Business Education and Gender Bias at the 'C-Level'

Abstract

Women in business are perceived to have been successful; however, the numbers of women in 'C-level' positions (e.g., CEO, CFO, CIO, etc.) provide evidence to the contrary. This paper examines obstacles to women rising to 'C-level' positions and how business education contributes to, but may ultimately help resolve these problems by identifying ways to increase the effectiveness of business education and educators regarding gender bias. Barriers that prevent women from advancement and contributing factors in business education are identified. Recommendations for strategies in business education to reduce, manage, and create awareness of gender bias in the classroom are presented. For educators in business schools, these findings suggest the importance of acknowledging that gender bias still exists and revising business curricula to address this problem, thus better preparing business graduates of both genders to identify and develop strategies for reducing gender bias in the workplace.

Is sustainable management education contributing to gender equality?

“…While this study has focused on the thinking styles preferences of EMBA students and their development to perform in top-management positions, management education programs at all levels can equally map their intended learning outcomes to the thinking preferences that their courses aim to develop, considering the tendencies that we have observed between women and men. Furthermore, apart from fostering a wider female role modeling (Miller & Sisk, 2012), we strongly suggest the inclusion of more female professors and researchers in business school research centers. In recognizing the importance and strategic role of these, we concur with studies that suggest that women tend to create more initiatives dedicated to gender and diversity issues, alongside different programs and courses, to create spaces where these topics are discussed to innovate within the institutions and increase the participation and influence of highly qualified women (Drew, 2011;Ibeh et al, 2008).…”

Promoting a Contemporary Image of Entrepreneurial Careers: A Course Concept to Address Gender Role Stereotypes Through Entrepreneurship Education

“…Participants were asked to dedicate a separate subsection of their business plan to discussing the lack of skills and competencies on the team as well as to reflect on hiring practices and biases that could occur. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the extensive impact of gender role stereotypes in business processes as proposed by G. Miller and Sisk (2012). Discriminatory gender biases in hiring decisions have been extensively studied and usually discussed in regard to women in managerial positions (Castaño et al, 2019).…”