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This systematic review of the current gender inequality issues in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) seeks to illuminate the multifaceted aspects of this issue and their various implications for the field.

Employing systematic literature review and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodologies, this research delves into an analysis of 238 journal articles spanning a 47-year period. The objective is to discern existing voids and put forth actionable suggestions that align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Number 5 (SDG5) in the context of men and women, which pertains to realizing gender equality and empowering girls and women.

The results show a significant increase in published articles over the period. However, only five literature review articles were found that specifically address gender inequality in OSCM. The five common themes impacting gender inequality in this field are gender issues, mindset, transportation disparities, human resources and gender roles in OSCM, alongside sustainability, mobility and government policy intersections. The paper emphasizes the need for further research on these themes. It also suggests implications for educators, researchers, companies, OSCM departments and policymakers to achieve SDG5.

This study offers valuable insights by comprehensively reviewing and systematically analyzing the prevailing gender inequality issues within OSCM. It accentuates the significance of gender equality in OSCM, augmenting the burgeoning discourse and catalyzing concerted endeavors for gender equality.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing literature on the importance of mentorship in academia, particularly in higher education. Specifically, this study aims to address the research gap related to academic mentorship from a gendered perspective. The Productive Mentoring Framework and relational–cultural theory theoretically support this study.

In this qualitative descriptive study, purposive sampling was used to recruit 19 participants for semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How do individuals who identify as women describe the importance of mentorship in academia? (2) How do individuals who identify as women describe mentorship in academia from a gendered perspective? Using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, a total of six themes emerged, with three themes identified for each of the two research questions from the data: (a) guidance and support, (b) personal and professional development, (c) inclusive and accountable relationships, (d) empathetic and supportive mentorship, (e) interpersonal connectivity and (f) gender empowerment and advocacy.

The research findings suggest that the participants held perceptions of gender disparity within academia. Additionally, empowering interpersonal relationships with other women and supportive environments were crucial in overcoming challenges and developing personally and professionally in higher education institutions. Future research is recommended to explore the perspectives of women supporting women and the perception of gender disparity in academia.

While successfully addressing the research questions, this study has limitations. One limitation was that this study had a relatively small sample size of participants who identified as women, which limited the focus of this research. Another limitation was that interview and focus group participants did not mention working with mentors who fall outside the traditional binary of male and female. Finally, limitations can occur in qualitative research as there is potential bias in the data analysis process. However, member-checking and codebook verification were utilized to minimize this constraint.

There are practical implications from the research for mentoring practices in academia. Since the results indicated benefits to women, institutions could prioritize mentoring programs, especially pairing same-gender mentors and mentees. This helps new employees navigate academia. Mentoring fosters interpersonal connectivity, improving academic culture. By supporting mentoring relationships and professional friendships, leaders positively impact dynamics within institutions. Gender disparities and systemic barriers call for advocacy within higher education. Mentor training programs should address these issues, providing a platform for solutions. Administrators' awareness may support efforts to improve equity.

The study is original in its focus on academic mentorship from a gendered perspective, as described by women in academia, notably higher education.

This study aims to explore the impact of social, financial and institutional factors on women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, emphasizing motivation’s role in addressing challenges. Women’s entrepreneurship holds economic significance, driving local economies and creating opportunities. Government efforts to support women entrepreneurs have increased, but research on this in developing economies, especially in Vietnam, is limited.

The paper investigates women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, examining social, financial and institutional influences and emphasizing motivation in overcoming challenges. Using a qualitative approach, it conducts in-depth interviews with 28 female entrepreneurs, analyzing data thematically. Methodologically, the study uses purposive sampling, triangulation and member checking to enhance credibility.

Findings reveal key motivations like financial incentives, self-achievement and social impact. These motivations empower women to overcome financial constraints, skill gaps, limited support and societal perceptions. This research guides women entrepreneurs to enhance success through learning, persistence, skill development and self-awareness.

This paper presents a novel exploration into women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, offering original insights into the interplay of social, financial and institutional factors, with a spotlight on motivational drivers. It provides unique perspectives on their motivations, challenges and support mechanisms. The study’s contribution lies in its comprehensive understanding of women’s entrepreneurship dynamics in a developing economy like Vietnam, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners and academics alike. Its originality lies in its holistic approach and nuanced examination, enriching the discourse on women’s entrepreneurship in emerging

Female smallholder farmers in low-income countries face barriers to accessing capital and commodity markets. While agricultural cooperatives provide services that contribute to the income and productivity of small-scale producers, evidence of cooperatives' social and economic empowerment of female smallholders remains limited. We apply Sen's capability approach to female entrepreneurs' socioeconomic empowerment to examine whether women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative from rural western Uganda benefits their social and economic position within their household. First, we study the relationship between women's cooperative participation and their household coffee sales and savings. Second, we investigate the link between women's cooperative participation and their intra-household decision-making and whether the inclusion of the husband in his wife's cooperative strengthens or lowers women's decision-making power.

We carry out a case study of a hybrid coffee and microfinance cooperative that promotes social innovation through the integration and empowerment of female smallholders in rural Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey of 411 married female cooperative members from 26 randomly selected self-help groups of Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and 196 female non-members from the identical area, employing propensity score matching, this paper investigates the benefits of women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. We present and discuss the results of our case study within an extensive literature on the role of institutions in collective action for women's empowerment.

Our findings provide new empirical evidence on female smallholders' participation in mixed cooperatives. Our results indicate that women's participation in microfinance-producer cooperatives appears to be a conditional blessing: even though membership is linked to increased women's intra-household decision-making and raised household savings and income from coffee sales, a wife with a husband in the same cooperative self-help group is associated with diminished women's household decision-making power.

The focus of this study is on female coffee smallholders in an agricultural cooperative in rural western Uganda. In particular, we focus on a case study of one major coffee cooperative. Our cross-sectional survey does not allow us to infer causal interpretations. Also, the survey does not include variables that allow us to measure other dimensions of women's empowerment beyond decision-making over household expenditures and women's financial performance related to savings and income from coffee cultivation.

Our empirical results indicate that female smallholders' cooperative membership is associated with higher incomes and coffee sales. However, husband co-participation in their wives' cooperative group diminishes wives' decision-making, which suggests that including husbands and other family members in the same cooperative group may not be perceived as an attractive route to empowerment for female smallholders. For these reasons, an intervention that encourages the cooperation of both spouses and that is sensitive to context-specific gender inequalities, may be more successful at stimulating social change toward household gender equality than interventions that focus on women's autonomous spheres only.

While the literature thus far has focused on microfinance's potential for women's empowerment, evidence on agricultural cooperatives' affecting women's social and economic position is limited. First, our findings provide novel empirical evidence on the empowering effects of women's participation in a self-help group-based coffee cooperative in rural Uganda. Second, our data allows us to explore the role of husbands' participation in their wives' cooperative and SGH. We embed our hypotheses and empirical results in a rich discussion of female entrepreneurship, microfinance and cooperative literature.

The paper aims to explore gaps in women's empowerment in rural areas, specifically focusing on the alignment of skill development with job creation. The overarching goal is to understand how firms can contribute to achieving the 5th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to women's empowerment through skill development and job creation programs.

The paper reviews information available in various formats to analyse the existing landscape of women's empowerment, skill development and job creation in rural areas. It likely involves a literature review synthesising insights from diverse sources, including academic studies, government initiatives and reports from researchers working in the field. The methodology may also encompass an examination of success cases and challenges faced by government programs.

Gender disparities: Over 80% of the global impoverished population is in rural areas, with women constituting 70% of this demographic. Challenges in policy implementation: Despite women-centred policies, challenges persist in enabling rural women to recognise the potential of remunerative skills for improving their lives. Linking skills and decision-making: Scholarly work highlights the connection between remunerative skills and decision-making, emphasising the importance of financial independence for women's empowerment. Gap in job opportunities: Lack of industry and commercial setups in rural areas poses a significant challenge, hindering the recognition of the value that skill development can offer.

The paper reviews information available in various formats to analyse the existing landscape of women's empowerment, skill development and job creation in rural areas. It likely involves a literature review synthesising insights from diverse sources, including academic studies, government initiatives and reports from researchers working in the field. The methodology may also encompass an examination of success cases and challenges faced by government programs.

The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the role of predictors to women’s economic empowerment (WEE). Moreover, the mediating role of digital banking usage (DBU) between financial literacy (FL) and WEE is empirically tested. The study also examines the moderation effect of educational level (EL) and employment sector (ES) on WEE.

Using a mixed-method approach, a comprehensive questionnaire was used to collect data of 482 women working in the formal ESs of Delhi-NCR. Partial least square structural equation modeling using SmartPLS-4 was used to test the explanatory and predictive power of the proposed model. This was followed by semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data from 14 respondents.

The results present the following important findings: first, DBU, FL, women’s agency (WA) and workplace human resource policies (HR) significantly impact WEE, whereas government support (GS) and FL significantly impact DBU; second, DBU significantly mediates the relationship between FL and WEE; and third, ES significantly moderates the relationship between DBU and WEE.

This research also shares significant findings for practitioners and organizations by holistically identifying factors affecting WEE. These findings apply to both the human resource department of the employment sectors and the management of the banking sector.

The present study adds value to the scarce literature on the impact of DBU on WEE and highlights the mediating role of DBU along with the moderation effect of EL and ES. The study model incorporates novel constructs that impact WEE and offers new insights to various stakeholders in enhancing WEE. In addition, qualitative method was used to complement the quantitative findings.

This study explores whether targeted microcredit can effectively alleviate households’ multidimensional relative poverty (MdRP) in rural China in the new era following the poverty elimination campaign and discusses it from a gendered perspective.

This study applies a fixed-effects model, propensity score matching (PSM) and two-stage instrumental variable method to two-period panel data collected from 611 households in rural western China in 2018 and 2021 to explore the effects, mechanisms and heterogenous performance of targeted microcredit on households’ MdRP in the new era.

(i) Targeted microcredit can alleviate MdRP among rural households in the new era, mainly by reducing income and opportunity inequality. (ii) Targeted microcredit can promote women’s empowerment, mainly by enhancing their social participation, thereby helping alleviate households’ MdRP. The effect of the targeted microcredit on MdRP is more significant in medium-educated women households and non-left-behind women households. (iii) The MdRP alleviation effect is stronger in villages with a high degree of digitalization.

Learn from the experience of targeted microcredit. Accurately identify poor groups and integrate loan design into financial health and women empowerment. Particularly, pay attention to less-educated and left-behind women households and strengthen coordination between targeted microcredit and digital village strategies.

This study clarifies the effect of targeted microcredit on women’s empowerment and households’ MdRP alleviation in the new era. It also explores its various effects on households with different female characteristics and regional digitalization levels, providing ideas for optimizing microcredit.

This study aims to assess the impact of intervention programs on women empowerment in northern Ghana and the role of skills training and financial independence on women empowerment.

A structured questionnaire, observations and informal interviews were used to gather data using the survey method. The sample consists of 321 girls from the non-formal track STAGE project in the Kasena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model.

The results show that NGO intervention programs have a significant impact on women’s empowerment, skills acquisition mediates the relationship between NGO intervention programs and women empowerment. Financial independence does not mediate relationships but significantly affects women’s empowerment.

The discussion on women’s empowerment is not without mentioning the support of NGOs intervention programs. However, there is inadequate literature to explore the basic impacts of sponsored intervention programs on women’s empowerment in Ghana. The findings will provide directions for NGOs intervention programs to support women empowerment in Ghana.

This study aims to examine whether sport companies that promote gender equality through femvertising, an advertising trend that empowers women and confronts gender stereotypes, actually support women’s rights with institutionalized approaches to challenge gender issues. Some sport brands even have won awards for their femvertising efforts, however, not all of them have modified their policies and programs to support gender equality. Sport femvertising can be a new area for CSR-washing and this study investigated this potential.

Utilizing a content analysis, this study compared sport brands' (award-winning vs non-award-winning) level of engagement in internal and external CSR activities regarding gender equality. Sport brands’ CSR attempts and number of women in leadership positions were analyzed through companies’ CSR reports, annual reports and websites.

Only few differences between two groups (award-winning vs non-award-winning) of sport brands were observed regarding their gender equality CSR engagement. In some cases, non-award-winning sport brands had a greater percentage of women in leadership and practiced more internal gender equality CSR.

This paper provides valuable information about the potential of femvertising as an advertisement, as well as CSR strategy. Results of this study broaden our understanding of how sport companies embraced this advertising/CSR technique and the repercussions. Findings provide guidance for sport marketers who seek to improve their brand image through femvertising.