GENDER EQUITY RESEARCH & WRITING
Published Writing
Dr. Amy Diehl is gender-equity researcher whose work has been published in many peer-reviewed and mass media venues. These resources can help you learn about gender bias and how to eliminate it, whether you are an organizational leader, an ally, or an individual woman.
Articles
NEW! The credibility deficit is real—and it’s hurting your employees
Amy Diehl and Leanne Dzubinski
Fast Company
June 26, 2023
If you’ve ever been asked, “Are you sure that’s right?” after making a statement, you’ve experienced “credibility deficit,” a term we coined for Glass Walls. In this book excerpt, we explain that credibility deficit is a type of devaluation, one of the six glass walls of gender bias.
Women in leadership face ageism at every age
Amy Diehl, Leanne Dzubinski, and Amber Stephenson
Harvard Business Review
June 16, 2023
In our research women were told they were too young to lead, too old to lead, and middle age wasn’t quite right either. As it turns out no age is the right age to be a woman leader. Includes solutions for eliminating this gendered ageism.
New research reveals the 30 critiques holding women back from leadership that most men never hear
Amy Diehl, Leanne Dzubinski, and Amber Stephenson
Fast Company
May 2, 2023
Women are criticized so often and on so many things that they are acculturated to receiving such disparagement, taking it seriously, and working to make improvements. But our research reveals that the problem lies elsewhere. Virtually any characteristic can be leveraged against a woman in a discriminatory fashion.
Research: How bias against women persists in female-dominated workplaces
Amy Diehl, Amber Stephenson, and Leanne Dzubinski
Harvard Business Review
March 2, 2022
Some people think that the “add women and stir” approach is all that is necessary to advance gender equity. Our research of female-dominated industries show this is not the case. Includes gender-equitable practices to reduce bias.
“You have to see it to be it”: Missing female role models and what we can do about it
Amy Diehl
Ms. Magazine
December 27, 2021
Women’s accomplishments are missing from the history books and mass media. Here’s some tips for how we can correct the narrative.
When people assume you’re not in charge because you’re a woman
Amy Diehl and Leanne Dzubinski
Harvard Business Review
December 22, 2021
When women have to spend extra time to assert or prove their role, it can hamper their career paths and the organization’s effectiveness. Here are tips that can help.
How gender bias inhibits progress and what leaders can do about it
Amy Diehl
Ms. Magazine
August 18, 2021
Innovation requires a diversity of thought and perspective. Women must be equitably represented in our industries and barriers to their full participation eliminated.
‘Guys’ is not gender neutral–let’s stop using it like it is
Amy Diehl
Fast Company
April 27, 2021
We can all help the English language evolve towards inclusivity by eliminating the usage of “guys” when referring to people who are not male gender.
We need to stop ‘untitling’ and ‘uncredentialing’ professional women
Amy Diehl & Leanne Dzubinski
Fast Company
January 22, 2021
We propose new terms for an old practice of omitting titles for women while using them for men that diminishes women’s authority and credibility.
We need to talk about using pet names for women at work
Amy Diehl & Leanne Dzubinski
Fast Company
October 29, 2020
Pet names like “missy,” “kiddo,” and “girl” aren’t cute or funny. Language like this in the workplace is unprofessional and sexist.
3 ways to mitigate gender bias in higher ed technology departments
Amy Diehl
University Business
Feb 4, 2020
Unconscious bias and invisible barriers embedded in organizational cultures constrain opportunities for women. Higher education technology departments are not immune. This article presents three ways leaders can mitigate gender bias in their higher education IT departments.
Peer-Reviewed Journals
A cross-industry comparison of how women leaders experience gender bias
Amber Stephenson, Leanne Dzubinski, and Amy Diehl
Personnel Review
March 1, 2022
Compares 15 gender bias factors across four industries: law, higher education, faith-based nonprofits, and healthcare.
Measuring the invisible: Development and multi‐industry validation of the Gender Bias Scale for Women Leaders
Amy Diehl, Amber Stephenson, Leanne Dzubinski, David Wang
Human Resource Development Quarterly
April 2020
Presents comprehensive 47-item scale which measures women leaders’s experiences and perceptions of gender bias and introduces six primary factors and 15 subfactors of this bias.
Women’s ways of leading: The environmental effect
Leanne Dzubinski, Amy Diehl & Michelle Taylor
Gender in Management: An International Journal
Feb 2019
The pressure on women to conform to an organization’s executive leadership culture can be enormous. This conceptual paper presents a four-quadrant model which describes ways in which executive-level women are constrained to self-monitor based on context.
The problem of gender essentialism and its implications for women in leadership
Leanne Dzubinski & Amy Diehl
Journal of Leadership Studies
June 2018
How does gender essentialism, or the belief that gender differences are tied to biology, affect research on women in leadership? Analyzes research and includes implications for leadership practice.
Making the invisible visible: A cross-sector analysis of gender-based leadership barriers
Amy Diehl & Leanne Dzubinski
Human Resource Development Quarterly
Summer 2016
Seminal work on gender barriers faced by women in leadership. Based on face-to-face interviews with women leaders in higher education and faith-based organizations.
Making meaning of barriers and adversity: Experiences of women leaders in higher education
Amy Diehl
Advancing Women in Leadership
2014
Answers the question “how do women leaders in higher education make meaning of adversity?” Based on face-to-face interviews with 26 women presidents, provosts and vice-presidents in higher education.
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
An exploration of gender bias affecting women in medicine
Amber Stephenson, Amy Diehl, Leanne Dzubinski, Mara McErlean, John Huppertz, Mandeep Sidhu
The Contributions of Health Care Management to Grand Health Care Challenges
December 2021
Exploration of how gender biases affect women physicians, physician leaders, researchers, and faculty including the association with workplace satisfaction. Includes recommendations to improve gender equity and inclusivity.
An overview of gender-based leadership barriers
Amy Diehl & Leanne Dzubinski
Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership
2017
Overview of gender barriers faced by women in leadership. Contains more stories from face-to-face interviews with women leaders in higher education and faith-based organizations.
Approaches of women in higher education leadership: Navigating adversity, barriers and obstacles
Amy Diehl
Women and Leadership in Higher Education, Longman & Madsen
2014
What strategies do women leaders use to navigate adversity? Explores factors which enabled women leaders in higher education to get through difficult situations in their personal and professional lives.
Want news & event info from Amy?
Sign up for the mailing list to keep up to date.