The educational issue addressed in this article is the persistence of barriers to women's advancement in higher education administration. Examples of these barriers include individual interpersonal biases (such as gender stereotypes) and institutional biases (such as discriminatory policies used to recruit, select, retain, and promote employees). This is a problem because these barriers hinder women's career advancement and perpetuate significant gender disparities in leadership positions in higher education. Although women represent nearly 50% of all administrative positions in higher education, they hold less than 30% of management positions and less than 20% of board seats. Addressing this issue is important because of the significant potential benefits of gender diversity within higher education administration. From a student perspective, the presence of female mentors and role models is an important indicator of success for female undergraduates. From an institutional perspective, gender diversity at senior levels improves the overall talent pool, broadens the range of contributions to knowledge and practice, and leads to higher quality decision-making. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayLiterature ReviewThe purpose of this article is to review the literature on the most important biases that hinder advancement women in leadership positions in higher education administration. . Although women represent nearly 50% of all administrative positions in higher education, gender disparities persist in appointments to administrative leadership positions, promotion and tenure rates, acceptance rates for research, compensation and other areas. As a result, women do not access management positions. Women hold approximately 38% of college deans, 36% of college deans, less than 30% of leadership positions, and less than 20% of board seats. Addressing this issue is important because of the significant potential benefits of gender diversity within higher education administration. From a student perspective, the presence of female mentors and role models is an important indicator of success for female undergraduates. From an institutional perspective, gender diversity at senior levels improves the overall talent pool, broadens the range of contributions to knowledge and practice, and leads to higher quality decision-making. In order to address leadership disparities and achieve greater gender equity, it is important to examine and understand the underlying causes. Many factors contribute to gender disparities in leadership positions within higher education. Eagly and Carli (2007) describe women's journey to professional leadership as a maze full of twists and turns and obstacles to overcome. Schneider et al. (2011) distinguish between “pull” and “push” factors: “pull” factors are those that can pull women away from work, such as the time demands of being a mother , while “push” factors are those that keep women away from work. and prevent them from succeeding, such as discriminatory work environments. This study focuses onthe most important push factors that hinder women's advancement, namely organizational and individual gender bias. These biases contribute to and perpetuate significant gender disparities in leadership positions in higher education. Organizational gender bias stems from the sexist history and culture of higher education. Most academic institutions were founded and managed by men and their systems, policies and procedures were therefore created based on traditional male practices and values. For example, long working hours and rigid human resource practices are possible when the (male) employee is either without children or with a spouse with primary parental responsibility. Because organizational operations were aligned with men's life experiences, they created an uneven playing field that advantaged men over women, who had different life experiences. Individual gender bias also negatively affects women. Even though overt discrimination has declined significantly in recent decades, implicit bias continues to play a role in how women are perceived. A 2007 study exploring the slow progress of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields concluded that implicit gender bias affects perceptions of women's abilities, noting the following: on average, people are less likely to hire a woman than a man with identical qualifications, are less likely to give credit to a woman than to a man for identical achievements and, when information is scarce, they give the benefit much more often doubt for a man than for a woman. have been demonstrated outside of the STEM field, including in gender-inclusive jobs and even in fields traditionally considered more feminine like nursing, social work, and education. These implicit gender biases are thought to come from gender stereotypes and schemas. Historical gender-based divisions of labor reflect assumptions about the different skills possessed by men and women and the type of work considered most appropriate for each sex. As a result of these stereotypes, women may be seen as incapable or unsuitable for positions traditionally dominated by men, simply because they do not fit the preconceived notion of where they belong. This bias is most apparent in the context of leadership positions. Masculine agentic traits, such as independence, aggressiveness, and confidence, are traditionally associated with leadership. Conversely, women's common traits, such as compassion and sensitivity, do not fit traditional conceptions of leadership and may even be considered undesirable professional qualities. As a result, women may be seen as less capable of taking on leadership roles, as it is assumed that they do not possess the agentic (stereotyped masculine) characteristics deemed necessary for effective leadership. These biased perceptions of women and their stereotypical skills, abilities, and characteristics can manifest themselves at all stages of women's professional academic careers. For example, among lower-level faculty members, women report that they are asked to perform lower-level tasks than their male counterparts in similar positions, and they feel that they take on greater responsibility. service charge in the form of teaching, contacts with.