Managing Gender Equity and Equality Across Borders—A Review and Introduction to the Special Issue

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Authors

  • Anna Katharina Bader
  • Lena Knappert
  • Mila Lazarova
  • Eddy Ng

Achieving gender equality remains a pressing global challenge. In response, many organizations and multinational enterprises (MNEs) have adopted gender diversity management (GDM)—human resource practices aimed at promoting gender equity and equality in the workplace. While prior research highlights the importance of institutional context in shaping the implementation and outcomes of GDM, there is limited understanding of how to contextualize and implement these practices effectively across diverse national settings. In this this editorial, we first review existing research in three key areas: (1) the transfer of GDM practices across MNEs, (2) the gender composition of MNEs’ top management teams, and (3) comparative studies of GDM. Our analysis underscores the limitations of universal, “one-size-fits-all” approaches and emphasizes the need for context-sensitivity. In this context, we then introduce the contributions to the Special Issue. Together, these articles advance our understanding of the complex interplay between organizational practices and local norms in shaping GDM implementation and outcomes. Finally, we outline research directions that can help propel future work, including the need for a deeper understanding of MNEs’ motivations for engaging in GDM, the positioning of gender within broader diversity agendas, and the implications of growing anti-DEI sentiment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalHuman Resource Management Journal
ISSN0954-5395
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Human Resource Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

    Research areas

  • gender and anti-DEI agenda, gender diversity, gender diversity management, global and comparative gender equality, global gender equity and equality, international HRM, multinational enterprise (MNE)

DOI