La Líder : Developing a Leadership Identity as a Hispanic Woman at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Abstract

Institutions of higher education are uniquely positioned to educate tomorrow’s leaders and initiate change in the number and ethnic diversity of women in leadership roles. The purpose of our study was to understand the essence of Hispanic college women’s leadership identity development with participants and researchers co-constructing meaning. We used individual and group interviews with 11 Hispanic women student leaders at a public, 4-year Hispanic-serving institution in the Southeast. The findings and recommendations suggest administrative and academic members of the academy need to consider ethnicity and gender as well as the biases that still exist in leadership paradigms for further research and programming.

Toward a Multidimensional Conceptual Framework for Understanding “Servingness” in Hispanic-Serving Institutions: A Synthesis of the Research

“…Although she concluded that HSIs served students well by enhancing self-perceptions of their academic ability and potential, she claimed that the lack of a statistical difference on the social agency variable simply meant that HSIs were serving students equally well as non-HSIs when it came to empowering them to take action around social issues. Through focus groups interviews with 11 self-identified Latina women student leaders, Onorato and Droogsma Musoba (2015) discovered that Latinas attending one HSI in the Southeast had greater opportunities to hold leadership positions in mainstream organizations, rather than ethnic-based organizations, which gave them more opportunities to enhance their leadership skills. Through qualitative focus groups, Guardia and Evans (2008) and concluded that the HSI context provided Latino men with curricular and cocurricular opportunities that enhanced their racial/ethnic identity development.…”

The Community College Presidency Demystified: Creating a Pipeline of Latino Leaders

“…Further research is warranted to examine and understand the complexity of the gendered experience of leadership development for Latinas. Existing studies indicate that Latinas grapple with cultural expectations and gender norms as they make meaning of their leadership development (Onorato & Musoba, 2015;Sanchez de Valencia, 2008).…”

Gender and Student Leadership: A Critical Examination

“…Very little of the current research has sought to understand how individuals view or practice leadership using their gender as a lens, particularly in concern with student leadership. However, there are a few notable studies that have sought to view student leadership through the lens of gender (see Haber, ; Haber‐Curran, ; Oronato & Musoba, ; Romano, ; Tillapaugh & Haber‐Curran, ). Given the expanding discourse on gender as well as leadership in our society, educators need to have a better understanding of women, men, and transgender or gender‐nonconforming individuals and how they understand and practice their leadership rather than just examining leadership differences between genders.…”