Suchergebnisse

Purpose
– Interventions to support gender equality in organisations are often unsuccessful. Stakeholders disagree about the causes and problem definition of gender equality or pay lip service to the principle of gender equality, but fail to implement gender equality in practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine participatory modelling as an intervention method to support stakeholders in: reaching a shared problem definition and analysis of gender inequality; and identifying and implementing policies to tackle gender inequality.


Design/methodology/approach
– The authors apply participatory modelling in case studies on impediments to women's careers in two Dutch universities.


Findings
– This study shows that participatory modelling supported stakeholders' identification of the self-reinforcing feedback processes of masculinity of norms, visibility of women and networking of women and the interrelatedness between these processes. Causal loop diagrams visualise how the feedback processes are interrelated and can stabilise or reinforce themselves. Moreover, they allow for the identification of possible interventions.


Research limitations/implications
– Further testing of the causal loop diagrams by quantifying the stocks and the flows would validate the feedback processes and the estimated effects of possible interventions.


Practical implications
– The integration of the knowledge of researchers and stakeholders in a causal loop diagram supported learning about the issue of gender inequality, hereby contributing to transformative change on gender equality.


Originality/value
– The originality of the paper lies in the application of participatory modelling in interventions to support gender equality.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to further understanding concerning sex differences in leadership styles and to examine the mediating role of gender identity traits in these differences.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on previous research that has established that many aspects of leadership style positively related to leaders' effectiveness are associated with the female gender role. Consistent with this assumption, the authors examined a sample of 157 Spanish managers whether significant sex differences favouring women emerge in relevant leadership dimensions (i.e. individualized consideration, contingent reward and emotional intelligence) and whether gender identity traits may help to explain such differences.FindingsResults show that male leaders' lower scores in individualized consideration, positive contingent reward and emotional intelligence are partly explained by their lower identification with expressive traits. Furthermore, results indicate that integration of counter‐stereotypical traits into the self positively relates to effectiveness in the sense of use of a wider range of leadership styles for both women and men.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could explore in more detail how sex differences in leadership styles are associated with gendered traits of identity in different countries, as well as whether a blend of masculine and feminine traits is predictive for a more multifaceted leadership style.Originality/valueThe findings are discussed in terms of how a gender perspective may help to better understand leadership effectiveness in contemporary organizations, especially in the case of male leaders.

PurposeTaking a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, the purpose of this paper is to understand the socio-cultural context on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness in the entrepreneurial activity of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 women entrepreneurs operating business in the formal sector of the economy in Addis Ababa. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze and interpret the interview transcripts.FindingsWomen entrepreneurs experience autonomy-supportive and controlling socio-cultural contexts in their gender role, parent–daughter relationship, husband–wife relationship and their religious affiliation. Autonomy-supportive social agents provide women entrepreneurs, the chance to perceive themselves as competent and autonomous to exploit and choose opportunities and run their business in accordance with their personal values and interests. On the other hand, controlling social agents maintain and reinforce the existing male-dominated social and economic order. They constrain women's entrepreneurial performance by undermining their basic psychological needs satisfaction, which limits their autonomous functioning and well-being in entrepreneurial activity.Practical implicationsTo promote women's autonomous functioning and well-being in entrepreneurial activity, policy should be aimed at reducing constraints to the satisfaction of psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness in the socio-cultural context.Originality/valueThe study is the first to apply SDT to explore the influence of autonomy vs controlling socio-cultural contexts on satisfaction vs thwarting needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness in the entrepreneurial activity of women.

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study on the social inclusion of children with disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and how this affects their achievement of valued life goals. The study is based on focus group discussions with children with disabilities and primary caregivers of such children. The thematic analysis is based on family quality of life and the capability approach, which are used to explain the effects of social inclusion (and exclusion) on children with disabilities and their families in three areas of quality of life: being, belonging, and becoming. The study also looked at how the social inclusion of children with disabilities can be actualised. The results of the study confirm the existence of considerable challenges to the social inclusion of children with disabilities in Addis Ababa, which is reflected in their capabilities. The results suggest that children with disabilities need assistance and support to achieve a good quality of life. They also indicate the need for the involvement of the wider community to support children with disabilities and their families to enhance the capability of such children, and so improve their family quality of life.

Purpose
This study aims to examine whether the psychological capital of male and female university students explains the intention to undertake entrepreneurism. Following Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, the aim was to study whether perceived behavioural control and subjective norms influence entrepreneurial intention and if subjective norms moderate established relationships, in both genders.


Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling and analysis of variance was applied to test the hypotheses amongst students at a Spanish university.


Findings
The results showed that gender differences in psychological capital, in perceived behavioural control and in subjective norms existed between the male and female population, which explain gender differences in entrepreneurial intention. Similarly, subjective norms acted as a moderator in the relationship between psychological capital, the perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention, with the moderating impact being higher on the female population.


Practical implications
The results obtained in this paper indicate that developing perceived behavioural control and the psychological capital of university students in training programmes of male and female students helps to promote their entrepreneurial intention. Similarly, the results suggest that building a support network, for instance of family and groups of friends is key to fostering entrepreneurial intention, particularly for women.


Originality/value
Entrepreneurship is key to the successful employability of current and future generations in the labour market. This study examined key antecedents of student's entrepreneurial intention and how these are gendered. For both men and women (investing in) psychological capital is important. Informal social support was shown to play a key role in women's entrepreneurial intention.

This study looks at the equality challenges and opportunities for women with disabilities in low and middle income countries (LMICs) to participate and succeed in education, employment and motherhood. It is based on a systematic review of the literature from academic and non-governmental organization databases. The search of these databases yielded 24 articles, which were subsequently passed through open, axial, and selective coding. The resulting review found that women with disabilities in LMICs have severe difficulty participating and succeeding in education, employment and motherhood due to a number of interrelated factors: (i) hampered access to education, employment, intimacy and marriage, (ii) stigma and cultural practices resulting in discrimination and prejudice, and (iii) lack of support from family, teachers and institutions-all of which are exacerbated by poverty. Support from families, communities, the government, and nongovernmental organizations improves women's ability to fulfil their social roles (as students, employees and mothers), resulting in a better quality of life. Strategies that create awareness, minimize poverty and facilitate justice may improve the opportunities for women with disabilities in LMICs to participate in education, employment and motherhood, as well as their ability to succeed in these domains.