Search results

1 – 10 of 18
Article
Publication date: 23 August 2013

Ana María Lucia‐Casademunt, J. Antonio Ariza‐Montes and Alfonso Carlos Morales‐Gutiérrez†

Employee well‐being (WB) is a strategic reference of prime importance due to its impact on human capital, employee health and quality in working life, factors that are key to…

1131

Abstract

Purpose

Employee well‐being (WB) is a strategic reference of prime importance due to its impact on human capital, employee health and quality in working life, factors that are key to achieving successful organisations. The purpose of the current study is to assess the WB of female managers in the European workplace. The research analyses three dimensions (job satisfaction, comfort and enthusiasm) and the effect of job‐related factors on each one of these.

Design/methodology/approach

The Mental Health and Vitamin models (Warr, 1987) were taken as the starting‐point of the research. An alternative econometric method – an artificial neural network known as extreme learning machine was applied to a sample of 99 female managers collected from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey‐2010

Findings

The results obtained confirm that this methodology is valid to efficiently classify European female managers into those who feel satisfied with their jobs, calm and relaxed, and cheerful and in good spirits, and those who do not. Furthermore, the resulting model identifies the strongest factors important in determining the varied dimensions of occupational WB achieved.

Originality/value

Even today, despite the important contribution women managers make to the management of organisations, they have to face many challenges and overcome serious barriers in achieving and staying in positions of leaderships when compared to their male counterparts.

Propósito

El bienestar laboral constituye un referente estratégico de primer orden por su impacto sobre el capital humano – salud y calidad de vida laboral de los empleados –, en aras de alcanzar organizaciones exitosas. El objetivo del presente artículo es analizar el bienestar laboral a partir de sus tres dimensiones (satisfacción, confort y entusiasmo) de las mujeres que ocupan puestos de dirección en Europa y el efecto de ciertos factores laborales.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Se adopta como punto de partida los modelos teóricos de salud mental y vitamínico (Warr, 1987), aplicando un método econométrico novedoso – redes neuronales artificiales –, a una muestra de 99 mujeres directivas extraída de la V Encuesta Europea de Condiciones de Trabajo (2010).

Resultados

Los resultados obtenidos confirman la validez de esta novedosa metodología para clasificar eficazmente a las mujeres directivas que presentan un elevado grado de bienestar laboral. Por otra parte, con el modelo resultante se identifican los factores más determinantes para el logro de cada una de las dimensiones que constituyen el bienestar laboral.

Originalidad

Las mujeres directivas, quienes a pesar de lo mucho que tienen que aportar en la gestión de las organizaciones, aún hoy encuentran que su acceso y permanencia en los puestos de dirección está colmado de desafíos y barreras difíciles de superar en comparación con sus homólogos masculinos.

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2018

Clara Selva

The purpose of this paper is to define the gender aspects regarded as relevant in a woman’s career, as well as the situations or elements, which are narrated, as an experience of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the gender aspects regarded as relevant in a woman’s career, as well as the situations or elements, which are narrated, as an experience of success or failure in their professional development.

Design/methodology/approach

Through an approach similar to life stories and a longitudinal phenomenological perspective analysis, the author identifies the experiences and feelings of nine women who, in 1998, occupied mid-level positions.

Findings

The stories offer a reading of the trajectory at three different levels: the working environment, the experience undergone and the principles of action developed through their careers. These stories show and demonstrate that gender and subjectivity are intertwined, enacted upon and reproduced in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

Despite having collected information on two occasions, allowing us to reconstruct their paths and isolate the gender issues from this set, this is not a purely longitudinal research as it includes a longitudinal phenomenological perspective.

Originality/value

The stories have helped to weave the experiences and feelings of more than a decade of professional development and have shown how subjectivity is committed to a world of prescriptions and proscriptions that confers differences applicable to both sexes, where being a woman explains some of the ways in which female roles are understood and interpreted in relation to themselves and their environment.

Propósito

El propósito de esta investigación es delimitar los aspectos de género que se relatan cómo relevantes en la trayectoria profesional de la mujer, así como las situaciones o elementos que se narran como una experiencia de éxito o fracaso en su desarrollo profesional.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Mediante un abordaje próximo a las historias de vida y a través de una perspectiva de análisis fenomenológica-longitudinal, nos aproximamos a las experiencias, vivencias y sentimientos de nueve mujeres que en 1998 ocupaban posiciones de mando medio.

Contribución

Los relatos nos presentan una lectura de la trayectoria a tres planos: el entorno laboral, la experiencia vivida y los principios de acción desarrollados a lo largo de su carrera. Estos relatos, muestran y demuestran que el género y la subjetividad se entrelazan, promulgan y reproducen en el entorno laboral.

Limitaciones/Implicaciones de la investigación

A pesar de recoger información en dos momentos, lo que ha permitido reconstruir sus trayectorias y aislar de este conjunto los aspectos de género, no se trata de una investigación puramente longitudinal sino con cierta perspectiva fenomenológica-longitudinal.

Originalidad/valor

Los relatos han permitido tejer las vivencias y sentimientos de más de una década de desarrollo profesional y han evidenciado cómo la subjetividad se compromete con un mundo de prescripciones y proscripciones que confiere diferencias para aplicar a ambos sexos. Donde ser mujer explica ciertas formas de entender e interpretar los roles femeninos, en relación a ellas mismas y a su entorno.

Details

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1012-8255

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Lidia Heller and Patricia Gabaldon

Through an analysis of 15 Latin American countries, the purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of several institutional variables (economic, regulatory, and cultural)…

1255

Abstract

Purpose

Through an analysis of 15 Latin American countries, the purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of several institutional variables (economic, regulatory, and cultural), which affect women’s careers towards being members of boards of directors in the region.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on primary and secondary information, the authors carry out multivariate analyses to understand the institutional reasons affecting the reduced presence of women on boards of directors in the region.

Findings

Their findings reveal differences within the region, the importance of protecting women’s professional careers in the labour market, and the effect of cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and power distance.

Research limitations and implications

The analysis provides an updated cross-section of the institutional and cultural conditions of the 15 countries, considering the limitations to developing data in the region.

Practical implications

Latin America has witnessed important changes in the dynamics of the labour market over recent decades: women’s participation in the labour force is on the increase, and corporate strategy is evolving towards the incorporation of practices and initiatives to manage the diversity of their talents. However, the presence of women in leadership positions is a pending subject. This study, in part, reveals the institutional origin of gender inequality on boards of directors in the region. The analysis provides essential tools for public policy and for companies to help promote female leadership in the region.

Originality/value

Recent debate and research on the scarce participation of women on corporative boards of directors have revealed a growing interest in analysing the causes of such issues despite the progress recorded in terms of gender equity in most societies. Studies on the topic in Latin America are scarce and the aim of this paper is to help to fill part of this gap.

Propósito

El presente trabajo explora en quince países de América Latina la importancia de distintas variables institucionales (económicas regulatorias y culturales) que afectan a las carreras de las mujeres hacia los consejos de administración en la región.

Metodología

A partir de información primaria y secundaria, los autores desarrollan diversos análisis multivariantes para entender las razones institucionales que afectan tras la reducida presencia de mujeres en los consejos de la región.

Resultados

Los resultados de los análisis realizados muestran las diferencias dentro de la región así como la importancia de de analizar las carreras profesionales de las mujeres en el mercado de trabajo y el efecto de las dimensiones culturales como la masculinidad y la distancia al poder.

Limitaciones

El análisis muestra un corte transversal de la realidad institutional y cultural de los 15 países lo más actual posible, teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones en el desarrollo de datos en la región.

Implicaciones prácticas

En América Latina, se han producido cambios importantes en la dinámica del mercado laboral en las últimas décadas: las tasas de participación de mujeres en la fuerza de trabajo están en aumento y las estrategias empresariales van evolucionando hacia la incorporación de prácticas e iniciativas que tienden a gestionar la diversidad de sus talentos. Sin embargo la presencia de mujeres en puestos de liderazgo empresarial es una asignatura pendiente. El presente trabajo muestra en parte el origen institucional de las desigualdades de género en los consejos de administración en la región. Este análisis provee de herramientas esenciales para la política púlica y las empresas en la búsqueda de la promoción del liderazgo femenino en la región.

Originalidad/Valor

Recientes debates e investigaciones sobre la escasa incorporación de mujeres en los consejos directivos en las corporaciones, han evidenciado el creciente interés por analizar las causas de estas cuestiones a pesar de los avances registrados en términos de equidad de género en la mayoría de las sociedades. Sin embargo, hay una escasez de estudios en esta área en América Latina. El presente artículo busca llenar en parte ese hueco.

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2013

Enrique Ogliastri

This edition of the journal presents five papers from nine research institutions in Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia and Spain. The first uses the Johansen cointegration test to predict…

226

Abstract

This edition of the journal presents five papers from nine research institutions in Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia and Spain. The first uses the Johansen cointegration test to predict Argentinian spot steer prices on the basis of Brazilian futures market for live cattle. The second uses an innovative biological model (artificial neural networks) to study the workplace well‐being of female managers in Europe. The third examines the reasons why 100 Spanish companies operating in Latin America have opted to offset the risk of exchange rate fluctuations by hedging with foreign currency debt. The fourth investigates the factors affecting the long‐term survival of gazelle companies which, following periods of extraordinary growth, need to develop and consolidate their market position. The fifth involves a literature review, analysing consumer perceptions of price fairness and the concept of price fairness itself. The journal is planning a special issue on family enterprises.

Resumen

En este número no especializado se presentan cinco artículos provenientes de nueve instituciones de Brasil, Bulgaria, Colombia y España. El primero utiliza el test de cointegración de Johansen para predecir los precios de ganado vacuno argentino con base en el mercado de futuros brasileño. El segundo utiliza un novedoso modelo de la biología (redes neuronales artificiales) para estudiar el bienestar laboral de mujeres directivas en Europa. El tercero analiza las razones por las cuales cien empresas españolas que operan en América Latina toman la decisión de cubrirse del riesgo de fluctuaciones del valor de la moneda adquiriendo deuda en divisa. El cuarto estudia los factores que inciden en la sobrevivencia a largo plazo de las empresas gacela, aquellas que tras un período de extraordinario crecimiento se deben desarrollar y consolidar en el mercado. El quinto es una revisión de la literatura que analiza la percepción de justicia de los compradores y el concepto de precio justo. La revista propone un número futuro sobre empresas de familia.

Details

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1012-8255

Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2024

Isabel Ruiz-Mora, Ileana Zeler and Andrea Oliveira

Research on the role of women in Public Relations (PR) has seen a notable increase in recent years (Topić et al., 2019), yet exploratory studies on the subject remain limited…

Abstract

Research on the role of women in Public Relations (PR) has seen a notable increase in recent years (Topić et al., 2019), yet exploratory studies on the subject remain limited, particularly concerning the role of women in the academic sphere of PR in Spain. Guided by the imperative to reflect on the role of PR professionals operating within the Spanish academic landscape, this chapter aims to identify and reflect on the role of women in PR academia in Spain to discover the extent to which women are leading the communication faculties where PR is taught; to identify the presence of women in the departments where communication studies take place and to determine women's leadership in national research activity. This study follows a combined approach with two dimensions, exploratory and interpretative, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. The interpretative approach is developed using a focus group with women currently working in PR education and leading projects and institutions in the Spanish academia. Through this research, we discover the struggles and opportunities they face and identify possible solutions and ideas to improve the situation of women in academia and, specifically, in PR.

Details

Women’s Work in Public Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-539-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 June 2022

Nida Fatima and Raza Ali

This study aims to explore how businesswomen running micro and small enterprises (MSEs) use social media (SM) to engage customers. The study also investigates how SM (vs…

2738

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how businesswomen running micro and small enterprises (MSEs) use social media (SM) to engage customers. The study also investigates how SM (vs traditional media) and customer engagement improve business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study is based on interviews with businesswomen.

Findings

Businesswomen use SM actively but not effectively. SM are used primarily for advertising and promotion. External factors, such as family and friends, are more influential in the decision of women to use SM in business. Women mostly use defensive rather than offensive strategies. Effective use of SM in conjunction with conventional marketing tools can improve customer engagement and increase business performance.

Practical implications

The research findings are valuable for marketing managers, women entrepreneurs and micro and small businesses in making decisions to effectively use SM.

Originality/value

This study investigates customer engagement from the owner/manager’s perspective in contrast to the general customer-centric approach. The study contributes analysing an important and scarcely explored area, which is the use of SM by women-run MSEs in less developed countries to engage consumers.

Propósito

Este estudio explora cómo las mujeres de negocios que dirigen micro y pequeñas empresas (MSE) utilizan las redes sociales para atraer a los clientes. El estudio también investiga cómo las redes sociales (frente a los medios tradicionales) y la involucración de los clientes mejoran el rendimiento empresarial.

Metodología

Este estudio cualitativo se basa en entrevistas con mujeres empresarias.

Conclusiones

Las mujeres empresarias utilizan las redes sociales de forma activa, pero no eficaz. Las redes sociales se utilizan principalmente para la publicidad y la promoción. Los factores externos, como la familia y los amigos, influyen más en la decisión de las mujeres de utilizar las redes sociales en los negocios. Las empresarias utilizan sobre todo estrategias defensivas en lugar de ofensivas. El uso eficaz de las redes sociales junto con las herramientas de marketing convencionales puede mejorar el compromiso de los clientes y aumentar el rendimiento de la empresa.

Implicaciones prácticas

Los resultados de la investigación son valiosos para las directivas de marketing, las mujeres empresarias y las micro y pequeñas empresas a la hora de tomar decisiones y para utilizar eficazmente las redes sociales.

Originalidad

Este estudio investiga el compromiso del cliente desde la perspectiva del propietario/gerente en contraste con el enfoque general centrado en el cliente. El estudio contribuye a analizar un área importante y escasamente explorada, que es el uso de las redes sociales por parte de las microempresas dirigidas por mujeres en los países menos desarrollados para involucrar a los consumidores.

目的

本研究探讨了经营微型和小型企业(MSEs)的女商人如何使用社交媒体来吸引客户。该研究还调查了社交媒体(相对于传统媒体)和客户参与如何提高企业绩效。

方法

这项定性研究是基于对女商人的采访。

研究结果

女商人积极使用社交媒体, 但并非有效。社交媒体主要用于广告和推广。外部因素, 如家庭和朋友, 对妇女在商业中使用社交媒体的决定更有影响力。女性大多使用防御性而非进攻性策略。将社交媒体与传统的营销工具有效地结合起来使用, 可以提高客户的参与度, 增加企业的业绩。

实践意义

研究结果对营销经理、女企业家和小微企业做出有效使用社交媒体的决定很有价值。

原创性

本研究从业主/经理的角度调查了客户参与度, 与一般的以客户为中心的方法不同。该研究有助于分析一个重要的、很少被探索的领域, 即欠发达国家的妇女经营的微型企业使用社交媒体来吸引消费者。

Article
Publication date: 15 July 2021

Moncef Guizani and Ahdi Noomen Ajmi

This study aims to explore the role of board gender diversity in mitigating chief executive officer (CEO) luck. CEOs are “lucky” when they receive stock option grants on days when…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the role of board gender diversity in mitigating chief executive officer (CEO) luck. CEOs are “lucky” when they receive stock option grants on days when the stock price is the lowest in the month of the grant, implying opportunistic timing.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a logistic regression analysis and an instrumental-variable analysis. The sample consists of 3,249 firm-year observations from 2010 through 2015.

Findings

The results show that female directors significantly deter the opportunistic timing of option grants. This study finds that gender diversity – as measured by the percentage of women on the board, the percentage of female independent directors and the percentage of female directors on the compensation committee are likely to reduce the odds that CEOs receive opportunistically timed lucky grants. The results are consistent with those in prior research that documents the benefits of board gender diversity.

Practical implications

The research findings are beneficial to policymakers and regulators, as it allows them to assess the importance of diversity on boards in the monitoring of the managers, particularly as it pertains to the design of CEO compensation packages. Furthermore, these findings have implications for Ibero-American countries as they shed light on the importance to undertake measures and reforms to promote board effectiveness by the introduction of gender diversity.

Originality/value

While prior research has examined the effect of board gender diversity on firm performance, the study is the first to investigate the effect of female directors on the opportunistic timing of option grants, using a rigorous empirical framework that explicitly accounts for endogeneity.

Resumen

Propósito

Este estudio busca explorar el papel de la diversidad de género en la junta directiva para mitigar la suerte del CEO. Los directores ejecutivos tienen “suerte” cuando reciben subvenciones de opciones sobre acciones en los días en que el precio de las acciones es el más bajo en el mes de la subvención, lo que implica un momento oportunista.

Diseño/Metodología

Empleamos un análisis de regresión logística, así como un análisis de variables instrumentales (IV). La muestra consta de 3249 observaciones de las firmas desde 2010 hasta 2015.

Hallazgos

Nuestros resultados muestran que las directoras disuaden significativamente el momento oportunista de la concesión de opciones. Descubrimos que la diversidad de género, medida por el porcentaje de mujeres en la junta directiva, el porcentaje de directoras independientes y el porcentaje de directoras en el comité de compensación probablemente reduzcan las probabilidades de que los directores ejecutivos reciban subvenciones afortunadas en el momento oportuno. Nuestros resultados son consistentes con los de investigaciones anteriores que documentan los beneficios de la diversidad de género en la junta.

Implicaciones practices

Los resultados de la investigación son relevantes para los responsables de la formulación de políticas y los reguladores, ya que les permite evaluar la importancia de la diversidad en los directorios en el seguimiento de los gerentes, particularmente en lo que respecta al diseño de paquetes de compensación de los directores ejecutivos. Además, estos hallazgos tienen implicaciones para los países iberoamericanos, ya que arrojan luz sobre la importancia de emprender medidas y reformas para promover la efectividad de los directorios mediante la introducción de la diversidad de género.

Originalidad

Si bien investigaciones anteriores han examinado el efecto de la diversidad de género de la junta en el desempeño de la empresa, nuestro estudio es el primero en investigar el efecto de las directoras en el momento oportunista de las concesiones de opciones, utilizando un marco empírico riguroso que explica explícitamente la endogeneidad.

Resumo

Objetivo

Este estudo busca explorar o papel da diversidade de gênero no conselho de administração para mitigar o destino do CEO. Os CEOs têm “sorte” de receber opções de compra de ações nos dias em que o preço das ações é mais baixo no mês de concessão, o que é um momento oportunista.

Desenho/Metodologia

Foi utilizada uma análise de regressão logística, bem como uma análise de variáveis instrumentais (IV). A amostra é composta por 3.249 observações de empresas de 2010 a 2015.

Conclusões

Nossos resultados mostram que as diretoras inibem significativamente o momento oportunista de outorga de opções. Descobrimos que a diversidade de gênero, medida pela porcentagem de mulheres no conselho de administração, a porcentagem de conselheiros independentes e a porcentagem de diretoras no comitê de remuneração, provavelmente reduz as chances de CEOs receberem subsídios da sorte em tempo hábil. Nossos resultados são consistentes com pesquisas anteriores que documentam os benefícios da diversidade de gênero no conselho.

Implicações práticas

Os resultados da pesquisa são relevantes para os formuladores de políticas e reguladores, pois permitem que avaliem a importância da diversidade nos conselhos na gestão de gerentes, especialmente no que se refere ao desenho de políticas. Além disso, esses achados têm implicações para os países ibero-americanos, uma vez que lançam luz sobre a importância de empreender medidas e reformas para promover a eficácia dos conselhos por meio da introdução da diversidade de gênero.

Originalidade

embora a evidência científica prévia tenha examinado o efeito da diversidade de gênero do conselho no desempenho da empresa, nosso estudo é o primeiro a investigar o efeito das diretoras no momento oportunista de concessões de opções, usando uma estrutura empírica rigorosa que explica explicitamente a endogeneidade.

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2022

Beatrice Avolio, Carolina Pretell and Edy Valcazar

This phenomenological study aims to analyze the factors perceived by women to be important to their nomination and selection for board positions in Peruvian public companies. The…

Abstract

Purpose

This phenomenological study aims to analyze the factors perceived by women to be important to their nomination and selection for board positions in Peruvian public companies. The importance of this study lies in understanding the qualities that are important for women to possess, as perceived by those women who have reached leadership positions, achieving empowerment and economic autonomy.

Design/methodology/approach

The study population consisted of 33 women who became company directors in 2019, according to the data of the Lima Stock Exchange. From this group, the authors conducted 12 in-depth interviews with those women who accepted to participate in this study. The information was analyzed based on the stages suggested by Moustakas (1994).

Findings

This study proposes a conceptual framework with 13 factors perceived by women during their nomination and selection for board positions in Latin American public companies, focusing on the case of Peru. The factors are training and learning, professional experience, self-awareness, attitude, resilience, networking, communication skills, empathy, “hard work,” capacity to make important decisions, soft skills, support networks and allies and passion for their work.

Originality/value

Based on the experiences of the participants, this study identified 13 critical factors for women to achieve leadership positions as board members. From a phenomenological approach, the relevance of said factors is that they have emerged from the point of view of women who live in a patriarchal and collectivistic culture with a high gender gap index.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2018

Monica Garcia-Solarte, Domingo Garcia-Perez de Lema and Antonia Madrid-Guijarro

This study aims to empirically identify the relationship between gender diversity and organizational leadership.

1977

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to empirically identify the relationship between gender diversity and organizational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A multifactor questionnaire, Form 6-S, developed by Bass and Avolio (1992), is used to measure leadership. The results are derived from univariate and multivariate analyses conducted through ordinary least square linear regression. This study uses a base consisting of 142 small and medium enterprises in Cali (Colombia); men manage 111 of which, whereas women manage 31. The data came from a project performed by the Humanism and Management research group of the Administration Sciences Department of Valley University (Universidad del Valle). Fieldwork was conducted between November 2013 and April 2014.

Findings

The results show that companies with greater gender diversity (mostly women on the board of directors and in management) develop a transformational organizational style orientated towards organizational change through the transformation of followers.

Originality/value

There is no previous study combining these variables in Colombian context.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2017

Salvador Barragan, Mariana I. Paludi and Albert Mills

The purpose of this paper is to focus on top women managers who act as change agents in the machista culture of Mexico. Specifically, the authors centre the attention not only on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on top women managers who act as change agents in the machista culture of Mexico. Specifically, the authors centre the attention not only on the strategies performed by these change agents to reduce inequality, but also on understanding the way in which they discursively reproduce or challenge essentialist notions of gender with respect to the cultural and organizational context.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 top women managers in Mexico who are actively involved as change agents. A feminist poststructuralist methodological framework using critical discourse analysis was used to uncover competing notions of gender and related strategies developed to promote gender equality.

Findings

The analysis reveals that the 12 change agents perform strategies for inclusion, and only half of them engage in strategies for re-evaluation. The authors were unable to recognize whether these change agents are engaged in strategies of transformation. These change agents also reproduce and challenge “essentialist” notions of gender. In some instances – based on their own career experiences and gendered identities – they (un)consciously have adopted essentialism to fit into the cultural context of machista society. They also challenge the gender binary to eradicate essentialist notions of gender that created gender inequalities in the first place.

Research limitations/implications

The experience of these 12 top women managers may not represent the voice of other women and their careers. Ultimately, intersections with class, organizational level, nationality, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation must be taken into account so to represent other women’s particular interests with respect to equality.

Practical implications

For those researchers-consultants who may be involved in an intervention strategy, it is important to focus on helping the change agents in reviewing and reflecting on their own “vision of gender equity”. During the strategic activities of mentoring and training, these change agents could potentially “leak” a particular “vision of gender” to other women and men. Thus, part of the intervention strategy should target the change agent’s self-reflection to influence her capacity to act as change agents.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature on change agents and interventions for gender equality. Intervention strategies usually centre on essentialist notions of gender. The study offers potential explanations for this approach by paying attention to the process of how change agents, in their efforts to promote gender equality, may be unconsciously projecting their own identities onto others and/or consciously engaging in strategic essentialism to fit into the machista context of Mexico.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

1 – 10 of 18