Abstract:
ORIENTATION : Resilience has become an invaluable asset for female leaders in higher education
given the numerous barriers they have to overcome. Despite this, leadership development
programmes tend to overlook the importance of resilience enhancing factors when offering
support interventions for female leaders.
RESEARCH PURPOSE e: This study explores the role of psychological resources such as positive
affect, self-efficacy and self-regulation and the processes between them that explain resilience.
MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : Understanding how psychological resources can work independently
and through each other to influence resilience, can prove beneficial for higher education
institutions. This information can be used to design female leadership support programmes
that enhance the appropriate psychological resources, which may assist with increasing
resilience.
RESEARCH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : This study employed a cross-sectional survey design
with a non-probability sample of female leaders (n = 255) across multiple higher education
institutions in South Africa. Mplus was used to determine the goodness-of-fit associated with
the different constructs. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 and
PROCESS macro by Hayes were used to conduct a series of statistical tests, including serial
mediation analysis.
MAIN FINDINGS : Although the relationship between positive affect and resilience was mediated
by self-efficacy and self-regulation (individually and in serial), positive affect had a positive
association with resilience independent of the three indirect effects.
PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : Higher education institutions can strengthen the resilience of female leaders through interventions that utilise positive affect, self-efficacy and selfregulation.
CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADDITION : This study contributes towards research on the role of
psychological resources in the context of female leadership and aims to explain the processes
that may influence resilience.
