Today, women remain underrepresented at the top levels of higher education administration, despite the fact that they are earning more advanced degrees at a faster pace than men (ACE, 2017). At the community college level, women have held and continue to hold the positions of department chairs, deans, assistant deans, directors, vice or associate presidents, and president. However, women are indeed still underrepresented in these positions, and they continue to experience gender discrimination in the workplace (Shepherd, 2017). The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine perceptions concerning work-life balance challenges as well as the institutional and gender challenges that female leaders face at community colleges. Many community college presidents and other senior-level administrators are currently retiring at a rapid rate, and this turnover in leadership is expected to continue (Phillippe, 2016; Tekle, 2012). As these transitions occur, women in mid-level leadership roles should have opportunities for promotion into higher levels of administration. Canas, Keeves, Ramos, Rivera, and Samuel (2019) stated that a gender gap exists due to barriers to advancement and discrimination in both the hiring process and in the workplace. With less representation of women in higher education leadership, women in this field are at a higher risk of bias. Gender inequality is a widespread phenomenon, which justifies at least partly the statement that an urgent need exists for female leadership in higher education (Chin, 2011; Madsen, 2012a, 2012b; White, 2012, 2013; Cook & Glass, 2014; Warner et al., 2018). Women in leadership positions often experience social identity judgments, stereotypes, restrictions, and treatments that are tied to their social identities (Hoyt & Murphy, 2016); thus, they are denied positions that they are logically qualified to obtain. Through the use of the research questions asked during in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the researcher gained insights through the lens of the participants. Using information gleaned from the participants' responses, the researcher described their perceptions and shared experiences which elucidated the challenges that women face as they ascend the educational leadership ladder. This basic qualitative study examined how people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experiences (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). Participants described how they had attempted to overcome such challenges. In total, 11 women in the positions of president, vice president, assistant or associate vice president, dean, assistant or associate dean, or director were purposively selected from 5 community colleges in 1 Northeastern U.S. state. One-on-one interviews were conducted, providing the female leaders with the opportunity to provide their own narratives and describe their lived experiences as mid- or high-level leaders. An analysis of the data revealed 8 major themes: (a) mentorship and leadership development, (b) leadership growth, (c) work-life balance, (d) performance at work, (e) stereotypes, (f) leadership styles, (g) institutional challenges--climate, culture and organizational structure, and (h) gender challenges-inequalities. Women can overcome challenges by supporting their strengths and making use of the right resources, and they can push ahead and create equitable work environments in which they can thrive. This study recommended that for female leaders to overcome challenges at community colleges, they require the following: encouragement, reassurance, support, the creation and funding of leadership development opportunities, promotion opportunities, assistance with completing their doctoral degree, equity promotion, the creation and implementation of work-life policies, and the promotion of a positive institutional climate and culture. This study's recommendations for further research include additional qualitative research focused on women in community colleges in mid- and/or high-level positions throughout the US. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]