Blog Post Submission Form

Author(s): Monserrat Jimenez and Chanel Stewart

Submission Date: March 19, 2018

Suggested Post Title – Teaching to Lead, Leading to Teach: Women in Academia

Suggested

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Proposed Post Text – Minimum of 1000 words …up to 1400 words okay.
Leadership comes in different styles and one of those styles includes feminist leadership.
Feminine leadership is looking specifically at how women make sense of leadership in their
profession and everyday lives. Feminine leadership includes aspects such as empathy,
vulnerability, humility, and inclusiveness. Dr. Jenni Simon is a Communication Studies
professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and she is an example of a
feminist leader in academia. Her scholarly interests include social movement, gender, political
communication, and critical and media studies. Her job consists of 50 % teaching and 50 %
research along with her services to the university. Her recent research includes first ladies and
presidents, among other areas of interest. She is part of academic advising, the Harriet Elliot
Lecture Series, and is a reviewer for Feminist and Media Studies. These characteristics
demonstrate the basic principle that Dr. Simon is a leader, but beyond all of her achievements,
she demonstrates the characteristics of a feminist leader in academia as well.

Dr. Simon states that leadership does not always have to be a title; Leadership is more than
that. Leadership to her is leading people forward in a new direction, leading by example, and
letting others speak. Dr. Simon acknowledges that there is a difference in leadership in the
academia setting. In academia, leadership includes advocating for education, having
compassion for students, and for faculty as well. In addition, it requires talking about ideas and
making sure you do not suppress the ideas of others, which is very important to Dr. Simon
who believes that one should hear all ideas even if you do not agree with them. This gives the
person the ability to have a voice. In essence, the goal of leadership in academia is to defend
education.

On A Unique Brand of Leadership

“I am an advocate for faculty...I am an advocate for students…”
As far as leadership within the University goes, Dr. Simon hopes that she may be an advocate
for fellow faculty members, improve the quality of the educational experience for students and
educators, and lead students to finding and following their passions.

“I think that it is okay to show that you care about your students...”
Though she may be too humble to consider herself a leader by any grand connotation of the
word, Dr. Jenni Simon still approaches her art, her study, and her role as an educator by
embodying the feminist leadership principles that underscore the importance of creating
relationships and valuing others’ opinions. Stressing the unique struggles and expectations that
women in academia face, Dr. Simon pairs leadership with the enactment of care and
selflessness, a philosophy to which young women may be more responsive.
From time to time, it is important to let women know they have the capability of
accomplishing anything just as men do, by the mere fact of reminding women that they can
say, “I got this” with a sense of confidence.

On Facing Unique Obstacles

“I do think there needs to be a change within the university…”
While the position of an educator at the university is rewarding, there are still numerous
(outdated) obstacles that she has faced and observed while working towards her current
position. Among these is a lack of job security and the realization that students, as well as
faculty, respond differently to the style of dress, the style of teaching, and the ages of her and
her fellow female faculty members. The lack of job security in an untenured position and the
little room for advancement that she faces is, unfortunately, is not uncommon for most women
teaching at the university level. Recent statistics report that in 2015, women held only 38.4%
of tenured positions (Catalyst). This severe undervaluing of the contributions of women
educators is yet another reason why female leadership in academia is increasingly
important.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, from 2011-2012, a whopping 76%
of public school teachers were female (National Center for Education Statistics), while
Catalyst.org statistics record that women held only 32.4% of professor position in the United
States in 2015. The disparities between the amount of women educators in the United States
teaching at the elementary, middle, and high school levels compared to those teaching at the
university level are a staggering statistical phenomenon to which Dr. Simon attributes the
increasing rigor, demand, and guilt placed on women who choose to further their career
instead of their family plans. The gap represents not only professional disparities, but indicates
a deeply-rooted issue at the intersection of personal and professional life as well; at its core, it
is a problem that represents a cultural aversion to the blending of work and family, and thus,
leaves women with little freedom to lead, both at home and at work. It has been suggested that
in academia, married women with children often face a “baby penalty” that renders them less
likely than their male counterparts to achieve tenure-track positions, even after completing
their PhDs (Catalyst). Highlighting the power of a feminism-guided brand of leadership, Dr.
Simon believes that this issue (and this disparity) can be remedied with efforts towards
community building in which the incorporation of work and family is not only welcomed, but
regarded as a strength to which women can apply their unique skills, abilities, and insights.

On Utilizing Unique Strengths to Encourage Empowerment

“I am not so self-conscious that I fear people having different ideas than I do, and that is
a strength.”
Despite the discouraging statistics, Dr. Simon feels that UNCG is a promising institution that
is preparing young women to take on leadership roles, “better than any other place,” once they
graduate. Due in large part to the care and the boldness with which she leads her students, Dr.
Simon believes that young women in the university are learning self-acceptance, self-pride,
and perhaps most importantly, to not be afraid to fail.
Dr. Simon believes that current students are at an “exciting time”. Students must ask
themselves if they are going to be part of the problem or solution in order to get rid of the
inequalities presented to women in academia as well as the social constructs presented to them.
Women need to be comfortable being himself or herself without anyone telling them how to
behave. Dr. Simon states there needs to be more compassion and appreciation in letting
women know it is okay to just be and it is okay to be vulnerable.
Relating her role as a leader within her institution to her passion for social change during such
a tumultuous point in history, she poses the question…. “Which side will you be on?” After
all, Dr. Simon believes that there is hope and there is room to understand, but the time starts
now.

References
The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National
Center for Education Statistics). (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2018, from
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28
Women in Academia. (2017, October 20). Retrieved February 28, 2018,
from http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-academia#footnote28_ihmcddk

Notes – Anything else we should know about the intent, audience, timing, links, etc.
for this piece?
Our intent was to focus on women in leadership roles and in this specific blog we
aimed the career path in academia. In addition, women in today’s time are becoming
more powerful. For example, take a look at the #metoomovement. This movement
provided a voice to other women, letting them stand for themselves, and rejecting the
abuse they have endured.
Other tags: #leadership #academia #WomeninLeadership, #education

Your Information:
Contributing Author Profiles- Please include a 3-5 sentence bio here, which includes your full name,
title, educational attainment, area(s) of expertise, and a bit of background as to why you were
interested in writing this piece. Please submit a brief author profile for each author.

Chanel Stewart is a senior and Communication Studies major at the University of

North Carolina at Greensboro. As a writer with a career interest in politics, she has
spent the past four years developing and refining her written communication and
research skills as a means through which to explore and critique modern day power
distribution imbalances.

Monserrat Jimenez is a junior at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She

is majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Sociology. She was interested
in writing this piece to empower other women in obtaining leadership
roles. Leadership comes in different forms and women should have the confidence
that they can lead in any position no matter their title.

Keywords: DigitalAge, Social Media, Leadership, Millennial