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1 – 10 of over 11000Research on women's leadership development over the past two decades has seen a move away from feminist theory that embeds action at a structural level as the objective of…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on women's leadership development over the past two decades has seen a move away from feminist theory that embeds action at a structural level as the objective of consciousness raising realised during the programme. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the stalling of collective action needed to challenge the continued under-representation of women in leadership roles.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual. Gender reflexivity – as the basis for claims within women's leadership development programmes (WLDPs) that are based on identity work to enable wider transformation of organisations in respect of structural barriers – is examined and critiqued.
Findings
Women's leadership development is unlikely to be able to used as a vehicle for structural change whilst it remains focused on self-acceptance, self-management and self-development of the individual participants. Gender reflexivity, as the warrant for change and transformation, is not used in a way that can deliver organisational change. Part of this is the way in which it is misapplied within human resource development and part of this is the continued lack of framing WLDP as a historical practice in support of the current logic of leadership.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the development of a critical approach to women's leadership development from a feminist theory perspective.
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Muhammad Azizuddin and Ahm Shamsuzzoha
The main goal of the study is to participate in academic debates and explore women's leadership and related challenges and opportunities in governance, and the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
The main goal of the study is to participate in academic debates and explore women's leadership and related challenges and opportunities in governance, and the extent to which women’s leadership has been enhanced by administrative reforms. The goal is to broaden the scope of action by promoting women's engagement and leadership in local government.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative study that uses inductive content analysis to examine the relationship between administrative reforms and women’s leadership development in the context of local government in Southeast and South Asia.
Findings
There is a positive impact of administrative reforms on women's leadership development. There is evidence that women are preparing for leadership roles in administration, which is a sign of progress in political change and modernization of society. They have been empowered by political and administrative education in a transformative way.
Research limitations/implications
This article contributes to the literature that expands knowledge about governance, female leadership and administrative reform. They are interrelated because they are precursors to the development of women's leadership in countries.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can help governments in South and Southeast Asia become more aware of strategies to promote gender balance in governance. The unsatisfactory situation was found to exist because of problems related to socio-political, economic, cultural, and personal development.
Originality/value
This study is the first to highlight the relationship between administrative reform and the development of women in leadership positions in a rarely studied developing country.
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This paper aims to critically reflect on current leadership development programmes (LDPs) and their potential in addressing the issue of women’s under-representation in leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to critically reflect on current leadership development programmes (LDPs) and their potential in addressing the issue of women’s under-representation in leadership positions. To this end, this paper queries the current processes through which employees are selected to participate in LDPs as well as how these programmes are designed.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach, this conceptual paper draws attention to the pitfalls of current organisational practices aimed at women’s leadership development.
Findings
The introduction of gender quotas and the implementation of women-only LDPs are unlikely to address the persistent gender leadership gap. Instead, these practices are likely to intensify the negative effects of second-generation gender bias and perpetuate the issue of gender inequality and inequity in the workplace.
Originality/value
This paper critiques contemporary organisational practices aimed at women’s leadership development and suggests alternative practices which are more likely to respond to the issue of women’s under-representation in leadership positions.
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Sakina Dixon, Jera Elizondo Niewoehner-Green, Stacy Smulowitz, Deborah N. Smith, Amy Rutstein-Riley and Trenae M. Thomas
This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development.
Abstract
Purpose
This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a scoping review. A research librarian was consulted at the start of the project. Two sets of search terms (one for each age group) were identified and then used to find publications via our selected databases. The search results were uploaded to Covidence and evaluated using the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final sample of articles for the review was analyzed using exploratory coding methods.
Findings
From the analysis, four domains were identified that influence girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: relationships, personal characteristics, meaningful engagement and social identities.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to solely explore girls’ and young women’s leader identity development. The factors and domains identified provide useful guidance for future research and practice. The findings reveal considerations about leader identity that can inform the creation of effective leadership development initiatives for girls early in their lifespan. These interventions could provide girls with a strong leadership foundation that could drastically alter their leadership trajectories in adulthood. Previous research has conveyed the advantages of having more women participate in leadership. Thus, this potential not only benefits girls and women but organizations and society at large.
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The Women in Leadership Development (WLD) Initiative is a year-long, multifaceted co-curricular leadership development opportunity created to support the unique developmental…
Abstract
Purpose
The Women in Leadership Development (WLD) Initiative is a year-long, multifaceted co-curricular leadership development opportunity created to support the unique developmental needs of emerging women leaders. WLD was intentionally designed around the context of second-generation gender bias with a firm grounding of research and theory on gender and leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
Organized around three leadership pathways – leadership training, leadership coaching, and leadership support networks – WLD brings together the best practices of leadership development in combination with feminist pedagogy and critical perspectives to foster meaningful and impactful development of women leaders.
Findings
This paper describes the design of the initiative and how each leadership pathway supports the leadership development journey for emerging women leaders. It provides a model that is impactful as well as foundational, for undergraduate women’s leadership development.
Originality/value
Women leaders, in particular, can benefit from leadership development that takes gender into account (DeFrank-Cole & Tan, 2022a; Ely et al., 2011).
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Robin Ayers Frkal and Noel Criscione-Naylor
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the challenges to women’s authentic leadership identities contribute to their decisions to abandon leadership positions mid-career. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the challenges to women’s authentic leadership identities contribute to their decisions to abandon leadership positions mid-career. It examines the critical career moments and underlying themes behind these women’s decisions to leave.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on semi-structured interviews (n = 9) with women between the ages of 32-53 who had opted-out of mid-level corporate leadership positions.
Findings
The study found that work–life balance was not the primary factor in women’s decisions to leave. Instead, the women in the study reflected on their inability to be themselves and contribute perceived value to the organization as triggering their decisions to leave.
Research limitations/implications
There are limitations in using a small sample of women selected through the researchers’ social media networks resulting in limited cultural and racial diversity.
Practical implications
Misconceptions about women’s decisions to leave corporate leadership mid-career misleads human resource (HR) practices and initiatives focused on retaining female talent. Organizations need to recognize and reshape the organizational environment to support women to be their authentic self and make the value of their contributions more transparent.
Originality/value
The paper is original in that it examines opt-out from the lens of women’s leadership identities in corporate contexts. There are limited studies that have examined the connections between identity and women’s career decisions beyond work–ife balance. It provides practical value to HR practitioners and organizations focused on retaining female talent.
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Abdullahi Hassan Gorondutse, Fayez Hamed Al Shdaifat, Haim Hilman, Rajeh Alajmi and Fais Ahmed
The purpose of this paper is to understand emerging future orientations, women’s effective leadership and further examine its impact on government support in the context of higher…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand emerging future orientations, women’s effective leadership and further examine its impact on government support in the context of higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey with 500 full-time women employees, working in Saudi Arabia Public University, was selected using a quantitative approach and analysed on the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The initial prediction was that future orientations is significant on women’s leadership effectiveness as well as on government support, to the extent that it is associated with women’s leadership effectiveness where it tends to have a stronger relationship. Surprisingly, the indirect effect of government support on the relationship between future orientations on women’s leadership effectiveness was not significant.
Practical implications
Academic scholars/leaders in higher education should realize that the development of women leadership has a positive effect on future orientations. Policymakers and leaders of higher education institutions should focus on women leaders to improve their leadership effectiveness.
Originality/value
From the perspective of emerging nations, this paper extends the knowledge regarding the complexity leadership theory which explains the development of women’s leadership effectiveness and provides empirical evidence.
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Majd Megheirkouni and Muhammad Azam Roomi
This study explores the positive and negative factors influencing transformational learning experiences of female leaders in women’s leadership development programmes in sports…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the positive and negative factors influencing transformational learning experiences of female leaders in women’s leadership development programmes in sports and examines the differences in learning/change factors cited by those who successfully addressed them and those who failed.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a qualitative research method, using phone interviews with women leaders in a sports setting.
Findings
The findings revealed that participants presented clear progress in terms of leadership skills, but they failed to report whether this progress can be achieved if the programme is running within a specific sports organisation, targeting a specific kind of sports leadership in the long term.
Research limitations/implications
There were a number of limitations for this study, e.g. selection of participants, sample size, exploratory methodology, which affected generalising the findings to other sports organisations or other countries.
Originality/value
The study provides a starting point for the exploration of the effectiveness of women leadership development programmes and how designers can evaluate the outcome of such initiatives in the UK.
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Susan Elizabeth Mate, Matthew McDonald and Truc Do
The purpose of this study is to contrast how the relationship between career and leadership development and workplace culture is experienced by women in two different countries…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to contrast how the relationship between career and leadership development and workplace culture is experienced by women in two different countries and the implications this has for human resource development initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a qualitative narrative research design to understand how the lived experiences of Australian and Vietnamese early- to mid-career female academics is engendered.
Findings
The study identified a number of key barriers and enablers that affected women’s career and leadership development. For the Australian participants, the main barrier included the competing demands of work and life and male dominated organisational cultures that discriminate against women in covert ways. The main enabler was mentoring and the building of professional networks that provided their careers with direction and support. For the Vietnamese participants, the main barriers were overt and included male-dominated organisational and societal cultures that limit their career and leadership development opportunities. The main enabler was having a sponsor or person with power in their respective organisation who would be willing to support their career advancement and gaining recognition from colleagues and peers.
Research limitations/implications
Gaining a deeper understanding of the barriers and enablers that effect women’s career and leadership development can be used to investigate how culturally appropriate developmental relationships can create ways to overcome the barriers they experience.
Originality/value
The study analysed the contrasting experiences of barriers and enablers from two cultures. The participants narrated stories that reflected on the gender politics they experienced in their career and leadership development. The narrative comparisons provide a unique lens to analyse the complex cultural experience of gender and work with potential implications for human resource development.
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