Lesbian perspectives and experiences of gender and sexuality in leadership in social work and social care: A review of the literature

Cocker, Christine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4188-2316, Cooper, Adi and Hafford-Letchfield, Trish (2024) Lesbian perspectives and experiences of gender and sexuality in leadership in social work and social care: A review of the literature. In: Research Handbook on Leadership in Social Work and Social Care. Edward Elgar Publishing. (In Press)

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Abstract

Within the literature about leadership, there is little about women as leaders, particularly regarding sexual identity. Based on a narrative review of the literature that focuses on lesbian leaders in social care and social work, this chapter discusses how sexual identity and gender intersects with leadership theory and practice in social work and social care. The literature indicates that senior leaders who are lesbian face particular challenges in managing their work identity. The continued over-representation of white, heterosexual men at senior levels in organisations and associated masculine models of leadership overshadow the importance of leadership qualities viewed as more feminine, such as demonstrating empathy and relational skills. There are key challenges for increasing diversity in the workplace including: time and resources to address this issue in a meaningful manner, and a lack of strong and positive leadership, which ensures visible LGBTQ+ role models.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	lesbian leadership,feminist leadership,diversity,leadership models,lgbtq+ in the workplace,public sector leadership
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2024 01:12
Last Modified:	18 Dec 2024 01:12
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98012
DOI:

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