Doing Authenticity: The Gendered Construction of Authentic Leadership. Issue 3 (27th January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Helena; Cutcher, Leanne; Grant, David
• Is Part Of: Gender work and organization. Volume 22:Issue 3(2015:May)
• Page Start: 237
• Page End: 255
• Publication Date: 2015-01-27
• Subjects: Sex role in the work environment -- Periodicals; Sexual division of labor -- Periodicals; Sex discrimination in employment -- Periodicals; Organizational sociology -- Periodicals; Industries -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 306.361505
• DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12073
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0968-6673

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Authenticity has been a focus of much leadership research in recent years. Despite this interest, there has been a dearth of studies that explore the role of gender in the social construction of authenticity. To date, authentic leadership theories have tended to be either gender neutral or, where gender has been considered, it is argued that women as 'outsiders' are less likely to be accepted by their followers as authentic leaders. In this study we examine the media representations of the CEOs — one male, one female — of two major Australian retail banks during the global financial crisis. Our approach enables us to show that authenticity is something leaders 'do' rather than something they 'have' or 'are', and that being constructed as authentic depends on the leader performing authenticity in line with gender norms deemed appropriate for the socially constructed context in which they are expected to lead.</p> </abstract>