The purpose of this qualitative feminist phenomenological study was to explore women's perceptions of professional advancement to the president role within higher-education administration due to the lack of progress of diversifying college presidencies. To examine challenges that women face as they navigate the career advancing pipeline, it addressed following research questions: What strategies do women use to achieve presidencies in higher education and what campus cultural considerations reportedly influence women's advancement in higher-education administrative positions. Nine female presidents who participated in this study were from institutions that were members of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), which are small, private, nonprofit, midsized institutions in the midwestern United States of America. The CIC reported presidents of these institutions were mostly White men and that women presidents matched the national average of 30% along with mirroring the larger national averages in varying categories of representation and inequities. The conceptual framework of this study was feminist phenomenology as feminist theory provided the space to scrutinize the structures of the privileged patriarchy and heteronormativity by examining participants gendered experiences; the epistemological position of phenomenology is knowledge gained through the participants' perspectives in which they make sense of their worlds. I adapted a theoretical framework from a model of cultural capital. I found the following five themes that emerged from the data: (1) Women's advancement through academic pipelines; (2) Mentorship strategies; (3) Leadership strategies related to cultural capital; (4) Organizational cultural strategies; and (5) Participant stories. [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.]