Advancing Gender Equity and Diversity in the Workplace: The Role of Allyship and Leadership

Addressing inequity is a pressing societal concern. For example, numerous studies have provided consistent evidence for gender inequities as well as barriers and adverse workplace experiences women face. In this symposium, we aim to shed light on factors that can help accelerate social progress in the domain of gender and leadership. The papers in this symposium showcase how leaders can effectively facilitate women’s leadership advancement (Bajet Mestre & Gloor; Lyubykh, Alonso, & Turner) and help manage team diversity (Yang, Li, van Knippenberg, & Pieterse), offer a psychometrically robust scale to measure leader allyship (Mercer et al.), and explore how female leaders navigate tensions between gender expectations and leadership expectations (Khattab & Hentschel). We will conclude with a discussion (Hideg) to suggest directions for future research a well as takeaways for leaders, organizations, and policymakers. He for Her Development: Can Male Allies Facilitate Women’s Leadership? Author: Eugenia Bajet Mestre; U. of St. Gallen, Switzerland Author: Jamie L. Gloor; U. of St. Gallen Managers’ Allyship for Women’s Advancement: Scale Development Author: Danielle Mercer; Acadia U. Author: Cara-Lynn Scheuer; Coastal Carolina U. Author: Megan Marie Walsh; Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's U. Author: Catherine Loughlin; Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie U. Author: Shasanka Chalise; PhD Candidate, Memorial U., NL, Canada Author: Nikita Agnihotri; Saint Mary's U. Integrating Communality and Agency in Women's and Men's Leadership: A Qualitative Study Author: Jasmien Khattab; Erasmus U. Rotterdam Author: Tanja Hentschel; Amsterdam Business School, U. of Amsterdam Functional Background Diversity and Team Performance: The Role of Leading for Diversity Mindsets Author: Yongkang Yang; Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus U. Author: Jia Li; Vlerick Business School Author: Anne Nederveen Pieterse; Erasmus U. Rotterdam How Do Male Observers Respond to Leader Allyship? Author: Zhanna Lyubykh; Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser U. Author: Natalya Alonso; Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser U. Author: Nick Turner; U. of Calgary