Am I a champion of gender equality? Using poetry to discover your ethical leader voice as a force for positive change toward UNSDG5

Systemic change toward achieving the UN SDG5 requires disentangling the bias that reifies systems of gender inequality (Villesèche et al., 2021), and enacting ethical leadership through socio-relational outcomes (Villesèche & Sinani, 2023). How to best develop ethical leadership, however, remains enigmatic (Buskirk et al., 2015). This PDW heeds calls to develop leadership through artistic means (Edwards & O’Reagan, 2019), to support leaders’ finding their voice and modelling the way to change (Kouzes & Posner, 2012), and to facilitate reflexive learning to activate moral sensitivity (Hedberg, 2017; Hibbert & Cunliffe, 2015; Waddock, 2010). Reflection, a useful tool for professional development, nevertheless, can get stuck in the rational-cognitive realm. Hence, poetic engagement is used to access cognitive processes of more emotional depth (Morgan, 2016; Armitage, 2015). Engaging with poetry opens a unique space for exploring identity and values; gives voice to feelings, perceptions and genuine concerns; and fosters human connection which has the potential to support moral reasoning and moral action

Bias and leadership aspirations: Exploring the interaction of gender and parental status in self-evaluations

This article aims to extend existing work on bias and leadership aspirations by investigating whether there are significant differences in self-evaluations when jointly considering gender and parental status. With a data subset from a survey of 866 women and 1372 men members of the leading Danish union for managers and leaders, we examine the relationship of gender and parental status with leadership aspirations. Contra theory-based expectations, our exploratory study's findings show little difference between mothers and women without children, whereas fathers report significantly higher leadership aspirations than men without children. Supplementary analysis indicates that lower aspirations are accompanied by lower self-evaluations of competence. Our findings thus suggest that men and women are differentially affected by combined gender and parenthood biases and that gendered social expectations for parents affect self-evaluations even in a national context characterized by high levels of gender equality before the law.This article aims to extend existing work on bias and leadership aspirations by investigating whether there are signifi cant differences in self-evaluations when jointly considering gender and parental status. With a data subset from a survey of 866 women and 1372 men who are members of the leading Danish union for managers and leaders, we examine the relationship of gender and parental status with leadership aspirations. Contra theory-based expectations, our exploratory study’s fi ndings show little difference between mothers and women without children, whereas fathers report signifi cantly higher leadership aspirations than men without children. Supplementary analysis indicates that lower aspirations are accompanied by lower self-evaluations of competence. Our fi ndings thus suggest that men and women are differentially affected by combined gender and parenthood biases and that gendered social expectations for parents affect self-evaluations even in a national context characterized by high levels of gender equality before the law

A Lacanian perspective on bias in language: How women can(not) ever make it in academia

In this paper, we contribute to the study of gender bias in organizations by showing how adopting a Lacanian psychoanalytic perspective helps us study bias in language while not separating language from the speaker. We use career narratives from female professors to exemplify our argument. We argue that coming into being as a performing subject means satisfying the desire of an organizational, academic other, and argue that this other’s desire rests upon a masculine ideal. To support our arguments, we present and analyze narrative excerpts and show how making it for women in academia is constrained by the continued experience of bias—manifested in language—leading to an unresolvable split between striving to be a successful  woman in academia and meeting the masculine-centered standards for the ideal worker. The Lacanian approach thus allows us to show how gender bias is simultaneously contested and reproduced in the career narratives of women with successful careers in neoliberal academia. We conclude the paper by addressing the broader implications and limits of a Lacanian perspective for studying and tackling (gender) bias in organizations.In this paper, we contribute to the study of gender bias in organizations by showing how adopting a Lacanian psychoanalytic perspective helps us study bias in language while not separating language from the speaker. We use career narratives from female professors to exemplify our argument. We argue that coming into being as a performing subject means satisfying the desire of an organizational, academic other, and argue that this other’s desire rests upon a masculine ideal. To support our arguments, we present and analyze narrative excerpts and show how making it for women in academia is constrained by the continued experience of bias—manifested in language—leading to an unresolvable split between striving to be a successful  woman in academia and meeting the masculine-centered standards for the ideal worker. The Lacanian approach thus allows us to show how gender bias is simultaneously contested and reproduced in the career narratives of women with successful careers in neoliberal academia. We conclude the paper by addressing the broader implications and limits of a Lacanian perspective for studying and tackling (gender) bias in organizations

Reference List About Implicit and Unconscious Bias

The compilation of this reference list is one of the initiatives of the action plan developed by the Council for Diversity and Inclusion at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). This reference list is the first in a series of efforts initiated by this Council to develop an academic resource pool and knowledge base on diversity- and inclusion-related topics. An implicit and/or unconscious bias is a bias that we are unaware of and is therefore expressed unwillingly and unknowingly. As recent studies on implicit bias indicate “we now know that the operation of prejudice and stereotyping in social judgment and behavior does not require personal animus, hostility, or even awareness. In fact, prejudice is often ‘unconscious’ or ‘implicit’ – that is, unwitting, unintentional, and uncontrollable even among the most well-intentioned people. […] Prejudice also lives and thrives in the banal workings of normal, everyday human thought and activity” (Hardin and Banaji, 2013, pp. 13-14). Research also indicates that it is possible to implement procedures and strategic actions that help reduce implicit biases (Devine, Forscher, Austin, & Cox, 2012). Although extensive, this list does not include all existing academic work on the topic of implicit and unconscious bias. Our objective here has been to focus on publications that could be of relevance for higher education and research environments. This list takes its point of departure in the comprehensive literature review “Unconscious Bias in Higher Education” (Equality Challenge Unit, 2013) and expands and updates it with other references – including literature published up to July 2016. The list aims to be used as a working document for employees or students at Copenhagen Business School. Therefore, besides the references, it includes direct links to publications accessible through the CBS library website and/or specifications of where and how to access each publication. In addition, as part of this effort and in line with the task list of the Council for Diversity and Inclusion, the report “Gender and Leadership Practices at Copenhagen Business School” (Munar & Villesèche, 2016) features a section that provides an analysis of the views of the heads of department/the leadership group at CBS regarding the topic of implicit bias. This report can be accessed via the CBS open archives (openarchive.cbs.dk/). To reduce unconscious biases and their related discriminatory effects is a responsibility of all of us working at academic institutions. It is our hope that this literature list will contribute to raising awareness and providing inspiration to action

Emmanuel Josserand, HEC, Université de Genève (Editor in Chief)

de Management Stratégique Copies of this article can be made free of charge and without securing permission, for purposes of teaching, research, or library reserve. Consent to other kinds of copying, such as that for creating new works, or for resale, must be obtained from both the journal editor(s) and the author(s)