Women and Leadership Theory Think Tank Report: Update and Next Steps

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussions & Member Community Information Tables
  In Interactive Roundtable: Leadership Scholarship Interactive Roundtable Discussions

Short Description

Findings of the 2015 Women and Leadership Theory Report will be discussed. What is the current status of women and leadership theory? What are the gaps and research priorities for advancing women and leadership theory? Given the multiplicity of contexts, cultures, and social norms relating to leadership, how should leadership theories for women be developed?

Detailed Abstract

On July 26¬–28, 2015, at George Washington University, 25 senior scholars from multiple disciplines gathered to attend a path-breaking event on women and leadership theory. The event, named The Women and Leadership Theory Think Tank (hereafter “Think Tank”), was a part of a targeted and comprehensive effort to “move the needle” forward on women and leadership theory. Beginning in 2013, Drs. Susan R. Madsen and Julia Storberg-Walker (with others) designed and delivered a series of related events, and women from all over the world have participated. The Think Tank was one strategy to scale up the impact on women and leadership theory and leverage the combined knowledge and experience of 25 senior women scholars.

The scholars who attended the Think Tank represented multiple cultures, countries, disciplines, and research paradigms. Collectively, these scholars demonstrated the passion and intellect needed to enrich leadership scholarship for women. Combining these accomplished and recognized voices at the Think Tank was a movement towards catalyzing new directions and possibilities for enhancing women and leadership theory, scholarship, research, and practice. See Appendix 1 for Think Tank participants.

Participants received three questions before the Think Tank convened, to allow for maximum conversation, creativity, and innovation. The guiding questions were as follows:

1. What is the current status of women and leadership theory?
2. What are the gaps and research priorities for advancing women and leadership theory?
3. Given the multiplicity of contexts, cultures, and social norms relating to leadership, how should leadership theories for women be developed?

A key outcome of the Think Tank was a report, a public document that reflects the diversity of views presented at the event. Specifically, this document described the current status of women and leadership theory, identified future theory building research priorities, and highlighted the challenges and opportunities for women leaders in diverse contexts and cultures.

This roundtable at the 2017 ILA conference is designed to gather feedback about the findings of the report (which will be shared at the conference) as well as thoughts pertaining to the three guiding questions.

Participants

• Susan R. Madsen, Utah Valley University

• Julia B. Storberg-Walker, The George Washington University