This study focused on the female perspective of authentic leadership and the careers of female faculty of rural community colleges. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how female faculty of community colleges in rural communities perceive the influence of authentic leadership-self-awareness, moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency--on their careers in Arkansas. The theoretical foundation is based upon authentic leadership, self-determination, and self-efficacy theories. The target population of 56 female faculty members who are full time staff at three rural community colleges in Arkansas was used to purposely select a sample of 21 female faculty members for the study. A qualitative descriptive study was chosen to explore the phenomenon of the female perspective of authentic leadership and career experiences. Findings are female faculty of rural community colleges in Arkansas perceive authentic leadership as a style of leading that positively impacts their careers. Common themes found across the three data collection sources were: self-awareness is critical to a successful career, leadership support must come from executive leadership, and female faculty need mentors. Female faculty concluded that the components of authentic leadership were essential behaviors of their work environment, aided their careers, and encouraged them to remain in their chosen profession. Further work should include the female perspective and add to the sparse literature on the female careers in the community college setting. [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.]