Servant leadership: developing others and addressing gender inequities

Abstract

Purpose Leaders typically want to be effective and be remembered for their achievements and positive influence. This practitioner study aims to examine theory and research on servant leadership to provide insights into how leaders can address current employment conditions and gender inequities. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the key characteristics of servant leadership, compares them to other leadership models, discusses common criticisms and applies the theory to women’s career advancement. Findings The review identifies the advantages of servant leadership in terms of encouraging leadership development within organizations, particularly for women, to address the broken rung or lack of early career promotion. Originality/value The paper shares key characteristics of servant leadership, explores its differences to other leadership models and focuses on practicalities for developing others in the workplace with a particular emphasis on women.

Exploring the Journey and Perspectives of Women County Executives in Tennessee

“…Maureen emphasized that the mentoring process was key for women to obtain advanced positions and overcome the challenges and biases that come with taking on leadership roles. The lack of women mentors for participants in the present study does not support recent research on the importance of women mentors for the career advancement of women (Barkhuizen et al, 2022;Chasserio & Bacha, 2023;French & Eskridge, 2021;Loumpourdi, 2023;Maureen, 2023).…”

“…Although three of the participants were active within the community and supported youth leadership programs, none of the participants had a woman mentor. In a study on women and career advancement, Maureen (2023) found Open Journal of Social Sciences that mentors play a pivotal role in supporting women's professional development. Maureen emphasized that the mentoring process was key for women to obtain advanced positions and overcome the challenges and biases that come with taking on leadership roles.…”