Leadership, Diversity, and the Ethics of Care

Session Submission Type: Panel Discussion

Short Description

Does the new theory of inclusive leadership represent the leadership field’s transposition of ethics of care and will it make organizations better and caring places? At the crossroads of leadership studies, gender studies, and diversity management, this session will examine foundational scholarship on inclusive leadership and the location of care ethics in inclusive leadership’s nature and rise. Panelists will provide the audience with the epistemological, theoretical, and empirical material to understand, illustrate, and discuss. Suggested avenues for future research will be raised.

Detailed Abstract

The purpose of this panel on leadership ethics (Ciulla, Uhl-Bien & Werhane, 2013), diversity and gender, is to enrich and stimulate the discussion about care ethics and leadership in the context of diversity management. Following the call for greater articulation of leadership studies and gender and diversity issues (Chin, 2010), scholars and practitioners have reframed classical leadership framework to integrate minority leaders and have put diversity and inclusion as a new leadership goal and/or behaviors (see ILA 2016 annual conference; Gotsis & Grimani, 2016). The emerging concept of inclusive leadership is an example of this theoretical development, as well as the work done on gendered leadership 20 years before (references). In this panel, we will thus explore the moral foundation of these theoretical developments and paradigm shift with a focus on the role of caring and care ethics (Gilligan, 1982; Ciulla, 2009; Simola, Barling & Turner, 2010).

This panel is composed of 3 contributions originating from various fields (business ethics leadership studies, gender studies, Diversity management) and disciplines (psychology, philosophy, management). The 4 presenters will provide the audience with the epistemological, theoretical and empirical material to understand, illustrate and discuss the legacy of care ethics in new leadership theory.

Leadership and the ethics of care (presenter 1)

Presenter 1 will offer an introduction to the ethics of care. She will then examine the obligation of leaders to care and hoe to best show care. This will entail a discussion about whether there is a moral difference between feeling care and having a duty to care.


Even queen bees take care: leadership and the ethics of care at the top (presenter 2)

Presenter 2 will first provide an up-to-date meta-analysis of the scientific literature on gender and leadership emphasizing that men and women are quite similar in terms of leadership except for one behavioral dimension: the consideration given to followers. Then, building on a set of qualitative interviews conducted with a sample of 20 Female top executives, she will show that this difference seems to resist the very masculine stereotype prevailing at the top of companies as these women also place consideration at the core of their leadership practice. These results will provide insight for an open discussion about care ethics, gendered leadership practices and stereotypes in the context of strategic leadership.

Is inclusive leadership the leadership horizon of care ethics: a systematic literature review and a discussion (presenters 3/4)

Recently, inclusive leadership has emerged as a new and promising concept at the crossroads of diversity management, gender studies and leadership studies (Gotsis & Grimani, 2016; Petit, Saint-Michel & Jemel, 2016). Answering the call for greater research diversity/gender studies and leadership (Eagly & Chin, 2010), a handful of scholars have started to explore this elusive concept which also echoes the agenda and discussion of practitioners (Prime & Salib, 2014; Sweeney & Bothwick, 2016). In November 2016, the International Leadership Association’s Annual Conference was devoted to “the dynamics of inclusive leadership”, emphasizing the growing interest in inclusive leadership among scholars and practitioners looking to promote a new leadership approach. An approach that could not only overcome the usual stereotypes that prevent diversity groups from being recognized as leaders and promoted in leadership positions (Eagly & Karau, 2004) but also provide new leadership foundations: caring for individuals and their differences while building a sense of common purpose and community, making inclusion and equality leadership goals and behaviors. From the perspective of leadership ethics (Ciulla, 1995), inclusive leadership appears to belong to the normative theories of leadership that (implicitly) define what a good leader should be (Ciulla, Werhane & Uhl-Bien, 2014). And, like most ethical leadership theories, IL is inspired by virtue ethics (Sisson, 2003; Woodruff, 2001; Petit & Saint-Michel, forthcoming) with, we believe, a strong link to care ethics (Gilligan, 1982, Ciulla, 2009).

The purpose of presenters 3 & 4 is therefore to discuss the location of care ethics in the rise and nature of inclusive leadership. To do this, they provide scholars with two contributions. First, a comprehensive review of the existing research on inclusive leadership and a suggested working definition: relying on a systematic literature review (SLR) of “inclusive leadership”, they analyze the genesis of this concept, refine its meaning and identify its nature. Second, a discussion on the location of care ethics within this emerging body of research: building on the result of the SLR as well as on the work done in the field of leadership ethics, they analyze the relationships between diversity/inclusion and care-related issues, discuss the location of care ethics in IL, and suggest avenues for future research to explore a provocative question: does the new theory of inclusive leadership represent the leadership field’s transposition of ethics of care and will it make organizations better and caring places?

About the presenters

They come from a mix of nationalities (e.g., United States, France, Tunisia), backgrounds, experience and most important, disciplines (Gender studies, ethics, management, leadership studies). Each presenter will answer questions related to her own field as well as her experience with leadership, ethics and diversity.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Scholarship

Chair

• Valerie Petit, French Parliament

Presenters

• Joanne B. Ciulla, Rutgers University

• Sarah Saint-Michel, ; Assistant Professor, Pantheon-Sorbonne University

• Hager Jemel, EDHEC Business School