Women’s participation in higher education administration remains a critical yet under-realized dimension of gender equity in Indian academia, particularly in the Delhi–NCR region, where institutional density coexists with persistent leadership imbalances. This study examines the structural, cultural, and institutional barriers that constrain women’s advancement into administrative leadership roles, while also analyzing the forms of agency exercised by women within constrained academic environments. Drawing upon feminist institutionalism, intersectionality theory, and Bourdieusian concepts of social capital, the paper synthesizes insights from existing scholarship to construct an analytical framework for understanding gendered leadership trajectories in higher education.

The study highlights how academic labor is stratified through gendered divisions of administrative and intellectual work, reinforcing systemic exclusion from decision-making spaces (Kanter, 1977; Singh, 2019). It further explores how institutional norms, neoliberal governance structures, and implicit bias shape leadership pipelines in universities (Mackay et al., 2010). Special attention is given to the intersection of caste, class, and gender in shaping access to leadership opportunities (Crenshaw, 1989; Rege, 2008).

Findings suggest that despite structural constraints, women faculty demonstrate strategic agency through informal leadership networks, pedagogical authority, and administrative negotiation. However, these forms of agency rarely translate into formal leadership positions due to institutional rigidity and gendered expectations of academic labor (Morley, 2014). The paper concludes that achieving equitable leadership requires systemic restructuring of governance frameworks and a redefinition of academic leadership itself.