Diversity-Specific Empowering Leadership: An Alternative Approach to Reducing Sex-Based Bias and Enabling Inclusivity

Achieving sex-based equity in organizational leadership roles has proven to be a ‘wicked’ problem with existing diversity initiatives providing minimal improvement. In this paper, we address this issue by considering a key inhibiter to women’s leadership advancement—biased perceptions of female leaders’ competence—and links to a climate for inclusion. In Study 1 (N = 236), we develop and validate a Diversity-Specific Empowering Leadership (DSEL) measure, and demonstrate its value in predicting perceptions of female leaders’ competence when compared to alternative leadership models (empowering leadership, transformational leadership, diversity-specific transformational leadership, transactional leadership, leader diversity-valuing behavior, and inclusive leadership). In Study 2 (N = 314), we introduce sex-based diversity beliefs as a moderator in the relationship between DSEL and perceptions of female leaders’ competence. In Study 3 (N = 313), we provide support for a mediated moderation model, with sex-based diversity beliefs moderating the effects of DSEL on perceptions of female leaders’ competence. In turn, this is associated with a climate for inclusion. DSEL is collaborative and developmentally focused, and our findings suggest it may attenuate sex-based biases in perceptions of leadership, especially for those who have been most resistant to change (i.e., individuals with negative sex-based diversity beliefs). Our research offers theory that can support ethical action by advancing DSEL as a promising ‘target-specific’ leadership model for creating less biased and more inclusive work environments for all.