Isabel Capeloa Gil: “Women are natural-born leaders”
“Women are natural-born leaders," Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of Universidade Católica, states in the chapter “Women’s Leadership and Catholic Universities – A Survey of the International Federation of Catholic Universities”, which aims to map the current gender inequality in leadership positions in Higher Education and present an action plan. Her thoughts are integrated in the book “More Women’s Leadership for A Better World”, with preface by Pope Francis, an initiative lead by SACRU – Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities – of which Católica is a founding member.
“It is unquestionable that women have the skills, the experience and the knowledge to lead, and an experiential difference that is crucial in promoting transformational leadership focused on attaining sustainable societal development,” the President highlights, adding that “gender inequality continues to be evident in top leadership positions (SHE Figures 2021), with only 23% female leadership of leading HEIs (Higher Education Institutions), despite women representing about 47% of the total members of faculty and researchers.”
According to the President of Católica, who is also the first woman President of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), this disparity is due to three main reasons: “implicit gender bias and the trap of meritocracy; stereotyping (geniality/male vs. singularity/female) and the emotional care trap.” Isabel Capeloa Gil elaborates further: as “women are perceived to be more emotional than men, more risk averse and less ambitious, they are considered to be less likely to do well in leadership positions.”
Another idea “is that in science and academia where creativity and rigorous innovation are highly credited, men are still perceived to be more drawn to leadership. Men are posited as strategists and innovators whereas women rank as followers,” the President adds.
All these misconceptions perpetuate the inequality and are the “result from an established male default thinking that sees the male as universal, the finished product and the female as the niche, the other, the different.”
However, rather than being a handicap, these female traits, namely “care”, are at the heart of a new model of leadership, as Isabel Capeloa Gil explains. “Care – as a strategy for female empowerment – helps break the connection to a certain kind of emotional ‘trap’ and suggests a civic and political agenda based on justice, recognizing the role of women and their contribution to a more equitable and sustainable world.”
Also, based on the data collected by the study conducted by IFCU, the President of Católica stresses that “women leaders are clearly perceived as visionary leaders with a caring streak, demonstrating that Catholic HEIs recognize the transformational potential of a care-driven leadership as service model.”
The low numbers of “women in decision-making bodies reveals an institutional culture strongly marked by an all-male ecclesiastical tradition and to the nature of IFCU members institutions, many of which are ecclesiastical colleges and institutions,” Isabel Capeloa Gil states.
Change is needed, and according to the President, that requires action which “must involve three types of commitment: institutional and regulatory; organizational and cultural, and not least academic,” that Isabel Capeloa Gil summarizes in six main initiatives: “An institutional transformational strategy focused on care-driven leadership models”; followed by a “a gender equality plan articulating strategies for equal opportunity in career and service to the university”; and the development of a “monitoring structure to drive the mainstreaming of gender equality and inclusion.”
Isabel Capeloa Gil also points out the need for a “communication plan to promote the visibility of women leaders”, along with the “implementation of a succession plan for top leadership positions based on equal opportunity”, and finally, the recognition of “the service and the work of female leaders.”