College Student Leaders: Meet the Alpha Female

Abstract

With the emergence of a new generation of strong and empowered female student leaders on college campuses, a special type of female leader, the Alpha Female, has developed. This study examines the essence of having an Alpha Female identity for 13 undergraduate women at a Midwestern university. Extensive interviews were conducted; transcripts were generated; emergent themes were derived; horizonalization and cross-case analysis was conducted; and, constant comparative method among the researches was employed. Findings reveal that strong positive antecedent family variables are present. Each participant perceives strong advantages and a positive impact from being an Alpha Female in the collegiate environment. Suggestions for further rich, qualitative investigations and Possible educational interventions and institutional support are offered.

Masculinity, femininity, and leadership: Taking a closer look at the alpha female

“…The results of the present study are consistent with previous research which has demonstrated that alpha females possess masculine traits [8, 10–13, 38]. It is also consistent with research that links these traits with leadership, strength and extroversion [11].…”

“…Research on the human alpha female has focused primarily on leadership [7, 8, 10–13, 88, 89]. In this research women who hold a leadership position in student and business organizations are labelled “alpha female”, a “special kind of leader” [11].…”

“…Some authors have argued that the emergence of the alpha female identity has been driven by the changing context of leadership, specifically with women taking on more leadership roles, as well as the shift in women’s social roles over the past decade. This, as some suggest, has led to a rethinking of gender-role stereotypes in the West [7, 10, 11].…”

“…Only women who were well-known on campus and held a leadership position in a student organization were recruited. Data on their leadership characteristics, situations where these were displayed, whether they viewed themselves as a leader, and alignment with a specific definition of the alpha female–“a woman who reports being a leader, feeling a sense of superiority or dominance over other females, having others seek her guidance, feeling extroverted in social situations, believing that males and females are equal, feels driven, and is highly self-confident” [10] were collected. The authors developed this definition from the leadership and dominance concepts presented in the alpha male literature and Kindlon’s [7] work.…”

“…According to Ward et al, [11] this definition encompasses the aspects of leadership that are endorsed by alpha females [11]. The results of their study revealed that alpha females come from a nurturing family environment and had role models who taught them that being female was either a non-issue or an advantage [10]. Further, Ward et al [10] also stated that it is this teaching that has facilitated the ability of alpha females to “push boundaries”.…”