WOMEN IN UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE: A GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL LEADERSHIP IN ANGLO-SAXON PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN CAMEROON
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This study assessed from a gender perspective, women’s financial and social leadership as indicators of university governance in Anglo-Saxon public universities in Cameroon. Guided by two specific objectives and hypotheses relating to financial and social governance; the study employed a concurrent nested mixed-method research design, sampling 411 university stakeholders -including administrative, academic, and support staff, as well as students from the Universities of Bamenda and Buea. Quantitative data was analyzed using R version 4.3.1, while qualitative data was processed through thematic analysis. Regarding financial and social governance, the study tested the null hypotheses that there were no significant gender differences in the perspectives of stakeholders relating women in governance. For financial governance, findings revealed that 74% of stakeholders were generally positive about women’s leadership in this domain. While female stakeholders showed a higher approval rating (75%) compared to males (69%), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.5772), thereby upholding the null hypothesis. With respect to social governance, the findings reflected widespread agreement (74% overall) on women’s contributions. Although female stakeholders were more positive (90.1%) than their male counterparts (78.8%), the difference in mean scores was not statistically significant (p = 0.0847), also upholding the null hypothesis. On the basis of these findings, the study recommended that higher education authorities provide more opportunities for women's voices and skills to be integrated into university governance, as they have proven their effectiveness in administration within the institutions under consideration.
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