Gender Equality In Organizations Research Articles

Breaking gender stereotypes in management practices: Promoting paternity leave

AbstractThis study examines the promotion of paternity leave by focusing on the role of female directors on boards. Drawing on insights from the literature on the upper echelons theory and strategic leadership, we argue that efforts to break gender stereotypes in upper‐echelon positions, particularly through female representation on boards, can promote paternity leave. Analyzing data from 633 Japanese firms between 2017 and 2021 with pooled regression models revealed that a high proportion of female directors promoted paternity leave. Additionally, it implied that the proportion of female department managers can strengthen the positive effects of female directors on paternity leave promotions. Our results contribute to the theory and practice of gender equality in organizations by providing implications for promoting crucial management practices that may be hindered by gender stereotypes.

KETIDAKSETARAAN GENDER DI TEMPAT KERJA : TINJAUAN MENGENAI PROSES DAN PRAKTEK DALAM ORGANISASI

This article aims to examine more broadly the extent of gender inequality in processes and practices covering a wide range of areas ranging from performance evaluation, compensation, and leadership opportunities, to sexual harassment in organizations. This literature review makes it possible to review the factors that facilitate and hinder gender equality in the workplace. The review identifies gaps in the literature review provides suggestions for future research and highlights practical implications for organizations aiming to reduce gender inequality and value gender equality in organizations.

Towards the SDGs for gender equality and decent work: investigating major challenges faced by Brazilian women in STEM careers with international experience

This paper aims to understand the main difficulties faced by women throughout their careers in Brazil and abroad. Based on the information gathered from these experiences, it seeks to advance the discussion on women's participation in STEM focusing on SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 8 (decent work). The main difficulties experienced by women in STEM as discussed in the academic literature were mapped. This provided input to develop a questionnaire containing qualitative and quantitative questions used to conduct interviews with women working in STEM. The sample consisted of highly qualified professionals working in high positions in the hierarchies of multinational companies in the STEM field with experience both in Brazil and abroad. The data collected was analyzed using a mixed-methods approach, including content analysis for qualitative questions and the Grey Relational Analysis for quantitative questions. The results revealed that the lack of flexible work systems, the scarcity of gender-sensitive organizational policies and labor policies, and the prevalence of traditional cultural models are some of the main difficulties faced both in Brazil and abroad by the women interviewed. The need to discuss issues of gender equality and decent work in the early stages of education is important for increasing women’s participation in STEM, which is a critical factor in the development of inclusive organizations and in fully achieving the sustainable development of society. This paper presents a unique perspective of the perceived difficulties faced by executive women who worked in Brazil and in different countries (i.e., Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United States). Gender equality in organizations is highly context-dependent, and cross-cultural analysis generates relevant insights to face the challenges and advance the discussion on women’s participation in STEM.

Shaped by resistance: Discursive politics in gender equality work

AbstractWhile existing research offers an understanding of the antecedents, forms, and consequences of resistance to gender equality work in organizations, studies primarily regard resistance as a challenge to be overcome or as something that can at times be beneficial for change. In this paper, we argue that resistance shapes gender equality work. We focus on covert forms of resistance and give voice to experts in Finland and Sweden who work for gender equality in organizations. Analyzing the discursive politics involved in (de)legitimizing and (de)politicizing equality work, we elucidate how experts deal with resistance by shaping the meaning of equality and working for it. Our findings suggest that covert resistance undermines the quest for gender equality by molding the conditions for how equality work can be done, thus influencing what it can achieve in organizations and in society.

An Investigation of the Leadership Challenges amongst Women Entrepreneurs

Abstract: Women must live up to collective expectations of what it takes to be a leader while also adhering to particular gender stereotypes. Throughout history, femininity has been portrayed as reliant, meek, and conforming, and as a result, women have been perceived as deficient in leadership traits. The male bias is mirrored in the incorrect view of leadership as merely command or control. Women will be more readily acknowledged as leaders as leadership becomes correctly understood as a process of leaders engaging and mobilizing the human needs of followers, and men will adapt their leadership styles (Burns, 1978). Because women represent more than half of the global talent pool, it is clear that they should be at the forefront of the economic and social scene, not just to be fair, but to ensure that the most prominent minds, men's and women's, are brought together to address the challenges that our societies face. Achieving gender equality in organizations at all levels is a lengthy and difficult path that requires the involvement of the entire company as well as the strong commitment of senior management. This report, The Leadership Challenges of Women Entrepreneurs, provides insight into the ongoing absence of women in leadership posts. Indeed, this study indicates how women talent might be exploited as a competitive advantage to meet the global difficulties that organizations will face soon.

Paternal supervisor gatekeeping: How supervising fathers hinder other fathers at work in their uptake of flexible work arrangements

AbstractThis study explores the role that supervisors play in the low uptake of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) among fathers in France. We draw on 28 interviews with fathers who had requested access to FWA and reported on the reaction of their supervisors. These supervisors were all fathers themselves and had previously benefitted from such arrangements themselves, but did not grant such policies to other fathers. To understand these unexpected findings, we conducted an additional 16 interviews with supervising fathers in organizations who had previously enjoyed similar FWA. The findings show that supervising fathers can act as barriers to other fathers in their organizations who try to push for more gender equality. We identified four ways in which supervisors tend to dissuade fathers from accessing policies to which they are entitled: gender‐role confirming discourses; career threats; practical reasons as a justification; and a lack of paternal workplace support. The findings highlight the role of men (in this case, supervising fathers) in the lack of increasing gender equality at work. By showing that fathers can function as ‘paternal supervisor gatekeepers’ for other fathers in their organizations, we open up new fruitful ways for studying gender equality in organizations.

Gender equality in the workplace: a global perspective

PurposeThe benefits of gender diversity in the workplace are well-established. Consequently, many organizations have policies or programs in place to encourage hiring women. Despite this, the gender gap remains, particularly in terms of compensation and promotion and progress appears slow. This paper aims to examine the benefits of gender diversity and common approaches to enhance it. It then reviews lessons from global research and suggests applications.Design/methodology/approachThis practitioner study reviews the literature to identify arguments for gender equality in the workplace, progress in gender equality and common organizational approaches to equality. It presents snapshots of two global studies examining gender equality. It draws implications and applications from these studies.FindingsGender equality remains elusive and difficult to achieve despite efforts on the part of leaders to encourage it. Insights from research provide compelling reasons in terms of organizational outcomes for female hiring, development and promotion. Additionally, insights into organizational culture help leaders identify barriers to gender equality.Originality/valueThis paper presents insights into the need for and benefits of gender equality in organizations. A review of two global studies provides compelling reasons for leaders to recommit themselves to their gender equality and address needed changes in organizational culture.

‘Doing good and feeling good’: how narratives in development stymie gender equality in organisations

This paper examines the challenges of working on gender equality in international development research projects and institutes, and how a code of appropriate emotions and behaviours is used to silence and stifle institutional change. Using my own experience at a science research institute, I argue that while senior leaders have acknowledged the importance of equity and diversity, internal institutional dynamics, workplace culture and hierarchies make change difficult. Furthermore, due to the nature of international development work, there is an affective norm (‘doing good and feeling good’) that surrounds the notion of working in ‘developing’ countries. This affect is gendered because a masculine camaraderie is generated. However, the affect shuts out self-reflexivity, because it would disrupt the narrative of selflessness and heroism of aid. The inside activists within the institute navigate between challenging the norms and having an unspoken code of civility imposed upon them, which is used to police and discipline how inside activists should behave. When inside activists criticise discriminatory practices and values, they are dismissed as being ‘angry’ and ‘uncivil’. The result is the depoliticisation of gender and feminist theories and practice, where people go through the motions of equity and mainstreaming without achieving meaningful change.

Gender Equality in Organizations: The Dynamics of Space

Gender equality goals have proven to be difficult for organizations to achieve. Management scholars attribute gender equality’s intractability to decoupling: Organizations adopt structures, policies and programs that fail to deliver their intended outcomes. We present a conceptual framework that draws on recent developments in spatial configurations and institutional logics. The framework portrays organizational activities as operating across three distinct spaces (physical, mental, and social), but the management literature has historically emphasized activities originating in the physical space. We use case examples to illustrate how organizations might avoid decoupling by simultaneously attending to all three spaces. The framework identifies opportunities for organizations to harness cross-space dynamics, embrace divergent institutional logics, and enable progress toward gender equality.

The Journey to Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Lessons Learned from Higher Education

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Agenda includes gender equality as one of its 17 goals and emphasizes the importance of supporting women’s empowerment to meet the SDGs. Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) can help achieve gender equality in organizations, but there continue to be limitations on exploiting its full potential. Further research is needed, especially in the public sector and at higher education institutions. This paper investigates the development of the GRB process and the related reporting practices, as well as the potential to fully integrate it into the university’s strategic policies at the University of Ferrara. The paper is based on a qualitative content analysis of annual GRB reports from 2011 to 2018. The results show that, during this period, GRB at the university changed from playing an accountability role to having a performance measurement role. Although GRB has become more relevant inside the organization, the extent of the integration with the university strategy and the budgeting cycle remains limited, which hampers the strategic relevance of GRB.

Гендерні особливості ринку праці в умовах пандемії COVID-19

The article is aimed at exploring the gender features of the labor market in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the impact of quarantine restrictions caused by the introduction of anti-epidemic measures to counteract the spread of coronavirus disease in Ukraine, on the existing balance of gender equality in Ukrainian society. The identified gender inequality manifestations in the labor market have intensified and received negative dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantine restrictions and the limited activities of enterprises in the sphere of trade, culture, art, education, hotel business and others, in the structure of employment of which the women’s labor force prevails, have caused an increase in the number of unemployed and a decrease in the social protection of employees involved in these sectors. An increase in the wage gap between women and men during the period of quarantine restrictions both by type of economic activity and by region is identified. The proposals and recommendations are directed towards: taking into account gender needs in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; reducing gender inequality and injustice in employment and income; ensuring support for political activity of the female population, involvement in decision-making in the life of both the community and the State; strengthening liability for direct or indirect discrimination and gender inequality; taking into account in the programs of socio-economic development of territories of gender needs as to different age groups; introduction of training aimed at ensuring gender approach and gender equality in organizations and enterprises; financial, economic, legal and educational support for the development of women’s business. Prospect for further research in this direction is to determine the impact of the existing level of gender equality and the structure of employment by gender in the sectors on the possibilities of economic development of the country.

Genderwashing: the myth of equality

ABSTRACT Genderwashing is an organizational tool that presents the myth of gender equality in organizations through discourse and text. To critique this organizational myth, this paper contributes a new perspective and theoretical definition for genderwashing. We outline how genderwashing activities are underpinned by economic over ethical motives, which are grounded in a desire to uphold an organization’s reputation, sometimes at the expense of employee well-being. Our presentation of genderwashing is grounded not only in the work of Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD), but also in Dorothy Smith’s concept of ruling relations. These lenses enable us to examine how superficial attempts to address gender inequality within organizations fail to create structural change or disrupt engrained power dynamics. Furthermore, drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work on diversity and institutional silencing, we argue that genderwashing represents an organizational stance that purports to practice equality, even while women and other marginalized individuals experience little or no advancement. In regards to gender inequalities, we focus on how one organizational text, the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) works to reinforce gender inequalities in organizations. We conclude with a call to action for practitioners and scholars offering suggestions for how to move beyond the stultifying practices of organizational genderwashing.

The Vicious Cycle of Work Life: Work Effort Versus Career Development Effort

Although much progress has been made toward establishing gender equality in organizations, women remain underrepresented in upper management positions. This study examines why women might be less likely than men to be promoted, even in organizations with high gender equality climates. Using a large sample of managers in South Korea, we hypothesized and found that women and men used different strategies regarding how to direct their effort to achieve promotions. Women with high self-efficacy under high gender equality climate focused on increasing work effort, whereas men in similar situations focused on increasing career development effort. We also found that only career development effort was positively related to promotion, whereas work effort was positively related to work stress and turnover intentions, and negatively associated with job satisfaction. Our results suggest that different effort strategies lead women to become caught in a vicious cycle of working hard and earning only unpleasant consequences.

Are Female Managers Agents of Change or Cogs in the Machine? An Assessment with Three-Level Manager–Employee Linked Data

In this study, we investigate whether female managers contribute to greater gender equality in organizations. Specifically, we examine whether women’s and men’s earnings are affected by the share of female managers in their organization, and by being supervised by a female manager. We formulate opposing hypotheses arguing that women are either change agents who reduce gender inequality in earnings in their organization, or cogs in the machine who do not influence or even enlarge gender inequality in earnings. We employ unique manager-employee linked data from nine countries to test these hypotheses. Results are in line with the weak version of the women as cogs in the machine hypothesis: women’s and men’s earnings are not affected by the share of female managers in their organization, nor by being supervised by a female manager. Gender equality in earnings is thus not stimulated by female managerial representation. Between-country variations in results are discussed.

Sex, Gender Identity, and Perceived Employability Among Spanish Employed and Unemployed Youngsters.

Young people find it difficult to access to the labor market, particularly in countries like Spain with a dramatically high rate of unemployment. A further problem is that this labor market is not gender-neutral. This has been demonstrated repeatedly in the literature, with women typically being at a disadvantage. This highlights the need to study issues related to employability from a gender perspective, beyond including sex as a mere control variable. This analysis is relevant given the gender biases in organizations and in society in general that hinder the advancement of gender equality in organizations. Accordingly, our aim is to study both sex (male vs. female) and four profiles of gender identity based on dimensions of masculinity and femininity (i.e., feminine, masculine, undifferentiated, and androgynous) in relation to perceived employability in an exploratory way in two samples of employed (N = 181) and unemployed (N = 246) Spanish youngsters (i.e., below 30). The results show different patterns for employed and unemployed youngsters regarding sex, gender identity and their interaction in relation to perceptions of being employable. Concerning sex, women seem more confident about their employment chances when unemployed. In contrast, men feel more confident about their employment chances within their organization than women when employed. Concerning gender identity, the androgynous gender profile in the employed sample (in both men and women) scored highest on perceived employability. Results of the sex–gender identity interaction show that being feminine associates with the highest level of perceived employability for an unemployed man and the lowest for an unemployed woman. Moreover, both unemployed men and women androgynous score the highest in perceiving employability (except feminine men). Our findings highlight that sex and gender identity do play a role in shaping employability perceptions of young men and women in different labor contexts (employment and unemployment). This reinforces the need of changes against discrimination at work and in job search from a feminist approach to arrive at a more equal society.

Áreas clave para la alineación de la agilidad y resiliencia con la perspectiva de género en las organizaciones

La equidad de género en las organizaciones es un aspecto cada vez más necesario y demandado por la legislación; implica satisfacer el derecho constitucional de la igualdad. Hasta ahora, en su estudio, no se ha tenido en cuenta aspectos como agilidad y resiliencia. El presente artículo propone la definición preliminar de un modelo de madurez que permita evaluar la incorporación de la perspectiva de género sin limitar la agilidad y resiliencia en la organización, extrayendo la relación que indique qué aspectos de agilidad y resiliencia pueden verse afectados por las áreas donde la perspectiva de género debe ser incorporada.

Perceived Gender Equality in Managerial Positions in Organizations

Abstract Background and Purpose: This research aims to achieve two main objectives: to investigate differences between male and female managers regarding the perceived gender equality in organizations and to analyze the gender differences in relationships among the perceived gender equality, the perceived satisfaction with employment position and career, the perceived satisfaction with work, and the perceived work-family conflict. Design/Methodology/Approach: The sample of research includes 82 managers in Slovenian organizations. In first stage, we analyzed with t-test differences between male and female regarding perceived gender equality in decision-making positions. In the next step we developed the conceptual models and used structural equational modeling (SEM), and analyzed differences between constructs in two conceptual models. Results: The research results show that female managers perceive gender equality in organizations in general to be significantly lower than males; furthermore, perceived gender equality is positively related to the perceived satisfaction with employment position and career as well as to the perceived satisfaction with work, but both relationships are significantly stronger for female managers. On the other hand female managers seems to cope more efficiently with the perceived work-family conflict since it has significantly different impact on female managers’ perceived satisfaction with work, as compared to the male managers. Conclusion: To achieve more gender equality within organizations and a reduction of the gender gap, the legislative initiatives cannot be successful without appropriate corporate strategy sets, which presents the framework for doing business and determines the internal working culture. The findings offer several policy, as well as business practice-oriented implications.

Post‐Heroic Leadership, Tempered Radicalism and Senior Leaders as Change Agents for Gender Equality

Micro change agents for gender equality in organisations are often considered to be tempered radicals who work within an existing structure to change the status quo. However for gender equality to happen, it is often claimed that heroic leadership of top leaders, or macro change agents, is required. The aim of this article is to show how CEOs as macro change agents for gender equality can be conceptualised. Drawing on interviews with 20 global CEOs and a literature review, the article develops a framework to conceptualise how CEOs are fostering gender equality around accountability, building ownership, communicating, leading by example, initiating and driving culture change. The article questions the conceptualisation of change agents of gender equality as either tempered radicals, for micro change agents, or heroic leaders, for macro change agents, and argues instead that to be macro change agents for gender equality, CEOs need to display post‐heroic leadership and tempered radicalism to foster change in regard to gender relations.

Sisters at Arms

The narrative surrounding the nature of relationships and interactions between and among women at work is decidedly negative, which is evident in the coverage that female competition and the queen bee syndrome receive in the media, nonfiction books, and the management and psychology literatures. In the current article, we propose a two-stage theory that is grounded in gender stereotyping to account for this narrative. In the first stage, we draw from theories of social comparison and in-group distancing to offer plausible reasons for why women’s same-sex relationships at work might be more fraught with interpersonal conflict than men’s. In the second stage, we set aside consideration of possible gender differences in same-sex conflict frequency and draw from attribution theory to propose that female same-sex conflict is more problematized by third parties than male same-sex conflict, which could produce the exaggerated perception that women have more dysfunctional same-sex workplace relationships than men. Implications for future research and gender equality in organizations are discussed.

Gender and Diversity in India

The Problem Diversity and gender are contested topics in India. Although diversity means many things to many people, the meanings associated with diversity and the approaches to diversity management in India influence and are influenced by power structures and sociocultural values. Similarly, the intersection of gender with other diversity factors, such as caste, religion, or age, makes gender inequality a complex challenge in India. In the wake of globalization and changing nature of work, human resource development (HRD) professionals are faced with an ambitious task of unraveling these complexities and identifying effective ways to manage diversity and promote gender equality in organizations and in the Indian society at large. The Solution This issue is a significant step forward toward advancing gender and diversity theories and conceptual models and frameworks within the underlying sociocultural assumptions and beliefs in India. In doing so, the articles in this issue guide HRD professionals to undertake a multipronged (i.e., organizational, societal, national) and a critical inquiry into the challenges posed by gender and diversity in India. The Stakeholders HRD scholars and practitioners interested in research on global or international HRD would benefit from the theoretical and empirical work presented in this issue. Particularly, those who are interested in understanding the complex challenges posed by gender and diversity in India would learn how HRD models and theories apply to the unique sociocultural context of India. Also, the scholars from other social science disciplines who work on topics of diversity and gender would get a glimpse of how these topics manifest in an emerging economy like India.