Search results

1 – 10 of 116
Article
Publication date: 4 April 2024

Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi, Christine Nya-Ling Tan, Puteri Fadzline Muhamad Tamyez, Nurul Ashykin Abd Aziz and Walton Wider

Gender bias and stereotypes are universal issues in today’s society. This study presents a comprehensive review of women’s leadership based on bibliometric analysis. The feminist…

Abstract

Purpose

Gender bias and stereotypes are universal issues in today’s society. This study presents a comprehensive review of women’s leadership based on bibliometric analysis. The feminist approach to leadership is helpful in many ways, and it could be the type of leadership needed in the challenging world of academia. Women present unique characteristics and traits, particularly their motherly approach to leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the literature based on bibliometric analysis by mapping the knowledge structure of the subject is conferred by uncovering the past, present and future trends based on three bibliometric analyses.

Findings

The finding suggests that gender equality, stereotypes and barriers in women’s leadership are at the forefront of the subject in HEIs. The overall system, mindset and willingness for institutional transformation are needed to change the mindset of accepting women as leaders of HEIs.

Research limitations/implications

This study brought the significant idea of increasing women’s empowerment in HEIs, eventually strengthening institutional leadership’s capability towards advanced education.

Originality/value

This study would present a crucial foundation in women’s empowerment, particularly from the HEIs perspective and from the generic women’s leadership literature.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2023

Lauryna Naseviciute and Rita Juceviciene

The paper focusses on the intrapersonal vs environmental barriers to women's career advancement to the top leadership positions in the information and communication technology…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper focusses on the intrapersonal vs environmental barriers to women's career advancement to the top leadership positions in the information and communication technology (ICT) business and envisages the individual, organisational as well as societal practices for overcoming such barriers in the given sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The study relies on the qualitative research method of expert interviews with top-level women managers in the leading ICT companies in Lithuania. The study allowed identifying and structuring the key barriers to women's careers and three-level practices for overcoming them.

Findings

The research has shown that the key intrapersonal barriers are related to the lack of self-confidence and perceived glass ceiling. The main environmental barriers are male domination and socially gendered professions. The practices for overcoming women's career barriers can be categorised into three levels – individual, organisational and societal. The study has shown that the most important individual practices are the ability to continuously self-educate and self-affirmation. On the organisational level, the following key practices can be applied: mentorship and inclusive company culture. The societal practices for improving women's career advancement in ICT are mainly represented by the visibility of successful leaders as role models and initiatives increasing awareness for an inclusive society.

Research limitations/implications

The research limitations are largely related to the research sample selected for the qualitative research (interviews). The respondents are already established in the top leadership positions, so may only have a retrospective view on the obstacles to the respondents' careers. A larger sample could provide a more generalisable data, whilst a larger number of interview participants for preselected categories, like company category or tenure in a position, would provide insights on the different stages of career growth and company's influence for the individual's growth. The authors encourage extending research to other sectoral and national contexts.

Practical implications

The research sets out the key barriers that can be overcome with the help of individual, organisational and societal practices. This provides a comprehensive list of practices that can be adopted by the organisations (in the ICT and beyond), as well as the policy makers on the societal level.

Social implications

Addressing the issues of gender balance and women's career advancement in one of the fastest growing industries (ICT) has profound social implications. Qualitative research has shown how the barriers can be overcome at different levels of the social system.

Originality/value

The paper marks one of the first attempts to introduce a three-level approach to addressing the intrapersonal and environmental barriers to the advancement of women's careers with a particular focus on the ICT sectoral context.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 September 2022

Fleur Sharafizad, Kerry Brown, Uma Jogulu and Maryam Omari

Literature around the careers of female academics is targeted mainly toward identifying and examining career progression inhibitors, while the drivers appear largely unexplored…

Abstract

Purpose

Literature around the careers of female academics is targeted mainly toward identifying and examining career progression inhibitors, while the drivers appear largely unexplored. This paper aims to contribute to contemporary knowledge by identifying drivers to the career progression of female academics in Australia. With COVID-19 currently impacting the careers of female academics this knowledge can assist universities and human resource (HR) professionals in developing policies and practices to better facilitate female academic career progression.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirically this paper draws on a qualitative study of 18 male and 29 female academics, as well as nine senior university stakeholders. The authors employed semi-structured interviews and a novel methodology, Draw, Write, Reflect.

Findings

In line with attribution theory, senior stakeholders mainly identified organisational efforts, including leadership, gender equity endeavours, recruitment and promotion approaches, as well as a construct known as “relative to opportunity considerations”, as drivers of female academics’ career progression. Female academics, however, largely attributed their career progression to personal factors, such as family support, informal mentoring, and determination and persistence.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for universities and HR practices seeking to facilitate female academic career progression. Implementation of the drivers identified may enhance female academics’ abilities to progress their careers.

Originality/value

By focussing on the drivers of, rather than the barriers to, female academic careers, the research is novel in its identification of a previously unexplored mismatch between organisational attribution and individual attribution of career progression drivers thereby advancing knowledge of gender differences in academic careers.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 53 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2024

Sanjeev Kumar Ningombam and Sudeshna Bordoloi

This study aims to examine the political, economic, social and technological (PEST) factors of women empowerment in the context of rural development under the initiatives of the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the political, economic, social and technological (PEST) factors of women empowerment in the context of rural development under the initiatives of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).

Design/methodology/approach

The unit of analysis for this study is 459 samples. Non-probability sampling technique has been used for this study. Schedule/questionnaires have been circulated among the women in each block cluster. Frequencies have been used to represent the data against each statement. Non-parametric chi-square test has been used to examine the relationship between empowerment and political, economic, social, technological factors and interpersonal skills.

Findings

Statistical analysis shows that the Deendayal Antayodaya Yojana (DAY)-NRLM scheme has brought significant changes and development to women in political, social, economic and technological areas. It was observed that women are economically empowered and contribute to the economic upliftment of the family. Most of the respondents strongly felt that after being associated with DAY-NRLM, they were empowered to contribute efficiently to the social development process and activities.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study highlight the impact of DAY-NRLM implementation at block levels of a district in India. Subsequent research may be carried to measure the effectiveness of the capacity-building program conducted under the banner of DAY-NRLM.

Practical implications

Women empowerment is not limited to awareness, whereas it needs a complete set of initiatives backed with support systems. Few critical interventions could be building strong networks, enhancing financial management, encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship among self-help group workers, providing easy access to credit, mentoring, handholding, continuous monitoring and evaluation.

Social implications

This study focuses on the impact of the DAY-NRLM scheme on women’s empowerment in the Morigaon district. The inferences from the study throw light on the empowerment of women vis-à-vis political, economic, social and technological factors.

Originality/value

This study is a primary study conducted in the Morigaon District of Assam. This is a new line of policy research that approaches the women empowerment with the PEST parameters.

Details

Indian Growth and Development Review, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8254

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2024

Barbara Heilemann and Polly Parker

This paper highlights how career capital is accrued through three ways of knowing in a women’s leadership programme (WLP) in an Australian State Police Department. A shift in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper highlights how career capital is accrued through three ways of knowing in a women’s leadership programme (WLP) in an Australian State Police Department. A shift in focus to building capability rather than addressing gaps in participants' abilities was enhanced through the unique use of sponsors and positive psychology interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal study, which comprised 31 semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups, and a survey with participants eight months after the interviews, assessed the impact of enhanced skills, connections and qualifications on extant role performance.

Findings

The WLP enhanced three key components of career capital.

Originality/value

The authors' study extends extant knowledge in seven key ways related to WLPs: (1) reaffirms the benefits for police, (2) developing or enhancing career capital, (3) accruing women’s career capital in policing, (4) pedagogical benefits for WLPs, (5) articulating outcomes of developing career capital, (6) the uniqueness of allocating sponsors and (7) extending empirical studies demonstrating synergies within the intelligent career framework.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 47 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2024

Sandra Carrasco and Irene Perez Lopez

This study explores the opportunities for a gender-inclusive architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, focussing on the gap between architectural education and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the opportunities for a gender-inclusive architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, focussing on the gap between architectural education and practice. This study focusses on three research questions: (1) What factors influence women architects' career retention and advancement in the AEC industry? How can practice outcomes be linked with educational approaches for gender inclusion in the AEC industry? (3) What critical factors can enable structural changes in architecture education, including AEC-related subjects and practice/career pathways towards gender equity?

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a systematic literature review (SLR). The established timeframe for selecting papers in this study considered the last 20 years, as various seminal studies in feminism and gender inclusion in architecture emerged in the early 2000s through the definition of keywords used in two prestigious databases. The academic articles selected were filtered through a process of inclusion and exclusion, following criteria for suitability and relevance using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) diagram.

Findings

This study revealed key trends in the literature review consistent with the research questions, including (1) the disproportionate struggles women face at individual, interpersonal and organisational levels and the gender-based bias from entry and progression in the AEC industry that also requires multi-level interventions; (2) traditional architecture education affects female students and educators who find networking, social capital and leadership opportunities to challenge gender-based stereotypes and promote workplace equity, and finally, (3) observe enablers for fostering equity in architecture and education, which should not be limited to policy-driven interventions but structural transformations through transparency, mentorship, leadership, awareness raising and empowerment of women and men, promoting inclusivity and gender equity in the AEC industry.

Research limitations/implications

This study considers a global understanding of gender equity in the AEC industry, regional and country-specific analysis needs to be considered in future studies. The study's focus is on women’s inclusion, acknowledging the limitations of conventional binary gender concepts; future studies need to include the experiences of LGBTI + communities and other underrepresented groups. The literature review considers only academic articles; future research should also consider industry reports, government initiatives and organisational documents for a broader understanding of diversity efforts in business.

Originality/value

This paper observes the issues for gender-inclusive architecture within the context of a male-dominant AEC industry through linking architectural education and practice. Studies rarely focus on this link and address workplace issues. This study highlights this link and extends the discussion through the critical literature review, providing a new ground for geographic-specific or intersectional studies.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2023

Ine Gremmen and Yvonne W.M. Benschop

The authors aim to contribute to current knowledge on women's networks in organizations by exploring the strategies employed by members of women's networks, Human Resources (HR…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors aim to contribute to current knowledge on women's networks in organizations by exploring the strategies employed by members of women's networks, Human Resources (HR) management and senior line management to negotiate the role of these networks in their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ the theoretical perspective of micro-politics to analyze qualitative data they collected in an action research project using open-ended interviews and participant observation. The interviews were conducted with network board and active members, and members of their organizations' HR departments and senior management. Participant observation of the interviewees' interactions took place during facilitated workshops.

Findings

Adding to the literature, the authors find that members of the different parties employ different micro-political strategies. Many senior HR and management members demand that the networks' activities contribute to the organizations' diversity aims and bottom line. They largely avoid strategic cooperation with the networks. Most network members, in turn, resist the restricted role of the networks as an instrument to realize their organizations' business case. They claim some freedom to independently decide on the networks' strategies and activities. They resist being attributed tasks and responsibilities that they consider to reside with their organizations. Moreover, they try to sustain cooperative relationships with senior HR and management in an advisory role.

Originality/value

The action research approach enabled the authors to contribute to existing knowledge and extend the micro-politics theoretical perspective to include the collective agency of members of organizational groups and cooperation between these groups.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2024

Alireza Amini, Seyyedeh Shima Hoseini, Arash Haqbin and Mozhgan Danesh

A better understanding of the characteristics and capabilities of women entrepreneurs can significantly improve their chances of success. Therefore, three studies were conducted…

Abstract

Purpose

A better understanding of the characteristics and capabilities of women entrepreneurs can significantly improve their chances of success. Therefore, three studies were conducted for this exploratory paper. We have discovered the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence among female entrepreneurs through semi-structured interviews based on conventional content analysis. According to the second study, qualitative meta-synthesis was utilized to identify characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at the international level. As a third study, we examined the evolutionary relationships of entrepreneurs' intelligence components following the discovery and creation of opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

The present paper was based on three studies. In the first study, 15 female entrepreneurs were interviewed using purposive sampling in the Guilan province of Iran to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence at the national level. An inductive content analysis was performed on the data collected through interviews. Using Shannon entropy and qualitative validation, their validity was assessed. In the second study, using a qualitative meta-synthesis, the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence were identified. Then the results of these two studies were compared with each other. In the third study, according to the results obtained from the first and second studies, the emergence, priority and evolution of entrepreneurial intelligence components in two approaches to discovering and creating entrepreneurial opportunities were determined. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 12 selected experts using the purposeful sampling method using the fuzzy total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method.

Findings

In the first research, this article identified the components of entrepreneurial intelligence of women entrepreneurs in six categories: entrepreneurial insights, cognitive intelligence, social intelligence, intuitive intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence. In the second study, the components of entrepreneurial intelligence were compared according to the study at the national level and international literature. Finally, in the third study, the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence was determined. In the first level, social intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence are formed first and social intelligence and provocative intelligence have an interactive relationship. In the second level, entrepreneurial insight and cognitive intelligence appear, which, in addition to their interactive relationship, take precedence over the entrepreneur's intuitive intelligence in discovering entrepreneurial opportunities. With the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence in the opportunity creation approach, it is clear that intuitive intelligence is formed first at the first level and takes precedence. At the second level, there is cognitive intelligence is created. At the third level, motivational intelligence and finally, at the last level, entrepreneurial insight, social intelligence and bold intelligence.

Originality/value

This study has the potential to discover credible and robust approaches for further examining the contextualization of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at both national and international levels, thereby advancing new insights. By conceptualizing various components of entrepreneurial intelligence for the first time and exploring how contextual factors differ across nations and internationally for women's entrepreneurship, this paper challenges the assumption that the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence are uniform worldwide. It also depicts the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence.

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Uzair Shah, Niall Hayes and Asfia Obaid

The study adopts an intersectional approach to identify the key dimension(s) that reproduce inequalities in women's subsistence entrepreneurship within urban-poor settings in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The study adopts an intersectional approach to identify the key dimension(s) that reproduce inequalities in women's subsistence entrepreneurship within urban-poor settings in the global south.

Design/methodology/approach

The in-depth case study is based on 44 semi-structured interviews and four focus-group discussions with women entrepreneurs based within urban-poor dwellings in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Findings

The authors contribute to the literature by identifying how intersecting socio-class and socioeconomic inequalities, and patriarchal norms of izzat (meaning: honour, respect) and purdah (or veil), perpetuate disadvantage for women entrepreneurs producing and/or selling business goods and services.

Originality/value

The findings challenge the view of entrepreneurship as a meritocratic and neutral activity for social emancipation. The authors argue that multiple social hierarchies and inequalities operate simultaneously, but how these are understood, exercised and reproduce disadvantage for women entrepreneurs, depends on their social class. The authors propose a triple bind of domestic, market and societal inequalities as a heuristic framework for understanding intersecting inequalities, patriarchy and subsistence entrepreneurship in Pakistan, specifically the global south.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2024

Oliver Mallett, Robert Wapshott and Nazila Wilson

This research paper generates new insights into the challenges of implementation in women’s enterprise policy. It argues that organisations involved in policy implementation need…

Abstract

Purpose

This research paper generates new insights into the challenges of implementation in women’s enterprise policy. It argues that organisations involved in policy implementation need to be understood as operating in a context of institutional pluralism and answers: How do organisations involved in the implementation of women’s enterprise policy manage the challenges of institutional pluralism?

Design/methodology/approach

Addressing the need for women’s enterprise policy to learn from the past, the research adopts a historical approach to the study of policy implementation through examination of the UK’s Phoenix Development Fund (1999–2008). It analyses a wide range of secondary sources to examine 34 projects funded and supported by the Phoenix Development Fund that targeted women entrepreneurs.

Findings

Potentially conflicting institutional logics associated with central government, mainstream business support and local communities were managed through four key processes: dominance; integration; constellation and bridging. The management of institutional pluralism was effective in delivering support to communities but not in providing an effective platform for learning in government or establishing sustainable, long-term mechanisms.

Originality/value

The paper develops an empirical contribution to practice through identification of processes to manage the challenges of institutional pluralism and lessons for community-engaged policy implementation. A theoretical contribution to academic debates is provided by the conceptualisation of these challenges in terms of institutional pluralism and the novel concept of institutional bridging. The study also demonstrates the value of historical methods for women’s enterprise policy to learn the lessons of the past.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

1 – 10 of 116