Giving Compass' Take:

• Carolyn Stefanco, president of The College of Saint Rose, in Albany, New York, discusses her four priorities in creating educational equality that will make way for the next women leaders in higher education. 

• Stefanco discusses how taking action on behalf of women can be critical for them to advance their education and careers. How can philanthropists take action in fostering more female partnerships within higher education? 

• Read about some of education's female trailblazers. 

I am an unlikely leader. As a first-generation college student and a woman who came of age in an era when the feminist movement was just beginning to challenge long-held assumptions about gender roles, I somehow managed to become a college president.

In high school, I had seriously considered secretarial school. Due to the encouragement of a female social studies teacher, however, I enrolled in college. There I discovered women's studies, and a new lens through which to view my life.

Like many women, I experienced gender bias and sexual harassment throughout my studies, and continuing into my years as a tenure-track and tenured professor. What enabled me to persist, and to eventually rise through the ranks of higher education administration, was a fierce commitment to lead change so that others who have been denied access, opportunity and advancement could realize their potential.

As a woman president, I have an amazing platform to help today's women students become tomorrow's higher education leaders, and to participate in national efforts to advance women's equality, such as the American Council on Education's Moving the Needle initiative.

How can we achieve parity for women in higher ed leadership positions? Here are my four priorities, each of which focuses on creating educational equality and developing the next generation of women leaders.

  1. Ensure that all students learn about women's history and remaining barriers to equality
  2. Recognize that educational discrimination takes many forms
  3. Take action to open doors for women
  4. Teach women students about leadership

Read the full article about leadership pathways by Carolyn Stefanco at Education Dive.