Share:


Empowering women at the higher institutional level: analysis of business education and leadership training program

    Summra Khalid   Affiliation
    ; Wang Dan Affiliation
    ; Amir Sohail Affiliation
    ; Wahid Raza Affiliation
    ; Bushra Khalid Affiliation
    ; Ahmad Ur-Rehman Affiliation

Abstract

Purpose – The research study aims to assess the women’s Business education and leadership training program at a higher institutional level in order to examine how the program impacts and contributes to women’s empowerment. Further, this research sought to explore women’s leadership training aspect that has not explicitly elucidated. Besides, this study looks upon women’s self-perception by empowering them with skills and leadership capabilities to change hard-core gender stereotypes in society.


Research methodology – The sample size comprised of 82 enrolled female students in the training program. The qualitative statistics (i.e., three focus groups) evaluated with the Kirkpatrick model. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was applied to compare pre-and post-training quantitative data (i.e., questionnaire). Effect size is measured to check the effectiveness of the training program.


Findings – The post-training evaluation revealed higher scores in knowledge, tools, and leadership skills. The training program encouraged women to bring change in self-perception and gain confidence for transformative changes in society. Findings support the effectiveness of leadership education and training programs.


Research limitations – This research conducted in a Pakistani patriarchal cultural context and one region of Pakistan (Punjab). Hence the results are carefully generalised. The long term outcomes of this leadership training program and women’s performance in the job market are not studied.


Practical implications – Findings suggest that a training program positively affects women’s learning, knowledge, and behaviour. Training programs empower women with practical tools for self and business development. The program encouraged women to gain better insight into work-life challenges and enhance personal competencies to gain equal rights.


Originality/Value – This research will significantly contribute to the relatively scarce literature on the effectiveness of women’s business education and leadership training programs at a higher institutional level in the Pakistani context for women empowerment.

Keyword : business education, empowerment, Kirkpatrick model, leadership, program evaluation, training effectiveness

How to Cite
Khalid, S., Dan, W., Sohail, A., Raza, W., Khalid, B., & Ur-Rehman, A. (2021). Empowering women at the higher institutional level: analysis of business education and leadership training program. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 19(1), 150-169. https://doi.org/10.3846/bmee.2021.13355
Published in Issue
Apr 28, 2021
Abstract Views
1154
PDF Downloads
1019
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Aelterman, N., Vansteenkiste, M., Van Keer, H., De Meyer, J., Van den Berghe, L., & Haerens, L. (2013). Development and evaluation of a training on need-supportive teaching in physical education: Qualitative and quantitative findings. Teaching and Teacher Education, 29(1), 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.09.001

Afzal, A., Ali, T., Ahmad, M., Zafar, M. I., Niazi, S. K., & Riaz, F. (2009). Identification of factors hampering women empowerment in agricultural decision making and extension work in district Okara, Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 46(1), 64–68.

Alba-Hidalgo, D., Benayas del Álamo, J., & Gutiérrez-Pérez, J. (2018). Towards a definition of environmental sustainability evaluation in higher education. Higher Education Policy, 31(4), 447–470. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-018-0106-8

Ariani, D. W. (2015). Relationship model of personality, communication, student engagement, and learning satisfaction. Business, Management and Education, 13(2), 175–202. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2015.297

Aziz, A., Shams, M., & Khan, K. S. (2011). Participatory action research as the approach for women’s empowerment. Action Research, 9(3), 303–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750310396952

Bagieńska, A. (2016). The demand for professional knowledge as a key factor of the development of outsourcing of financial and accounting services in Poland. Business, Management and Education, 14(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2016.313

Batool, S. S., & Batool, S. A. (2018). Levels of education, age, legal awareness and women’ s empowerment. Journal of Research and Reflections in Education, 12(2), 1–19.

Bushra, A., & Nasra, W. (2015). Assessing the socio-economic determinants of women empowerment in Pakistan. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 177, 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.321

Bustamante-Gavino, M. I., Rattani, S., & Khan, K. (2011). Women’s empowerment in Pakistan – Definitions and enabling and disenabling factors: A secondary data analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 22(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659610395762

Cann, O. (2018). 108 Years: Wait for gender equality gets longer as women’s share of workforce, politics drops. World Economic Forum. http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2018/

Carmona, S., Ezzamel, M., & Mogotocoro, C. (2018). Gender, management styles, and forms of capital. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(2), 357–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3371-8

Countryeconomy. (2018). The Global Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum: Magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities. https://countryeconomy.com/demography/global-gender-gap-index

Chaudhry, I. S., Nosheen, F., & Lodhi, M. I. (2012). Women empowerment in Pakistan with special reference to Islamic viewpoint: An empirical study. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS), 32(1), 171–183. https://www.bzu.edu.pk/PJSS/Vol32No12012/Final_PJSS-32-1-13.pdf

Dalati, S., & Alchach, H. (2018). The effect of leader trust and knowledge sharing on staff satisfaction at work: Investigation of universities in Syria. Business, Management and Education, 16(1), 190–205. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2018.2852

Economic Survey of Pakistan. (2019). https://www.opfblog.com/tag/economic-survey-2018-2019/

Elvish, R., Burrow, S., Cawley, R., Harney, K., Graham, P., Pilling, M., Gregory, J., Roach, P., Fossey, J., & Keady, J. (2014). Getting to know me: The development and evaluation of a training programme for enhancing skills in the care of people with dementia in general hospital settings. Ageing and Mental Health, 18(4), 481–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2013.856860

Faiz, R., Bano, S., & Asif, A. (2017). Walls all around: Developments in the gender and leadership in Pakistan. Gomal University Journal of Research (GUJR), (Special Issue I), 116–125. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319482871

Hafeez, I., Yingjun, Z., Hafeez, S., Mansoor, R., & Rehman, K. U. (2019). Impact of workplace environment on employee performance: Mediating role of employee health. Business, Management and Education, 17(2), 173–193. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.10379

Hameed, W., Azmat, S. K., Ali, M., Sheikh, M. I., Abbas, G., Temmerman, M., & Avan, B. I. (2014). Women’s empowerment and contraceptive use: The role of independent versus couples’ decisionmaking, from a lower middle income country perspective. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e104633. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104633

Jabbar, A., & Imran, A. (2013). Perception of glass ceiling in the educational institution: An evidence from Pakistan. World Applied Sciences, 23(5), 628–634.

Jumani, N., Safdar, M., Bhatti, A., & Ghazi, S. (2013). Empowerment of women through distance education in Pakistan. The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 8(4), 135–149. http://journaldatabase.info/articles/empowerment_women_through_distance_education.html

Keitsch, M. (2018). Structuring ethical interpretations of the sustainable development goals – Concepts, implications and progress. Sustainability, 10(3), 829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030829

Khan, K. A., Turner, R., & Maqsood, T. (2013). Factors that influence the success of public sector projects in Pakistan [Conferencce presentation]. Conference: IRNOP XI, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.4832.9605

Khan, N., & Rahman, A. U. (2018). National character and leadership in Pakistan: Challenges and response. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 10(5), 57–71. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333149947

Khatri, D. R. (2016). The role of education towards women empowerment in India. International Journal of Advanced Research, 4(11), 550–555. https://doi.org/10.21474/ijar01/2117

Khurshid, A. (2016). Domesticated gender (in) equality: Women’s education & gender relations among rural communities in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 51, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.08.001

Khurshid, N., & Saboor, A. (2013). Impact assessment of economic interventions of AKRSP on the lives of rural women: A case study of Northern Areas of Pakistan. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Research, 3(1), 49–56.

Kumar, R. (2016). Women empowerment through education in Nurpur Shahan. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 5(1), 1932–1936. https://doi.org/10.21275/v5i1.NOV153175

Miotto, G., López, M. P., & Rodríguez, J. R. (2019). Gender equality and UN sustainable development goals: Priorities and correlations in the top business schools’ communication and legitimation strategies. Sustainability, 11(2), 302. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020302

Nawaz, F. (2009). Critical factors of women entrepreneurship development in rural Bangladesh. SSRN Electronic Journal, 5, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1403411

Nie, H., & Xing, C. (2019). Education expansion, assortative marriage, and income inequality in China. China Economic Review, 55, 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2019.03.007

Noureen, G. (2015). Education as a prerequisite to women’s empowerment in Pakistan. Women’s Studies, 44(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497878.2014.971215

Patel, R., & Nayak, P. (2013). Development of women education In India. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 3(12), 124–127. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/fileview/December_2013_1386934369_0543f_35.pdf

Paulienė, R. (2012). Transforming leadership styles and knowledge sharing in a multicultural context. Business, Management and Education, 10(1), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2012.08

Permanyer, I., & Boertien, D. (2018, April 26–28). A century of change in global educational inequality and gender differences in education. In Population Association of America (PAA) Annual Meeting (Vol. 12). https://paa.confex.com/paa/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/19987

Poultney, V., & Fordham, J. (2018). Researching reciprocal leadership: Using the consciousness quotient inventory (CQ-i) as a pilot methodology to explore leadership with the context of a school-university partnership. Management in Education, 32(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020617748151

Raudeliūnienė, J., & Kordab, M. (2019). Impact of knowledge oriented leadership on knowledge management processes in the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. Business, Management and Education, 17(2), 248–268. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.11284

Riaz, T., Ramzan, M., Ishak, H. M., Umair Akram, M. & Karim, . Y. (2012). Transformational leadership and employees career salience; an empirical study conducted on banks of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(8). 153–160.

Rieckmann, M. (2012). Future-oriented higher education: Which key competencies should be fostered through university teaching and learning? Futures, 44(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2011.09.005

Salik, M., & Zhiyong, Z. (2014). Gender discrimination and inequalities in higher education: A case study of rural areas of Pakistan. Academic Research International, 5(2), 269–276. http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.5(2)/2014(5.2-30).pdf

Setó-Pamies, D. (2015). The relationship between women directors and corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 22(6), 334–345. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1349

Shimamoto, K., & Gipson, J. D. (2015). The relationship of women’s status and empowerment with skilled birth attendant use in Senegal and Tanzania. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15(1), 154. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-015-0591-3

Showunmi, V., & Kaparou, M. (2017). The challenge of leadership: Ethnicity and gender among school leaders in England, Malaysia, and Pakistan. In Intercultural studies in education: Cultures of educational leadership (pp. 95–119). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58567-7_5

Sohail, M. (2014). Women empowerment and economic development-an exploratory study in Pakistan. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 210–221.

Statista. (2018). The global gender gap index. https://www.statista.com/statistics/244387/the-globalgender-gap-index/

Tamim, T. (2013). Higher education, languages, and the persistence of inequitable structures for working-class women in Pakistan. Gender and Education, 25(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2012.752793

Topno, H. (2012). Evaluation of training and development: An analysis of various models. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 5(2), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.9790/487x-0521622

Turnbull, S., Case, P., Edwards, G., Schedlitzki, D., & Simpson, P. (Eds.) (2012). Worldly leadership. Alternative wisdom for a complex world. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230361720

UN Women. (2018). In Brief: Women’s leadership and political participation. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures

UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). https://en.unesco.org/sdgs

United Nations Development Programme. (2019). Gender Inequality Index (GII). http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii

United Nations Population Fund. (2015). The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. UNFPA. https://www.unfpa.org/events/united-nations-sustainable-development-summit-2015

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/ RES/70/1, 25 September 2015). https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/global-and-european-temperature-8/un-2015b-transforming-our-world

Windscheid, L., Bowes-Sperry, L., Jonsen, K., & Morner, M. (2018). Managing organizational gender diversity images: A content analysis of German corporate websites. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(4), 997–1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3292-6

World Economic Forum. (2018). https://www.weforum.org/

Yousaf, K., Abid, G., Butt, T. H., Ilyas, S., & Ahmed, S. (2019). Impact of ethical leadership and thriving at work on psychological well-being of employees: Mediating role of voice behaviour. Business, Management and Education, 17(2), 194–217. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.11176