The Paradox of female empowerment: when support becomes a barrier

Description

An MBA program exclusively for women. A women's advancement measure that constantly needs to justify itself. Is such a program really necessary? What is the benefit of training women exclusively in the areas of leadership and management? Isn't it unrealistic, too lofty? How valuable is such an education? These are questions frequently asked that deserve closer examination, considering the unchanged structures in organizations. These are also legitimate questions from a critical-theoretical perspective when such a program is classified as an individual measure at the personal level that defines women as 'at the center of the problem' and therefore targets precisely there in its implementation (Gardiner et al., 2023).

We interviewed 15 graduates from 6 cohorts of a university course 'Management and Leadership for Women' with an MBA degree and conclude that a program for women brings great potential for change. However, its effectiveness is fragile. Constantly entangled in societal prejudices and stereotypes, it harbors dangers that can lead to the opposite effects of what was actually intended. We demonstrate this using three areas of tension: entry barriers, learning space design, and dealing with stereotypes. However, if individual women succeed in building a complex individualized leadership identity within the framework of an MBA course, this can lead to lasting behavioral changes. Through critical and collaborative reflection on 'Second-Generation Gender Bias', these women can also initiate targeted changes in organizations that can then make a structural difference.

Period	18 Mar 2025
Event title	Bath Paradox PDW
Event type	Workshop
Location	Bath, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International