Martínez Martínez, Miryam

Companies are vital agents in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. One key role that businesses can play in achieving the 5th Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality is implementing training programs for their women executives so they can reach top corporate leadership positions. In this paper, we test the effectiveness of an Authentic Leadership Development (ALD) program for women executives. By interviewing 32 participants from this ALD program and building on authentic leadership theory, we find that this program lifts women participants’ self-efficacy perception, as well as their self-resolution to take control of their careers. The driver for both results is a reflective thinking process elicited during the program that leads women to abandon the stereotype of a low status role and lack of self-direction over time. Through the relational authenticity developed during the program, women participants develop leadership styles that are more congenial with their gender group, yet highly accepted by the in-group leader members, which enhances their social capital. After the program, the women participants flourished as authentic leaders, were able to activate and foster their self-esteem and social capital, and enhanced their agency in career advancement, increasing their likelihood of breaking the glass ceiling.

This study sheds light on the underrepresentation of women as school principals by analysing which model (organisational or individual) is most identified with the gender differences in the quality of management found in favour of women principals. To do so, this study presents a model for the appointment of school heads in a two-sided market: demand and supply. On the demand side (organisational model), the presence of double standards, with respect to the promotion of women, would imply that higher bars are set for the evaluation of women. Alternatively, on the supply side (individual model), a potential lower self-efficacy perception among women could lead them to self-exclude from managerial positions. In both cases, the findings reveal only highly-skilled females as principals and a gender gap in principal positions. By using the World Management Survey (WMS), data indicate that female principals are associated with higher management quality, which confirms the presence of barriers to female promotion. Exploration of the market side responsible for these barriers found that only the demand side is significant, which signals the double-standard argument. This supports the argument that changes in the principal selection process should be implemented for the maximisation of the available pool of talent.