2.2.1 Liberal feminist lens

A liberal feminist lens is applied to understand the barriers and their underlying causes. Liberal feminism is one of the most dominant feminist stances developed in literature1 and the prevalent theoretical lens reflected in the selected articles for this review.

Liberal feminism originates from the liberal political movements, in which individuals strived for individual autonomy.2 In the first liberal feminism stream, it was highlighted that men and women are equal, and therefore women should be treated equally to men and should have the same opportunities.3 In the second wave of liberal feminism, the differences between men and women were emphasized as women ‘are the ones who have the babies’4 and could, therefore, not be seen as the same as men. Accordingly, the pursuit of liberal feminists shifted from gender equality to gender justice, and therefore their goal is to establish equal rights for men and women (gender justice), rather than explaining why men and women are equal (gender equality).5

In liberal feminism, sex is a binary variable based on biological characteristics that could be either male or female.6 Gender indicates the process of ‘socialization into sex/gender roles’7 as ‘outcomes of (…) social judgment processes, involving implicit theories of leadership in which stereotypes about traits and abilities interfere with (…) accurate perceptions of women’.8

In liberal feminism, women’s problems are acknowledged as individual problems rather than organizational problems because liberal feminism sees organizations as gender-neutral.9 According to liberal feminism, women’s undermined position in society is the consequence of the male-dominated way in which society is structured.10 Hence, liberal feminism is seen as gender reform feminism and strives for equal opportunities for women to the same extent as men, but without radically restructuring society.11

The solution to achieving gender justice and equal opportunities for women and men may be found in removing structural barriers that discriminate against women, such as existing stereotypes about women.12

By applying this theoretical lens, the authors expect stereotypes to be a major barrier. The main expected recommendations to address such barriers would be related to adopting public policy and/or legislative interventions, as well as organizational interventions to change corporate practice.