Case studies with female protagonists: "Hidden" inequalities in the hidden curriculum


Wasti Pamuksuz S. N., Lianidou T., Dominick P. G.

European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Milan, İtalya, 4 - 06 Temmuz 2024, ss.1

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Milan
  • Basıldığı Ülke: İtalya
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Business schools can attenuate or exacerbate inequality in the workplace through influencing inequality-related attitudes of their students (re)entering the workforce during or after their studies. An effort to address inequality can be case studies portraying female leaders, which can help address the persistent gender inequality in leadership and can have a positive impact on inequality reduction through inspiring women to pursue leadership roles and altering the cognitive schemata of “think leader, think male”. While acknowledging and valuing the importance of case studies with female leader protagonists in combatting inequality, the objective of this study is to explore hidden inequalities such case studies may involve. Drawing upon role-modeling, implicit leadership theories, and role congruity theory literatures, we critically analyzed 53 case studies portraying female leaders. Our analysis revealed that such case studies can include inequalities around depicting intersections of gender and privilege, using differential definitions of success, prescribing behaviors, reflecting gender-related stereotypes, and adopting a gender-blind narrative. We explain these themes and discuss potential consequences on women students’ motivation to lead and leadership enactment and on cognitive leadership schemata. We hope that our findings will increase our awareness of hidden inequalities and help educators proactively address them so that business schools and later organizations benefit from the inequality reduction effects of case studies portraying female leaders without their potential negative consequences.