Girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: a scoping review
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Date
2023-06-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Gender in Management
Abstract
Purpose – This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and
young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a scoping review. A research librarian was
consulted at the start of the project. Two sets of search terms (one for each age group) were identified and then
used to find publications via our selected databases. The search results were uploaded to Covidence and
evaluated using the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final sample of articles for the review
was analyzed using exploratory coding methods.
Findings – From the analysis, four domains were identified that influence girls’ and young women’s leader
identity development: relationships, personal characteristics, meaningful engagement and social identities.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to solely explore girls’ and
young women’s leader identity development. The factors and domains identified provide useful guidance for
future research and practice. The findings reveal considerations about leader identity that can inform the
creation of effective leadership development initiatives for girls early in their lifespan. These interventions could provide girls with a strong leadership foundation that could drastically alter their leadership trajectories in adulthood. Previous research has conveyed the advantages of having more women participate in leadership. Thus, this potential not only benefits girls and women but organizations and society at large.
Description
Keywords
women, leadership, leader, development, girl, identity, young women, leader identity development, scoping review, covidence, relationships, personal characteristics, social identities, meaningful engagement
Citation
Dixon, S., Niewoehner-Green, J. E., Smulowitz, S., Smith, D. N., Rutstein-Riley, A., & Thomas, T. M. (2023). Girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: A scoping review. Gender in Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-03-2022-0108