Abstract
The United Nations established gender equality as a top priority in its international agenda, and many stakeholders around the world have joined the effort to build a fair playing field for all. Business educators can contribute to this effort by delineating problem areas in gender equality in international business education, uncovering ways to address such problems, and inquiring into the most basic premises we entertain in this quest. Our contribution to this international agenda involves a review of the literature in international business education by focusing on the paradigms that might guide our work on gender equality in the classroom while assessing the content domains addressed and considering the conceptualizations we could use for this task. We map extant knowledge in gender equality in international business education and propose strategies for contributing to the United Nations’ goal of increasing gender equality by 2030. Finally, we discuss our vision for research in teaching and learning on gender equality in business education.
Keywords
The origin of this article dates back to early 2018, prior to attending the Research in Management Learning & Education unConference on the idyllic campus of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Our intellectual journey began with a one-page proposal, which remarkably led us to a one-of-a-kind exploration full of generative and transformative processes. After many conversations with fellow attendees and having the unique opportunity to discuss our ideas with one of the editors of the Journal of Management Education, we transformed the one-page proposal into a string of ideas that eventually led to this article. Hence, this article is as much the reflection of the stimulating conversations we had at the unConference as it is our own work. The gathering at St Andrews generated many rich ideas and presented us with enticing alternative pathways. Importantly, it cemented our interest in the topic while at the same time delineating a more nuanced view of our initial proposal. This knowledge acquisition journey, filled with curiosity-driven dialogues and canvassed by collaborative practices (Hibbert et al., 2016), resulted in several attractive research questions. The call for proposals by the unConference leaders unleashed the continuation of this journey. What follows reflects one of several pathways entertained during the conference, in which we focus our attention to reviewing the literature on gender equality in international business education.
As a universal right, gender equality underscores the prominence of the 2030 United Nations commitment to improve the well-being of societies around the world (United Nations, 2018). This commitment crystallized in Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5), one of 17 SDGs. Current gender equality statistics delineate an alarming picture. As an example, consider the Gender Inequality Index (GII) reported yearly by the United Nations. For reference, the index ranges from 0 (gender equality) to 1 (gender inequality). The world average GII for 2018 was 0.439. Although the 2018 index varied significantly between countries with high human development (GII = 0.175) and countries with low human development (GII = 0.59), these figures show the magnitude of the gap between females and males and indicate how much work we need to do to ensure a level playing field for all.
The importance of bridging the gender equality gap across countries has sparked the interest of a multitude of stakeholders. Researchers have joined this effort by monitoring progress, identifying gaps in knowledge, and elucidating the benefits of increased gender equality (e.g., Bell et al., 2002; Lyness & Kropf, 2005). Business educators have a critical role to play in this process by ensuring that classroom instruction directly addresses the issue of gender equality and by extension promotes SDG5 (United Nations, 2018).
By assuming this active role, business educators can draw from knowledge related to gender equality in organizational settings. Specific examples include the meaning of masculinity and femininity (e.g., Shapiro et al., 2011; Simpson, 2006) and female development programs (Ely et al., 2011), while general topics include business ethics (e.g., O’Brien et al., 2017; Park & Elsass, 2017) and international business ethics (e.g., Gastón de los Reyes et al., 2017; Taft & White, 2007; White & Taft, 2004). Although such efforts offer insightful perspectives on gender-related issues, and more generally on overviews of the literature in business ethics and international business ethics, they also demonstrate significant gaps not currently explained by international business education scholars. Much more needs to be done to map and critically reflect on the richness of the various domains, perspectives, and impacts of gender equality on multinational corporations and more broadly on society.
An example of an epistemological and pedagogical gap is the portrayal of gender equality in several international business textbooks through the lens of culture only (e.g., Hofstede, 2001). Extending our view beyond the cultural lens in international business education to a more active, engaged, and results-oriented approach remains a research and teaching opportunity in current international business education models and practices. Although past approaches accord both theoretical and practical significance to international business education, new approaches are necessary in the form of different perspectives and procedural guidance in order to move beyond the conceptualization of gender equality as reified, immutable, and beyond human control (Mezirow, 1990).
In this study, we bring to the forefront many voices on gender equality in international business by reviewing extant knowledge on teaching and learning in higher education and offering ways to contribute to an international agenda ultimately aiming for increased gender equality in work settings. We engage in this process by posing the following questions: what paradigms guide our work on gender equality in the classroom, what content domains should we address, what conceptualizations do we use for this task, and how do we reflect on assumptions regarding gender equality?
To answer these questions, we review the literature in international business education considering: (a) the domain associated with gender equality (e.g., leadership); (b) the paradigms adopted by authors (Gioia & Pitre, 1990); (c) the conceptualization of gender equality scholars consider (e.g., Hofstede, 2001); and (d) the type of reflection this research may motivate in our students (Mezirow, 1990). We adopt three cognitive tools (i.e., domain, paradigm, and conceptualization) to foster reflection on gender equality in the classroom. Transformational learning theory serves as our theoretical lens because it specifically focuses on the critical reflection of adults, which is essential to transforming perspectives and personal growth (Mezirow, 1991). Ultimately, we aim to map extant knowledge in gender equality in international business education and stimulate possible strategies to contribute to the United Nations’ goal of increasing gender equality by 2030.
Method
We investigated extant knowledge by gathering articles for review. We conducted a search of several gender equality-related words appearing in abstracts, titles, and keywords. Our search involved the following terms: gender equality, gender equity, gender egalitarianism, masculinity, gender development, gender empowerment, gender inequality, gender gap, and gender index.
Journals consulted in this search included the following: Academy of Management Learning & Education, Business Ethics: A European Review, Human Relations, Journal of Behavioral Education, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Business Education, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Education in Business, Journal of Management Education, Management Learning, Management Teaching Review, and Organizational Behavior Teaching Review. We focused our search on journals that broadly encompass the domain of international business education and capture developments in gender-related issues across many fields. The date range for our literature search started with journal inception and ended in November 2019. Journal inception dates varied greatly from 1947 for Human Relations to 2016 for Management Teaching Review. The search resulted in 90 articles. We screened articles by selecting only those focusing on gender equality issues, leaving 55 articles for review (see Table 1).
Gender Equality in International Business Education.
Note. R = research-focused; F = functionalist; RH = radical humanist; I = interpretivist.
Analysis
We analyzed the sample of articles taking into consideration four categories: domain, paradigm, gender equality perspective, and type of reflection. First, we coded the domain of each article by considering two subdomains: (a) the focus of the article (research- or teaching-oriented) and (b) the overarching theme of the article (e.g., leadership, work/family balance, business ethics, etc.). Second, we coded the paradigm adopted by the authors, or the general perspective or way of thinking that reflects fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the nature of organizations (Gioia & Pitre, 1990). We coded the four main paradigms in organizational studies: interpretivist, radical humanist, radical structuralist, and functionalist (Gioia & Pitre, 1990). The interpretivist paradigm refers to the idea that people socially construct their own organizational realities. The radical humanist paradigm is based on the goal of freeing organizational members from sources of domination, exploitation, and alienation by trying to modify current social structures. Radical structuralists take a historic, dialectical, and critical perspective to understanding how organizations are instruments of domination. Finally, the functionalist paradigm examines relationships with the goal of identifying patterns and regularities.
Third, we coded the gender equality perspective adopted (e.g., cultural, feminist, justice, etc.) and the gender equality conceptualization when provided by the authors (e.g., Gender Development Index or GDI). Finally, we coded the type of reflection that may spark the transfer of the knowledge gleaned from an article into the classroom. We considered content, process, and premise reflection (Cajiao & Burke, 2016; Mezirow, 1991). Content reflection entails identifying a problem and making a judgement based on evidence. For example, we can argue that gender equality increases benefits to corporations across the world because it reduces the likelihood of unethical behavior (Chen, 2014). Process reflection refers to the steps taken to solve the problem identified. For example, we can reflect on the steps we must follow to increase gender equality in multinational corporations across the world. Finally, premise reflection involves an assessment of the basic assumptions on which individuals evaluate the problem identified. For example, we may ask ourselves if the cost/benefit approach is an adequate perspective (Mezirow, 1990) for evaluating the merits of gender equality in multinational corporations. By questioning this perspective, we evaluate its assumptions and facilitate the transformation of our belief systems (Mezirow, 1990, 1991).
In summary, we consider the knowledge gained by scholars and examine how we can adapt this knowledge to trigger content, process, and premise reflection in our students. In coding the articles, we considered the easiest way to transfer the knowledge generated by the authors to classroom settings. For example, we coded Chen (2014) under the category “content reflection” because it represents the most efficient way in which instructors could transfer the ideas contained in the article to the classroom. Such ideas can also stimulate premise reflection. However, it would require gathering additional teaching tools to address the goal of premise reflection.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 displays the results of the analysis. Five points deserve notice. First, the most notable result of our review is the complete absence of articles dedicated to teaching and learning in relation to gender equality in international business education. Second, the content domain of the articles examined revolved around issues of gender equality, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, discrimination, board gender diversity, leadership, human resource practices, culture, motivation, emotions, and negotiation. The most researched content domain related to business ethics, including corporate social responsibility and equality issues. Third, the majority of studies were conducted under a functionalist paradigm as scholars searched for patterns and generalizations to support or reject hypotheses to ultimately revise and extend theory, followed by the interpretivist and radical humanist paradigms (Gioia & Pitre, 1990).
Fourth, the great majority of authors employed the cultural perspective, particularly that of Hofstede, with only three articles employing the GLOBE perspective. The remaining articles drew from various gender equality perspectives, including (but not limited to) gender mainstreaming (Grosser & Moon, 2005), feminism (Campbell & Kim, 2018), female board representation (Larrieta-Rubín de Celis et al., 2015), and justice (Maranto & Griffin, 2011). Finally, regarding the type of reflection that could be implemented in the classroom, content reflection dominated the articles reviewed, followed by process and very closely premise reflection.
In summary, instructors working in international business education have at their disposal many sources for developing courses and individual classes dedicated to the teaching and learning of gender equality in work settings. Yet, the great majority of these sources must be adapted to the classroom in light of the paucity of scholarship on teaching and learning related to gender equality in business education. Active classroom engagement on such gender issues can be initiated by first developing the appropriate learning objectives.
If the main learning objective is to identify and describe the major inequalities observed in work contexts across countries (i.e., content reflection), instructors can design classes drawing from work pointing to antecedents (e.g., Ngo et al., 2003) and consequences (e.g., Arnold et al., 2007) of gender equality. Alternatively, they may consider gender equality as a boundary condition in work-related outcomes (Chen, 2014). However, if the learning objective shifts to increasing gender equality at work, instructors can draw from research that may help develop class activities, such as the work conducted by Baker and Kelan (2019), Bell et al. (2002), or Lyness and Kropf (2005).
If the main learning objective relates to questioning the assumptions on which individuals evaluate salient equality problems, work conducted on metaphors can contribute to this purpose (e.g., Kemp, 2016). Metaphors contribute to premise reflection by challenging the identification—or the definition—of the problem by finding a new representation that can reorient this problem-solving task (Mezirow, 1990). Alternatively, instructors can compare and contrast the cultural perspective, which is widely used in international business education, with other perspectives on gender equality, such as power or gender subtext (see discussion of seven perspectives in Wong, 2005). Another option could result in considering the discussion of gender mainstreaming and the many efforts invested by a multitude of stakeholders to increase gender equality in business settings across the world (e.g., Thompson, 2008).
Next Steps
Given what we now know about gender equality in an international perspective in business education, how can we improve pedagogy to enhance the 2030 United Nations’ agenda? What is the vision of this research effort for gender equality in international business education, and what are potential opportunities for others to join us in this quest? Given the scarcity of voices on gender equality pedagogy specifically related to international business education, opportunities abound to expand curriculum offerings, develop stand-alone classes, and adapt existing courses on a wide variety of topics related to gender equality. Several avenues for future work could provide guidance to international business educators.
One pathway is to introduce students to the many economic metrics developed in the last two decades to discuss gender inequality (e.g., Permanyer, 2015), quantitatively showing imbalances and identifying the magnitude of the problem (i.e., content reflection) across the world. This possibility opens a window of opportunity for instructors who enjoy introducing quantitative analyses and delving into descriptive statistics, correlations, or more advanced statistical analyses of gender equality metrics and how these analyses may inform organizational policies and practices.
Another avenue relates to the SDGs (United Nations, 2018). Considering the massive stakeholder support for the 17 SDGs in general and SDG5 in particular (van Tulder, 2018; van Zanten & van Tulder, 2018), one opportunity to contribute to international business education is to frame the topic of gender equality in relation to the 17 SDGs. This approach calls on business leaders and corporations around the world to contribute to the achievement of this goal by implementing processes designed to lessen inequalities in work settings (i.e., process reflection). The planning, implementation, and evaluation of courses or stand-alone classes related to the SDGs align with the efforts of many stakeholders around the world working toward the achievement of the SDGs by 2030 (van Zanten & van Tulder, 2018).
Another worthwhile option is to introduce the topic of gender equality conceptually. By discussing the many perspectives on gender equality (e.g., Kemp, 2016; Maier, 1997; Thompson, 2008; Wong, 2005), international business education instructors can encourage reflection on the very premises guiding students beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors around gender equality. For example, instructors could pick two contrasting perspectives and analyze how business leaders, both females and males, respond to gender (in)equality issues at work.
In addition, and given what we now know, what research can we conduct to improve the teaching and learning of gender equality in international business education? In conducting this review, we envisioned at least three avenues for future research. The first avenue relates to the overarching presence of an essentialist view of gender equality as portrayed by several international management textbooks. A preliminary and necessary first step for researchers may be to start by content analyzing textbooks in international business to assess the scope and type of content domains related to gender equality available in these textbooks. Incidentally, this approach has gathered momentum among scholars who have analyzed how researchers transfer knowledge to students through textbook education (Aguinis et al., 2019). Separately or integrated with this first step, researchers can randomly analyze syllabi in international business across universities to assess any pedagogical approaches and materials employed in advancing gender equality issues. This research will provide answers about the manner in which current instructors directly or indirectly address the issue of gender equality in the classroom, lay the foundation for the importance of approaching gender equality issues from a variety of perspectives, and potentially lead to the development of best practices in both teaching about gender equality and perhaps disseminating information about such practices across the world.
A second avenue for research could focus on assessing the gender equality perspectives most attractive to students, not necessarily those most supported by empirical evidence, as pedagogical tools to communicate and encourage students to think about issues that matter to societies across the world. Crucially, we acknowledge the importance of teaching theoretical perspectives with some degree of empirical soundness. At the same time, we recognize that perspectives that have been proven wrong may also entice students to knowledge acquisition. Weick (1995) pointed to this very issue by recounting a story about a group of soldiers who, mistakenly and unbeknown to them at the time, navigated uncharted mountains in the Alps and barely survived an almost impossible journey back to base camp by drawing from a map of the Pyrenees.
As a third and final future research avenue, researchers may investigate similarities and differences on gender equality perspectives between the Islamic tradition and those of Western countries, with the latter being considered by many scholars to be the culturally neutral norm all businesses and cultures must follow (Syed & Ali, 2019; Syed & Van Buren, 2014). Researchers may consider ways to facilitate the teaching and learning of these two different perspectives while expanding opportunities to appreciate cultural differences.
As business instructors, we can have a powerful voice by identifying, discussing, motivating, and training countless business leaders present and future to address gender equality issues in the workplace and effect change to improve gender equality around the world. We can draw from numerous resources to improve pedagogy by using existing knowledge or developing new knowledge that aids in developing the skills needed to bring about meaningful change. Although many of these resources are open source and available at the click of a mouse, what to access and how to implement the material accessed amplify the difficulty of designing courses that can induce critical reflection in the classroom. The development of teaching tools can ease this search and promote engagement by students and instructors. Our own research engagement aims to provide possible ways for higher education instructors to incorporate realistic and relevant gender equality interventions in international business education. We hope that others join this endeavor to affect students as they embark in international business education.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Cynthia Halliday. Suzanne Ramirez, and Laird Smith for their constructive comments.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
