1 Women in Leadership Women in Leadership and Their Influence on Rural Community Development by Christina Pearison Final Project Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Leadership Development Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College August 22, 2020 Women in Leadership 2 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Graduate Program in Leadership Development Date: August_22, 2020__ We hereby recommend that the Final Project submitted by: Christina Pearison Entitled: Women in Leadership and Their Influence on Rural Community Development Be accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Leadership Development. Advisory Committee: __8/27/2020_ _Jennie Mitchell, Ph.D._________________ date __9/01/2020__ Lamprini Pantazi, Ph.D.______ date We certify that in this Final Project all research involving human subjects complies with the Policies and Procedures for Research involving Human Subjects, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana 47876 Women in Leadership 3 Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 5 The Mission ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 The Vision .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 List of Terms ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Gender Bias ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Gender Equality ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Gender Roles ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Integrating Women Leaders ............................................................................................................................ 7 Transformational Leadership .......................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Background and Context ................................................................................................................................. 9 Project Proposal .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................................................. 15 How Inclusive is a Women’s Culture? .......................................................................................................... 23 Literature review ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Gender Roles ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Women Empowerment ................................................................................................................................... 26 Global Changes in Rural Women’s Leadership........................................................................................... 27 Tajikistan, Asia ........................................................................................................................... 27 Morocco, Africa ........................................................................................................................... 30 Women’s Leadership Changes within the United States ............................................................................ 32 Political......................................................................................................................................... 32 Philanthropy ................................................................................................................................ 33 Women’s Leadership Changes within the state of Indiana ......................................................................... 35 Women’s Leadership Changes within the County of Sullivan, Indiana .................................................... 37 Percentages of Women in Elective Office (Rutgers, 2018) .......................................................................... 38 Action Project design ...................................................................................................................................... 41 Reveal – Sullivan County ................................................................................................................................... 41 Action Project Business Plan: ............................................................................................................................ 42 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 44 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 46 The Mission ..................................................................................................................................................... 46 The Vision ........................................................................................................................................................ 47 Our Values ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Our Goals ........................................................................................................................................................ 47 The Company and Management ................................................................................................................... 47 Women in Leadership 4 Our Services .................................................................................................................................................... 49 The Market ...................................................................................................................................................... 50 Financial Projections ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Start-up Financing Requirements ................................................................................................................. 52 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 Company Overview ............................................................................................................................................ 52 Services ............................................................................................................................................................ 54 Marketing Plan ................................................................................................................................................... 56 Market Analysis Summary ............................................................................................................................ 60 Operational Plan ................................................................................................................................................. 61 Financial Plan ..................................................................................................................................................... 62 Financial Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 63 Home Office Management.......................................................................................................... 68 Sustainability ............................................................................................................................... 69 Sources of Funds ......................................................................................................................... 70 Philanthropy Requirements ....................................................................................................... 71 Targets by Phases ........................................................................................................................ 71 Conclusion: Implications and contributions to knowledge ............................................................................. 73 References ..........................................................................................................................................................