Guest editorial: From intent to action: new directions in women and leadership research

The impetus for this special issue emerged from the planning and implementation of an international women and leadership academic colloquium held online in June 2021. The theme, “From Intent to Acton,” was designed to encourage and illustrate the ways in which new global scholarship is emerging that is intent to advance scholarship in diverse fields related to women and leadership (Gardiner et al., 2020). Our objective was not only to highlight key themes in women and leadership research and practice but also to envisage new theoretical and methodological approaches intentionally designed for actionable results to effect change.This change is needed because, despite extensive monitoring of women’s inclusion in leadership over the past 30 years by numerous research institutes (e.g. Pew Research Centre), consulting companies (e.g. Credit Suisse, Deloitte, EgonZehnder, Grant Thornton, KPMG, McKinsey) and agencies (e.g. Catalyst, European Institute for Gender Equality) along with burgeoning research (Abadi et al., 2020; Adler and Osland, 2016; Devnew et al., 2018; Elliott et al., 2019; Lyness and Grotto, 2018; Madsen, 2017; Mousa et al., 2021; Place and Vardeman-Winter, 2018; Storberg-Walker and Haber-Curran, 2017), real progress in gender equity has been glacial (Broadbridge and Mavin, 2016; Broadbridge and Simpson, 2011). Women continue to lag behind men in most areas of organizational life, for example, pay equity (Parker and Donnelly, 2020), board representation (Deloitte, 2021; Devnew et al., 2018; EgonZehnder, 2023), executive leadership (Catalyst, 2020) and political leadership (Ro, 2021; Tischner et al., 2021).Despite decades of feminist scholarship, Broadbridge and Simpson (2011) assert that gender and management research continues to be marginalized. A decade later this marginalization continues (UNDP, 2023), especially when the intersections of identity and structural issues such as social justice and structural inequities are considered. Moreover, previous strategies for the inclusion of women’s voices and enhanced participation in leadership roles have mostly benefited middle-class white women (Deloitte, 2021). Black, indigenous and women of color have had minimal benefit from these strategies (Miles Nash and Peters, 2020). For example: Gender stereotypes of racialized women including the angry black woman, the submissive Asian woman, the sexy Hispanic/Latina woman and the invisible Indigenous woman create additional biases and discrimination (Williams and Dempsey, 2014). Thus, a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate; every aspect of leadership is intersectional (Crenshaw, 1989; Miles et al., 2020; Ngunjiri and Gardiner, 2019; Storberg-Walker and Gardiner, 2017), including (but not exclusively) aspirations for leadership (Devnew et al., 2017a), networking (Forret and Dougherty, 2004; Hart, 2019; Uzzi, 2019), risk-taking (Booth and Nolen, 2012), volubility (Brescoll, 2011) and self-promotion (Lindeman et al., 2018; Rudman, 2018).Such an intersectional approach to women and leadership needs not only to consider individual issues but also ongoing social injustices that continue to privilege some people over others. Indeed, unequal power dynamics and gender injustices are at the very heart of discrimination and inequities (Gardiner, 2018; Ladkin, 2010). Moreover, institutional misogyny continues to negatively impact women through diverse explicit and implicit violence (Fox-Kirk et al., 2020). We need new perspectives that seek to disrupt this state of affairs that can help us take action as instigators for change to the patriarchal status quo.What makes this special issue original is its focus on globally diverse methodological and theoretical approaches to actionable research in women and leadership research. Action/actionable research is one method of inquiry that enables researchers to disrupt “the dominant system’s patriarchal narrative and its embedded power structure through the inclusion of the [often] marginalized voices of those being studied” (Thompson, 2021). Action research adopts a “process that collaboratively involves the subjects under study with an objective of using research results to influence organizational outcomes” (Zhang et al., 2015, p. 152).Scholars contend that action research is a promising approach to diverse aspects of women and leadership research aligned with the recognition of women’s ways of knowing (Storberg-Walker, 2017; Belenky et al., 1986/1997), global women leaders (Adler, 1997; Adler and Osland, 2016; Osland, 2021), indigenous women and decolonizing leadership (Brunette-Debassige, 2021; Debassige and Brunette-Debassige, 2018) and on the contextual challenges faced by black women in diverse leadership roles (Ngunjiri, 2021).From collaborative autoethnography and other action/actionable research (Chang et al., 2013; Devnew et al., 2017b; Le Ber et al., 2017) and engaged scholarship (Van de Ven, 2007) to critical feminism (Gardiner et al., 2020), the aim of the special issue is to encourage new approaches to key issues in women and leadership research with an international and intersectional focus.Our initial vison was to encourage papers that not only sought to understand diverse women’s experiences in organizations, but also to challenge the ongoing marginalization of women’s voices in organizational life. We were impressed by the number of articles we received for this special issue (26). However, some of these articles did not fit our criteria. Our final special issue has six worthy contributions, each with a different methodological or theoretical approach to women and leadership. What connects these articles is their focus on effecting organizational change through action-oriented theories and practices.These include papers’ authors and titles as follows: A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods were received in the submitted manuscripts. In this special issue, we include one scoping review (Dixon et al., 2023) for its unique contribution to the extant gender and leadership literature and to one of the major themes of this special issue, leadership over the life course. The remaining five manuscripts are empirical with mostly qualitative methods. In-depth interviews are favored (Anaya, 2023; Olsen and LaGree, 2023; Shelton and Wu, 2023) but focus groups (Anaya, 2023) and collaborative autoethnography (Bachnik et al., 2023) complement the individual interview studies. Y Cano et al. (2023) uses exclusively quantitative methods with a survey of not only working mothers in leadership roles but also working fathers in leadership roles (Y Cano et al., 2023). Integrating a mixed-method design, Anaya (2023) includes surveys, interviews and focus groups in their study. Where the state of prior theory and research is nascent, open-ended data that need to be interpreted for meaning are a methodological fit for field research such as in this special issue topic (Edmondson and McManus, 2007).Similarly, the use of inductive coding (Olsen and LaGree, 2023), reflexive thematic analyses (Bachnik et al., 2023), exploratory coding methods (Dixon et al., 2023), thematic analyses (Anaya, 2023) and the Gioia method of analysis (Shelton and Wu, 2023) all contribute to pattern identification to further develop our understanding of new constructs (e.g. lockdown in a model of burnout; Y Cano et al., 2023) and new contexts. Where surveys are used (Anaya, 2023; Y Cano et al., 2023), descriptive statistics similarly contribute to pattern identification of the organizational life experiences of women in a variety of industries and countries globally.Not surprisingly given the wide variety of contexts of the studies, a range of literatures, theoretical lenses and theories are used to make meaning of the data. This includes feminist organizational communication (Olsen and LaGree, 2023), organizing processes and practices (Bachnik et al., 2023), burnout and hybrid work studies (Y Cano et al., 2023), executive presence (Shelton and Wu, 2023) and human development in distinct cultural models (Anaya, 2023).When all six papers are taken together, the three broad themes explored by the authors as new directions in the women and leadership research in this special issue are: One of the key themes emerging from the papers is an interest in leadership as it relates to gender and age. Much of the women and leadership literature to date focuses on women who are already established in their leadership roles. This is not surprising, given that scholars are often considering organizational issues that are barriers to the progress of women in the workplace. Yet, it has led to a lack of scholarship on young women’s and girls’ leadership (for exceptions, see Le Ber et al., 2017; Ricks-Scott et al., 2017). This may be one of the key reasons that our first two articles seek to address that lacunae by focusing attention on young women and leadership. The first article by Dixon et al. (2023) titled “Girls and young women’s leader identity development: a scoping review” is a first of its kind systematic literature review to conduct a comprehensive review of young girls’ and women’s leadership. They conclude that “The findings from our review are significant because leader identity development directly impacts engagement leadership as an adult, both in formal positions and informal roles” (p. 23).Dixon et al. (2023) highlight four essential domains that influence the development of leader identity in girls and young women: In Olsen and LaGree’s (2023) paper, “Taking action in the first five years to increase career equality: the impact of professional relationships on young women’s advancement,” they use feminist organization communication theory to research women working in creative communication roles. Their findings indicate that professional relationships, formal and informal, are fundamental to giving young women the confidence and support they need. Furthermore, leadership can be nurtured by offering young women possibilities for advancement. Yet their study indicates the lack of formal mentoring programs in many workplaces, with more male than female mentors. They describe the professional development process as a Bermuda Triangle: Some of their recommendations related to leader development over the life span include access to experienced management through consistent gatherings, such as lunch and learn and auditing of organizational policies and procedures to ensure women are not disadvantaged due to motherhood.The unique time period of motherhood is directly addressed in a third study by Y Cano et al. (2023), titled “Burnout effect on working mothers in leadership positions during the COVID-19 lockdown.” Using the context of the global pandemic in Mexico, this research examined the effects of burnout on working mothers in leadership positions in contrast to working fathers in similar leadership roles. In total, 961 women and men were surveyed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey to answer two research questions, namely:Their results indicate that burnout was more significant for mothers who were leaders than the fathers. The authors advocate the need for not only a good income but also a flexible schedule to help retain top talent, improve well-being and cause less burnout. In terms of action, this study suggests that policymakers can develop better policies that consider the caring work that women are more likely to be expected to undertake.While the three forementioned studies focus on specific periods during the life course, they also address issues of intersectionality (or identify the lack of an intersectional approach). In Dixon et al. (2023) article titled “Girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: a scoping review,” intersectionality is foundational to the different societal expectations associated with various social identities which in turn impacts young women’s self-perception of leadership. They also do note though there is a sparsity of intersectional approaches as it pertains to young women and leadership. Similarly, Olsen and LaGree’s (2023) article “Taking action in the first five years to increase career equality: the impact of professional relationships on young women’s advancement” recommends professional development for all employees to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) awareness and advocacy. Y Cano et al.’s (2023) article “Burnout effect on working mothers in leadership positions during the COVID-19 lockdown” argues for more cross-cultural research on the effect of motherhood on leadership.It is in Bachnik et al.’s (2023) article, “Women’s crucible leadership experiences: through the lens of the four-frame organisational model,” however, where intersectionality is brought to the fore as a missing piece in the existing organizational models. Narratives gathered in this study illustrate the stickiness of gender prejudice in higher education institutions and within business across the world. Diverse genderwashing practices (Fox-Kirk et al., 2020) are explored through an intersectional analysis, concentrating on race, gender and leadership. The study findings focus on four global themes: organization, power dynamics, emotional distress and intersectionality. The power of male dominance creates a challenging dynamic that reinforces oppression fear and intimidation supporting inequality within the organization. Moreover, the influence of power highlights the multiple layers of inequality women of color experience. The third theme is arguably an outcome of the first two themes causing emotional distress and calling for perseverance to survive within the workplace. The findings elaborate on the feeling of isolation and loneliness creating tense relationships in the organization and led to self-doubt. Palpable feelings of disempowerment, anger and frustration are evident from the narratives that led to the final theme of intersectionality. This last theme encapsulates how intersectionality, in particular, gender and race, continues to challenge women leaders and remains worryingly unidentified with the organization.What is innovative about this collaborative autoethnography is not only their honesty in sharing crucial experiences, but also how they adapt Bolman and Deal’s leadership framework. Specifically, intersectionality is brought to the fore as a missing piece of the four-frame model. The authors argue strongly for equity, diversity and inclusion as a fifth frame. Their work supports a systematic approach to review leadership and challenges within the organization. Through the fifth frame, leaders are compelled to reflect upon their organizational structures, HR policies and practices, and the politics being played out in everyday encounters to identify ingrained inequities and support real change.Shelton and Wu (2023), in their paper titled “Challenges and considerations for building executive presence in North American female professionals of Asian descent,” expose the deeply held biases of Asian women in leadership positions, by not only non-Asian colleagues, but also by the Asian women themselves. In 2019, Asian women held only 2.5% of US management positions compared with 32.3% for Caucasian women, 4.3% for Latinas and 4.0% for African Americans (Catalyst, 2020). Shelton and Wu examine the lived experiences of 14 Asian female executives exploring the relationship between their gender, cultural identity and the characteristics associated with executive presence. The findings illustrate that people view Asian women as deferential, more reserved than their North American counterparts and more hard-working. These stereotypical attitudes are difficult to dislodge. One strategy women executives suggested was to encourage women to build their confidence, to speak up when appropriate and to build relationships. The by which gender and cultural leadership is The authors encourage women professionals of Asian to lack of confidence by their cultural and social They can their by not only up but that being about when to papers in this special issue address this third theme, not in For example, in the Olsen and LaGree’s (2023) article, “Taking action in the first five years to increase career equality: The impact of professional relationships on young women’s advancement,” they the deeply embedded of organizational processes to the influence on a to see as organizational Y Cano et al. 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