Women as Agents of Change: Exploring Women Leaders' Resistance and Shaping of Gender Ideologies in Pakistan

Interdependence and waithood: Exploration of family dynamics and young adults' life course trajectories in Pakistan

Youth transitions to adulthood are increasingly characterized by delayed marriages, education and job disparities, and protracted financial dependency in Pakistan, engendering the phenomenon of "waithood." This study poses the question: what are the effects of family dynamics and intergenerational relationships on the life course trajectories of Pakistani young adults in waithood, particularly in terms of education, career, marriage, gender roles, and societal influences? Employing a relational and intersectional perspective, we investigated the experiences of waithood among 30 youths (aged between 18 and 30 years) and 20 parents from various socioeconomic and regional backgrounds across Pakistan. Data collected through in-depth interviews elucidate how structural constraints, social expectations, and the intersections of class, place (rural-urban), and gender shape how youth experience waithood. For young females, there are enduring cultural pressures to marry early and to normatively perform domesticity, roles that can constrain women's educational and employment trajectories. At the same time, male youth confront masculine anxieties stemming from societal expectations of conventional breadwinner roles. Under the pressure of economic dependence, opportunities vary considerably for them across different classes and regional locations. We found that youth consciously extend their identity exploration, particularly in upper-class urban strata, in stark contrast to disadvantaged rural youth for whom waithood suggests a compelled suspension of personal progression. Thus, by locating youth perspectives within linked lives and cultural contexts, our manuscript provides important insights into their diverse transitional experiences on pathways to adulthood in Pakistan's transforming opportunity landscape.

Gender-based differences in the representation and experiences of academic leaders in medicine and dentistry: a mixed method study from Pakistan

BACKGROUND

Research evidence suggests gender-based differences in the extent and experiences of academic leaders across the globe even in developed countries like USA, UK, and Canada. The under-representation is particularly common in higher education organizations, including medical and dental schools. The current study aimed to investigate gender-based distribution and explore leaders' experiences in the medical and dental institutes in a developing country, Pakistan.

METHODS

A mixed-method approach was used. Gender-based distribution data of academic leaders in 28 colleges including 18 medical and 10 dental colleges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan were collected. Qualitative data regarding the experiences of academic leaders (n = 10) was collected through semi-structured interviews followed by transcription and thematic analysis using standard procedures.

RESULTS

Gender-based disparities exist across all institutes with the greatest differences among the top-rank leadership level (principals/deans) where 84.5% of the positions were occupied by males. The gender gap was relatively narrow at mid-level leadership positions reaching up to as high as > 40% of female leaders in medical/dental education. The qualitative analysis found gender-based differences in the experiences under four themes: leadership attributes, leadership journey, challenges, and support.

CONCLUSIONS

The study showed that women are not only significantly under-represented in leadership positions in medical and dental colleges in Pakistan, they also face gender-based discrimination and struggling to maintain a decent work life balance. These findings are critical and can have important implications for government, organizations, human resource managers, and policymakers in terms of enacting laws, proposing regulations, and establishing support mechanisms to improve gender-based balance and help current and aspiring leaders in their leadership journey.

Searching for Meaning in the Life of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: A Call to Meaningful Responses to Tragedies

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, born in 1938, is Africa's first elected female head of state. She navigated stressful and traumatic events, including bullying, domestic abuse, persecution, a civil war, witnessing the effects of genocide and navigating a patriarchal system. Nonetheless, Johnson-Sirleaf's determination established her as a global icon who played a significant role in women's empowerment. Johnson-Sirleaf was purposively selected for this study as she is an extraordinary female political leader. Frankl's dimensional ontology is employed to describe and explore the life of Johnson-Sirleaf from a psychobiographical perspective using publicly available information. The study focused on the period between 1938 and 2005. The findings suggest that Johnson-Sirleaf transcended psychophysical and psychosocial limitations and crafted a meaningful life. It seems Johnson-Sirleaf was guided by a sense of purpose and used her will to meaning to overcome psychosocial injustices and psychophysical issues. This study illustrates the value of Frankl's existential theory in illuminating the life histories of extraordinary political leaders and its potential contribution to contemporary mental health challenges.