Work

The Triple Threat to Women’s Leadership Development in Events: A Gendered Organization Perspective

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper explores the hidden ways in which event organizations are gendered and how this affects the development of women’s leadership careers, using a qualitative, feminist approach. Data was collected through a Delphi study with panelists from the United Kingdom and Australia. Through this research, we contribute to the development of Gendered Organizations theory in the fields of Human Resources and Organizational Behavior by providing empirical evidence for the gendered nature of an industry, addressing criticisms of this approach for its ‘taken for granted’ application in prior research. By foregrounding the voices of women working in events, we propose a new model of the factors that influence the development of women’s leadership careers in a women-majority, yet still neosexist setting. Women are discriminated against based on the gendered perceptions of women in the event industry, the gendered perception of some event work as women’s work, and the hidden concept of the impossible to embody ‘perfect age’ to work in events.

Source: Tourism and Hospitality Research

DOI: 10.1177/14673584251406884

Authors: Emma Abson, James Kennell, Charlotte Rowley, Natalie Haynes, Elspeth Frew

Institutions: University of Surrey, Sheffield Hallam University, La Trobe University

Language: English

Topic: Gender Diversity and Inequality

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400