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The purpose of this study is to understand how executives in technology companies relate to targets for gender equality, especially pertaining to top management.

The study draws on 19 interviews of CEOs, senior line managers and HR directors in ten technology companies operating in Finland. The method is (reflexive) thematic analysis.

Previous studies on the role of executives in promoting gender equality provide somewhat mixed results: while their role is vital, senior leaders may not be inclined to support gender equality targets and measures. Drawing on critical feminist theorizing, this study identifies three ways in which the executives in technology companies related to gender equality targets: endorsing, negotiating and resisting. However, all these responses were constrained by the executives’ assumption that their companies are meritocratic. The study illustrates how executives’ narrow understanding of gender equality and reliance on the presumably well-working systems, combined with underlying doubts about the competence of women, hinder the advancement of women to top management.

While previous studies have evaluated targets to increase the number/percentage of women, both in certain “ideal case” companies and in terms of their effectiveness more broadly, this study discusses how technology company executives navigate these targets in relation to women's assumed “competence”.

This study aims to explore the impact of board size, board gender diversity and federation age on the likelihood of having a female chair in National Sports Federations (NSF).

A quantitative methodology compares 300 sports boards in five countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK), using data collected from NSF’s websites.

The board size and federation age have no significant impact on having a female board chair when the countries and the percentage of female directors are included in the model. When the number of women is measured in absolute value rather than in relative terms, the only variable that predicts a woman chair is the country. When the model does not include country differences, the percentage of female directors is key in predicting a chairwoman, and when the number of women is used as a variable instead of the percentage, a board’s smaller size increases the odds of having a chairwoman.

There are some limitations to this study which we believe provide useful directions for future research. Firstly, the authors have not considered the role of gender typing in sports activities which explains the extent that women participate in specific sports (Sobal and Milgrim, 2019) and the related perception of such sports in society. The social representation of sports activities classified as masculine, feminine or gender-neutral can hypothetically influence women’s access to that specific federations’s leadership. The authors included the country factor only partially, as a control variable, as the social representation of sports usually goes beyond national boundaries.

This study has implications for sport policymakers and stakeholders, and for institutions such as the IOC or the European Union that implement equality policies. If the aim is to increase female presence in the highest position of a sports board and to achieve gender equality more generally, other policies need to be implemented alongside gender quotas for the sports boards, namely, those specifically related to the recruitment and selection of the sports board chairs (Mikkonen et al., 2021). For example, given the implications of critical mass and its ability to increase more female’s engagement then the role of existing chairs acting as mentors and taking initiative in this objective may be warranted. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the existing gender portfolio of each board and its subsequent influence on recruiting a female chair, regardless of the organization’s age. Knoppers et al. (2021) concluded that resistance to gender balance by board members is often related to discriminatory discourses against women. The normalization of the discourses of meritocracy, neoliberalism, silence/passivity about the responsibility of structures and an artificial defence of diversity emphasise that equality should not only be determined by women (Knoppers et al., 2021).

When countries are included in the model, the results suggest that the social representation of a female board member is different from that of a female board chair.

The originality of the study is that it shows the factors that constrain women taking up a chair position on NSFs. Theoretically, it contributes to existing literature by demonstrating how a critical mass of females on boards may also extend to the higher and most powerful position of chair.

Using the examples of Grenadian-born Jean Augustine, the first Black Member of Parliament in Canada, and Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Mottley, the piece argues that the ethos of the Emigrant Ambassador—the collective empowerment of Black feminism, liberation, and radicalism—ushered in a new era for change abroad and in Canada, as transnational and international change was driven by Black women from the West Indies.

The author used historical research and social science theoretical frameworks to formulate conclusions, lessons learnt and steps forward for current equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practitioners.

Black women born in the West Indies in the mid-twentieth century were the catalysts for social justice movements in the 2010 and 2020s. Many methods used for social change in the twentieth century are applicable in the 2020s and beyond.

Research is focused on Canadian and West Indian relations but will have implications for those across the British Commonwealth.

Practitioners and students of EDI will have a new tool on how to approach and confront anti-Black racism, particularly after May 25, 2020.

This article provides opportunities to support the dwindling efforts of anti-racism to support the lives of Black people across the Black Atlantic.

This is an original article built on previous scholarship of the author.

Any teaching topic can have sensitive content, or at least be complicated because lecturers and students are likely to hold (based on their own experiences, interests, and values) strong opinions. This chapter explores the theoretical and practical issues of teaching cultural concepts. Colleagues are often left to negotiate the teaching of sensitive issues with little guidance on which to base their approach and educational practices. Therefore using the framework ‘Teaching Sensitive Topics Using Social Positioning’ developed by the authors of this chapter, and illustrative example, the chapter explores the practice of teaching cultural concepts in the curriculum to identify themes related to what can be learned and disseminated. An analysis of international social work (SW) is drawn on to think critically about education and the cultural appropriateness of the theories, practices and competencies utilised. The authors draw on their own knowledge and experiences as registered SW’s/educators/academics/researchers, and their own teaching in relation to sensitive topics at local, national and international levels.

Our experiences, whilst based on teaching in other countries, highlight a range of considerations for all educators in teaching sensitive topics. There is a need to learn from these lessons when adopting cultural concept practices to develop curricula. We recommend adopting reflexivity, flexibility, openness, empathy, and emotional intelligence, which should allow colleagues to teach culturally sensitive subjects by forging transcultural understandings and critically applying these understandings to their own culture.

This chapter focuses on exploring challenges encountered by the neglected group of employees who live alone and do not have children, particularly in relation to work-life balance (WLB). We first question the conventional WLB discourse – predominately surrounded by addressing work-family conflicts. We next discuss how this formulates debates about the equality and fairness of HR policies affecting various groups of employees, with solo-living individuals being excluded. In addition to previously documented work-life issues, we articulate difficulties related to the pursuit of independence, freedom, balancing, and healthy work-life experiences for and specific to solo-living women academics. We conclude that our insights on “vulnerability” may lead to feminist approach being incorporated into work-life policy development in order to better engage underrepresented groups of employees, accommodate the needs of “others” and promote collective flourishing.

Global talent shortages, new skill demand and rising numbers of unfilled posts are fuelling an increasingly challenging job market, exacerbated by economic uncertainty and transformational digital change. Seeking creative solutions in response, the authors examine talent management’s (TM) theoretical and conceptual foundations, specifically the identification and selection of talent and TM programme design to explore the challenges and benefits of side-of-desk projects as interventions.

Taking an inductive qualitative approach, questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews gathered data from three employee groups in a UK digital communications organisation.

The authors reveal inconsistencies in the definition and selection of talent, highlighting programme quality challenges to expose a direct correlation between participant experience and motivation and retention, along with the longer-term challenges of balancing talented human capital, shareholder expectations and sustainable workforce resourcing.

The authors' research extends existing knowledge concerning the effect of organisational culture, context and workforce demands upon TM programmes, providing theoretical and practical implications for leaders and policymakers in designing enrichment activities to motivate, develop and retain talent. The authors make recommendations to inform the future design of TM programmes, revealing new opportunities to develop hidden talent and presenting a realistic and sustainable toolkit for future practice in the form of an organisational logic model.

Concerns regarding the dysfunctional behaviours of public officials have sparked renewed interest in public service ethics and spirituality. While national and organizational systems have been established to eliminate dysfunctional behaviours such as corruption, sexual harassment and misuse of confidential information, the practice continues to have a demoralizing impact on developing countries. The study aims to intend to investigate the empirical relation between the application of spirituality and ethics in reducting dysfunctional behaviours within Ghana's Public Sector.

The study conducted a qualitative case analysis that utilized 28 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups. Interviews and group discussions with public sector staff, managers and policymakers were used to collect qualitative data. This approach facilitated an in-depth investigation into their views on dysfunctional actions and the possible impact of workplace spirituality and ethics in the Ghanaian public service.

The study uncovered a persistent recurrence of dysfunctional behaviours, such as fraudulent activities, resource misuse, unofficial work and inappropriate use of official time. There was uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of integrating ethics and spirituality to curtail dysfunctional behaviours. Nevertheless, the results supported adopting spiritual and ethical rejuvenation in the public service as a universal solution to overcome these behaviours.

This study enhances comprehension of dysfunctional behaviours in Ghana's public service by providing insights into how spirituality and ethics can transform it. The potentials of workplace spirituality and ethics can lead to a strong public service that embodies accountability, integrity and effectiveness, thereby serving as a pivotal device for Ghana's holistic advancement.

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.

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.

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.

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

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