Creator: Eimeel Castillo
Duration: 2 – 3 class periods
Published: Spring 2021
Overview
In this lesson plan, students will learn about feminist perspectives on leadership. Students will acknowledge the varied forms of gender discrimination that affect female leaders in their activism, as well as how they translate their negotiation skills to build coalitions for social change. Also, students will carry out external research on one case study to evaluate how feminist perspectives brings new values and principles to organizational culture.
Keywords: Gender Stereotypes, Female Leadership, Gender Discrimination, Servant Leadership, Coalition Building, Organizational Culture
Country sites: Brazil, China, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, USA
Learning Objectives
- Explore the connection between gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices towards female leaders.
- Examine the influence of feminist values and principles on their personal qualities as they relate to “servant leadership.”
- Discuss feminist perspectives and skills to formulate strategies for coalition building towards social change.
- Evaluate models of leadership using feminist thinking on organizational culture.
Resources
Activities
Activity One: Leading the Way This activity encourages students to think about the challenges affecting female leaders and their organizations. The objective is to have them reflect upon the ways societal expectations shape how we perceive and evaluate the personal qualities of leaders based on gender stereotypes, and how these can create concrete discriminatory practices. Duration: 50 minutes | Download Materials |
Activity Two: Crossing Bridges: Strategies for Coalition Building This activity encourages students to acknowledge the varied strategies feminist activists have used to advance their organizations and make coalitions possible with other groups. The objective is to have students examine and employ strategies for negotiation and persuasion that have served to initiate and sustain collaboration for social change. Likewise, it is important that students explore the feminist values of solidarity, justice, and collective decision-making grounding these strategies. Duration: 40 – 55 minutes | Download Materials |
Assessment: Models of Leadership This assignment encourages students to evaluate styles of leadership using the perspectives of feminist activists. Students will examine the development of such models of leadership in diverse contexts (social movements, political parties, NGOs, corporations, government or transnational agencies). Students will first carry out an exploratory independent research to analyze one organization in a 2-page reflection paper. | Download Materials |
