This week, I welcome Shanna Hocking to the podcast to talk about her new research in higher education and what's holding women back in university advancement. You might be surprised that the answer is disturbingly simple. Here are my favorite takeaways:

• The Crisis in Higher Education Leadership: A shift is needed from a scarcity mindset focused only on fundraising to a focus on leadership and culture as the key to success. The profession is at a crossroads, needing to re-evaluate what has historically worked versus what is needed for the future, especially post-pandemic.

• Structural Barriers for Women Leaders: Despite being the majority of the advancement profession, women hold fewer than 35% of Chief Advancement Executive roles at top universities. The biggest barrier to success for women in these roles isn't personal inadequacy but organizational structures and systems that weren't built for their success.

• The Critical Gap in Onboarding and Inclusion: Over 70% of women Chief Advancement Executives report no formal onboarding support (coaching, training, professional development). This lack of intentionality contributes to lasting stress and negatively affects their view of the organization. Furthermore, unconscious biases manifest in subtle ways, such as being excluded from informal, powerful "in-group" conversations. The solution isn't to "blow up" the system but to focus on small, intentional, and consistent acts of inclusion and systems change.

Connect with Shanna at hockingleadership.com.