Abstract
This chapter is an introduction to the book, and describes the status of women in leadership in Africa, with Malawi as an example. The chapter introduces Malawi, where the research was conducted, and describes its geographical location and demographics. Studying women leaders in their cultural and social context provides an understanding of the strategies these leaders employ in order to move beyond historical barriers and be successful leaders. An understanding of this contextual information is necessary for the reader to get a visual and sensory idea of where the participants live and lead; it helps the reader to comprehend the conditions under which these women exercise their leadership, what has helped shape them into who they are and why they have chosen their particular styles of leadership. The chapter sets the scene of the book by highlighting the conceptual framework. It provides a brief description of each chapter of the book.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, M. (2008). Liberia’s election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and women’s executive leadership in Africa. Politics and Gender, 4(3), 475–484.
Awori, M. T. (2008). Women who will not wait: A phenomenological case study of ten women leaders in Busia, Uganda. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York.
Banda, S. (2009, May 23). African News. http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_22_women_in_parliament/list_messages/25023
BBC. (2012). Africa debate. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00yly93/BBC_Africa_Debate_Are_women_winning_the_power_battle_in_Africa/
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row.
Dass-Brailsford, P. (2005). Exploring resiliency: Academic achievement among disadvantaged black youth in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 35(3), 574–591.
Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2003). The female leadership advantage: An evaluation of the evidence. The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 807–834.
Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2004). Women and men as leaders. In J. Antonakis, A. Cianciolo, & R. Sternberg (Eds.), The nature of leadership (pp. 279–301). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Gyekye, K. (1996). African cultural values: An introduction. Philadelphia: Sankofa Publication Company.
Kalabamu, F. (2004). Patriarchy and women’s land rights in Botswana. Land Use Policy, 23(3), 237–246.
Madsen, S. R. (2008). On becoming a woman leader. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Maluwa, D. (2003). Gender sensitive educational policy and practice: The case of Malawi. A background paper prepared for Educational for All Global Report. UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001468/146804e.pdf
Masten, A. S., & Obradovic, J. (2006). Competence and resilience in development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094(1), 13–27.
Mbiti, J. S. (1990a). African religions and philosophy. Great Britain: Heinemann.
Murtadha-Watts, K. (1999). Spirited sisters: Spirituality and the activism of African American women in educational leadership. In School leadership: Expanding horizons of the mind and spirit (pp. 155–167). Lancaster: Technomic Publishing Company, Inc.
Ngunjiri, F. W. (2006). Tempered radicals and servant leaders: Portraits of spirited leadership amongst African women leaders (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University.
Ngunjiri, F. W. (2007). Rocking the boat without falling out: Spirited tempered radicals as agents of community transformation. UCEA Review, 46(3), 4.
Ngunjiri, F. W. (2009). Servant Leadership and Motherhood: Kenyan Women finding fulfilment in serving Humanity. Gender, Development and Globalization Program, Center for Gender in Global Context, Michangan.
Ngunjiri, F. W. (2010a). Women’s spiritual leadership in Africa: Tempered radicals and critical servant leaders. New York: State University of New York Press.
Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Paris, P. J. (1995). The spirituality of African Peoples: The search for a common moral discourse. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Sackett, V. L. (2010). Resilience and leadership associated with rural women in Malawi (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Washington, DC: Seattle University.
SADC Secretariat. (2009). http://www.sadc.int/files/3813/5435/8903/FINAL_SADC_Framework_for_Achieving_Gender_Parity_in_Political_and_Decision_Making_Positions_by_2015.pdf
Stogdill, R. M. (1974). Handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press.
Wilson, M. C. (2004). Closing the leadership gap: Why women can and must help run the world. New York: Viking Penguin.
Yukl, G. (2001). Leadership in organizations. Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (7th ed.). Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Madimbo, M. (2016). Contextual and Conceptual Framework. In: Transformative and Engaging Leadership. Palgrave Studies in African Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54780-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54780-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54779-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54780-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)