This study focuses on the presence and participation of women in higher education to examine how they function and advance to leadership roles in various academic contexts. With a focus on the conceptualisation of female leadership in literature, challenges facing senior women academics in their advancement to leadership positions, and policy decisions implemented in various contexts to encourage women's leadership in academia, our study reviews the previous research published in peer-reviewed, Scopus-indexed journals between 2015 and 2023, employing a standard protocol for conducting a systematic literature review. Findings reveal a weaker conceptualisation of female leadership in leadership literature, whereas structural inequalities, women's distorted perception of the self, and their leadership styles are identified as three main challenges facing senior female academics across all contexts. Immediate and effective measures are being taken in the West to promote women's academic leadership, whereas Eastern countries appear to be in dire need of realising the importance of women's active contributions to decision-making, as indicated by fewer studies coming from Asian contexts grappling with a wider gender gap. The study has significant implications for policymakers on actions required to close the prevalent gender gap in developing countries.