Women mayors say what it takes to lead: setting theory against lived experience

Tremaine, Marianne

doi:10.1108/09649420010372869

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In the limited number of qualitative studies that have examined the gendered nature of local government, the focus has been on elected officials, rather than on those employed by councils (see Irwin ; Briggs ; Pini et al. ; Tremaine ). Studies that have included local government employees have tended to focus only on the issue of leadership or, alternatively, careers.…”

Section: Gender Representation In Australian Local Governmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Smith-Ruig¹,

Grant

Sheridan³

2015

Aust J Public Adm

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Scholars and practitioners alike have recognised that an increased role for women leaders in Australian local government would strengthen the sector, yet little research to date has examined the career paths of non-elected officials. This article combines the gender in organisations literature with career theory to examine the career paths of 16 general managers (GMs) in New South Wales. We found that half the participants had linear career paths based entirely within local government and half had boundaryless careers originating outside the sector. This second cohort consisted overwhelmingly of women. Nevertheless, a high incidence of happenstance characterised both career types. Several participants saw themselves pitted against a gendered (i.e. male) group of 'old hands' who were resistant to change being driven by 'accidental executives', a high proportion of whom were women. The findings have implications for a sector attempting to attract and retain skilled staff, particularly women.

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Section: Gender Representation In Australian Local Governmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Smith-Ruig¹,

Grant

Sheridan³

2015

Aust J Public Adm

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“…Stevens (: 65) observed that ‘with rather few exceptions, women are disproportionately underrepresented in institutions of representative democracy.’ Barriers to women's participation include sexism and discrimination, family demands, and gendered assumptions. Tremaine (: 249) and Conroy (: 172) found the ‘old boys’ network’ to be a significant obstacle faced by women local government representatives in New Zealand and Australia. Sector reforms, such as newly organised districts and legislation requiring greater accountability and long‐term planning, ‘may have damaged the all‐pervading nature of the “old boys” network’ and male cronyism.…”

Section: Representation and Diversity In Pursuit Of Fairness And Equamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sector reforms, such as newly organised districts and legislation requiring greater accountability and long‐term planning, ‘may have damaged the all‐pervading nature of the “old boys” network’ and male cronyism. Nevertheless, the old boys’ network has an amazing ability to survive’ (Tremaine : 249). Sexism and discrimination emerged through the allocation of women to committees dealing stereotypically with ‘feminine’ concerns, such as education, social services and welfare committees (Henig and Henig ).…”

Section: Representation and Diversity In Pursuit Of Fairness And Equamentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Representation on the New Auckland Council – Has Amalgamation Led to Greater Diversity?

Webster

Fa'apoi

2017

Aust J Public Adm

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This paper explores the diversity of local government electoral candidates and elected members, in Auckland – one of the world's most diverse cities (Chen 2015: 56) – following the 2010 amalgamation. It responds to questions raised over the democratic gaps created by enlarged wards, a lack of diverse representation, and higher elected member ratios. The research asks the question – who stood and who was elected in the election following the Auckland 2010 reforms, and how does this compare with the city's diverse population. Pitkin's (1967) concept of descriptive representation provides the foundation for a comparison of the gender, age, and ethnicity of local population, local government candidates, and elected members, to ascertain descriptive representation. The human rights framework provides a theoretical foundation to examine the diversity of representation. Preliminary findings support the view that under the shared governance model, electoral candidates are becoming more ethnically and gender diverse at the local level; while at the regional level, the dominance of the archetypal councillor as European, middle‐aged and male, prevails.

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“…The most widely held view of leadership during the 1980s and 1990s seems to be that derived from Burns' wok in 1978, which contrasts 'transforming' leadership with 'transactional' leadership. Tremaine (2000) to explore the relationship between gender, success as a mayor in local government leadership and Burns' theory, New Zealand's women mayors were interviewed about their perceptions of leadership and their responses were linked to the concept of transforming leadership. The result suggests that women mayors do judge success as a leader in terms that are closely allied to transformational rather than transactional leadership.…”

Section: Women and Leadership Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Review of Literature Pertaining to Women in Management: With Special Reference to Management Styles and Managerial Effectiveness

Jayatilake

2016

Wayamba J Mgt

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The structure of the workplace is undergoing dramatic changes in the 2000s. The current trend towards change-an increasing number of women in the workplace, especially those visible in managerial position. The traditional hierarchical structure associated with maledominated management ranks is inadequate to accommodate properly this trend. The growing impact of women in the workforce has kept the leadership style and managerial effectiveness of women on the research agenda. Reviews some of the current thinking on women and leadership, drawing on general management literature. Looks at alternative management structure theories which support the view of a genderless management structure. Conclude with a synopsis of some of the factors that may account for differences in leadership styles and managerial effectiveness. Recommends that managers should begin to adopt an nontraditional management style which will not only foster a blend of so-called masculine and feminine behaviors, but also lead to better leaders.

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Women mayors say what it takes to lead: setting theory against lived experience

Cited by 12 publications

References 2 publications

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Political Representation on the New Auckland Council – Has Amalgamation Led to Greater Diversity?

Scientific Review of Literature Pertaining to Women in Management: With Special Reference to Management Styles and Managerial Effectiveness

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