Oxford Brookes Academics Release New Book on Women in Leadership
Who Runs the World? Girls: Exploring the Complexities of Female Leadership, Visibility, and Power. A ground-breaking look at how societal, media, and structural barriers shape the leadership aspirations of girls and women.
A new book titled "Who Runs the World? Girls: Leadership and Women in the Public Eye", co-authored by academics from Oxford Brookes University, has been launched for pre-order. The book delves into the role of women in leadership, examining societal dynamics, media portrayal, and the challenges women face in gaining and maintaining public influence.
The book draws from Dr Michele Paule’s and Dr Hannah Yelin’s research with girls in schools and youth organisations across the country, examining how factors such as class, ethnicity, and regionality influence their ideas about leadership. The study reveals how the risks of visibility for women in power shape girls' future aspirations, critiquing the idea of aspirational role models amidst media hostility and youth service cuts.
Michele is a Reader in Gender, Audiences and Culture at Oxford Brookes. Her research focuses on the circulation of popular ideas about girlhood in new and traditional media, and how girls themselves engage with such ideas in forming their understanding of the world and their place in it. Speaking about the research behind the book Michele says: “Girls are popularly positioned as the saviours of the future, as the leaders who will bring about a better world. This work shows the reality, in which opportunity for most girls is lacking, while public hostility towards women leaders deters those who do want to make change. We can and must do better for them.”
The book’s research includes diverse participants, ranging from girls at elite schools to those often underrepresented, highlighting the disparities in how girls have access to leadership opportunities. This work disrupts assumptions around role models and is essential for understanding gender inequalities and youth perspectives on leadership.
Hannah is a Reader in Media and Culture and her research explores intersections of gender, celebrity culture, and media representation, with a focus on how women in public life are portrayed. Commenting on their hopes for this book Hannah added: “Our findings reveal how popular misogyny and ideas that code leadership as masculine keep women out of power and deter girls from seeking it. Our hope is that the book will bring about a shift in understanding that moves the conversation on from trying to make girls “feel more confident”, to actually addressing the structural barriers and the risks of visibility that the girls we spoke to identified so clearly.”
Who Runs the World? Girls: Leadership and Women in the Public Eye is set to spark meaningful dialogue around gender equality and leadership. Su Holmes, professor of TV studies, at the University of East Anglia, commented: “This book represents an original and timely intervention in work on girls and celebrity culture, spotlighting how girls navigate the politics and possibilities of female leadership and representation. Based on original audience research, it crucially complicates the simplicity of ‘role model’ debates and deftly illuminates the complex intersections between female visibility, gender and power.”