In the Crosshairs: A Stakeholder Perspective on Theorizing about Gender Bias in Leadership Settings
Past theorizing in gender research has relied on the well-worn assumption that all stakeholders are likely to evaluate female leaders based upon the extent to which they fit with "lay theories" or prototypes of effective leadership. This logic suggests that, because stereotypes based on gender generally do not fit leader prototypes, female leaders are likely to be evaluated unfavorably compared to their male counterparts. Broadly speaking, this past research has taken a leader-oriented approach to theorizing about how attributes of the focal leader (e.g. a female leader's display of a specific form of agency, her performance in the role, or her outsideness as a CEO) drive leader appraisals. However, support for this approach to theorizing about gender bias in leadership settings is wavering. We build on motivated cognition theory, and in contrast to a leader-driven appraisal process, propose a stakeholder-oriented framework for theorizing about social bias. This framework recognizes that expressions of social bias in leader evaluations can take on varied textures based on the motivations of stakeholders themselves. Through our theorizing, we aim to shift the focus away from leader-centered interventions ("what can women do differently?") and toward stakeholder-focused solutions ("what can firms and their stakeholders do differently?"). The presentation will discuss the implications of a stakeholder-oriented theory for gender and social bias research as well as the practical implications of such an approach.
Aparna Joshi
Aparna Joshi is an award-winning organizational scholar who studies the science of how human beings recognize, respond to, and then relate to one another across differences. Her research highlights how leaders can transcend differences to forge positive change in and around organizations. Over the past twenty years, Aparna’s research has focused on how social differences translate into inequality with a specific focus on gender inequality across a range of professional settings such as among scientists, lawyers, engineers and chief executives. In these occupational contexts, although women and minorities have made significant human capital gains, fundamental barriers to future progress remain. Her research aims at building actionable theoretical models that can inform practices aimed at reducing barriers and enhancing inclusion in these settings. Prior to joining Michigan Ross, she was on the faculty of the Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University and at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Aparna's research appears in the leading journals in the field of management including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Organization Science. Her work in the area of gender dynamics in engineering work groups also received a National Science Foundation grant.
In 2014 Aparna was awarded the prestigious Cummings Award for Early to Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement, one of the highest professional honors in the field, by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management and she was appointed a Fellow of the Academy of Management in 2019. She has also been featured on Stanford’s list of the top 2% of research scientists in the world. Her work has also received the Academy of Management’s Saroj Parasuraman Award in 2010, the Dorothy Harlow Distinguished Paper Award in 2006 and 2008, and the Academy of Management’s Best Dissertation Award (Gender and Diversity in Organizations division) and has also been featured in numerous media outlets.
Aparna has served on the editorial boards of top journals and as an Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Journal as well as the Administrative Science Quarterly.