Inclusion Policy and Authentic Leadership: A Real Challenge for Women and Men Leaders[Politique d’inclusion et leadership authentique : Un véritable enjeu pour les femmes et les hommes leaders]

Demonstrating authentic leadership requires an accurate self-understanding and the ability to convey one's deeply held values with conviction. Doing so also implies being perceived as legitimate by one's subordinates. Despite significant progress in promoting women to decision-making positions, men continue to be implicitly recognized as both exercising and embodying leadership. Consequently, being sincere and enacting leadership authentically may constitute a real challenge for women. This applies, on the one hand, to the expression of their leadership, free from perceptual bias and stereotypical expectations, and, on the other hand, to the evaluation of their leadership competence. This article seeks to shed light on the organizational environment that grants leaders the freedom to enact authentic leadership. Through a single case study of a company renowned for its commitment to gender diversity and employee inclusion, we examine the organizational conditions that enable both women and men leaders to enact authentic leadership.