Title

Making the Invisible Visible: A Cross‐Sector Analysis of Gender‐Based Leadership Barriers

School/Department

Cook School of Intercultural Studies

Publication Date

2-23-2016

Abstract

Despite an abundance of educated, qualified women in the workforce, they continue to be underrepresented at the top of institutional leadership hierarchies. Theories of gendered organizations explain that work processes reproduce gendered structures of society in the workplace. These processes advantage men while forming barriers to women's success. This paper extends critical human resource development (HRD) theory by applying the concept of sexism hidden in the workplace to leadership and by outlining both social and organizational practices that create gender inequities in leadership. Our cross‐sector analysis of women leaders in religion and higher education revealed twenty‐seven gender‐based leadership barriers which operate at the macro, meso, and micro levels of society. We argue that most current efforts to promote women into leadership focus one by one on only a few barriers, primarily those within organizations, while failing to take into account the wide variety of barriers and their prevalence across all societal levels. We offer strategies to address barriers across all three levels to help organizations create gender‐equitable leadership environments.

Keywords

Sexism; Sex role; Women in development

Publication Title

Human Resource Development Quarterly

Volume

27

Issue

2

First Page

181

Last Page

206

DOI of Published Version

10.1002/hrdq.21248

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