A supportive leadership structure, based on equality and a culture of solidarity, is crucial to operating a higher education institution. To achieve this, the input of female leaders is essential. Women represent a cornerstone of society and have the ability to pioneer sustainable, consensus-oriented projects. They can offer innovative, creative ideas and alternative suggestions. In my role as vice-director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, with my open-door policy, I believe that I have been able to implement an understanding of participatory decision-making to find collective solutions.
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Higher education institutions must work with a holistic view and be inclusive of everyone. Women’s leadership plays a major role in making this happen. Female leaders are often good at motivating and inspiring others, seeing the whole picture, turning strategies into action and providing concrete solutions by focusing on details. As an academic working in education technologies, I’ve been involved in setting up and running barrier-free IT projects since 2013. It is down to patience, sharing and cooperation that this programme has continued all these years.
An enduring legacy
The most important legacy we can leave is to raise generations that will stand together to carry the voices of female leaders forward.
I aim to leave a legacy by instilling in my students advocacy skills and the drive to manage projects as creative individuals. With the impact that my research has made on disability, social entrepreneurship and the development of smart societies, as well as carrying out my managerial duties with the motto “Quality is the mirror of work done well”, I aim to raise individuals who can serve as bridges between societies and cultures. The care I give to my students and the successes I have achieved because of this in my 20 years of teaching aren’t unique to me; these qualities are present in many female leaders.
Of course, I have experienced problems along the way, but not giving up and being able to forgive helped me overcome them. I gained the experience of falling seven times and getting up eight times through being open to change and staying motivated.
Tread gently
I can sum up my legacy, as a female leader involved in teaching, research and managerial duties, as passing on the importance of social responsibility and entrepreneurship. I feel I have set an example for lifelong learning, and I would want my students and colleagues to be sensitive and empathetic to each other. As a member of the Quality-of-Life Association, I uphold the values of cross-cultural learning experiences.
I have always held on to the words of 13th-century Persian poet Rumi: “A candle does not lose anything from its light by lighting another candle”. Managing challenges with sensitivity and prioritising a culture of solidarity is especially important as we rely more and more on technology. We need to move away from gender, racial and religious discrimination and experience the benefits of sharing. It is important that social responsibility practices, which are among the duties of higher education institutions, are passed on to future generations. Women are mothers, sisters and teachers and I am all these to my students. These qualities help me manage all my roles together.
Fahriye Altınay is vice-director of the Institute of Graduate Studies and chair of the Centre for Social Research and Development at Near East University.
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