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'Suddenly you are told that you are leaders.' The framing of leadership among members of feminist NGOs in New Delhi.

List, Inga Marie LU (2015) MIDM19 20151
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Leadership is often proposed as a key solution for social change, although the actual meaning remains unclear. By studying leadership in the context of Indian feminist NGOs’ hybridity, situated in-between Western structures and the values of the Indian Women’s Movement, I intended to deepen our understanding of the lived meaning of leadership and followership, beyond its buzzword character. Through an embedded single-case study of the feminist NGO circle in New Delhi, using semi-structured interviews, I explored how leadership is framed by their members, and what this implies for their everyday leadership experiences. In a cross-case analysis, I found that the members’ leadership frames were mostly positive, yet contradictory. Their... (More)
Leadership is often proposed as a key solution for social change, although the actual meaning remains unclear. By studying leadership in the context of Indian feminist NGOs’ hybridity, situated in-between Western structures and the values of the Indian Women’s Movement, I intended to deepen our understanding of the lived meaning of leadership and followership, beyond its buzzword character. Through an embedded single-case study of the feminist NGO circle in New Delhi, using semi-structured interviews, I explored how leadership is framed by their members, and what this implies for their everyday leadership experiences. In a cross-case analysis, I found that the members’ leadership frames were mostly positive, yet contradictory. Their frames, influenced by feminist thought, emphasised agency by seeing everyone as a leader of their own life. However, they also applied more conventional understandings of leadership that acknowledge their group context and ascribe more power to the leader. The members highlighted their feminist identity by speaking about feminist leadership. I argued that the accelerating process of NGOisation hinders this aspirational concept to flourish. By strengthening feminist leadership in theory and practice, especially examining followers’ roles in the process, I hope that we will inspire others to lead and follow like feminists. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
List, Inga Marie LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Buzzword, Feminism, Feminist leadership, Feminist NGOs, Framing, India, Leadership, New Delhi, NGOisation, WPR
language
English
id
5470813
date added to LUP
2015-06-29 15:11:12
date last changed
2015-06-29 15:11:12
@misc{5470813,
  abstract     = {{Leadership is often proposed as a key solution for social change, although the actual meaning remains unclear. By studying leadership in the context of Indian feminist NGOs’ hybridity, situated in-between Western structures and the values of the Indian Women’s Movement, I intended to deepen our understanding of the lived meaning of leadership and followership, beyond its buzzword character. Through an embedded single-case study of the feminist NGO circle in New Delhi, using semi-structured interviews, I explored how leadership is framed by their members, and what this implies for their everyday leadership experiences. In a cross-case analysis, I found that the members’ leadership frames were mostly positive, yet contradictory. Their frames, influenced by feminist thought, emphasised agency by seeing everyone as a leader of their own life. However, they also applied more conventional understandings of leadership that acknowledge their group context and ascribe more power to the leader. The members highlighted their feminist identity by speaking about feminist leadership. I argued that the accelerating process of NGOisation hinders this aspirational concept to flourish. By strengthening feminist leadership in theory and practice, especially examining followers’ roles in the process, I hope that we will inspire others to lead and follow like feminists.}},
  author       = {{List, Inga Marie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{'Suddenly you are told that you are leaders.' The framing of leadership among members of feminist NGOs in New Delhi.}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}