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In recent years there has been an increase in the number of women pursuing managerial careers. Previous studies have established that, throughout Europe, women’s advancement to senior domestic management positions has been very slow, despite legislative changes, including the European Union’s social protocol, to enforce issues related to equal opportunity such as equal pay and sex discrimination. The number of women managers pursuing international management careers, however, remains considerably lower than the number in domestic management. Previous research has established that only 3 percent of women are international managers. The data presented in this paper assert that female managers who are not part of an organisational support network experience even further career disadvantages. Based on an extensive empirical research study conducted with senior female international managers, the paper highlights the role which organisational networks have on the career development of female managers.

This paper sets out to examine the experiences of female managers in order to enhance our understanding of why there is a relative scarcity of senior female managers in one of the newest sectors of the Irish economy, the high‐tech sector. Because this sector has effectively only emerged in Ireland in the last 15 years, it had been expected to provide a unique genderless environment in which female managers would emerge in equal numbers to their male counterparts.

This paper takes a qualitative approach. A series of interviews were carried out with 20 female junior and middle managers in this industry segment.

The results of the interviews illustrate that a combination of formal and informal organizational policies and procedures, together with a “self‐imposed” glass ceiling hamper women in junior and middle management positions from advancing to senior managerial roles in this important segment of the Irish economy.

One of the limitations of this study relates to the sample. Further research expanding on this initial sample into other industry sectors is required.

One issue that emerged from the interviews is the concept of a “self‐imposed glass ceiling”, where individual female managers are actively weighing up the costs and the benefits of moving to the next level of management. Based on their analysis of this information they are individually deciding whether or not to engage in the activities, which will assist their carrier progression. The role of individual choice may assist us in explaining the low numbers of women at senior management level.

To investigate senior library leaders' perceptions of leadership, and to critically explore whether senior librarians distinguish classic leadership from management/administrative practices, both conceptually and in their work lives.

Thirty top‐level public librarians from Ireland, Britain, and the east coast of the United States were selected for inclusion in this study. A review of the relevant literature was conducted in order to design an interview guide which was then used to conduct structured in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews.

Many responses from the senior librarians indicated an apparent ignorance of any distinction between leadership and management. Eighty per cent of respondents tended to confuse leadership with headship, management, administration, or bureaucracy, or a combination of these. The findings argue that classic leadership is a relatively scarce quality in public libraries in Britain, Ireland, and America. Many public library leaders, instead, focus on management/administration.

The findings have practical implications for librarians at the recruitment and selection stage, and later on for the career paths of middle management personnel who show aptitudes for leadership.

This study of the perceptions of senior public library leaders, across national boundaries, makes a theoretical contribution both to the limited extant literature on leadership in librarianship, and the broad corpus of organizational leadership literature. The current study is the most in‐depth study to date, drawing on thirty face‐to‐face interviews with thirty public library leaders.

One of the most significant features of the global labour market in the last half of the twentieth century has been the increasing labour force participation rate of women. It is evident from the extant research that women are not progressing to senior international management positions at comparable rates to their male counterparts. Previous research has estimated that only 3 percent of expatriate managers are women. This paper argues that female international managers have to overcome overt and covert barriers in their home organisations before being developed for international assignments. Based on an extensive empirical research study conducted with senior female international managers in a European context, the findings suggest that organisations may have to review their organisational policies in relation to the recruitment, selection, training and development of international managers if they want to have “the best” people to represent their companies overseas.

This paper aims to add to the limited extant literature on public library leadership.

The study investigates the desired qualities and behaviours required for public library leaders by interviewing 30 senior librarians from Ireland, the UK and the east coast of the USA in order to develop an understanding of the perceptions of current leaders in the field of public librarianship. A review of the relevant literature was used to design an interview guide which was used to conduct structured in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews.

The findings illustrate that there is no universal or common behaviour, even within national boundaries, for effective public library leadership. Two‐thirds of the interviewees, however, prioritised attention to the implementation of vision – desired goals – as the most essential element of library leadership.

Demonstrates a lack of focus in the leadership problem in librarianship and the need for work to be devoted to the development of leaders. Shows that there is also an absence of success in planning.

The current study is the most in‐depth study to date on this topic, drawing on face‐to‐face interviews with 30 public library leaders. Prior to his study, no in‐depth face‐to‐face study on the topic of leadership in librarianship has been researched and published outside of North America. As this study was undertaken in three national jurisdictions – Ireland, the UK, and the USA – it is also the first interview‐based transnational study on the topic.

The purpose of this paper is to explore senior public librarians' views on medium‐term and long‐term plans for the provision of library services. The paper also aims to extend work in the literature of public librarianship studies, which up to recently has largely been an under‐researched area.

A total of 30 in‐depth interviews were conducted with senior public librarians in Ireland, the UK and the USA. A semi‐structured interview format was used, and the grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data.

Half of the contributors to the current study articulated that their five‐year vision would include the maintenance and development of the core services in which they were already engaged together with introducing innovative expansion of services. Of the respondents, 90 per cent expressed optimism for the survival of public library services through the middle of the twenty‐first century.

The librarians repeatedly made the case that they are very different from managers in the private sector and from other public sector managers. They believe that they are managers of institutions that are fundamentally making a difference to the lives of people. They also believe that they and their libraries are major catalysts of change in the social environments.

By locating this study in a transnational context, the study contributes in an innovative way to an under‐researched topic. The primary domain to which this study contributes is librarianship. Within the domain of librarianship, the specific focus is on senior management, addressing an acknowledged gap in that field, as the literature on librarianship has traditionally shown very little attention to management within librarianship.

This paper aims to explore the topic of leadership as perceived and described by public library leaders. In particular, the paper seeks to investigate the reported impact of public library leaders on their followers. The study aims to develop an understanding of the perceptions of current leaders in the field of public librarianship.

A total of 30 top‐level public librarians from Ireland, the UK, and the east coast of the USA were selected for inclusion in this study. A review of the relevant literature was used to design an interview guide which was used to conduct structured in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews.

The findings illustrate that the leaders believe that followers are motivated by example from their leaders. The interviewed librarians highlight the role played by followers, whom they see as the foundation of public library service. The librarians argue that a partnership approach between leaders and followers is necessary to formulate and to put into effect strategies and courses of action to fulfil organizational purpose and goals.

The current study is the most in‐depth study to date on this topic, drawing on face‐to‐face interviews with 30 public library leaders. Prior to this study, no in‐depth study on the topic of leadership in librarianship has been researched and published outside of North America. As this study was undertaken in three national jurisdictions – Ireland, UK, and the USA, it is also the first transnational study on the topic.

The purpose of this research is to ascertain data in relation to courses that are currently on offer in seven third‐level institutions in Ireland which include elements of workplace learning. It is intended that the research findings will contribute to the provision of new workplace learning programmes in Irish third‐level colleges.

A questionnaire was designed for this research and was administered in seven higher education colleges in Ireland. In total, 433 courses were examined in relation to workplace learning.

The findings illustrate that there is still an over‐reliance on the provision of traditional classroom‐based courses. The findings further suggest that, for the successful operation of workplace learning programmes, there is scope for developing further employer engagement with higher education colleges in the design, development and delivery of such programmes.

As a result of the data collected for this research, recommendations for implementing workplace learning programmes for both third‐level education providers and employers are included here.

The paper provides value by identifying courses in Irish third‐level colleges which include elements of workplace learning and suggests that an attitudinal and cultural shift must be engaged with to overcome the traditional reliance on classroom‐based programmes in order to successfully develop new workplace learning programmes.

Mentoring relationships may be important for female managers seeking career advancement in both domestic and international management. The relative scarcity of mentoring relationships for female managers, particularly outside the USA, raises certain questions. This paper reviews some of the current literature on mentoring in order to highlight the barriers faced by female managers in developing mentoring relationships. In particular, the paper presents the results of empirical research in relation to mentoring conducted with senior female international managers in Europe. The findings suggest that mentoring relationships may be even more important for the career successes of female international managers in comparison to female managers employed in their home‐country organisations. Gender differences in mentoring relationships are also discussed. Finally, some implications for practice and an agenda for further research are presented.