Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review
Objective The contribution of women’s leadership programs to gender change in organisations is controversial, and evidence of programs’ effectiveness is siloed across countries, sectors and industries. This systematic review aimed to provide a summary of current global efforts to evaluate women’s le...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2213781 |
| _version_ | 1797685797735890944 |
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| author | Anna Gardiner Anna Chur-Hansen Deborah Turnbull Carolyn Semmler |
| author_facet | Anna Gardiner Anna Chur-Hansen Deborah Turnbull Carolyn Semmler |
| author_sort | Anna Gardiner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective The contribution of women’s leadership programs to gender change in organisations is controversial, and evidence of programs’ effectiveness is siloed across countries, sectors and industries. This systematic review aimed to provide a summary of current global efforts to evaluate women’s leadership programs. Method A systematic review protocol was registered with Open Science Framework prior to data extraction. Eight databases from multidisciplinary fields including (but not limited to) behavioural, social, physical, health and life sciences, management and business, and gender and women’s studies were searched for academic papers examining the outcomes of women’s leadership programs. Twenty-four studies were appraised for methodological quality using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and 16 studies (11 peer reviewed articles and five theses) were included in the review. Results Data were synthesized using an updated Kirkpatrick typology with seven categories used to classify evaluation outcomes. Subjective outcome levels were addressed more frequently than objective levels. Promotion to a leadership position was the sole objective outcome addressed, but methodological limitations of the included studies mitigate a link between programs and women’s career advancement. Conclusions Currently, the global evidence of women’s leadership programs’ impact on individuals and organisations is inconclusive. This systematic review emphasises the need for enhanced methodological and theoretical rigour to guide the development of future women’s leadership programs and their evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:56:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf1554a411dc4b6d896d6360d2b62a24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0004-9530 1742-9536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:56:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf1554a411dc4b6d896d6360d2b62a242023-09-14T13:24:38ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362023-12-0175110.1080/00049530.2023.22137812213781Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic reviewAnna Gardiner0Anna Chur-Hansen1Deborah Turnbull2Carolyn Semmler3The University of AdelaideThe University of AdelaideThe University of AdelaideThe University of AdelaideObjective The contribution of women’s leadership programs to gender change in organisations is controversial, and evidence of programs’ effectiveness is siloed across countries, sectors and industries. This systematic review aimed to provide a summary of current global efforts to evaluate women’s leadership programs. Method A systematic review protocol was registered with Open Science Framework prior to data extraction. Eight databases from multidisciplinary fields including (but not limited to) behavioural, social, physical, health and life sciences, management and business, and gender and women’s studies were searched for academic papers examining the outcomes of women’s leadership programs. Twenty-four studies were appraised for methodological quality using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and 16 studies (11 peer reviewed articles and five theses) were included in the review. Results Data were synthesized using an updated Kirkpatrick typology with seven categories used to classify evaluation outcomes. Subjective outcome levels were addressed more frequently than objective levels. Promotion to a leadership position was the sole objective outcome addressed, but methodological limitations of the included studies mitigate a link between programs and women’s career advancement. Conclusions Currently, the global evidence of women’s leadership programs’ impact on individuals and organisations is inconclusive. This systematic review emphasises the need for enhanced methodological and theoretical rigour to guide the development of future women’s leadership programs and their evaluation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2213781evaluationgenderleadershiporganisational psychologysystematic reviewwomen |
| spellingShingle | Anna Gardiner Anna Chur-Hansen Deborah Turnbull Carolyn Semmler Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review Australian Journal of Psychology evaluation gender leadership organisational psychology systematic review women |
| title | Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review |
| title_full | Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review |
| title_short | Qualitative evaluations of women’s leadership programs: a global, multi-sector systematic review |
| title_sort | qualitative evaluations of women s leadership programs a global multi sector systematic review |
| topic | evaluation gender leadership organisational psychology systematic review women |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2213781 |
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