Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Marlon Sukal

Abstract

Focusing on gender and leadership research, the purpose of the study was to examine discursive messages used in research text regarding gendered leadership to explore the phenomenon of word usage and language structure. The study employed critical discourse analysis as the framework and methodology, a specific cross discipline approach to discourse analysis primarily concerned with language’s innate ability to change and take on new meaning over time. Leveraging texts available in scholarly, peer-reviewed publications dedicated to the intersection of gender and leadership in juxtaposition to the final issue of the same publication have previously focused on intersection of women in leadership, themes of power, performance, and gender. The research question about what discursive messages regarding gender, performance, and power are found in gender leadership research texts was examined at a microlevel, mesolevel, and macrolevel. The microlevel found that gender, performance, and power varied based on the research question applied to the text. The mesolevel found that power was demonstrated through quantitative research design, that required the consumer to trust the interpretation of findings or possess knowledge to interpret findings. Westernization emerged as a macrolevel theme, that suggested the need to take on western ideologies of success. The research question and findings of the study are important with implications for positive social change by highlighting subtle yet powerful messages that reinforce perceptions of inequality between men and women at work. The findings can compel researchers to structure studies that move beyond women-focused to reframe studies of male/female relations, expand conversations to encompass both sexes, and move gendered leadership research towards a more unified approach.

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