99
Introduction
As the MBA course progressed, I became more
aware of the absence of women. I never had a
female lecturer and visiting speakers were
always male. Gender issues were never men-
tioned in the sessions. If I asked questions
relating to gender there were three reactions:
genuine puzzlement – what did I mean; hostility
– did I not understand that this was a business
course which was therefore gender neutral;
polite interest but no knowledge or suggestions
of where I might find such knowledge.
(Cole, 1998.)
Universities are uniquely placed to play a
crucial role to encourage individuals, organi-
sations and professional bodies to critically
challenge their ways of working and thinking.
The danger with ignoring this role is that it
leads to “impoverished learning” (Bryans
et al., 1998), an anathema to the knowledge
society. By ignoring the concept of gender in
management, business/management schools
magnify the choice to collude with the status
quo; simply repeating existing management
theory and practice. Organisations and
students of management can no longer
depend on these repeated patterns, as organi-
sations of the future will require people who
can think beyond the traditional paradigm.
This includes rethinking management in
terms of the role of men and women and
valuing both. We argue that gender should be
central to management development and
education and propose that it is the responsi-
bility of business/management schools to
place gender high on the agenda in order to
challenge traditional perceptions of manager
equals male. This in turn may support the
move to dismantle sex role stereotypes in the
organisations to which the students belong.
This is particularly important when those
organisations are schools, for gender balanced
patterns can then be modelled to a new
generation.
Gender on the agenda will therefore allow
the development of more appropriate man-
agement styles for organisations, such as
feminine and androgynous leadership/
management approaches. At the core of
the androgynous management style are
Women in Management Review
Volume 14 · Number 3 · 1999 · pp. 99–104
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0964-9425
Gender on the agenda
in management
education?
Sharon Mavin and
Patricia Bryans
The authors
Sharon Mavinis a Senior Lecturer in HRM and
Development at the Newcastle Business School,
University of Northumbria at Newcastle, UK.
Patricia Bryansis a Lecturer in Work Based Learning at
the Centre for Professional Development, University of
Durham, UK.
Keywords
Academic staff, Education, Gender,
Management development, Students, Women
Abstract
Business/management schools may be currently using an
exclusive approach to the study and development of
management; by ignoring gender in this arena they are
reinforcing the notion that women in management are
invisible. Previous research suggests that there is a
masculine bias in management education, which
disadvantages both female and male learners and which
may discourage managers from capitalising on gender
diversity in the workplace. Discusses experiences of
women academics and students in a business/
management school and is based on the premise that
change in management education will facilitate change in
organisations. Therefore, rather than reinforcing the
premise that management knowledge contributes to the
maginalisation of women in management, argues that
business/management schools should move to an
inclusive approach, where management incorporates the
experience and abilities of both men and women.
Concludes by suggesting a number of initiatives to place
gender on the agenda in business/management schools.
The authors wish to acknowledge and thank
Pamela Cole for her contributions to the paper.
Feedback on this paper would be welcomed via
e-mail to Sharon.Taylor@unn.ac.uk.