformational leadership than men. This achievement
by women defied society’s perception that women could not lead effectively, but needed
to emulate men. Through transformational leadership, women demonstrated that they
refused to use masculine conceptions of leadership to succeed (Cheung & Halpern,
2010).
Cheung and Halpern (2010) conducted a review of recent research on women at
the top to determine how they succeeded when they had familial responsibilities. The
study found that women using a transformational leadership style were better suited for
the contemporary workplace (Cheung & Halpern, 2010). They discovered that women
using transformational leadership held themselves to high moral standards and acted as
role models. Examples used to describe transformational leadership were “being serious
about their work, maintaining the highest personal standards, promoting communication,
and being considerate and respectful of their staffs (p. 188)”. Furthermore, Cheung and
Halpern (2010) acknowledged that female leaders were particularly conscious of
promoting gender equality and its connection to their role. To keep their leadership
options open many women continued their educations and earned degrees at higher rate
than men (Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, 2010-2011; Powell, 2009). Women
39

earned three times more Master’s degrees and twice as many doctoral degrees as men in
2007-2008. They outnumbered men in degree attainment at all levels and the numbers
are expected to continue to increase in the near future (Chronicle of Higher Education
Almanac, 2010-2011). Cheung and Halpern (2010) found that education was an
important path toward success for contemporary women. In relation to pathways for
success, Powell (2009) explored the role of “concept of self” and societal expectations in
career advancement. Having a strong sense of self would aid women in overcoming
work related barriers. Many women found that their self concept and self esteem were
connected to their educational achievement. After degree completion, many women were
more confident in their abilities and were able to attain advanced positions (Powell,
2009). Statistics showed that a high percentage of women in higher education; 67.1%
held doctoral degrees (Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, 2010-2011). The
Chronicle Almanac predicted that higher education attainment for women in the near
future would leave men behind in all categories. Moreover, women’s doctoral degree
attainment is slated to triple that of men by 2018.
Despite the increase in women’s leadership abilities and educational attainment,
society continued to question their potential for leadership advancement (Coronel et al,
2010). Blackhurst, Brandt, and Kalinowski (1998) conducted a study to examine the
relationship between career development, life satisfaction and organizational
commitment. In the 90’s, they found that women held 23% of vice president positions
40

and 35% of Dean of Students positions. They also discovered that on the way to these
positions, women spent a significant amount of time stagnant before being promoted.
See data below in figure 1 from Blackhurst et al (1998).

Figure 1: Blackhurst chart for Life Satisfaction

Women spent an average of six years in their current positions and anywhere from 17-19
years in higher education prior to reaching positions of SSAO’s (Cheung & Halpern,
2010). Women were spending the majority of their time in the field in midlevel positions
as Directors and Assistant or Associate Directors (Blackhurst, et al, 1998). A
justification for this was that women again had a profound influence on the success of
students and degree completion and would be missed in their roles (Komovies &
41

Woodard, 2003). The study also found that midlevel administrators, associate, and
assistant SSAO’s and directors who were in the field fewer than 5 years had the least life
satisfaction.
Rosser and Javinar’s (2003) also revealed that there was little support for women
enhancing their current jobs while preparing them to transition from their current
positions to take the next steps in their careers. Their findings supported those of
Blackhurst’s 1998 study indicating that the longer midlevel student affairs professionals
worked for the institution, the lower their moral and satisfaction. Therefore, Rosser and
Javinar (2003) recommended professional development and opportunities for internal job
promotion as essential ways to support hard working midlevel professionals. It was
suggested that universities provide leadership training programs for women in
conjunction with mentors to explain the path toward leadership advancement.
Women’s roles have evolved over time and women have found their voice and the
ability to stand up for equal rights in the present. For the women who are able to
progress, they have been able to define their leadership styles and to use their ability to
nurture and care for others as a way of being contemporary leaders. They also discover
strategies along the way that make overcoming challenges more manageable. Yet, the
reality remains that many women are stuck in midlevel positions and will remain in them
for extended periods of time. This fact has a profound effect on women in the field and
women choosing to enter the field. Positive support systems are the mechanisms needed
to encourage women to continue to choose these careers in education, despite some of the
difficult realities.
42

Support Systems
Women leaders found that support systems were essential to their success. The
support mechanisms that most attributed to success were in the form of family members,
employees/colleagues, mentors and role models (Cheung & Halpern, 2010; Ezzedeen &
Ritchey, 2008; Marcinkus et al, 2007). This support came in a variety of combinations
depending on available resources and women’s specific needs. A support system for the
use of this study is a person who has a strong interest in the success of an individual and a
willingness to provide assistance to help ensure that success (Myers & Ginsberg, 1994).
Marcinkus et al, (2007) found that perception of available support had more of an effect
on a woman’s desirable outcome than actual available resources. Over one thousand
women were surveyed and 72 were interviewed to determine the effect of social support
and found that midlife women received more personal support than professional, and that
professional support increased job satisfaction, career advancement and organizational
commitment. Participants discussed child-care arrangements, maintaining emotional
labor and extended family and supervision of domestic help as home aspects they needed
to consider. This section will address support as a balancing mechanism from family and
friends, as well as employers and colleagues for professional moms. The next section
will highlight the importance of mentoring relationships in support of career
advancement for women. The support discussion will end with challenges to support,
which addresses employment policies and their failure to be current.

43

Family and Friends
Family support was said to be significant for women leaders attempting to achieve
career goals (Marcinkus et al, 2007). Other studies agree that a significant amount of the
support comes from family members and close friends other than spouses and partners
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Marcinkus et al, 2007).
Supportive spouses, who were willing to relocate, stay at home with children or
restructure work schedules were a plus and demonstrated commitment to their wives
careers. Marcinkus et al, (2007) found that while some spouses contributed a great deal
of time and energy to support their families by making the above adjustments most did
not. Considering most women took on more responsibility at home, they were generally
satisfied with their spouse’s contributions to the household chores and child care.
Subsequently, Ezzedeen and Ritchey (2008) studied how men supported women in
leadership positions. The researchers conducted a qualitative study of 20 senior and
executive level women to understand the value of spousal support. The study discovered
that women considered home support essential even when other support was available.
Multiple researchers established that family support was what most women needed to feel
successful in their careers and secure in the care of their families (Cheung & Halpern,
2010; Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008; Marcinkus et al, 2007). However, the study did not
include interviews conducted with male spouses.
Cheung and Halpern’s (2010) study supported the importance of family support
for women in search of advancement. They further explained that women relied on a
variety of combinations including husbands, extended families and hired help to assist
44

with their home lives. Family support from spouses or partners was found to be a good
strategy and an influential factor in women choosing to go into or stay in administration
according to Baumgartner and Schneider (2010). They asserted that “a good support
network was essential for successful career and family management” (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010, p. 570). While in student affairs, support from family, friends and
neighbors significantly reduced the work-family conflict and positively impacted work-
life balance (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). As a result, the participants in their study
suggested that women marry someone who would help and be supportive with childcare
to aid in this success.
All in all, family and friend support was critical for female leaders to be
successful and to aid in advancement. These support systems allowed women to work
with the ease and confidence that their home lives were safe and secure (Cheung &
Halpern, 2010; Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008; Marcinkus et al, 2007). Additionally, family
and friends tended to assist in home maintenance making things easier for the
professional mother when she got home. A significant finding was that women received
more personal support than professional.
Employers and Colleagues
Supportive work-based relationships increased the likelihood of career
advancement and success for women (Marcinkus et al, 2007). Marcinkus et al (2007)
explained that social support which comes from colleagues has a positive impact on
improving health, reducing stress, and mitigating work-family conflict which can
counteract internal barriers. These social support relationships typically come in the form
45

of mentoring to provide career and psychosocial assistance. Multiple authors found that
the ideas of interconnectedness and social support were important in allowing women to
balance personal and professional lives (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008; Marcinkus et al,
2007).
Additionally, supervisor support had direct and indirect influence on employee
attitude and balancing ability by either reducing stress or creating an environment for job
turnover (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008). Ezzedeen and Ritchey (2008) discovered that
supervisor support included recognizing family related leave policies and allowing
employees to take needed time without threats to job security. This also included
allowing for flexibility in work schedules, if possible. These allowances reduced work
related anxiety experienced by women and increased their job satisfaction. Furthermore,
support from colleagues had positive effects on job satisfaction and work outcomes.
Ten Brummelhuis and Van Der Lippe (2010) studied effective work-life balance
support for various family structures. The study used a sample of over four hundred
participants to establish if family structure allowed them benefits at work. They found
that supervisor support appeared to be the largest indicator of improving work
performance for helping behavior for couples attempting to balance work and family.
Overall, supportive professional relationships aided women in career
advancement and job satisfaction. Through positive relationships at work, women were
able to take the time they needed to foster and care for their families, as well as enjoy
their professional lives without the threat of job loss (Marcinkus et al, 2007). These
positive relationships also reduced anxiety and stress related to work and family and
46

allowed women to reduce pressures affiliated with overall health, internal barriers, stress,
and guilt. Another support mechanism that helped to alleviate negative pressures when
implemented positively was mentoring.
Mentoring
A primary and influential social support mechanism for the advancement of
women has been identified as mentoring (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). In fact,
mentoring was named as a critical coping mechanism for women executives attempting
to be successful in work and family roles (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008). Mentoring has
been connected with “promotion, higher incomes, less turnover, greater career
satisfaction and easier socialization” (p. 561). Participants in the Baumgartner and
Schneider (2010) study suggested those seeking to attain a mentor select someone who
has been where you want to go, who will search for opportunities for professional growth
and who will focus on the right professional opportunities.
Schmidt and Wolfe (2009) studied mentor partnerships with a review of literature
on the topic and found that new professionals needed to be matched with suitable mentors
to provide guidance, support and opportunities. When seeking a mentor, many advise to
look first for someone who has an interest in the protégés professional development and
who was willing to share the details of how they accomplished their goals. The authors
also used the terms mentoring and role models interchangeably while others clearly
differentiated their purposes. For the purpose of this study, they will be described
separately.
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Searby and Tripses (2006) focused on overcoming barriers and learning to get the
maximum benefits from mentoring relationships. They discovered that mentoring could
fulfill personal needs by providing a safety net, as well as fulfilling professional needs by
providing job-related advice from an expert. Searby and Tripses (2006) found that
women saw that the benefits outweighed the hindrances of having mentoring
relationships.
Mendez and Morse (2004) researched building role model and mentoring
relationships for Latina women leaders. This research was targeted to aspiring minority
women leaders to emphasize the essential need for mentors and other forms of support.
They discovered that mentoring or role models were systems that assisted women’s
career development. Additionally, the absence of a formalized mentor or role model was
mitigated by significant nonprofessional relationships with people in their lives. Again,
role models and mentors were used interchangeably, as aspects of support systems
(Cheung & Halpern, 2010). Mentoring relationships were typically affiliated with
professional advancement, while role model relationships tended to provide examples of
success in a variety of areas in life including professional roles.
Elkin (2006) studied the pros and cons of mentoring relationships and found that
mentoring and mentoring programs were highly recommended for the career
advancement and corporate development of women. In “formal” mentoring
relationships, the relationship was set-up by organizational assistance or intervention to
provide guidance to a mentee in order to help her achieve success in her career (Elkin,
2006; Searby & Tripses, 2006). These relationships were agreed upon by both parties. In
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contrast, role model relationships do not have to be agreed on by both parties and
sometimes the role models are unaware of the protégés admiration.
Positive mentoring relationships were found to be critical to career advancement
and building networks that allowed for essential career relationships. The structure of
mentoring relationships allowed for maximum benefits for protégés who were able to
seek the right kinds of relationships and to find someone who was willing to share
experiences and guide their careers. Although some women feared the potential for
negative relationships and bad experiences, most women found that the benefits
outweighed the risks. Similarly, role model relationships allowed for the flexibility of
informal relationships which permitted others to feel more comfortable in a casual
relationship.
Role Models
Schmidt (2007) defines a role model as a person who demonstrated a high level of
performance worthy of being imitated. Méndez-Morse (2004) describes three types of
role modeling relationships: informal, distant and symbolic. Informal mentoring
relationships developed through mutual identification and provided support at work from
senior level colleagues, peers, other influential relationships and at home from, family
and neighbors. Mentees and protégés were able to observe how role models dealt with
conflict, interacted with colleagues, supervised and balanced personal life and
professional demands. These informal relationships were found to be very successful for
both parties. Distant role models were people who women did not interact with directly,
but whose status or leadership style had a positive influence. The symbolic or ‘ideal
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model is when a woman creates her own role model by “selecting various qualities or
behaviors that she has observed in her dealings with colleagues” (p. 587). Schmidt
(2007) found that symbolic role modeling is the most accurate for most people since
symbolic role models adopted the characteristics needed to complete tasks.
Cheung and Halpern (2010) discuss the need for finding positive role models as
essential to aiding women in reaching their career goals. Additionally, they explained
that on a personal level, women’s educational and socioeconomic backgrounds impacted
the availability and potential of support from role models who were important factors in
achieving success.
Role models acted as guides for aspiring career professionals in ways that were
comparable to mentors and these relationships had more similarities than differences.
The most apparent was that mentoring relationships tended to be formal while role model
relationships tended to be informal. Also, role model relationships appeared to allow for
greater flexibility in how role models were selected and how they could be utilized.
Challenges to Support
The increase of women in the workplace since the 1970’s has not changed the
culture of support for these women to balance intimate relationships, work and family.
The challenges to support that will be addressed in this study are, the failure of formal
mentoring programs, title with no power, and lack of professional and home support.
Although mentoring relationships have been credited with many positive
attributes, it does not necessarily assure a woman’s success (Baumgartner & Schneider,
2010). There are many reasons for this outcome. The old boys’ values still exist in
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some places, and women in organizations with males as primary leaders may be
disadvantaged and not able to find mentors when male leaders refuse to assist them
(Elkin, 2006). Baumgartner and Schneider (2010) discussed that in some instances,
formal mentoring relationships did not progress because they were forced and may not
have aided in breaking the glass ceiling for professional women. Elkin (2006) further
explained that in formal mentoring relationships, if one party was not as motivated, the
other could not benefit from the relationship. Dysfunctional mentoring relationships
existed in two groups: power imbalance and dissimilarity. An example of a power
imbalance came from queen bee supervisors who failed to support mentees
professionally. Dissimilarity referred to the mentor having a different background,
attitude, value, and belief then the protégé. This dysfunction surfaced as a result of the
desired direction of the protégés career being different than that envisioned by the mentor
(Elkin, 2006).
They also discussed the lack of support sometimes available from organizations
when women were given manager titles as “tokens” with no power or influence allowed.
This mechanism was a way for some organizations to prove on paper and in
organizational flow charts that women held upper management positions without
sacrificing any authority or control.
In Marcinkus et al’s (2007) study, a poll found that employees who considered
their work environments to be less family-oriented were more likely to be dissatisfied,
experience more work conflict, and had less organizational commitment. Moreover,
Marcinkus et al (2007) found that the consequences of losing women to the struggle for
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work life balance was great and would result in a reduction in available, sufficient and
productive human capital in organizations. Women made up more than half of the
administrative staff in most universities and were credited with being influential to the
spirit and vitality of the university. Additionally, women were in roles of trust and were
heavily relied on by faculty and students (Rosser, 2000).
Challenges to support from the workplace many times derived from the policies
or lack of policies set in place to protect women’s rights. Aldous (1990) reported that
United States (U.S.) employers were behind in implementing supportive benefits to assist
employees in balancing work and family. A more recent study in 2008 found that only
60% of the U.S. workforce was covered by Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Additionally, female administrators were not being supported in a variety of areas: in-
service training, absence of equity-based support policies and insufficient preparation
(Coronel et al, 2009). Along with their efforts, research has found that a woman’s on the
job concerns such as flexibility to balance both work and home lives, the desire to move
up in the field and also have a family and being respected as leaders once they attain
senior level positions were being ignored in the workplace (Coronel et al, 2009; Loder,
2005).
At times, women may not have felt supported at home. Some women are forced
to bring work home, limiting availability with family. Supportive husband’s who have
sacrificed their own careers for their wives, may begin to resent their wives
accomplishments and successes and choose not to attend work functions or support her
publicly (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008). Moreover, competition in the household may
52

develop when women begin to make more money than their husbands or receive more
notoriety. These challenges tend to impact family relationships and women’s internal
perceptions of themselves allowing for health concerns both at work and home.
In the end, a lack of support professionally has a negative impact on women and
their ability to be successful. This lack of support can lead to less job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, and greater turnover intentions (Marcinkus et al, 2007).
Women must also outperform expectations, take on high profile assignments and work
long hours, mostly to be unappreciated (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008). A lack of support in
the workplace can transcend to the home. As a result, the lack of support and increased
feelings of uneasiness, make it impossible for some women to stay in the field.
Attrition
The four primary reasons why women chose to leave the field of student affairs
are: lack of opportunity for advancement, conflicts with supervisor, being “stuck” in the
middle, and hard work with minimal recognition (Blackhurst et al, 1998; Cheung &
Halpern, 2010; Jo, 2003; Rosser & Javinar, 2003). Rosser and Javinar (2003) studied
midlevel student affairs leaders’ plans to leave the field. By using a structural equation
model, they examined job satisfaction and employee morale to understand their effect on
leave decisions. They explained that mid-level female student affairs administrators
worked in multiple staff capacities as either academic or nonacademic personnel in one
or more of the following units: student services, academic support, business and
administrative or external affairs (Rosser & Javinar, 2003). The above positions are also
classified as staff positions meaning they could be eliminated when necessary to protect
53

the organization from backlash (Rosser & Javinar, 2003). Although women worked in
the above listed capacities, many mid-level administrators felt that they lacked authority
in decision making, although they were held responsible for the outcomes of others
decisions. According to Rosser (2000), when a decision was made by someone working
in a senior-level position, many times, these mid-level administrators were required to
implement policies which meant sharing information that was not favorable with staff
such as terminating job positions, changing policy, or increasing job responsibilities.
Rosser stipulates these actions created negative reputations for women and created
discontent among employees.
Additionally, Jo (2008) found that women tended to feel stuck in the middle and
forced to do the dirty work. She also discovered that women listed a lack of opportunity
for advancement as a primary reason for leaving the field of student affairs.
Advancement in mid-level management was at slower rates for women than for men
which many women found discouraging (Jo, 2008). A large number of women were
clustered at midlevel and low level administrative positions were unable to advance
(Cheung & Halpern, 2010; Rosser & Javinar, 2003). Moreover, Blackhurst et al (1998)
found that directors with doctorates who had worked less than five years in their position
were more likely to consider leaving if promotions did not happen fast enough.
Other women experienced conflict with a supervisor and inflexible work
schedules which validated their choice to leave the field. In fact, dissatisfaction with
immediate supervisors was a second reason that women left organizations. Jo’s (2008)
study found that supervisory skills were the most critical element in dealing with and
54

reducing employee turnover (Jo, 2008). Other listed reasons that women left the field
were as follows: burnout, unclear job expectations, low pay and disparity between
reasons for entering the field and actual practice.
All in all, attempting to climb the professional ladder could be challenging along
with the added pressures of having to take care of a family. Oftentimes, the barriers
women must endure to be successful were complex. Many women found themselves in
the same position for ten years or longer with no immediate possibility of growth or
advancement. Additionally, the midlevel positions involved a great deal of stress to
implement the decisions of others. Some women attempted to bypass the politics of the
system and obtained advanced degrees, only to find that they did not reach the top any
faster. Another mechanism that female leaders attribute to aiding in overcoming barriers
and achieving success was the use of strategies (Cheung & Halpern, 2010).
Strategies
Although some strategies for success have been addressed, three specific
categories of strategies need further elaboration. This section will address: priority
identification, outsourcing, and achieving balance.
Priority identification
Baumgartner and Schneider (2010) found two strategies essential in the pursuit of
upper management which may also translate to balance: determination and prioritizing.
The women in their study offered strategies that were similar in the “need to gain access
or acceptance into the network” (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010, p. 567). Researchers
elaborated on this idea by adding that women did not need to act like men to gain
55

acceptance, they needed to be themselves; sometimes more aggressively. Cheung and
Halpern (2010) found that women who followed a philosophy of living one life and not
two separate lives were more apt to adjust. To cultivate this idea, they took children to
work with them and on business trips. Additionally, women worked from home and had
regular dinners with families and worked once children went to bed. Other women left
work at a certain time everyday routinely while others scheduled lunch meetings to avoid
staying late and to allow for dinners with their families. Many women also used
outsourcing as a means to address the many important aspects of their lives.
Outsourcing
To allow for more family time, some women felt a good use of their financial
resources could be spent on paying for household help. Multiple researchers discussed
outsourcing as a means of support which meant hiring help when time and material
resources were limited (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010; Cheung & Halpern, 2010).
Outsourcing allowed women to spend more time with their families, spending quality
time and not feeling pressured to complete household tasks. Ezzedeen and Ritchey
(2008) found that female leaders or executives had the ability to buy certain types of
support namely domestic and child care. According to the Coronel et al (2010) study,
60% of the participants confirmed that they used external help for completing domestic
tasks. Other women had spouses or family members who stepped in when necessary.
Some women had a hard time accepting that they could not do it all in a way that was
effective. This realization created feelings of uneasiness for some women which
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reflected back to internal barriers and potential health concerns. To counterbalance these
feelings, women need to create a system that is effective and allows them to feel that they
are achieving balance.
Achieving Balance
Researchers found that there was no ‘one size fits all’ solution for women to
balance work and family (Cheung & Halpern, 2010; Loder, 2005). It was important to
find a method or strategy that worked to help reduce guilt and stress. Case in point, the
research stated that a good mother was highly involved in the lives of her children and
spouse and was around for major milestones, but did not need to be present all of the
time. Women who were able to redefine their home lives took the same approach with
their work lives. They adjusted their schedules accordingly to be productive while
working and to be good mothers. Blending work and family domains may be a solution
as demonstrated in Cheung and Halpern’s (2010) research.
Prioritizing responsibilities, outsourcing, and consolidating work and family
responsibilities are successful strategies to help mid and senior-level female
administrators find balance.
Summary
Prior to the 1960’s, women struggled with ideas of what their roles should be in
the household and in the work place. During that time, societal expectations have played
a critical role in how they felt about their choices to either stay at home or work and those
sentiments are still prevalent today (Astin & Leland, 1991). Women in student affairs
have been able to overcome society’s expectations by making significant strides in their
57

professional lives and by positively impacting various student populations. These
challenges affected a number of aspects as a consequence of societal expectations and
internal pressures related to stress, guilt, self-doubt and self-efficacy and external
pressures related to the glass ceiling, the old boys’ network, the queen bee syndrome,
sacrifices and dissatisfaction (Guendouzi, 2006; Ressier, 2002; Searby & Tripses). Time
as a limitation was also an essential theme and was addressed multiple times in various
areas of women’s lives from internal barriers, leadership and mentoring (Baumgartner &
Schneider, 2010).
To counterbalance the barriers, women must be able to identify support systems
in family, employers, and mentors or create networks that will support their
advancement. Family and friends were critical mechanisms in support relationships to
allow women to feel secure while away from home. Work relationships largely affected
if women chose to stay in the field, their physical wellbeing, and feelings of job
satisfaction. Mentoring was considered the most influential relationship of all and had
direct implications on career advancement.
A look at social role theory and expectancy theory aimed to provide the
foundation of women’s behavior based on societal and individual pressures. The theories
were able to explain how women’s self concepts developed in expectancy theory by
using effort to achieve their values (Allen, 1995). Social role theory clarified gender
roles and addressed women’s need to participate in nurturing relationships according to
societal expectations (Eagly, 1987). Both theories identified women’s desire to lead and
therefore to have control over their lives.
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Leadership was often difficult to manage because many midlevel positions in
student affairs required more time and attention causing an inability to effectively balance
work and family responsibilities. Ezzedeen and Ritchey (2008) found that women’s
careers required them to sacrifice more in their personal and professional lives than men.
Additionally, a large number of women found themselves stuck in midlevel
administration with no immediate opportunities for advancement yet, women constantly
made sacrifices and were able to assist students to take on leadership roles, as well as set
goals for their success (Blackhurst et al, 1998). Some were able to use transformational
leadership as a contemporary means for leading which allowed them to be effective
leaders without mimicking men (Havice & Williams, 2005). For others, there proved to
be too many challenges and they decided to leave the field (Jo, 2008). These decisions
were typically encouraged by conflicts with supervisors, lack of promotions or little
recognition for effort. Overall, challenges were inevitable therefore, preparation to face
them aided in their aspiration for advancement.
Although it was evident that more and more female leaders were able to
maneuver through these experiences to have successful work and family lives, many
women struggled to accomplish this balance. Highlighting that these effective strategies
need to be identified in order to assist women is vital. Through this review of the
literature, the current research has been examined to identify the need for strategies to aid
in women’s success.

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology

Midlevel women leaders in student affairs experience many difficulties on their path
toward senior level advancement. These difficulties increase when women must also
balance their family lives. The demanding nature of the job and the constant struggle
between family and work forces women to make the choice between staying in the field
potentially stuck or leaving the field completely. The purpose of this study is three-fold
and examines multiple challenges and support mechanisms that women face in their
struggle to balance both their work and family lives. First, to understand the challenges
that female student affairs professionals have faced in their quest for leadership roles.
Second, to determine what support systems have helped women leaders in student affairs
to balance family and work life. Third, to use the information learned from support
systems utilized by women leaders and the challenges they encountered to establish
effective strategies, or work-life policies, allowing other women to effectively maintain
work and family life balance (Ten Brummelhuis & Van Der Lippe, 2010). These
strategies will aid and encourage aspiring women leaders to make strides in the field of
education.
The following research questions supported the purpose of the study:
1. What challenges do female student affairs leaders experience in balancing
work and family life?
2. What kinds of support systems are perceived to help female leaders maintain
work life balance?
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3. What strategies do female leaders in student affairs use to maintain family and
work life balance?
This chapter will outline the design of the study including: sample and population,
criteria for selection, process of selection, theoretical framework, data collection, ethical
considerations, and data analysis.
Research Design
Many women are successful despite the challenges they face at work and home.
In order to understand how these women have accomplished success, their stories and
experiences needed to be shared. A qualitative case study methodology (Merriam, 1998)
was the most logical selection due to the story telling nature of the research. Since the
goal of the study was to determine strategies for success, actual examples of successful
approaches were identified through the use of interviews. Interviews provide data about
experiences that are not directly observable through inner experience, opinions, values,
and interests (Gall et al, 2007). According to Gall, Gall, and Borg, (2007) interviews
permit open-ended review of the topics and draw out unique responses based on the
participants words (Patton, 1985). Based on the literature currently available on the
topic, qualitative studies provide the richest data and thorough explanations of
challenges, support systems and strategies available (Merriam, 1998). A case study
design allowed for an in-depth study of instances of events or experiences in real-life
environments from the participant’s perspective (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007).
Additionally, the richly descriptive nature of a case study brings life to the case by
creating a thick description of the events, unlike in the data derived from a quantitative
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study (Merriam, 1998). Reviewers of case studies have a more practical foundation for
understanding and developing theories (Gall et al, 2007).
Sample and Population
Snowball and purposeful sampling were used to identify a group of participants
for the study criteria (Patton, 2002). The selected study design was a qualitative case
study in combination with a purposeful sample which consisted of mid and senior level
female student affairs professionals. The case study design was selected to allow for an
“information rich” experience with a small population of participants (Creswell, 1998).
The participants were required to be working in the field a minimum of three years with
mid or senior level titles. Participants were also required to have a current relationship
status along with family members that they supported (for example children or parents).
Additionally, the participants needed to live and work in California and share
characteristics that could create similar experiences. Personal and professional referrals
were contacted to assist with establishing an initial list of potential participants, and
snowball sampling was used based on recommendations. Once a list of potential
participants was identified, contact was made via email, either by the researcher or by a
referral. Potential candidates were also sent a recruitment letter (see Appendix A) to
provide the participants with detailed information about the study. The goal of selecting
women that met the criteria was to determine their strategies for managing their work and
family lives, therefore assuring that the right participants were selected was critical.
The following parameters were set for the study based on requirements outside of
the researcher’s control and were study limitations. The study was to be completed in
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less than one calendar year requiring that the researcher conduct a small and limiting
study. Consequently, the small sample size did not provide for population validity. This
lack of generalization implied that the findings from this study cannot be applied widely
to all mid or senior level women student affairs professionals. However, the unique
design of the case study suggests that it would provide a thorough look at similar
experiences encountered by this demographic of women.
Three participants who worked in student affairs as mid or senior level
administrators and ranged in age from 35-55 years of age were selected for this study.
They also had at least one child and were married.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical frameworks used for this study were social role theory and
expectancy theory. Both theories addressed separate, but instrumental roles in how
women were perceived and the pressures they placed on themselves to be successful.
Social role and expectancy theories addressed the origins of the pressures women
experienced from society and their own self concepts of being working mothers.
Women’s interactions with others have traditionally been considered valuable therefore;
they continued to work to provide positive outcomes in these types of relationships
(Powell, 2007). Women working in student affairs took on a great deal of responsibility
as the nature of the work required plenty of dedication and concern for others.
The conceptual framework model (see figure 2 below) demonstrates the
connection between how historical influences of the perception of women has directly
impacted societal expectations. Women have historically been classified as homemakers
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and mothers. This perception was based on their gender roles which were explained by
social role theory. These gender roles created challenges for women in both their work
and home lives. Expectancy theory explained that women were able to endure these
challenges when they saw value in the end result (Allen, 1995). Additionally, support
indirectly connected to challenges was the key to aiding in a woman’s success in work
and at home.
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework

Data Collection
Participants were asked to commit to 4-6 hours of total time over ten weeks to
assist with the study. Data was collected in a variety of ways. A full interview; an office
observation; keeping an activity log; allowing the researcher to interview a family
member, colleague or mentor and document review of the participant’s
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resume/curriculum vitae, job description, work place and family leave policies (Creswell,
1998). Prior to the interview, the researcher obtained the participants’ resume, job
description, and work leave policy in connection to the participant’s institution. An
initial review of each document was conducted in order to understand the participant’s
role along with how their institution operated.
One semi-structured interview lasting approximately 1.5 hours was scheduled
with each participant, the complete list of interview questions can be found in Appendix
B (Patton, 2002). The interview took place at the participant’s place of work. During the
interview, an office observation was also conducted to assess if the participant’s had
mechanisms that reflected a fusion of their home lives in their places of work (Merriam,
1998). Indication of home life was described as pictures of family, art from children,
personal cards, flowers or other tokens of affection (for a full list see Appendix C).
Through the use of the office observations the researcher discovered how the participants
stayed connected to their families while at work. The direct connection was oftentimes
visual in pictures and arts and crafts created by their children (Patton, 2002). Also, visual
depictions helped women to make good use of their time at work in order to get back to
their families. In addition, the observations allowed for opportunities to assess how many
interruptions took place during the interview and to provide a sense of how often the
participant was balancing workplace aspects (Patton, 2002).
During the interview, the activity log was introduced to the participants and
instructions were emailed after the meeting. The researcher asked the participant to
complete an activity log either weekly or a minimum of 5 times during the participation
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period. There were three prompts that the participant was asked to address in the log, see
Appendix D for the prompts. The activity log could be completed in a physical journal,
given to each participant at the conclusion of the interview or as a word document and
emailed to the researcher as an attachment. The expectation was that participants
complete one log weekly and the entries had no expected length of time requirement.
The participants were also asked to refer either a family member, colleague, or
mentor at the conclusion of the interview. The family member, colleague, or mentor was
interviewed once for a period of 20-30 minutes (see Appendix E for the list of questions).
This interview allowed for an outside perspective of the participants ability to balance
work and home, along with aiding in the saturation of the data, regarding the participant’s
activities.
Instrumentation
The use of case study designs was labor-intensive and required highly developed
language skill ability in order to bring the data to life by constructing themes and patterns
(Gall et al, 2007). The results of this study could significantly impact educational
research and practice in the field. To verify the quality of the information attained,
triangulation and rich thick description analysis were utilized and accessed (Creswell,
1998). The following data collection methods were used: the participants were
interviewed, their work settings were observed, they were asked to keep an activity log
and the log was analyzed and coded, and work related artifacts were utilized (see
Appendices B-D). The interview format used was a semi structured interview model to
allow for probing of various topic areas when necessary. The work place observation
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provided physical evidence of how the women chose to or not to merge their work and
family lives. The activity log provided evidence of the struggles and successes women
experienced over a short period and allowed the researcher to understand the strategies
participants used to deal with both barriers and successes. The work policies, job
description, and resume provided a foundation for the parameters in which these women
worked. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed in entirety for analysis. The
researcher also took notes during each interview which were typed and analyzed.
Data Analysis
Prior to the interviews, a matrix was used to assure that the interview questions
were aligned with the established research questions, see figure 3 below. Once the
interview questions were approved, the questions were organized to provide a general
flow and to build upon similar ideas.
Figure 3: Interview Question Matrix
Research Questions Semi-
Structured
Interviews
Observations Artifact
Analysis
1. What challenges do female leaders experience in
balancing work-life?
X X X
2. What kind of support systems are perceived to help
female leaders in student affairs administration maintain
balance in work and family life?
X X X
3. What strategies do female leaders in student affairs
administration use to maintain family and work-life
balance?
X X X

To analyze the data, Creswell’s (1998) six steps were used. Step one was to
organize and prepare the data for analysis. Interviews were transcribed, field notes were
typed and the data was organized according to determined topics. Step two was to read
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the data. All of the data were sorted and read to determine commonalities, tone, depth,
and impression of the overall information. Additional notes were taken and general
thoughts recorded about initial impressions. Step three was to begin detail analysis with
a coding process which meant breaking up the information into manageable parts, prior
to analyzing it. Then, categories were labeled according to terms or language used by the
participants. Step four was to use the coding process to develop a description of
participants and /or setting. Once descriptions of relevant ideas had been detailed, codes
were identified and themes and categories generated. Step five was to describe how the
description and themes would be represented in the study narrative. Typically in case
studies, participants were described using a table to allow for comparisons. Analysis was
described in narrative form using a holistic approach which allowed for chronological
description of events, quotes, and multiple perspectives (Merriam, 1998). Step six was to
interpret or make meaning of the data. This step was where the interpretation took place
and meaning was then made based on the findings. As a final step, the researcher
reported the “lessons learned” (Creswell, 1998). A diagram of Creswell’s (1998) six
steps is below in figure 4.

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Figure 4: Creswell’s Model for Qualitative Analysis

Ethical Considerations
An application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of
Southern California (USC) was submitted on behalf of the Ed.D. 2009 thematic group to
allow for permission to conduct the study. Autonomy is related to confidentiality and
protecting the identity of the study participants. Confidentiality is guaranteed by the
standard at the USC’s IRB office in accordance with the National Commission for the
Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research’s The Belmont
Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of
Research (The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical
and Behavioral Research, 1978; University of Southern California’s Institutional Review
Board, 2006).
Participant confidentiality would be kept by using pseudonyms for their identities
as well as their institutions. No identifiable information was given for the participants or,
their affiliations. Again, interviews were digitally recorded and codes were created to
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protect the identity of each participant. Coded data was stored on the researcher’s
password protected personal computer for analysis. Information on participant identity
was not made accessible to others outside of the co-investigators in the study. The study
did not promise anonymity since the identity of the participants was known by the
researcher.
In accordance with benevolence, each participant understood that they were
participating in the study on a voluntary basis and could choose to discontinue
participation at any time for any reason. Participants completed and signed an informed
consent form, as well as gave verbal approval. Every participant was over the age of 18
and therefore an adult who was able to freely participate in the study. All participants
were removed from risk or harms and they were not under pressure to participate.

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Chapter 4: The Findings

Chapter four presents the findings from a qualitative case study designed to
determine how three senior level women student affairs administrators balance their work
and family lives. The study focused on three distinct and interrelated aspects: challenges
women encountered on their way to achieving leadership positions, support mechanisms
including family, employers, mentors, and role models used by women to sustain
productive lives and strategies these women used to achieve success in the personal and
professional realms of their lives. The findings of this study are based on the data
collected and analyzed from interviews, office observations, activity logs, review of
resumes or curriculum vitas, job descriptions, and work leave policies. The data were
triangulated using the above listed sources of information.
The following section provides an overview of the study participants, allowing for
more insight into their personal and professional roles. The next section provides a brief
introduction of the referrals, which were selected by the participants, to discuss how the
participants balanced their work and family lives. The first research section will explore
the challenges that female leaders experience in balancing work and family life. The
second research section will investigate the support mechanisms used by the participants.
The third and final research section will discuss the strategies that the participants utilize
to balance their work and family lives. Each section will end with a discussion and
analysis of the significant findings.

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Participants
The chart below (figure 5) provides an overview of the study participants and
their work and family makeup. All three women are senior level student affairs
administrators with a title of Dean and reside in California. The participants will be
referred to as Participant one, two, and three to maintain their anonymity.
Figure 5: Participant Overview

Participant

Age
Highest Level of Ed Institution Type Student
Population
Total Yrs in
Position
One ~48 Ph.D. Public 20-50K 5.5
Two ~51 Ph.D. Private 20-50K 5
Three ~38 Ed.D. Private ~10K 2.5

Participant
Referral
Relationship
Hrs Worked Weekly # Hrs W/ Family # Yrs
Married
# of
Children
One Mother ~45-60 ~32-42 ~24 1
Two Colleague/ Friend ~40 ~57 ~20 2
Three Colleague/ Friend ~55-60 ~47 9 2

Participant one comes from a working class family who did not have a lot of
money. Her parents were both high school graduates however, neither went to college.
She has been married for approximately 24 years and has one five year old daughter. Her
career in higher education spans 25 years and she has been employed at her current
institution for 22 of those years. Over the last six years, she has been in her current
position as a senior level student affairs administrator where she provides support for
various student organizations, staff, and campus programs, along with managing multiple
other student and staff related matters. Participant one has a background in residential
life and housing, and has held a myriad of positions in housing, as well as numerous
associate director and director positions. Over the last eight years, she has taught at
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multiple institutions, including state and private universities. Finally, she is active in
research and publishes in her field.
Participant two comes from a strong background of well educated people who
were ministers, nurses, and surgeons. Her father is a retired teacher. Her mother was a
teacher, later practiced law and is now a judge therefore; participant two felt that she
could not choose a field outside of a helping profession due to her family’s career
background. She has been married for approximately 20 years and has two teenage
daughters, one in high school and the other in college. Participant two has worked at her
institution for 13 years and has been in her current role for the last five years. She has
had multiple job titles, a few of which have overlapped, allowing her to expand her
expertise. For example, she has been a part of a design team to create a new program and
asked to work on curriculum, while also continuing her role as dean. Her roles have
allowed her to oversee multiple degreed programs, build relationships, represent the
school locally and nationally, and to teach. She started her career as an advisor before
becoming a hall director in residential life. Since that time, she has held positions at the
associate level or above. Lastly, she has multiple publications and presentations along
with funded grants to her credit.
Participant three also comes from a highly educated family. One parent is in
public administration and the other is a therapist. Due to her parent’s extreme level of
consciousness, she developed her understanding of social justice at a young age. She
describes herself as process-oriented, a practice she uses in both realms of her life. She
has been married for nine years and has two young children, a three year old daughter
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and a five year old son. Prior to her current position, she worked as a director of an
educational program at a private university. She was in graduate school before the
aforementioned position and held an assistant dean of students’ position at a different
private university where her career began. She has worked in her current role for three
years and has been at her current institution for four and a half years. The position
provides her with a variety of experiences from emotional wellness and support, case
management, student discipline, and leadership training, to presenting in front of the
board of trustees. Her professional background is in fraternity and sorority affairs which
she has worked in for approximately 10 years and she has also taught at the university
level.
Each participant suggested one person in their lives that the researcher should
interview in order to share his or her thoughts on how she balances work and family life
responsibilities. The criterion for the referrals was that they were not to be supervised by
the participant, but could be connected in any other way. All three participants suggested
that the researcher speak with other women; one was a mother, and two were close
colleagues and friends. The next section will introduce the three referrals from the study.
They will be addressed as referral one, two, and three and their order will correspond
with the participants they represent.
Referral one is the mother of participant number one. She worked as an
administrator for a city in California for 12 years and retired due to health concerns in the
early 1990s. To support her daughter and help with her granddaughter, she relocated and
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currently lives in a different part of California. She is a ‘hands on’ grandmother and is
very active in her granddaughter’s life, even volunteering weekly at her school.
Referral two is the colleague and friend of participant two. She has both a
professional and personal relationship with her and has stayed at her home which gives
her insight into participant two’s family life. She has had the unique experience of being
able to observe participant two’s influence in both realms, as the women work together at
the same institution.
Referral three is a friend and a colleague of participant three. Their friendship
began 14 years ago, and has evolved as they have both started families and advanced in
their careers. They have worked at the same institution twice although not in the same
department. Referral three’s work involves assisting with research issues for
undergraduate students. They speak multiple times a day and are extremely comfortable
with each other which allows them to share and be honest about professional and
personal matters.
Information gained from interviews, activity logs, resumes, work leave policies,
and office observations were used to answer the following three research questions:
Research Questions
1. What challenges do female student affairs leaders experience in balancing work
and family life?
2. What kinds of support systems are perceived to help female leaders maintain
work life balance?
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3. What strategies do female leaders in student affairs use to maintain family and
work life balance?
This chapter will review the critical findings of this case study. The next section
will begin to break down significant themes found in response to the research questions
and the themes for each research question will be discussed in order of significance in
terms of times mentioned (see figures 7 and 8), and each section will conclude with a
discussion of the overall critical findings. Figure 6 (below) is a visual overview of the
themes and subthemes discussed to answer the three research questions. The diagram
provides a visual representation of the relationship between each theme and the
subthemes.
Figure 6: Overview of Themes

Challenges
Time Constraints
•Scheduling at
Work
•Managing Home
and Work
Responsiblities
Expectations
•Self-Inflicted Pressure
•Dealing with Stress
•Adapting to the Work
Environment
•Societal Expectations at
Home
Limited Utilization of
Work Leave Policies
•Work Leave Too Short
•Accepting and
Encouraging others to
use leave
•Office Policy
Support
Husband
Family and
Network
Employers and
Peers
Mentors and Role
Models
Maintaining a
Positive Work
Environment
Strategies
Planning for
Success
•At Work
•At Home
Letting Go of the
Guilt
•Handling Guilt at
Work and Home
Health and
Wellness
•Caring for Family
•Making Time to
Exercise
•Re-energizing
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Figure 7 (below) represents the frequency in the responses of the participants and
referrals in relation to the barriers that hindered the participants’ advancement or
challenged their ability to balance work and home lives. The figure visually depicts the
number of times a topic was addressed by the participants and referrals collectively
throughout the study. A higher frequency is interpreted as being more prevalent and
having greater significance.

Figure 7: Perceived Barriers toward Leadership Advancement

Barriers Frequency
Societal Expectations 5
Glass Ceiling 4
Old Boys Network 3
Queen Bee Syndrome 1
Stress and Guilt 23
Self-doubt 0
Time 314
Health problems 33
Lack of Professional Support 4
Lack of Family Support 5
Title with no power 0
Lack of Recognition 0
Minimal use of work leave policies 19
Lack of mentors or role models 3
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Results Research Question One
The first research question asks “what challenges do female student affairs leaders
experience in balancing work and family life?” Based on the previous chapters,
challenges in the quest toward leadership advancement have been attributed to societal
expectations, internal and external barriers, and attrition (Beeny et al, 2005; Coronel et al,
2010). The three themes that emerge to answer the above question are time constraints,
expectations, and limited utilization of work place policies. Each theme also has
subthemes, lack of time, scheduling at work, and managing home and work
responsibilities. The subthemes related to expectations are self-inflicted pressure, dealing
with stress, adapting to the work environment, and expectations at home. Lastly, the
subthemes connected to the limited utilization of work place policy are work leaves too
short, accepting and encouraging others to use leave, and office policy.
Theme I: Time Constraints
The most prevalent challenge and theme is the concept of having a limited
amount of time. However, time was a challenge the participants were not able to fully
overcome no matter how well they planned. Previous chapters mentioned time
constraints multiple times and explained that women are compelled to make career and
family choices based on their set values (Allen, 1995). All three women strive to make
sure that they can make the best use of their limited time to have careers and spend time
with their families. Lack of time to manage responsibilities is also the aspect most
mentioned by all three participants and referrals collectively (see figure 7); it is referred
to over 300 times, indicating that it is a critical topic that these women must constantly
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negotiate. Research demonstrates that a factor that influenced if women were successful
at work and home was the amount of time they spent doing the job (Beeny et al, 2005).
Many times, choosing job over family takes precedence because it concerns the well-
being of students which means the women need to work longer, take work home or
remain ‘on call’ to fulfill their work responsibilities. Although they have mastered the
negotiation of their schedules, they never have truly grasped the concept of managing
their time.
Activity logs from the three participants suggest that the women are actively
trying to modify their schedules. Participant one writes “I found one volunteer
opportunity that only requires a 3 hour commitment once a month (at the most). The
commitment is flexible and allows me to ‘opt out’ for a particular month when I have
major projects on campus.” Participant two explained that she needed to schedule an
interview at work. She writes, “The issue was when to do it – time zone limitations and
my already packed schedule meant either I moved a meeting or passed up the
opportunity…” Participant three writes about her work situation, “As always, I start
counting hours and resources and trying to do the math as to how much of a deficit I will
run.” All three participants have a difficult time adjusting their already busy schedules to
assure that they can handle a work or family matter. Determining how to adjust to time
limitations are constant challenges for these women to balance in their personal and
professional realms.
Scheduling at work. All three women discuss their daily work activities as
consisting of marathon meetings among other tasks. Participant two’s assistant tries to
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break up back-to-back meetings to allow her to do work for upcoming projects or
assignments. She explains, “I have a terrific assistant and we continually negotiate the
calendar to try and break it up so I can get things done in-between and I try to figure out
what’s coming next…” The participants have difficulty getting work done while at work
or scheduling the time needed to get from one meeting to the next. Participant one states,
she learned the hard way not to schedule meetings back to back. She discloses:
I have learned over time in addition to blocking out time for the committee, to
block out time to walk there and walk back. Nothing is dumber than having back-
to-back meetings on a campus that is this huge when you’ve gotta run from one
side of it to the other. I’ve also learned to block out time to do some of the work
that comes from the committee because we don’t just go and show up and talk
and leave. It’s like you’ve got work and then you’ve got to do your work.

The participants are aware that each committee meeting comes with additional work
related responsibilities, often making their time spent in the office preparation time for
other meetings.
To stay organized, participants use calendars, however this acts as a hindrance
since it gives others an inside view of their personal lives and what they do with their
personal time. They discuss who has access to their calendars, how they feel, and how
comfortable they are labeling their personal time for others to view. Participant one notes
in her activity log that she needs to label swimming during lunch with her daughter as her
‘lunch time’ in her calendar so that others do not assume that she is enjoying herself
during her lunch hour. She writes:
If I’m going to go spend an hour swimming in the pool with my daughter and the
other kids, so be it… but I don’t want anybody to think I’m lazy or I’m swimming
just for fun. Alright, lunch time. I’ll make sure my calendar says where I am so I
can be accounted for.

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Participant three marks all of her time with her children as ‘private’ so that others do not
judge. “I had to go through every personal appointment and mark as private or “not
available here” as opposed to “leave early to go to kids’ Halloween party at school.” The
above two examples of judgmental behavior creates a stigma against working moms and
can causes tension in the work place.
All three have to maintain tight schedules to keep their lives in order; however, if
they veer from the schedule, oftentimes, they have a hard time getting back on track.
Participant three affirms, “Now my schedule is so weird and it’s always so back-to-back
that if a crisis comes up, it does look like there’s a disaster because everybody’s going to
have to move everything around because there’s a crisis…” Emergencies have a
distressing effect on everything beginning at work and can affect the home life, but
unfortunately they cannot be anticipated.
Managing time at home and work. Allen’s (1995) research found that senior
leadership positions allowed women to determine how they would spend their time at
work and home. The women in this study work extremely hard in their current positions
due to the needs and demands of their particular positions and oftentimes, have a hard
time saying ‘no’ when asked for help. Participant two gives an example of how she
negotiates her already packed schedule:
I took the interview and bumped a meeting into the time I had blocked to read a
draft of a report we needed to submit. I took the report home and didn’t read it,
but found bits of time the next day to read and edit it.

Social role theory explains that women have a desire and a need to interact with
others, which is the nature of student affairs work. Additionally, serving a large number
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of stakeholders can be a detriment, since the work is nonstop and requires a great deal of
time and energy.
To add, the participants found that as their roles grew and their titles advanced,
they became increasingly responsible for high need aspects of their jobs, which took
more time. For example, all three remain available after hours in case student needs
arise. They are responsible for dealing with calls related to student matters after hours, so
they are never completely off the clock when away from the office. Below is an example
of the effects of this amount of responsibility from participant three’s perspective:
In our Crisis Management Report who responds for the graduate students?
Participant three. There are five people, who respond for undergrads, but there’s
one person for grads and if I can’t get it, then it has to go to my boss, which in my
world is a sign that something went wrong, that’s a failure. But if, for some
reason I’m in the adventure plex playing with my kids and I don’t hear the phone,
my boss, who’s only supposed to have to do this has to pick up my slack. Now he
doesn’t think of it like that probably, but I do. So that’s a stressor, that’s a lot of
pressure.

Participant three explains that her job status sometimes places her in a difficult situation
and the stress of knowing her boss may have to fill in for her is taxing.
At home, it is clear that women have other duties and responsibilities they need to
accomplish such as being a mother and wife. Cheung and Halpern’s (2010) research
found that ‘achieving balance’ was accomplished when women were highly involved in
the lives of their families and around for major milestones, but not present all of the time.
All of the women find that they have limited time with their children and families to
spend quality time before activities such as homework, dinnertime, and bedtime.
Participant one explains:
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I have to immediately calm down, even if my day’s been horrible [so I can] enjoy
that time because honestly it’s not very much …I mean, by 8, she’s brushing her
teeth and getting ready to go to bed so there’s only a couple of hours to even see
her.

Additionally, she does the billing for her husband’s business, so she tries to find time
daily to do it, or she has to do it during the weekend, missing valuable family time. She
writes in a recent activity log entry that she spent a whole weekend catching up on the
billing, “This week, I had been staying at work late every night to get a big project done
and I had no time to work on the payroll. So I knew that I would have to catch up on the
weekend.”
All three of the participants are conscious about leaving work ‘on-time’ every
day, to get home to their families, but the reality is that there are times when family time
is interrupted because they must take work home. Each participant handles taking work
home differently, but for all, it is considered a barrier since it takes away from quality
family time. Participant two records in her activity log that she rarely takes work home,
but when she has to she tries to get it done during family TV time so she does not miss
out. She explains, “I decided to locate all the late papers and grade as many as I could by
9pm while sitting with my daughter, watching TV shows she likes. I got about 6 of the
12 graded.” This plan allows her to spend quality time with her daughter, monitor what
she watches, and to get work done. The plan works sometimes, but not always. For
instance, some days, participant two comes home to learn she needs to adjust her
schedule because her daughter needs something for school the next day, so she and her
daughter may need to go shopping. Participant two quotes her daughter by saying, “I
need to go to the grocery store because I’m supposed to make brownies Mom” or “I need
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to have a calculator for class,” or whatever she hasn’t planned for, so we’re taking care of
that stuff in the evening. On occasion, there are time requirements from both home and
work that need to be managed. She notes in her activity log that one night she needed to
take a dissertation home to edit and give feedback on for one of her doctoral students.
She also had to attend a school activity with her daughter so she needed to complete both
tasks on the same evening. She worried about the outcome, although she managed to do
both tasks and felt good about completing them effectively.
Participant three typically has play time with her children when she gets home
from work, and after they fall asleep, she continues to work. She finds herself doing
everything in her life at a set time, she states below:
I get home at 5:30pm and the kids and I play and do stuff. You know, from 5:30
until 8:30, we do dinner and activities or something… I put them to bed and then I
go back to “my life” [and] I cut their life off. I have to go back to work and make
sure that I’m not needed or wanted or there’s nothing that’s come up... I have to
work out, make lunches, make the coffee, do the dishes and clean the house all
between 9 and 11 and then I go to bed.

Participant three finds that during the week, her days are extremely regimented to allow
her to stay on schedule and to get everything done. Yet, the tasks are not always
completed and sometimes the schedule fails forcing her to fall behind.
The major challenge that the participants experienced was attempting to get the
most done in a limited amount of time without sacrificing their rest. This encompassed
completing the most important and pressing issues at work, and at home, and being
present for their families to avoid missing memorable experiences. Many times, they
found that work time interfered and competed with family time no matter how they set
the boundaries.
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Theme II: Expectations
This second theme connected to challenges will address various work and home-
related expectations. The subthemes that will be explored in relation to expectations are
self-inflicted pressure, adapting to the work environment, and expectations at home.
Self-inflicted pressure. Professional women felt stress and guilt about working
and being away from home based on the pressures they inflicted on themselves (Ressier,
2002). This guilt and stress is a barrier to balancing work and family lives. Participant
one discusses that she puts so much pressure on herself; her friends and family members
have to remind her to be less critical. To illustrate, her friend explained to her that she
was too critical of herself and that she would not meet her own high expectations while
she was in her doctoral studies, due to other competing aspects in her life. Raskin (2006)
found that women felt pressure from societal expectations to be good homemakers and
mothers, as well as working professionals, which added to the pressure they placed on
themselves. Participant three explains that since she leaves work at 4:00 pm every day,
she is always behind. She comments, “I’m always behind the eight-ball in terms of
showing commitment because I leave early and I do less, I work less, so I’m always
overcompensating.” As a result, and to prove she is a hard worker while at the office, she
works nonstop, takes no lunches or breaks, is on every committee, writes all of the
reports, and takes all of the middle-of-the-night calls for students of concern. She gives
details:
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I’ve been called every weekend for the past month on a student issue, but I also
leave at 4 and I’m highly aware that my colleagues don’t have young children.
They don’t carry the burden of thinking, “Well, we have to pick up the slack at
4:00 because participant three leaves early,” but I carry that burden and it is a
burden because if I didn’t have these things to balance I could finish the project
I’m on and leave when I was done, but I have the baby-sitter’s schedule, my
schedule, the traffic schedule, my kids’ school schedule, all the things that I need
to wrap up here all playing out all day long and how that’s going to work. I’ll
finish that tonight. I’ll just work late and get it done” …

Participant one adds that she puts so much pressure on herself that she does not take time
to rest when she is sick. She states:
I also have such a work identity I would take sick time and I would still be
working. You know, my sister and I were hilarious. When my mom was in the
hospital, we both walked in with roll carts …I mean, people were like, and “Who
are you guys?” We’re nobody really, we’re just workaholics basically, but we
both rolled in laptops, we set up, plug everything in, I had the phone, I had the
laptop, I was emailing...

Participant three explains that she is not pressured to put the amount of stress on herself
that she does and that her boss ‘gets it’. She elaborates:
I mean, he doesn’t micro manage my time, he doesn’t need me to be any more
present here and my presence is a big one even if it’s a shorter one than
everybody’s. He does tease me, he’ll say, “For somebody who leaves at 4, you
sure are everywhere all day long,” and I really respect that he gets that
[because]he doesn’t have to, so I respect that he believes I can do this full-time
with 80% hours and 20% contribution from a remote location. I do know that I
have to remind him that I still get that other 20% in...”

Yet, with an understanding boss she still feels that she must constantly prove herself and
work harder due to the pressure she inflicts on herself. Two of the three participants
explain that they need to make sure that ‘others’ know what their work output is in order
to further validate that they were doing their jobs even though, as demonstrated above,
many times, the supervisors are pleased with their work output. Moreover, chapter two
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explains that women’s feelings of internal or self-inflicted pressure are often ignored by
society (Guendouzi, 2006).
Dealing with stress. An immediate health related concern is the stress that many
times encompasses these types of positions. Participant three explained that there is “no
free or new time” and that she goes “from one obligation to the next obligation to the
next obligation,” which can be stressful and harmful to her well-being.
The stressors are you build it, it’s [the schedule] so fragile, and you just don’t
know how many days you’re going to get it to work. It’s a tenuous plan and it is
not something that you would build without knowing there are huge risks
involved. It’s dependent on one thing, me, and frankly on daycare, but my
daycare provider is really pretty reliable. So what happens if I get sick? What
happens if there’s an emergency that I have to go to, either with my family or
with work? Then I have to rethink all the time and that’s stressful.

When the schedule fails, the participants quickly begin to experience stress indicators
from their bodies and in their moods. However, because of the importance of their roles,
they must deal with the issue and complete the task at hand before attending to their
personal needs.
Participant one writes in her activity log about how a work related crises caused
“stress to seep out of every pore in her body” as a result of working late for multiple
weeks and getting home with just enough energy to go to bed. Participant two explains
that hostility from some colleagues felt personal, and at times, those people showed up in
her dreams, another manifestation of stress and internal barriers.
Well, some of that is that antagonism that I feel from some colleagues and I don’t
think it’s…I don’t think they think of it as being personal, but it’s hard not to take
it as being personal to the point where I’ve actually had those folks appear in
dreams. You know, I don’t know if it’s your subconscious trying to work [it] out

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This stress related to work can have negative long term effects and can be detrimental to
overall wellbeing.

Adapting to the work environment
The university work climate tends to dictate how people work on most campuses.
Employees are expected to adjust their work styles in order to be successful in their
particular work environments. Participant two discusses the scrutiny of being the school
representative, while participant one explains the legal aspects of her role and its
challenges. According to the research, women who want to advance need to outperform
expectations, put in longer hours, take on high profile assignments, and make more
sacrifices to try to get approval from the workplace (Coronel et al, 2010; Ezzedeen &
Ritchey, 2008). All three participants spoke about working too hard, calling themselves a
“workaholic” or a “workhorse.” For participant one, she found that she was expected to
be a workaholic, “you are a workaholic, you work really hard, that’s what gets rewarded,
that is what’s expected.” She elaborates by saying “I really believed that if you worked
and worked and worked and worked and worked it would be rewarded and it’s not true.
It’s not true.”
Also, high-level positions can add more pressure to the job. For example,
occasionally women in leadership roles find that they must be the mouth of the
organization, and the carrier of bad and good news (Rosser, 2000). The expectation is
that you will mediate difficult situations explains participant two. Below is an example
of how participant two dealt with a tough situation:
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I’m more often the face of the school and the face of the programs that I work
with… but if the topic is seeking permission to offer a program in other states,
and accrediting bodies, I must deal with colleagues from other institutions.
They’re hostile. So you’ve got to bring to bear all your diplomacy skills and all
your smarts and everything to try and win these people over. Although I am up to
the task and the right person to be sitting there, I am “wish[ing] one of the other
faculty members was here who knew more about this than I do because, I don’t
really know about all these standards and I actually don’t really care”. So that
pressure has increased.

Participants two and three disclose that they are typically called to create a positive
outcome to difficult situations. The need for these skills adds additional pressure to their
roles that they may not have anticipated. Participant two clarifies that in order to find
common ground in tense work situations, she must understand, “that whole sort of win-
win, look for common ground strategy, but it takes a lot of self-control.” Similarly,
participant three is able to find the common ground in work related situations. “I’m often
the person who’s able to reframe or articulate the position that seems the most
reasonable.”
Participant one’s job requires her to adjust to different types of pressures, she
explains, “Ok, the fascinating thing in this job, being [responsible for students], has much
more mental stress and preparing for the litigation stuff, like when they sue us, what are
we going to say?” These are some of the concerns the participants experience on a daily
basis and along with the angst of how to best represent their universities.
Societal expectations at home. Social role theory explains that women and men
were socialized differently, so women needed to be self-sacrificing for their families
(Powell, 2009). The participants find themselves ‘in charge’ at home. Participant one is
the exception. Her husband cooks and takes care of a great deal of the home
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responsibilities. However, she writes in her activity log about her family responsibilities
including her accountant role for her husband’s business. Participants two and three do
all of the domestic work at home. Participant three uses online shopping to order and
deliver groceries, and her husband does the laundry (on weekends) and finances. She
makes lunches and cleans the house daily, and elaborates on her morning routine:
I’m taking the lunches out of the refrigerator, putting them in the backpacks. All
the show-and-tell stuff needs to be in there, all the letter-of-the-day for the kids,
the petitions, whatever else they’ve got going on, their backpacks have to be
assembled and I put them out, wipe down the counters or load the dishwasher,
anything that wasn’t done the night before.

Participant two cooks dinner for her family regularly and she and her husband bargain to
determine who will do the other domestic tasks. She reveals:
At home it’s a never-ending negotiation, push-pull about who’s supposed to do
what. Things have shifted a little because the oldest child is out of the house. We
have different levels of tolerance for mess and usually the one who is least
tolerant is the one who has to do the cleaning. It’s a pretty traditional household in
that he does all the outside stuff and I do all the inside stuff and occasionally I try
and push back on that a little bit and just either tell him to do the dishes or just
leave them and see how long they’ll sit before somebody else does them. He’s
very particular about doing laundry so I have told him he’s welcome to do it. I’m
not doing his laundry. So it’s probably pretty traditional.

In sum, these women are faced with pressures from expectations they place on
themselves, society, and from their work and home lives. Self inflicted pressure causes
women to work tirelessly to prove themselves even though their employers are often
satisfied with their work. Adapting to the work environment causes women to take on
greater responsibility, to work differently, and to become more visible which increases
stress. Societal expectations at home require that women shift roles to mother and wife,
continuously in charge of family planning and what happens in the household. Women
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are required to fulfill their home roles which they often have a difficult time doing, and
they must also be available for work if needed, for calls and to take work home.

Theme III: Limited Utilization of Work Leave Policies
The third theme addresses the use of work leave policies in the work place.
Expectancy theory found that women who did not want to derail their leadership
advancement chose to shorten their family leaves and in hindsight regretted it
(Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). Aldous’ (1990) research established that in the
United States employers were behind in implementing supportive benefits to assist
employees establish work and family live balance. Although Family and Medical Leave
(FMLA) are mandated and available to these women, all three women acknowledge that
they do not use it much. Three ideas or subthemes surfaced in regards to work leave
policies, work leave too short, acceptance and encouraging others to use leave, and office
policy.
Work leave too short. Two of the participants discussed their experiences taking
maternity leave from work, and that it was too short. Participants one and three returned
to work excessively early; participant three returned to work in less than six weeks with
both of her children, and participant one used her full twelve weeks, but had multiple
surgeries and could have stayed home longer to heal and bond with her child. The
participants were motivated by fear; either they wanted to avoid looking like they were
not right for the job, or they wanted to avoid losing the job. Participant one articulates, “I
was just worried that self-imposed worry that, “Oh, if I don’t come back on the day that I
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said, it’s justified, ‘See, there she is, mom doesn’t want to work now’.” Moreover, the
two participants who currently have young children felt that their gender, age, and
background affected how others perceived them, as explained in the social role theory.
They felt a desire to demonstrate that they were right for the job, could have families, and
be good employees despite their age and gender. Participant three felt guilty because 100
people were laid off and she got a promotion. She felt, “It’s hard not to come back to
work. It’s hard to be the person out on maternity leave when I’ve got staff that’s being
laid off and their boss isn’t there to support them.” These thoughts drove them back to
work too soon, for participant three twice, as she outlines below:
I cried all the way to work the very first day I came here…my six-month old
baby’s at home. Some people are still on maternity leave and I’m already, not
only back to my first job, but already off to my second job since my son was
born… I also compromised my maternity leave the second time. I was not able to
take a three-month maternity leave. I took six weeks. I was back to work the
beginning of September, my daughter was born in mid July, but the environment
required that… I took another job with a six-month old, which was really hard.
So I did the same thing twice. And then again, a bigger job with more hours and
here I was with not only a two-year old but a six-month old as well.

Participant one not only wishes she would have stayed home longer, she wishes
she would have had more children. Her leave was much more complicated; she had three
operations during her leave in relation to giving birth and returned to work exactly three
months after delivery. She says:
My maternity leave was three months. I hardly had any time with her, just the
two of us, enjoying it without being hooked to some machine. If I had more
confidence that I had support here for both family and work, I feel like I could
have asked to stay home longer, but I was afraid because nobody said it to me. I
didn’t tell anybody what I was going through.

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Moreover, women did not feel that they would be viewed favorably if they took
advantage of work place policies or used them too much. Participant one did not share
her pregnancy news with her colleagues until a couple of months before her delivery,
because she did not want others to think she would be distracted.
Acceptance and encouraging others to use leave. Additionally, all three
participants made remarks that demonstrate that they are accepting of colleagues or staff
members using work leave policies to support their families or work. Participant two’s
advice to women trying to balance work and family was to:
[Find] out from your kid what’s important, where do they want you to be and
when, and… do those things so that you (mom) don’t have those regrets. Call in
sick if you have to or whatever. It’s almost like you get it out of your system or
you realize you don’t have to be there for that event because otherwise, it’s going
to totally distract you from what you’re trying to do.

The participants discuss their feelings about colleagues making negative remarks
about other employees taking leave. Participant three feels strongly that others should
utilize leave policies and is vocal in her support of her staff members, and her disapproval
of negative attitudes toward women taking maternity leave or caring for their families.
“You should never, ever, ever forgo the resources available to you. You take every
minute and then when you get back, you renegotiate.” Participant one is also an avid
supporter of women using their work leave policies and supporting women’s rights. She
has advised women regarding when to tell employers that they were pregnant during the
interview process, and she has also hired women who she knew were pregnant.
Participant two talks about a colleague who is able to utilize the leave policy to
further his research agenda as a faculty member, which is supported by the institution.
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Two of the women discuss the difficulty of working in higher education with faculty
members and having a great deal of influence in how decisions are made without holding
faculty positions. The fear of negative faculty perceptions also has a great deal of
influence on how they conduct their work activities.
Office policy. At work, participants find that they need to be able to adapt to the
work situation they are in to be successful. Participant three explains that her work
environment does not allow her to bring her children to work. She explains that although
this has been modeled at other institutions, it would not be allowed with her current boss.
She elaborates on how this was modeled, “She got the benefit of bringing her kids to
work and I could never do that here. I could absolutely never do that here,” when
discussing a mentor. In contrast, participant two comments that,
It was also neat that when my kids were really little and they continue to do it
now, if there was a vacation day at school, I was able to bring them and they’d sit
there with their laptop or movies or something, sit quietly, but they could be with
me because finding short-term childcare like that is next to impossible and it’s
been important to me to work in a place that thought that was okay.

To conclude, although they have some regrets about how they have used the
policies in the past, their behavior has not changed. Ultimately, they were too concerned
with how others will perceive them to take full advantage of the policies themselves.
However, the participants are accepting and supportive of others utilizing work leave
policies as needed.
Analysis and Discussion Research Question One
Three major themes were relevant to answer research question one time
constraints, expectations, and limited utilization of work place policies. As evident from
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chapter two, the participants experienced the most difficulty adjusting to time limitations
due to the amount of tasks they hoped to accomplish at work and home in a short amount
of time. They continually strive to balance both realms of their lives, while having high-
level jobs and families. Women find themselves regularly juggling aspects in their lives
due to time constraints and a limited amount of available time. Career women feel
pressured from society, their partners, children and themselves to be more available. As
such, they take on greater responsibility, work above and beyond their roles, and give up
their free time to meet the demand (Coronel et al, 2010). Additionally, to be present at
home, these women rearrange their schedules, give up sleep, and sacrifice their health.
The participants thought that if they worked hard to advance their career they would have
more control of their time and more family time.
Lack of time created multiple challenges due to the reality that the work never
ends. This challenge places a great deal of pressure on the participants who want to
determine how they can make their responsibilities more manageable. To tackle the
challenges related to time, they utilized calendars. However, this mechanism became a
hindrance as it allowed others too much transparency into their private lives. The
participants were then expected to share their calendars with other, allowing others to
hold them accountable and exposing their actions to be judged by others. The women
found that there were persistent barriers in relation to time, yet they continued to strive to
complete the tasks and priorities while dealing with these barriers.
Next, the expectations they placed on themselves perpetuated the idea that they
needed to overcompensate, and allowed others to feel that they would always go above
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and beyond in their work. Unique to the discussion is the idea that women needed to
have a work ethic similar to men and produce similar outputs, which caused them to feel
increased pressure to outperform at work. Women felt like they were expected to
dedicate their “entire being” to the job, and as a result health issues developed from stress
and guilt. Their demanding positions were also high need and the women were
constantly expected to complete the difficult, time consuming, high profile, and mentally
draining tasks.
Another unique finding was the commitment the participants had towards their
staff utilizing leave policies, although they rarely used them. In hindsight, two of the
participants would have taken longer maternity leave time. Yet, they do not view taking
leave to support the health of family members as a similar issue. In the end, although
these positions allow them a little more flexibility in their schedules on a day-to-day
basis, to take care of both work and family needs; they are still constantly juggling work
responsibilities at home and at work. The participants used the activity log as a place to
share the challenges they encountered in relation to the three themes, and they were able
to explain how they overcame the challenges by utilizing the support networks they had
in place. The support networks will be discussed in the next section.
Results Research Question Two
Research question two asks, “What kinds of support systems are perceived to help
women leaders maintain work life balance?” In this study, support systems are defined
as “people who have a strong interest in the success of an individual and a willingness to
provide assistance to help ensure that success” (Myers & Ginsberg, 1994). The two
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themes that will be addressed in this section are, support is essential and maintaining a
positive work environment. A review of the support systems that the participants used
will be analyzed and discussed for similarities and differences of responses in connection
to the participants support mechanisms. The results will be discussed and follow with an
analysis of the findings. Figure 8, similar to Figure 7 in the challenges section, represents
the responses of the participants and referrals in regards to the support systems that aided
in the participants’ ability to balance their work and home lives. The chart depicts the
amount of times a topic was addressed by the participants and referrals collectively
during the study. Again, a higher frequency is interpreted as having greater meaning.
Figure 8: Support Mechanisms used by Participants

Theme I: Support is Essential
Just as Powell (2007) found in his study, the participants agreed that family and
work support systems are extremely important. Figure 8 supports this finding since the
term family was mentioned 99 times, twice as many as any other mentioned support
mechanism. The support subthemes that will be discussed in the following section are
husbands, families and network, employers and peers, mentors and role models. The
Support Frequency
Spouses 47
Family 99
Friends 29
Employers 47
Colleagues 30
Mentors & Role Models 40

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participants listed all of the above named support mechanisms as people who aid their
ability to have both work and family lives. Participant three utters that everyone plays a
part and reiterates this by saying “I think everybody is supportive. I think it takes a
village, so I certainly don’t think this is about me being able to get it all done.” This
sentiment is further demonstrated by the unanimous response in Figure 8 from the
participants’ incorporating all of the listed supports as aspects of their support systems.
Lastly, the mentor and role model sections will have two parts and will focus on the
people who have been mentors and role models in the participant’s lives, as well as the
participants influence as mentors and role models.
Husbands. The participant’s husbands play a vital role in providing them with
emotional support. All three speak of having supportive husbands who are willing to
sacrifice recognition in their careers to allow their wives to succeed. Baumgartner and
Schneider’s (2010) research found that supportive spouses, who are willing to relocate,
stay at home, or restructure their work schedules in support of their wives’ careers are
critical to having a successful work and family life. Participant three explains that her
husband is that type of partner and only does his job to financially support their family.
She explains his discontent with his work, “his job doesn’t matter to him. His world isn’t
compromised at all. It’s not a competition at all between (our) two important roles.”
Participant two states that her husband also supports her career aspirations. She says,
“I’ve made more money than he has, I’ve had a different kind of job than he’s had and
he’s been completely [okay] with that.” Participant one also agrees when she explains
that her husband’s “work is important to him, but he’s not as driven in terms of,
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“advancement, advancement, advancement… he’s more like, I work so I have money to
play,” while she is able to do what she loves.
Every one of the participants spoke specifically about the importance of their
partners and how that support aids in their ability to balance work and family life. They
also explain that beyond being supportive, their husbands are also understanding of their
desire to work hard and maintain family lives. Participant one articulates that she has “a
good partner [in] m y husband.” She points out:
I think if my husband had not been supportive of my desire to move up and work,
my desire to go to school, my desire to wait to have children, we wouldn’t have
made it this long really, but he really backed me up every time I said, “Ok, this is
what we’re doing next.”

Participant three also gives details of her husband’s acceptance of her role:
He doesn’t have guilt for when he’s not with the kids. He doesn’t have any of this
mess and yet he’s so understands that I do. He doesn’t live it, so he doesn’t get
how hard it is, but he so respects that that’s important to me and that takes a lot of
patience. You know, it takes a lot to understand somebody else’s world.
Sometimes he’s like, “If it’s too hard of a commute, leave. If it’s too hard, we
won’t do it. If you can’t handle the middle of the night calls, then take a pay cut
and don’t do it. Don’t, it’s ok, don’t. We don’t have to have you do this.” And
sometimes he’s like, “So why do you keep doing it?” And I’m like, “Because it
makes me happy. You know, I can’t be anybody else. I was born to do this. This
is who I am.”

Although the participant’s husbands maintain different responsibilities in terms of
their roles in the household, they support their spouses and provide the reassurance each
women needs to be successful.
Furthermore, all three discuss their relationships and communication styles with
their spouses and how it affects how the household is run. Participant one remarks that:
Honestly, success in my family has been willing to grow and change to
communicate differently than I’m used to because I’ve learned how to
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communicate with my husband. And so I just learned how to communicate with
him in a way that he’s comfortable with, so I’ll tell him something and then I
know he won’t answer until tomorrow and just because I know that, I can have
peace that I’ll get my answer tomorrow.
Participant three adds that:

I do everything except he takes care of paying household bills… we have
household responsibilities and he’s responsible for managing that account and
making sure everything is paid always on time and he does laundry on the
weekends because the baby-sitter does it during the week. So it’s clean, it’s not
[fair] it’s lopsided, but it’s clean.

The participants have developed ways of communicating with their spouses that allow
them to feel supported. While the women still carry more of the responsibility at home,
they feel comfortable with the arrangement.
Families and network. Two of the participants have young children. Participant
one has help from immediate family who live nearby; while participant three has hired
help and will occasionally have family support. Participant two has older children so she
does not currently require the same amount of support. Participant one utilized extended
family to help care for her daughter until her mother moved closer. She describes her
mother as being, “so generously kind and very supportive.” Her mother exclaims that
their family believes that, “we are all in this together,” so they all chip in, help with
homework, and do their part. Participant one further discloses that during the week:
My mom comes to my house and while I’m getting dressed, she helps…this is a
life-saver. She gets my daughter dressed, she gives her breakfast, she talks to her
while I’m getting dressed, and so by the time I come downstairs, we all leave the
house together. She actually drops her off… and I can come straight here, so
that’s another half an hour right? If you think about it, that’s half an hour for
getting her ready and then a half an hour for dropping her off, signing her in, and
staying there and then her day goes on.

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Participant three explains that during typical weeks she has the babysitter until 5:30 pm
when she gets home. However, she revealed in her activity log that during a week when
she had to work 15 hour days, she depended on grandma to fill the gap. Participant two
manages the needs of her family in various ways. One example is by leaving, “[daily]
notes for whoever needs one” as explained by referral two.
All of the participants emphasize the idea of having a “support group of
colleagues/friends they can trust to share information with at work and home.” A
relevant finding is in how participant three expanded her support network. Since she
does not have additional time to build new support networks, she builds new friendships
with other moms in her neighborhood and at work. She has friends who are colleagues
from work and other friends who are moms with children in her community. This
support network of other working mothers who are able to find each other, allows her to
form bonds and the women are able to help each other out by “picking up your kids so
that [you] can work late and I pick up their kids the next day.” Again, the idea that
“everyone needs to be supportive” in order to be successful is incorporated.
Employers and peers. The participants also emphasize the necessity of
supportive relationships with supervisors and peers. The research found that support at
work allows women to be successful according to social role theory and reduces health
concerns (Marcinkus et al, 2007). Participant three declares that, “the supervisor makes
all the difference.” Participant two agrees and states that her boss has first-hand
experience so with family and work she discusses how to address the topic of support and
the importance of good communication at work. Participant two reveals that you need to
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be able to say when you are struggling with a family related decision and allow them to
reference their experiences and/or encourage you to go. For example:
You have to be able to raise the topic. If people don’t know you’re struggling
with… whatever the issue is, then they’re not going to be able to have that
conversation, (where boss says) “Hey, I did that all the time with my kids. Feel
free,” kind of thing...

Therefore, “having a good relationship with the boss and peers” is extremely
important to garner their support. As well, it is necessary that women are “conscious of
how influential their boss is to how they feel about their job.” Participant three further
discusses her relationship with her boss:
This job and this flexibility comes with some responsibility. Lots of moms are
trying to make this work and I am the one that got the job and the boss [who] gave
me the ability to do it my way. Everybody with a salary here could never leave at
four.

Participant three feels secure in the fact that her boss really ‘gets it’ and understands her
contribution to the institution and the importance of her doing a good job. Supportive
relationships with colleagues also increase the likelihood of advancement and have
positive effects on health and well-being. Participant two explains that she was promoted
in part, because of her colleagues’ advocacy:
I think being respected as somebody who gets work done, so that when we needed
somebody in this role, it was actually my peers who said in one of our strategic
planning meetings to the dean, “You ought to put participant two in that role.”

Participant one found that she needed colleague support in her time of need, in the
hospital shortly after giving birth, when she got an infection, had multiple surgeries, and
had a breakdown at the hospital prior to another operation.
I finally reached out to my work mates and I just sent them probably an email,
text or whatever, just saying… “Ok, I just need your support. I’ve been in the
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hospital this many days, they’re going to operate on me again and I’m just really
frustrated,” and of course my work friends sent me cards, sent me flowers, started
calling, and I was like, “Ok.”

Additionally, all three express that having a small group of people that they can
confide in and whom they are comfortable to vent with is important to avoid taking the
negativity home. Participant one discloses, that “the people that I pick are women friends
and colleagues that I trust because there’s nothing worse than really wanting to say
something to somebody and not trusting that it’s going to stay in that tiny two-person
conversation.” All three participants also address the need for peers as sounding boards
and as valuable assets in skill building. Participant’s one and three discuss examples of
colleague support.
Participant one describes her relationship with a new colleague:
[When] she got here she’s like, “Let’s go out to dinner. Let’s go out to lunch,”
and she was just so different and I was like, “Why not? Why not?” And so she
and I started going out to lunch more and I would talk to her about my family, she
would talk to me about her family, and all of a sudden it was like, “It’s so nice to
have somebody who’s already in the know so I’m not breaking any confidences
and we can talk about work if we want, we can ask each other for advice about
this or that,” and then also she just cares that I have a personal life, and so we
could talk about it without having to hide it.

Participant three also explains her friendship with peers:
If I need my personal life to get sorted out at work, I go take my best friends, and
I go sit in their car or go to a far corner where there are no students and no staff
and isolate because I don’t want to share that with everyone.

Even though each participant has family and employer support, they also need
others who they can speak with candidly. They appreciate the relationships they have
with colleagues at similar professional levels that allow them to give each other work
advice and to speak candidly without breaking confidences.
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Mentors and Role Models
The literature explains that helping behavior is necessary in the advancement of
women administrators (Searby & Tripses, 2006). Without these ‘doorkeepers,’ women
have a more difficult, if not impossible, time forming the necessary networks to reach
their goals. Mentoring has been considered a primary and influential social support
mechanism for the advancement of women (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010).
In chapter two, mentors were defined as colleagues and supervisors who actively
provided support, opportunities, and guidance for protégés. It has also been considered a
critical coping mechanism for women executives attempting to maintain work and family
lives. Formal mentoring relationships are typically set up by an organization or
intervention to provide guidance. Two of the three participants said that they did have
mentors; they also had role models who helped them directly or indirectly to determine
their strengths and move forward in their careers and two of the participants consider
themselves mentors, primarily at work. Participant two does not consider herself a
mentor, although referral two explains that others consider her a mentor, as noted in
figure 9 (below). They all describe mentor relationships in positive ways and see them as
formal, long lasting, and genuine. Participant two described a mentor as someone a
person can really talk to:
Off the record, you can let your hair down with and rant about what’s happening,
try out strategies and solutions hypothetically with them and figure out how
you’re going to go after a particular issue and what to do next and think out-loud
with them.

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Participant three expresses that it is also about taking the time out to help. She spoke
about two mentors; one positive and one she considers a good/bad mentor in one. She
declares:
Um, I actually worked for a woman who had four children, and I always found
her to be a hot mess. I found her to always be a disaster and was always unable to
be present. Her presence was always shifted and kind of disjointed. Now she did
have kids between 5 and 13 when I knew her and now that I have kids I can see
[ w h y ], but I learned from her that you can do it and that you should do it if you
want.

Participant three further discusses the unfocused mentor and explains that she was also a
positive influence for the many lessons she left with her. Below is an example of a lesson.
You know, forget the money. Let’s get you the good gig [job] because either
you’re going to get somewhere better because of it, where you go somewhere
else, or the title will get you…” because there’s a million things that come with
title changes and promotions, even if it’s not money.

In terms of being a mentor, participant three mentors early and mid career
professionals in the field who need advancement. She learned from her positive role
model that she needs to advocate for her staff and try to take them with her as she climbs
the professional ladder. Referral two articulates that participant two is a mentor:
Absolutely, certainly for students, both undergraduate and graduate students. She
has very strong relationships with students and I think they do see her as a mentor.
I can think of dozens of first-hand experiences where students go to her for
mentorship and guidance. Yeah, and I think she’s a mentor for people, for her
colleagues too. I mean, I call her a couple times a week for guidance and
feedback.

All of the participants were considered mentors by their own classification or by others.
However, the definitions of mentors and role models often overlap making the distinction
unclear.
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Figure 9 (below) depicts the participants’ accounts of having mentor and/or role
model relationships. It also addresses if they actively participate as mentors and/or role
models and their related comments.

Figure 9: Mentor/Role Models Relationships

Mentor / Role
Model
Participant
1
Participant
2
Participant
3
Comments
Participant
had a mentor?
No No Yes Participant three discusses an influential relationship
that was both negative and positive. Participant two’s
mom was most influential
Participant is
a mentor?
Yes No* Yes Participant one encourages women to make the right
career moves for them when the time is right. She
supports women choosing to have a family and
wanting to work. *Referral two describes participant
two as a mentor for others
Participant three had three mentors
Participant
had a role
model?
Yes Yes Yes Participant one’s role model was the one female
supervisor she had.
Participant is
a role model?
Yes Yes Yes Participant one says she is going to start a list of every
single professional that she has encouraged to get a
Masters and a doctorate degree.
Participant two opens her home to Graduate students
for housing.

A role model is considered “a person whose behavior, decision-making you want
to emulate, that you admire, that you think, I like the way that person does that. I wish I
could do that all the time.” Role models do not have to be agreed upon by the parties
involved, sometime the role model is unaware of the protégés admiration; the research
describes multiple options for role model types (Méndez-Morse, 2004). All three
participants agree that role models played a huge role in their professional development.
They discuss the importance of employer relationships and its impact, as well as the idea
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that these relationships can develop into mentor or role model relationships over time.
The participants had varying views on if they thought they were considered role models.
Yet, all of their referrals consider them as role models. As well, all three are probably
considered role models based on the high level of their positions and the nature of their
work, and because they supervise a large number of support staff.
Participant one makes clear that her role model was “always strategizing,” as she
directed her:
Ok, I want you to write an intro on the cover sheet for political reasons. We
should make sure your name shows up somewhere on this, otherwise nobody will
know you ever did it” and I was like, “Oh, ok.” And then as time went on…you
know, I was with her for several years in the department and then she’d make
some flippin’ comment about it was time to apply for raises for people and she’s
like, “Yeah, you should always try to get as much money as you can for your
people.” I mean, she would just randomly say things just out-loud what she was
thinking in her head and they stuck with me. So I think she was influential
because I think when you’re a lower-level employee, you are guarded or you are
protected from ugliness.

Participant three describes her relationship with a role model:

You know, (name) was conscientious. She brought me up with her. Every time
she got a good gig, she brought me up with her and there’s some real
responsibility to do that for other people too, especially people that are hired
where they report to me.

Participant one states that as a role model, she is supportive with her staff:

I pride myself in being that supervisor that’s supportive, so even though I haven’t
found it for me, I do definitely look for opportunities to support women to do
what they need to do in the ways that they need to do it.

Participant two explains that as a role model, there has always been somebody living in
the house with her family:
First it was a graduate student in the Masters program and later on it was a
doctoral student…so I get close relationships with a lot of the students in the
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programs, which I like. I’m actually getting to know them and I suppose they
might refer to me that way, but it’s not that it was set out to be that way, it was
just trying to be helpful I think.

Support relationships appeared to be the essential piece to allow women to feel
supported in both aspects of their lives. It begins with support at home and is followed
by a strong employer relationship, as the two critical aspects which promote success.
Along with having colleagues as a sounding board who are compassionate and willing to
help the participants accomplish the tasks at hand. Uniquely, women mentors and role
models played a vital role in providing the participants with professional wisdom and
helping them to build their own philosophies. This is contrary to the literature which
found women leaders to often act as queen bees.
Theme II: Maintaining a Positive Work Environment
Maintaining a positive work environment is a necessity for all three participants
interviewed. Cheung and Halpern (2010) found that women leaders want to redefine
their roles to allow them to control the messages they relay. Powell (2009) found that
women’s sense of self derives from two things, (1) ‘who they were’ internally and (2) the
social context or environment they experience. In addition, social role theory explains
the development of sense of self and understanding one’s strengths and talents in a
changing environment. The participants use the following descriptions for the type of
work environments they create “warm,” “office a happy place,” and “makes me smile”.
Participant one articulates:
So my office is filled with pictures [from] my art gallery. Some I’ve gotten from
when she [daughter] was born, like every year of her life is right in my office.
My office has only a few of the books that I love, I have another bookshelf that’s
filled with stuff. It’s filled with things that people have given me, like gifts. It’s
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filled with cultural… mementos from workshops, thank you gifts from a class I
taught for a man that was going to Afghanistan and, when he came back, he
brought me a carpet so that’s my carpet. Pictures of old staff groups, staff pictures
with our distinguished speakers. Paintings my students have painted. So my
office actually is a happy place.

Examples of things that make the participants smile are pictures of their children, awards
and certificates, flowers, and art. Many of the items listed on the office observation
checklist (see Appendix C) are identified in the offices of the participants to aid in
providing a positive work environment. Furthermore, a positive work environment refers
to the ‘feeling’ inside of the office, the relationships they have at work, and how they feel
about their work. The office ambiance is set-up to make the participants and visitors feel
comfortable and at ease in the space.
Participant two conveys that, “most people describe it looking like a room in a
house…I’ve tried where possible to swap in my own furniture,” she articulates:
I think I put things in here that make me smile, so I have pictures of my kids and
pictures of me with my graduate students who’ve graduated and there’s more stuff
in here than can fit in the office, so I’ve got pictures on the ground.

It is also “student-centered” for all three participants which they have created by putting
up student related pictures and art and by having an office that is different than the other
high level administrators. They also have an open door policy with their students, which
make students comfortable and the administrators more approachable. Participant three
says:
My office is pretty student-centered. I mean that kind of philosophically and
physically. It’s probably more student-centered… than probably any of my
colleagues. I have warm colors, lots of pictures. That’s my orientation team from
this year, that’s the orientation team from last year, there are my kids, and there
are pillows. I try to make this place a warm office so that students are around a
lot. The best work I do is when I encourage them to come in or to come back in,
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and so I kind of try to create a feel that this is pretty safe and casual and I’m not
all that important so that they don’t have … barriers to formality for coming in.

In addition, the participants are passionate about their roles and the impact they
are able to have in their work. Self concept is developed based on a person’s ability to
achieve at work; therefore, doing work that affects change has a huge impact on self-
efficacy (Allen, 1995). Participant one mentions how she realized that the job she was
doing was for her, because of the decision making power she would have, while she
attended her first leadership meeting. There were:
Six of us in the room, just listening to the conversations, listening to how things
were decided and listening and figuring out, “These six people are just deciding
everything. Oh, my goodness. Really?” Hearing about things that had been
decided the year before when I was a director… I was like, “Wait a minute.
What? That’s how you decided that budget allocation? What? You could give
me extra money for that? How come I never asked for extra money?” So I was
sold after a month’s worth of meetings that I knew I wanted to apply for this job
because it was just so exciting to actually be in the room when the decisions were
being made.

Participant two feels that “enjoying what you do, feeling like you make a difference, and
feeling like people respect you” is most important in her work. The relationships the
participants have at work are critical because they speak to the reality of spending more
time at work then at home with their families. Participant two further explains how her
mom helped her to think differently about office furniture.
I’ve always had things like photographs in my office, but it was after my mom
had changed careers and she became a judge and I saw her chambers and realized
she had taken regular furniture and put those in her office and I saw how nice that
looked and how it just felt like you were in a regular room and I asked her why
she did that and she said, “Because I spend a lot of time in here and I want it to be
a place I’m comfortable in,” and that really stuck with me.

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The participants office décor acts as a non verbal message and a way for them to
better communicate with their students, staff, and administration. It also provides a safe
atmosphere where they can have a caring and ‘maternal’ relationship with the students
and allows them to experience minimal conflict. The other participants also address the
idea that their roles are often seen as disciplinary, and although their jobs may consist of
dealing with behavioral problems, they want their space to be a welcoming place where
students feel comfortable communicating their needs and visiting regularly.
To conclude, the set up of the office environment is critical to the overall
impression of the space. Each woman wants her office to be a place where students,
staff, and colleagues feel comfortable and safe. The women focus on being student-
centered and are confident enough to promote this message even though other high level
administrators do not. They also feel that the decision-making power their positions
afford them helps them to make a difference in the lives of students, and makes their hard
work worth it. The amount of time they spend at work and in their offices is also
addressed, along with its impact on their emotional well-being.
Analysis and Discussion Research Question Two
The women in the study found that the two most influential aspects of support
consisted of a support system and a positive work environment. To build this support
system they first utilized a supportive family. Supportive partners who are on the same
page regarding family and career trajectory are described as essential. The participants
explain that having a supportive partner is the only way to sustain partner relationships.
Supportive partners are able to encourage their wives to work towards their goals despite
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the obstacles they faced in the profession. As well, supportive partners allow their
spouses to simply be ‘mom’ at home without the work related stress. The literature found
that all of the women have more of an active role in the running of the household than
their partners. This model is considered to be a “traditional household” and the
participants are accepting of this model. Although some partners appeared to participate
or take non-conventional roles more than others, mothers always have a greater
responsibility.
Next, positive relationships with employers also affect multiple aspects of the
women’s lives and promote satisfaction and a feeling of support. Employer support is
also constantly mentioned and aids in allowing them to feel that they can do their jobs
with some flexibility. Furthermore, peer support allows them to have greater work
satisfaction and provides colleagues to share the positive and negative experiences
without the fear of compromising their positions. Another finding is that the research
suggests a lack of time to build new relationships or attaining mentors as a barrier for
women. The women in the study did not find building new work relationships to be a
barrier. They actually made use of relationships at work and were comfortable building
new relationships when someone new joined their teams.
A distinctive find is that the participants value what they learned from female
mentors and role models and feel strongly about helping others. Additionally, they did
not have formally established mentoring relationships with any one person in their
careers. Instead, they created their own interpretation of a role model as explained in the
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literature. For them, it is not as important to be thought of as a mentor as it is to help
others professionally.
Finally, a third unique perspective is the participants’ descriptions and
explanations of how they decorate their offices, and the messages they hope to convey.
Having a positive work environment affects them in multiple ways: it fosters the image
they want students and peers to have of them and allows them to feel that they are doing
genuinely good work and making a difference for the students they serve. To be
productive in student affairs work, women have determined strategies that aid in their
success both at work and at home. The next section will address the specific strategies
used by the three participants.
Results Research Question Three
The final research question asks, “What strategies do women leaders in student
affairs use to maintain family and work life balance?” The previous chapters explain that
student affairs professionals use an array of strategies to maintain successful work and
family lives. The specific strategies outlined in chapter two were priority identification,
outsourcing, and achieving balance. While only two of the three themes appear in the
study, there are other themes that are significant. Three themes emerge to answer the
research question based on the data from the study. The three themes that will be further
discussed in this section are planning for success, letting go of the guilt, and health and
wellness. The subthemes that will be addressed are planning at work and home, handling
guilt at work and home, caring for family, making time to exercise, and re-energizing.
The chart below (figure 10) introduces a comparison of the strategies discussed in the
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literature review and the actual strategies used by the participants. To address the third
research question, the strategies used by the participants will be discussed for critical
responses and trends, then ending with an analysis of the results.
Figure 10 (below) represents a comparison of the strategies discussed in the
literature review and the actual strategies used by the participants. The actual strategies
that match the three strategies outlined in the previous chapters are listed in the chart.
The chart also addresses how many of the strategies are used by each participant.
Overall, the participants use the priority identification and achieving balance strategies
unanimously. Distinctively, only participant three currently utilizes outsourcing.

Figure 10: Strategies for Balancing Work and Family Life

Strategies
Participant
1
Participant
2
Participant
3
Other Strategies

Priority
identification

Yes Yes Yes Planning – all three do not partake in any
activities that are not planned. They look forward
to family time, vacations, and free time

Outsourcing

No No Yes Outsourcing – Participant three will outsource
anything possible.

Achieving
Balance

Yes Yes Yes Health and Wellness – Participant one
scrapbooks, travel anywhere, reads, and watches
movies. Participant two reads daily before bed,
scrapbooks, and makes crafts. Participant three
exercises, buys clothes, and throws parties.

Theme I: Planning for success
The primary strategy that female student affairs leaders use to balance both their
work and family lives is planning and prioritizing responsibilities. This section will
explore planning strategies used at work versus at home. The participants felt that both
of their roles were equally important and that their careers were central to their identities,
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so they needed to find ways to make things work. Participant three explains this
connection by saying “my family is really important to me and my identity is really based
on being a good professional.” Participant one adds that she was confident in her work
identity prior to becoming a mother. Now she must establish her maternal identity, “you
know, so much of my identity is [my] work identity. I’m like, “Oh, I got a lot of years of
work identity. I’ve only (had at that point) three months of [my] mom identity.”
All three women discuss the essential nature of being extremely organized in
order to make the best use of their limited time. Participants one and three emphasize
that “there’s no balance.” Participant one further explains that “[she] does not feel like
anybody has a perfect balance... I feel like this is an illusion, but if it’s not on my
calendar, it’s not happening.” She is upfront that she schedules all of her time to assure
her personal time. “It’s all about logistics, scheduling, and coordinating everything.”
Participant two states that she is always organized, both at home and at work. She
articulates, “at work I usually start [the day] by checking the calendar and email.”
Participant three explains that if a meeting or call is not on her calendar she must
schedule a conference call because, “I am never available to talk during the day without
one” due to her chaotic schedule.
As a priority, all three have planned for their futures in the profession by choosing
to acquire terminal degrees. Participant three conveys that she would have never gotten
her current job if she did not have a doctorate. “They wouldn’t have given the shot to
anybody that didn’t. All the deans have a degree…” The participants agree that the
opportunities presented to them would not have been possible if they had not attained
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terminal degrees. For this reason, they support their staff and students in furthering their
educations to make professional opportunities available.
At work. When unexpected events happen at home or work the women find that
they have to react on their feet. Having a plan allows them to prioritize while at work
and to be ready to go when needed. Participant one does it by packing up her computer
and taking work with her. She further elaborates on the fact that she is a 'workaholic.'
There was no way I could leave without my computer and it was just that piece of
mind to know that I could take them both. I’ll take the computer with me and I’ll
figure out the rest as we go.

Participant three states that her professional challenge at work is, “getting the
right stuff done because not everything can get done.” Participant two outlines how she
determines what projects she will tackle, and in what order. She says:
I remember… in a time management workshops, they talked about things that
were urgent, but not important, so looking at urgency and degree of importance.
I’m constantly juggling what I need to do against those things and always running
behind on some things, but those are the things that I’m not going to get yelled at
about, so not everything is always up-to-date and perfect, but it’s being strategic.

Planning at work allows the participants to get the most pressing projects accomplished.
Also, having a plan when a family emergency arises gives the participants the piece-of-
mind needed to take care of their families first without completely neglecting work
responsibilities.
At home. In the household, when there is a matter of planning for the children,
the mothers usually took the lead. Participant one’s mother is able to step in for her and
take care of her granddaughter. Participant two explains that her job allowed her the
flexibility she needed when her children were young. “Well, because my schedule is
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flexible, if there [was] an issue like a kid is sick, I’m usually the one who stayed home.”
Additionally, her ability to coordinate her schedule permits her to get away for important
events. For example, “for my older daughter’s birthday, the previous year when she was
a freshman [in college], I took a couple of days off and flew up and spent those days with
her. We went to a hotel [and] a play.” Similarly, participant three is in charge of
responding to her children’s care, schooling, illnesses, etc. She describes how she gets
her family to function, “I just treat my family and my home life like I would my
organizational structure.” Referral three concurs with participant three that, “I think she
certainly dictates certain things around the house, whether it’s what kind of activities the
kids are doing or who the caretaker is when she’s at work.” Participant two adds that she
does the planning because otherwise things would not get done. She conveys:
I make a lot of lists. So if we’re going to go anywhere, if we’re going on a
vacation, my husband has absolutely no idea what we’re doing. I mean, he’ll say,
“I want to be involved,” so I’ll try to engage him in where we’re going and he’s
like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.” He will have no idea that we’ve got our plane
tickets yet or where we’re staying or how, none of that. I don’t think we’d go on a
vacation if it were up to him sometimes.

Participant three expresses that:

I do everything else (not laundry or finances), which are all the kids’ schedules,
all the hiring of the baby-sitter...all the education. I pick their school, I pay for it,
[and] I meet with their teachers. My son has Special Ed services for speech
issues. I have to meet with all of the Special Ed people, all of the speech people,
and [research]all the enrichment programs. I do all [of] the scheduling. All the
swim lessons, all the cleaning, all the family planning, and all the grocery
shopping.

Nonetheless, the participants explain that their roles allow them many advantages.
Participant one asserts that her financial stability allows her to help her and her husband’s
families. “If it can help others, good. If I can donate scholarship money, if I can help our
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families, good, that’s good.” Participant two plans accordingly and uses her miles from
work travel towards family vacations. She describes her family’s reactions as, “Go mom.
Rack up those miles; I want to go to Hawaii!” Participant three declares that her tough
schedule allows her to plan time away with her children:
I ran a big investigation last year and I got home after the kids went to bed for a
whole week …after it was over, I took the kids up to the Monterey Bay area and
rented a condo and we played in the sand and had a great time.

All of the participants discuss how their positions allow them to do things that make them
feel ‘better,’ about the time they spend away from their families. They are able to help
others financially or schedule time away with their families. The flexibility that these
jobs allot is enough to keep the women content in their positions and to benefit their
families.
Theme II: Letting go of the guilt
The second theme related to strategies for women balancing work and family life
is letting go of the guilt. Cheung and Halpern (2010) determined that allowing women
leaders to redefine their roles and create positive images, helps to reduce guilt and stress.
Previous chapters found that guilt is a manifestation of internal barriers, which was
defined as personal barriers in which an individual needs to make changes. This section
will explore how women handle work and home related guilt to continue to stay
productive. The study participants advise that it is important to find ways to let go of the
guilt. Participant two clarifies that her definition of work-life balance is “finding that
place where you can get what you need to get done without killing yourself in either
domain, without feeling regret.” In support of not feeling guilty, and using her available
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resources, participant three describes her rational for shopping for herself without
remorse:
I spend the money I make to the extent that the budget allows, creating as nice of
a life for myself as I can, since I don’t meet my personal needs in
emotional/physical ways very often. So if I also have to go the closet and say, “I
don’t have any clothes,” then I don’t have any energy for that. I have to stay on
track. So I’m not tortured.

Although the shopping does not allow her to meet her personal needs, she uses it as a
coping mechanism which allows her to move forward with her responsibilities. All three
agree that you have to do things to assure that you release the guilt, and so you can
continue to function in your life.
Handling guilt at work and home. Although the participants took work home,
when needed, they encouraged others to leave work at a decent time and to come back to
it the next day. There was no mention or expectation that the participants asked their
staff to take work home or to work late to complete tasks on a regular basis. Participant
one explains that it starts by supporting your staff and:
Giving other women permission to do what they need to do and not feel guilty
about it. Encouragement to go to school, encouragement to find new jobs, ask for
more money, spend time with their children, and still be good professionals
because it’s not like I’d let people off the hook just because, “I really want to help
out.” It’s like, no, they’re still working their butts off, but being willing to have
those conversations about the rest of our lives is essential.

Participants two acknowledges why she feels so strongly about not taking work home
“you figure out over time that the work never ends and so if you take it home, there’s no
stopping point. There’s no point where you go, ‘Ok, this is enough.’”
Additionally, these women try to think about the bigger picture in relation to their
work and families. Social role theory and expectancy theory addresses the origins of the
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pressures women experience from society, along with their self-concept of being working
mothers (Allen, 1995; Dulin, 2007). Realizing that the kids grow up too fast and doing
extra duties while at home is not worth missing quality time with them, the women
choose their families. For example, participant two explains the pressure her mother felt
to have a spotless home and growing up with an “obsessed” mother. That experience
could have caused her to react in the same way, but she explains that she gave up that
obsession and stress years prior. She states:
It’d be really nice if the house were really picked up, but it never is and you just
have to eventually get comfortable with the fact that it never is, sort of like that
same thing at work, that you’re late on some things and those aren’t the big-ticket
items and you just have to get comfortable with that.

Referral three articulates how participant three’s role as a leader affects her family role in
terms of guilt:
I think she’s as divided as most working mothers. I don’t think you ever feel like
you have enough time to do what you need to do around the house or with your
family, and then when you’re with your family, especially when you have young
kids, you can’t wait to get back to work and that makes you feel guilty, and so I
think she deals with a very common feeling among women, working mothers
which is they’re conflicted about both of their roles.

The participants at times have a difficult time ‘letting go of the guilt’ in either realm
because they feel equally obligated and divided by who they are at work and home. Yet
they have obligations in each place that they must meet, so they find ways to cope.
Moreover, two participants explain that they do not feel guilty about working
since they would not choose to be stay-at-home moms if they had the option. Work
allows them to be creative and to increase their self-efficacy by being good at what they
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do. They are also anxious about staying at home for two reasons, again they fear being
judged and they do not feel fulfilled being at home fulltime. Participant one describes:
Honestly, my family is the most important and I tell people though I don’t know
that I would choose to be…if I had a choice, like if I won a big lotto, I’m not sure
I would be a stay-at-home mom because I also enjoy creating at work.

Participant three adds:

My postpartum experience with my son was exacerbated by my being home alone
with him and then when I went back to work I realized, “One of the reasons why I
wasn’t having fun is I don’t like to stay home all day.” I don’t want to be a stay-
at-home mom, that’s why I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it because it wasn’t for me,
I’m a working mom, so I knew that enough the second time to plan accordingly.

All three discuss being professionally ambitious and how it is simply a part of
who they are and their identity, although it can increase feelings of guilt. Participant
three articulates that she learned from a mentor, that she does not have to give up what
she wants because she has children.
You shouldn’t self-sacrifice so much or think that, “Because I have children, I
can’t make this decision or I can’t take this job, or they’re too young, blah-blah-
blah,” but that you have to be wherever you are.

In sum, professional mothers experience a great deal of pressure in their personal
and professional realms. They must discover how to deal with the guilt and continue to
be productive in their lives. At work, they encourage others to make the right choices for
their careers and their personal lives. With their families, they have learned to make the
right decisions that allow them to feel comfortable with the support they can provide to
those they care about and to give themselves piece-of-mind.
Theme III: Health and Wellness
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Health and wellness is the final theme related to the strategies that women leaders
employ to maintain balance. The literature establishes that women’s perceptions of
social roles increase feelings of internal pressures and could lead to serious health
concerns (Ressier, 2002). As a result, the aspects of health and wellness that will be
addressed based on the participant’s responses are caring for family, time to exercise, and
re-energizing. The participants are extremely aware of the need to take better care of
themselves for their overall wellbeing. All of the participants address the difficulty of
dealing with health issues, but are actively working to find ways to manage these aspects.
Caring for Family. When family members became ill or need support, priorities
are immediately changed to meet these needs, typically requiring meetings and events to
be moved or cancelled to accommodate the need. The participants emphasize the
importance of not having regrets. Participant one writes in her activity log:
[I] had to block off my calendar, move meetings to other times, and decide to not
feel guilty that I was going to leave work on this particular morning. I took the
whole day off, instead of only the morning because if she got bad news that
surgery was going to be required, I wanted to be able to spend the afternoon with
her.

Two of the participants discuss the reality that family health concerns will affect
their lives, yet they find ways of coping and getting through each situation. Participant
three is blunt about the health concerns her family has experienced:
You know, my husband has had health problems and that was really hard and my
dad has had cancer and that was really hard and…when you have drama
everywhere and crisis and difficult issues everywhere, that’s really hard, but I
have that really secure in my personal life [now], so that means that I have some
reserves to deal with issues here because my family life is safe

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Participant one writes about taking time off for a family member to have surgery and
prioritizing the important matter. She felt comfortable taking the time off that was
required to fully support her family member without worrying about work.
Making time to Exercise. Participant two says “that [exercise] is always on my
mind… you ought to be taking better care of your health,” so she walks her dogs
regularly. She also mentions that as a strategy “I tried not to be as stressed as my mother
always seemed to be” meaning she is always conscious about the way she reacts and is
perceived. Referral two explains that participant two is a “facilitator for many of the
projects that she’s on… she has too much going on and sometimes that’ll manifest itself
with indicators of stress—high blood pressure, strains to the body, aches and pains to the
neck and the shoulders.” For that reason, she is cognizant of not pushing herself too
hard, recognizes when she starts to experience stress indicators, and goes to bed early to
provide her body with the rest it needs. She feels it is a way of keeping balance and
sustaining her health. Participant one exercises inconsistently since having her daughter.
Yet, she swims with her daughter during her lunchtime and has an exercise partner at
work that she walks with once a week during the lunch hour to make sure that she does
exercise. She explains:
I sent out a plea to everybody, “I need to exercise. Does anybody have a
membership? You want to go over with me?” Because if I book it, I’ll go.
Nobody had a membership. “Or we could just walk,” and this one person [said],
“I’ll walk with you.” Right now it’s only on the calendar once a week, but we go.
[It] is like a great support for me because if I didn’t have the person to do it with, I
wouldn’t do it, there’s work to be done.

Participant three spends 30 minutes on the treadmill exercising daily as a way of
unwinding after work and once the children are in bed.
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Re-energizing. Overall, the participants are aware of their need to take better
care of themselves to be successful. They utilize a variety of activities to re-energize
such as scrapbooking, reading and writing novels, watching movies, sleeping, and
hosting parties. To relax, participants one and two enjoy reading in their free time and
traveling. When she needs a break from her hectic schedule, participant one plans trips
with friends to de-stress and recuperate. She explains that it does not always have to be a
major vacation. “Honestly, it doesn’t always have to be something that big, but it could
be like fixing or arranging everything so that I have a day with no obligations, just to go
to the beach or do something.” These getaways offer her something to look forward to
while she deals with tough situations. She further describes:
I was just so tired, tired, tired. What did I do? I got out my trusty calendar, the
only thing in my life I really have control over. Well, first I asked my husband,
would you mind if I asked my friend if she wants to go for a long weekend?

Participant one also spends a great deal of time reading. She is candid that “I love to read
and I can whip out a book in two days.” Similarly, participant two does a great deal of
reading; she makes crafts and also uses her creative side as a form of relaxation. She
explains that:
I’ve started [writing] a book. I spent a lot of time reading books about writing
fiction because I don’t actually understand it as a structure and I knew from work
with doctoral students on writing dissertations that once you get a grip on the
structure of the thing it’s really easy [to] write. I mean, you have to have a good
idea. I knew I had a good idea; I just didn’t know how to pull it off.

To supplement her relaxation regimen, participant two shares that “a year ago at
Christmas, my husband got me the monthly membership at [a spa] and that, because
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you’re paying every month, it kind of forces you to make that monthly spa appointment
and that’s kind of nice too.”
Participant three uses her free time to relax, which she does by catching up on her
sleep, shopping, and hosting parties. “I throw parties, I’m having a Halloween party and
I have my Friday night parties, so that’s free time. I call that duty time because I’m still
parenting, but that’s free time.” She also finds ways to make time to get personal things
done while at work. She affirms:
Every second counts. There is no new time. A pedicure has to be done at lunch
and I have to put that into my calendar as a personal meeting or a staff lunch
because people here would never, ever support that. If I want to get my hair cut, I
have to plan somewhere in my life to do it, so we gotta pay a baby-sitter for three
hours, I’m going to be late, or I have to figure out how to do it during the day. I
can’t really do it on the weekend.

In the end, the participants utilize strategies that work with their lifestyles. They
are able to plan their lives in a way that allows them to be present for the important
events at work and home. The research found that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solutions
for women to balance work and family, so finding what works for each person is most
important (Cheung and Halpern, 2010; Loder, 2005). They need to utilize effective
planning and communication skills to get things done at work and home. They find
coping mechanisms which permit them to let go of the guilt they feel for not being
completely present in both realms. Finally, they take the necessary time to reenergize
and give themselves the mental breaks required in their line of work. The participants
continue to find ways to be active in their lives and to alleviate feelings of stress and guilt
related to the need to take better care for themselves.
Analysis and Discussion Research Question Three
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The literature found that strategies for success should suit the lives and needs of
the individual (Cheung & Halpern, 2010). While some strategies mentioned in the
literature were consistent with the findings of the study, there was some variation. A
unique finding in this section is that although the women used some skills that would be
considered transformational, according to the literature, their paths varied and they were
able to pick up skills along their professional journey.

Again, all of the participants utilized effective planning skills. They found that
planning and being organized were key elements in sustaining healthy lives. Participant
one found that she was able to indulge in family time and could have a workout schedule
once she was done with her list of tasks. She also schedules trips or little get-aways like
going to the beach when she needs a break. Participant two found that she was able to
treat herself to a monthly spa appointment by planning her time and staying organized.
Participant three throws a party every Friday at her house to reward herself from planning
and scheduling the lives of her family and to have fun. She spends her free time relaxing
at home. She feels that fun is a very important aspect in her life, and says “I take life
really seriously and then I really intentionally take life not very seriously.”
Additionally, the participants established their own unique ways of alleviating the
guilt they experienced from not meeting their expectations and the expectations of others
in relation to their work and home responsibilities. The participants’ explanations were
practical and tended to be more concrete than the concept of re-energizing as explained in
the literature (Reisser, 2002). Finally, each participant found ways to cope with barriers
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by finding the time for themselves to reduce stress regularly, as well as by treating
themselves to relaxation time. Whether they had to find time to do it during their
workday, stay up late, or get away they recognized the signs and understood that their
bodies needed to de-stress.

Chapter Summary
The chapter discussed the findings based on the data collected through interviews,
office observations, document analysis, and activity logs. Throughout the chapter,
detailed analyses and discussions were conducted to answer the research questions.
Additionally, information from previous chapters was discussed to support or counter the
experiences of the study participants. The final chapter will present the implications,
summary, recommendations, and conclusions of the study.

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Chapter 5: Summary, Recommendations, Implications, and Conclusion
Female leaders in higher education have a difficult time managing their work and
family responsibilities due to societal expectations. Historically, women have been seen
as nurturers and allowed only to work in roles that perpetuated specific gender roles for
men and women (Raskin, 2006). In fact, these perceptions of women’s roles as mothers
and employees still exist today and cause women to overcompensate in their positions to
prove that they can maintain both roles. As a result of societal expectations, women
continue to encounter discrimination in multiple forms which aim to hinder their
advancement opportunities (Guendouzi, 2006; Jo, 2008; Loder, 2005; Searby & Tripses,
2006). Additionally, women experience internal barriers which can affect their health
and add pressure to be successful in both realms.
Accomplishing work and family life balance is a constant struggle for female
leaders in student affairs due to the time consuming and demanding nature of their work.
Women student affairs leaders typically feel pressured to advance in the field in order to
allow them the flexibility they desire to spend more time with their families. This
balancing act is a constant struggle for women in student affairs yet many have
determined strategies for doing it well. In fact, a growing number of women are able to
balance both realms successfully (Cheung & Halpern, 2010). Although some women
have found the formula to ‘having it all,’ many women have not, and these skills are
needed as the number of women in the field of education continue to increase (Coronel et
al, 2010; Duffy, 2010).

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Purpose of the Study
This study has aimed to examine three case studies of senior level female student
affairs administrators to determine what strategies they utilized to overcome challenges at
work and at home as well as what mechanisms support their success. The study was
examined in three parts: exploring the challenges that mid and senior level student affairs
administrators experienced in balancing their work and family lives, determining what
support mechanisms play a role in their success and ability to balance at work and home
and discovering what strategies allow the participants to be effective in both realms,
based on the challenges and supports addressed in the study.
The focus of the study was on three female administrators working in senior-level
positions in student affairs. All three live in California and work in higher education with
varied populations, providing a breadth of the specified demographic. The research
questions were evaluated using a case study methodology and multiple data sources. The
findings were based on the review of the interviews, office observations, resumes, job
descriptions, activity logs, referral interviews, and work leave policies. Review of the
data allowed the researcher to explore the intricacies of the participant’s lives and the
data were triangulated to support the results by using qualitative analysis. The referral
interviews supported the participant interviews. Subsequently, the office observations
and activity logs also supported the interviews and provided visual aids along with
thoughtful reflection of work and family experiences over a short period of time. Based
on the findings from the study, the determination of strategies is vital to provide guidance
to aspiring female leaders in the field.
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The Research Questions for this study were:
1. What challenges do female student affairs leaders experience in
balancing work and family life?
2. What kinds of support systems are perceived to help female leaders
maintain work life balance?
3. What strategies do female leaders in student affairs use to maintain
family and work life balance?
This chapter explores overall key findings from the study and the literature,
implications for practice and policy, recommendations for future research, and
concluding remarks.
Summary of Findings
The study of three female senior level student affairs administrators provided a
unique perspective on the daily lives of the participants and their ability to balance work
and family life. The study aimed to determine the challenges, supports, and strategies the
participants experienced in balancing work and home. Eight themes surfaced to answer
the three research questions: time constraints, expectations, limited utilization of work
leave policies, support, maintaining a positive work environment, planning for success,
letting go of the guilt, and health and wellness. From the eight themes, three overall
themes were found to be representative of the study and to have the greatest influence on
the women’s ability to balance both realms time constraints, support mechanisms, and
sustaining health. The three overall themes will be discussed in relation to the findings
from the study as well as their connection to the literature.
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Time constraints were the first and most significant challenge mentioned by the
participants and referrals while discussing their work and family life balance. The
participants discussed and wrote about being limited by time in every aspect of their work
and home lives. Consequently, they struggled with adjusting to time limitations at home
and work along with the expectations they felt in both places. Many times, they found
that their work and home lives competed, and oftentimes to their dismay, their work lives
triumphed, reiterating the idea of dedicating their “entire being” to the profession.
Research found that women’s success was determined by the amount of time they spent
doing their jobs (Beeny et al, 2005). To add, the participants felt like they never had
enough time to balance the commitment of working in high level positions in student
affairs and the requirement of having family lives.
The participants were tasked to determine how to make their responsibilities at
work and home more manageable so they used calendars, left notes, and planned every
appointment. Additionally, they completed the most important and pressing issues at
work and at home to assure they would be present for their families and to avoid missing
memorable experiences. As a result, they felt intense pressure based on the expectations
they placed on themselves, from society, and from their work and home lives (Ezzedeen
& Ritchey, 2008). This pressure in the form of guilt and stress was found to have the
potential for negative long term effects on women’s health. Subsequently, societal
expectations at home required that women shift roles from employee to mother and wife,
and take the lead in family planning which increased stress.
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Women also feared the idea of being replaceable, so they took shorter leaves or
did not take time off when they were sick. To care for family members, they were
always present, but found ways to continue to work. Although there were a variety of
barriers in relation to time constraints, the women continued to handle the barriers while
trying to overcome them.
The participants credit their support systems as most important to their
achievement. Support systems namely family, friends, employers, colleagues, and
mentors/role models allowed the participants to feel encouraged in both aspects of their
lives as demonstrated in the activity logs, interviews, and office observations. A critical
discovery was that women needed to rely on support from husbands, parents, employers
and colleagues in order to be successful at work and home. Husbands who were on the
same page regarding family and career trajectory were key aspects to sustaining partner
relationships. The participants explained that at home mom always had a greater
responsibility than dad. In fact, the women accepted having a more active role in the
running of the “traditional” household responsibilities while their partners and families
provided the emotional support.
Two other positive work aspects were essential to encourage success at work and
home, employer and colleague relationships and a positive office environment. A
supportive work environment provided a place where the participants and their employers
communicated well and felt appreciated. It also included working with colleagues who
were compassionate, with people the participants could confide in, and acted as sounding
boards. Essentially, women who were supported felt better equipped to manage their
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family/work lives, their time, health, had more organizational commitment, job
satisfaction, and opportunities for advancement. An added benefit was when the
participants found employers who supported their work and family lives and also acted as
mentors. Mentoring has been a primary and influential social support mechanism for the
advancement of women (Baumgartner & Schneider, 2010). The participants found that
the building of new relationships and attaining mentors/role models to be beneficial. All
of the participants found that having a female mentor or role model added value to their
skill development and provided them with information they were able to pass on as
mentors and role models. Additionally, the participants were able to build a community
of mothers in their neighborhoods and at work as another support network that allowed
them to help each other with their children.
As well, the participants felt strongly about creating an office space that allowed
them to be a support for students, staff, and colleagues. The participants focused on
having an office space that was student-centered and that promoted a message of
approachability. The outcome of having a positive work environment was two-fold: it
projected the image that the participants wanted students and peers to have of them and it
allowed them to feel that they were doing genuinely good work that made a difference for
the students they serve.
Moreover, successful women developed strategies that ‘met their needs’ and
permitted them to manage their lives and to care for themselves mentally and physically.
The strategies section identified three important findings: planning for success, letting go
of the guilt, and making time to reenergize. Two of the participants had walking buddies
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who helped to hold them accountable for their health, and the third tried to work out daily
from home. Additionally, the participants found ways to cope with their situations and
created solutions for success. For example, they took time off after work projects are
resolved, and got massages as their way of relaxing and revitalizing themselves. To add,
they acknowledged that they were able to release the guilt from their work and home
lives by realizing that they would be wasting time worrying about things that could not be
changed.
Finally, the participants found that planning and being organized also allowed
them to keep balance and sustain healthy lives. Each participant had a unique list of
things she did to allow her to manage both of her roles which included reading, creating
artistically, sleeping, writing, or throwing parties. The participants found that there was
no ‘one size fits all’ solution to work and family life balance. Women needed to find
their own solutions based on their experiences and the lessons learned from others to
cope with health issues as well as the related guilt associated with trying to balance both
realms. Ultimately, strategies for success should suit the lives and needs of the individual
(Cheung & Halpern, 2010).
Implications for Practice and Policy
Although the study focused on the strategies senior level administrators used to
balance their work and family lives, more can be done. Institutions and employers are
tasked to support this balance by assisting and providing resources for women. While
these case studies are not generalizable to all female practitioners who aspire to advance
in student affairs, the findings act as a positive contribution to the field and can influence
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practice in the field of education. Overall, the following four implications impact
practice and policy for women leaders, the need for sufficient entry level leadership
development training, supportive professional opportunities, supervisory training, and
support of work leave policy.
Practice and Policy
Aspiring female leaders need to be afforded the opportunity to maintain home lives
and to make progress toward advancement with the support of effective institutional
practices. Female leaders also need to receive sufficient supervisory training in addition
to support in utilizing leave policies. Moreover, policy can impact the field by reducing
the number of women who leave the field due to the difficulty in balancing both realms.
• Research explains that women have historically been disproportionally
represented in leadership positions in education therefore, it is essential that
aspiring women leaders receive the necessary leadership development
training at work, to allow them to successfully advance in their careers and
provide them with schedule flexibility so they can maintain effective home
lives. Current studies have found that women are prepared educationally for
advancement opportunities, leaving the solutions as a need for more
professional support to make adequate progress. This can include skill
building on how to make strategic career decisions, professional
development, leadership training programs, stress management, and
opportunities for internal job promotion. These training opportunities will
allow women to determine a plan for advancement of their careers, along
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with strategies to cope with the pressures that come from balancing work and
home. A final aspect that should be promoted is the encouragement to
complete a terminal degree to prepare for advancement opportunities. This
can be supported by allowing employees the opportunity to adjust their
schedules to complete coursework towards their degrees. All of the
participants explain that they would not have been afforded the advancement
opportunities and thus the flexibility that they have if they did not first attain
doctorates.
• Women in leadership roles need to support each other professionally. This
does not require formal mentor relationships, but it should provide an
environment where mid and entry level women can discuss their experiences
at work and home and can acquire tools to make smart professional decisions.
This group, led by senior level women should expose mid and entry level
women to successful professional women and men who they can learn from
as well as form networks. The participants found themselves in these types
of relationships early in their careers. They were able to learn a great deal
from working with colleagues or employers with more experience about how
to manage both realms, and currently utilize many of the attributes they
acquired from these positive interactions.
• To further affect practice, a form of supervisory training should be
implemented including employer/employee relations, conflict mediation, and
work/life balance for senior level administrators. The current study explains
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that the supervisor and employee relationship has a great impact on employee
morale, job related stress, and satisfaction. The nature of the employer and
employee interaction is an effective way to impact practice and to reduce
attrition. The study found that participants stayed the longest in roles where
they felt supported by employers and colleagues. They also found it
important to have good communication with their employers meaning they
could ask for advice related to work or family, and feel that the response was
genuine. From a policy standpoint, supportive behavior will attract more
women to the field and create an environment where women will choose to
stay longer. This type of behavior will also demonstrate that the organization
values the employee’s contribution, as well as the employee’s family life.
• A necessary policy implication can encourage female practitioners to feel
comfortable utilizing work leave policies, aside from maternity leave.
Although the study participants used FMLA for their maternity leaves, they
did not take full advantage of other work leave policies. This can only be
accomplished with institutional support that trickles down to the departments,
who encourage the use of these policies and confirm that leadership
opportunities will not be jeopardized by taking care of employee health or the
health of their families. Institutions can create a ‘culture of support’ that
encourages employees to take care of their mind, body, and soul to increase
productivity at work. This can be implemented by inviting speakers in to
discuss related topics and to share strategies. A limited number of sessions
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can be scheduled per year through the university’s benefits office and
participants can register individually or by department. All employees should
be expected to attend once in a two to three year period to remain current on
the topic. After all, the policies are available to allow employees the time
needed to take care of themselves or families members without the pressures
of having to manage work responsibilities. However, the participants felt that
there was judgment from others surrounding their use of work leave policies,
and since they did not want to derail their leadership advancement, they
chose to shorten their family leaves. To affect policy, women need to feel
that it is within their rights to utilize state and organizational policies set up to
allow them to care for themselves and their families.
Recommendations for Future Studies
The present study focused on the challenges, supports, and strategies addressed by
three senior level student affairs administrators. However, due to the small sample size
of the study and other study limitations there are some gaps that can benefit from further
research. The following three recommendations are suggestions for ways to further
explore aspects involved in how female leaders balance work and family life.
• First, the findings from the current study cannot be considered generalizable
for all senior level student affairs administrators given the small sample size
of three women. Therefore, a primary study in relation to work and family
life balance would be to duplicate the current study using a larger sample
size. This study can provide an in depth look at strategies used by mid and
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senior-level administrators in the field of education that will add to the
breadth of the current study. It will be an extension of the current study and
will provide additional guidelines for women leaders who enter the field en
route to advancement opportunities. It can also shine a light on the types of
societal expectations and barriers that women experience which in turn can
aid in reducing discrimination towards women. Additionally, it can increase
the amount of available knowledge aspiring leaders have access to and fosters
discussion with other professionals in various forums on the topic. For
example, it can increase the number of conference presentations at
professional organizations such as NASPA and ACPA. Moreover, the study
can allow female leaders to recognize that their experiences are similar to
those of other women leaders and aid them to release some of the guilt they
feel which can have positive effects on their wellbeing. The participants of
the current study found a primary strategy to be planning and being
organized, yet they also had a wealth of other experiences that could aid
women and their understanding of how to maneuver through the higher
education system.
• Second, since the current study consists of only one woman of color and the
focus of the study was not on ethnic diversity, a second comparison study
that explores the experiences and determines the strategies utilized by
participants from diverse backgrounds, may be beneficial. The small sample
size of women and single person of color in the current study is not
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representative of the large presence of culturally diverse women who work in
the field. In the current study, the participants were not asked about
connections to their backgrounds, spirituality, and the development of
strategies for success, since the exploration of these specific aspects were not
the intention of the study. Therefore, a comparison of the strategies used by
both groups may provide some unique findings and prove useful for
ethnically diverse female leaders who have a strong faith based foundation.
If the outcome demonstrates a connection to cultural backgrounds,
spirituality, and strategies, the information can also be useful to strengthen
employee employer relationships by addressing cultural differences in a way
that is positive and promotes communication.
• Finally, although the study focuses on mentor/role model relationships, none
of the participants were part of formalized mentoring relationships, but all
felt positive about the impact of these relationships. A third recommendation
is to conduct a study on female leaders who were part of a formal mentoring
program or who have role models and also participate in mentor/role model
relationships with other women. In the current study, two of the participants
identified having mentors and all of the participants identified having role
models who aided in their career development as professionals. Clearly there
is a need for supportive relationships for aspiring female leaders in the field.
Since the research demonstrates that women have a harder time advancing,
these relationships are even more critical. This study can encourage aspiring
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female leaders to seek mentors, and create a forum where established female
leaders can feel comfortable sharing their experiences and nurturing the
growth of other female professionals. Positive mentoring and role model
relationships are important for women in all professional fields not simply
education and can shine a favorable light on the benefits of these types of
support relationships.
Conclusion
As women continue to attain leadership positions in student affairs and others
continue to aspire to similar positions, the number of female leaders who successfully
balance work and family life as models needs to increase. Modeling effective work and
family life balance is a potential solution that has multiple implications for female leaders
in the field of student affairs. It allows women in the field to see other women
successfully balance careers and family lives, permits aspiring administrators to feel more
comfortable reaching out to established leaders as mentors or role models and increases
support at work consequently preventing women from leaving in the field. With a field
as demanding as student affairs, women will continue to struggle to have successful work
and lives therefore, it is important that other women aid them in the strategies needed to
find their own success.

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Appendix A - Recruitment Letter

June 3, 2011

Dear Participant:

You have been selected to participate in this study due to your professional leadership in
education and a perception of having achieved successful work-life balance. As a
participant in this study, your contribution will assist other women interested in
effectively managing work and family responsibilities.

The purpose of this study is to determine how women leaders in education balance work
and family roles. Societal expectations of women as primary caregivers result in working
women attempting to navigate multiple professional and personal roles. Those who have
attained the highest levels of leadership are tasked with being effective leaders in their
workplace while at the same time successfully maintaining their home life, whether that
means managing a family or assisting relatives.

While there is no one “right way” to negotiate work-life balance, the goal of this study is
to determine strategies that successful women leaders employ to be effective in managing
work and family domains. These strategies should prove instructive for women aspiring
to education leadership positions. This study will also reveal any obstacles that women
may face along the way to achieving a leadership position in the education field, along
with support systems that assist women in overcoming obstacles. The study’s results
should be of interest to both aspiring and current women leaders as they determine how
to effectively integrate work and family roles.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of my request to participate. Your
involvement is critical to the success of this study.

Sincerely,

Name of Co-Investigator
146

Appendix B – Interview Questions
1. Please tell me about your office environment. How would you describe it?
2. How do you see the items in your office connecting to your work and family?
3. How do you make work a place you want to be?
4. Tell me who you are and about your upbringing.
5. Describe your parental and family influence on your life and career choices.
6. Tell me about your responsibilities at home and at work.
7. How do you describe a typical day?
a. From waking up to going to sleep.
8. Tell me about your career goals. Have they changed over time, and if so, how?
9. How long did it take you to obtain your current position? Tell me about the
timeline.
a. Describe specific experiences.
10. What factors led to your current role?
a. Personal
b. Professional
11. Please share specific barriers you encountered along the way to your current role.
a. Personal
b. Professional
c. Organizational
12. What factors contribute to your success?
a. At work
b. Outside of work
13. What strategies have contributed to your success?
14. Tell me about significant individuals who influence you personally and
professionally? How do they contribute to your success?
15. Have you had mentors and role models who have influenced your life?
Positive or negative
16. Do you consider yourself to be a mentor or role model?
17. How do you define a ______ (mentor or role model)?
18. What is your definition of work-life balance?
a. At work
b. Outside of work
19. To what extent are you meeting your definition of work-life balance?
20. What is the same or different about your current position than other positions
you’ve held in the past in terms of work-life balance?
a. What were the stressors at different levels?
21. How did you come by the skills necessary for balancing your work and family
life?
22. What’s important to you and how does it relate to work-life balance?
23. How do you spend your free time?
24. What are some challenges you face personally and professionally? How do you
handle these?
147

25. What strategies do you employ in difficult situations?
26. What has supported your work-life balance efforts?
27. How did you access that support?
28. To what extent do you take advantage of work and home policies and resources?
29. How does your role as a leader impact your family role?
30. How does your family role impact your role as a leader?
31. What did you give up or let go of to balance the two roles?
32. How did you feel about making these decisions?
33. If you could do it all over again, what, if anything, would you change?
34. What advice would you offer women for dealing with the same kinds of issues in
their own life?
35. At the end of the day, what matters to you most and how do you sustain that?
36. Is there anything you would like to add?

After the 5-week activity log journaling:
1. How did you prioritize the dilemmas that you experienced over the past 5 weeks?
2. What makes you feel good about your choices?

148

Appendix C – Office Observations Checklist
Question:
1. I noticed ______ in your office. Could you tell me its significance to you?
Office Activity
• How many times was she interrupted? _____
• How many times did the phone ring? Was it a family member? _____
• Did she receive a text and/or text a family member?
• How many times did she check her cell phone? _____
• How many times did she look at email on her computer? _____
Environmental Scan
 Pictures of family- who?
 Pictures on computer screensaver- who or what?
 Pictures of personal accomplishments (e.g. marathon, awards, etc.)- what?
 Art from children (if have young children)
 Personal cards
 Flowers or other token(s) of affection
 Souvenirs from vacation(s)- what?
 Personal keepsakes- what?
 Duffel bag and tennis shoes in the office for exercise
 Awards or certificates of recognition
 Inspirational quotes or artifacts
 Exercise-related items (weights, yoga band)
149

Appendix D - Activity Log Questions / Reflections

(minimum of 5 entries over a 5 week period)

Week 1

1a. What work-life balance dilemmas did you encounter this week?

1b. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = lowest priority and 5 = highest priority), how would
you rate each of these dilemmas?

1c. What decisions did you have to make related to this/these dilemma(s)?

2. What positive outcomes did you experience related to work-life balance?

3. Any other comments?

Week 2

1a. What work-life balance dilemmas did you encounter this week?

1b. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = lowest priority and 5 = highest priority), how would
you rate each of these dilemmas?

1c. What decisions did you have to make related to this/these dilemma(s)?

2. What positive outcomes did you experience related to work-life balance?

3. Any other comments?

Week 3

1a. What work-life balance dilemmas did you encounter this week?

1b. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = lowest priority and 5 = highest priority), how would
you rate each of these dilemmas?

1c. What decisions did you have to make related to this/these dilemma(s)?

2. What positive outcomes did you experience related to work-life balance?

3. Any other comments?

150

Week 4

1a. What work-life balance dilemmas did you encounter this week?

1b. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = lowest priority and 5 = highest priority), how would
you rate each of these dilemmas?

1c. What decisions did you have to make related to this/these dilemma(s)?

2. What positive outcomes did you experience related to work-life balance?

3. Any other comments?

Week 5

1a. What work-life balance dilemmas did you encounter this week?

1b. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = lowest priority and 5 = highest priority), how would
you rate each of these dilemmas?

1c. What decisions did you have to make related to this/these dilemma(s)?

2. What positive outcomes did you experience related to work-life balance?

3. Any other comments?

Cumulative Reflection

1. Take a look at all of the dilemmas you encountered in the past 5 weeks. Please
list them in order from highest priority to least priority overall.

2. What is the rationale for your rating?

3. Any other comments in terms of work-life balance that you would like to
share?

151

Appendix E – Interview Questions For Family Member, Colleague, or
Mentor

1. How long have you known x and in what a capacity?
2. How do you describe a typical day for x?
3. How do you think that her family role impacts her role as a leader?
4. What factors do you see contributing to x’s success
a. Outside of work
b. At work
5. What is your perception of her as a leader?
a. Outside of work
b. At work
6. Is x considered a mentor or role model to those she works with?
7. Does she see herself as a role model or mentor?
8. How do you think her role as a leader impacts her family role?
9. What are your perceptions of the challenges x faces personally and
professionally?
10. How do you think x spends her down time?
11. What strategies to you see x using to overcome these challenges?
12. What do you think matters to her most?
13. Is there anything that you would like to add about x?

152

Appendix F – Matrix of Interview Protocol to Research Questions
Interview Questions
Research Q1:
What challenges do
female student
affairs leaders face
in balancing work
and family life?
Research Q2:
What types of support
do female student affairs
leaders perceive to be
helpful in achieving
balance in work and
family life?
Research Q3:
What strategies do
female student
affairs leaders
employ to balance
work and family
life?
Tell me about your
responsibilities at home and at
work.
X X X
What’s important to you and
how does it relate to work-life
balance?
X X
How do you describe a typical
day?
X X X
What are some challenges you
face personally and
professionally and how do you
handle these?
X X X
Tell me about the significant
individuals who influence you
personally and professionally?
How do they contribute to
your success?
X X
What is your definition of
work-life balance?
X
To what extent are you
meeting your definition of
work-life balance?
X X
What has supported your
work-life balance efforts?
X X
How did you access that
support?
X X X
What factors contribute to
your success?
X X
How do you make work a
place you want to be?
X X X
How does your family role
impact your role as a leader?
X X X

153

Interview Questions

Research Q1:
What challenges do
female student
affairs leaders face
in balancing work
and family life?

Research Q2:
What types of support
do female student affairs
leaders perceive to be
helpful in achieving
balance in work and
family life?

Research Q3:
What strategies do
female student
affairs leaders
employ to balance
work and family
life?
How does your role as a leader
impact your family role?
X X X
To what extent do you take
advantage of work and home
policies and resources?
X X X
How long did it take you to
obtain your current position?
Tell me about the timeline.
X X X
What factors led to your
current role?
X
Please share specific barriers
you encountered along the
way to your current role.
X X
How did you come by the
skills necessary for balancing
your work and family life?
X X X
What strategies do you employ
in difficult situations?
X X X
What strategies have
contributed to your success?
X X
What did you give up or let go
of to balance the two roles?
X X X
How did you feel about
making these decisions?
X X
If you could do it all over
again, what, if anything, would
you change?
X X
How do you spend your free
time?
X X X
What advice would you offer
women for dealing with the
same kinds of issues in their
own life?
X X
At the end of the day, what
matters to you most and how
do you sustain that?

X

X

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Female student affairs leaders who also have family responsibilities find that a primary challenge they encounter is society’s expectations concerning their roles and responsibilities in both realms. Research discovers that women experience internal and external barriers that hinder their advancement opportunities however

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Asset Metadata

Creator Cassell, Aba DeLynda (author)

Core Title Using support mechanisms to balance work and family life: how mid and senior level student affairs administrators overcome challenges

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 04/26/2012

Defense Date 03/21/2012

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag challenges,mid and senior level female administrators,OAI-PMH Harvest,strategies,support,women in student affairs,work and family life balance

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Stowe, Kathy (committee chair), Malloy, Courtney L. (committee member), Picus, Lawrence O. (committee member)

Creator Email aba.cassell@gmail.com,acassell@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-13015

Unique identifier UC11289492

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Legacy Identifier etd-CassellAba-644.pdf

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Document Type Dissertation

Rights Cassell, Aba DeLynda

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA