Men are overrepresented at the highest levels of leadership in nearly every industry, despite studies that report that men are seen as having less effective leadership abilities than women (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017a; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017b; Catalyst, 2018a; Catalyst, 2019a; Catalyst, 2019b; Taylor et al., 2008; U.S. Department…

Perceptions and expectations of masculinity in the United States create difficult conditions for men to discuss the pressures they feel around performing masculinity practices. By remaining relatively silent about these pressures, men secure greater access to material and ideological benefits promised through the patriarchal dividend. The…

Leadership represents an abstraction of human thought. While functionalist theories propose leader-centric models, contemporary leadership theories embrace a postmodern paradigm acknowledging ontological and epistemological assumptions of qualitative study. This ideology suggests a multi-dimensional model of leadership that reflects the complexity…

For this study, empathy was defined as not only understanding and sharing another's mental state, but also responding from a perspective more closely resembling the observed rather than the observer. Based on evidence suggesting relationships between reading and empathy, between empathy and gender, and between reading and gender, the current study…

Despite the numerous studies suggesting that psychological treatments are equally efficacious for men and women, many men continue to exhibit reluctance toward seeking treatment for their psychological concerns. This significant gender disparity in mental health services utilization persists despite mental illness severity. There is a plethora of…

Transgender students are often an invisible minority in postsecondary education, particularly in STEM fields. I am addressing the lack of research in this area with an exploratory narrative study designed to answer two questions: (1) How have the experiences of postsecondary transgender students in STEM education varied with their gender…

This dissertation revealed two distinct types of castles which are marketed to boys and girls: Fortresses for boys are embedded with the masculine stereotypes of violence and active agents, and Palaces for girls imply domesticity, passivity, and a need for protection. Applying a feminist poststructuralist lens, this qualitative study aimed to…

From With-In the Black Diamond: (Black Diamond) autoethnographically explores the lived experiences of a Black male who navigates his way through a predominately white higher education institution while existing within marginalized spaces related to his gender, ethnicity, and identity. Black Diamond uses epistolary writing techniques to explore…

Sexual assault is a major problem facing colleges and universities, and prevention efforts have begun to examine how student peers can be encouraged to intervene as active bystanders. This study investigated what male students perceived as the most salient risks and benefits of intervening in a situation involving a hypothetical sexual assault and…