What is Emotional Labour

The marginalization of women across the 21st century workforces remains a fundamental issue for address in terms of global economies where factors contributing to inequality and inequity pervade. This chapter illuminates the agency of women in the context of higher education institutions where the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for them to undertake skills and outperform their male counterparts, in situations which up until that point history had maintained as the preserve of men. The existential crisis facing higher education institutions (HEIs) as a direct consequence of 2020 has served as a lens through which other facets of ambiguity and contingency also influence meta-thinking concerning their strategic governance and operationalization of policies in practice. Just how representative these women leaders were of those working across diverse leadership contexts and settings is also something that remains open to scrutiny, and this chapter explores debates of the agency of women in leadership roles.