International Journal of Servant-Leadership
Abstract
To date, gender and race-ethnicity as social identities are underexplored in the servant-leadership literature. In our critical reflection, we problematize this gap by discussing some underlying assumptions about the promise of servant-leadership flattening relational hierarchy and rendering women an advantage. This paper integrates a review of 51 journal articles published from 2009 to 2023 that explore servant-leadership related to gender and race-ethnicity and researcher paradigms that define constructs of gender and race-ethnicity. Our discussion is guided by two broad questions: 1) How are gender and race-ethnicity explored in the servant-leadership literature? 2) How do servant-leaders conceptualize or experience their own gender or race-ethnicity in relationship to their leadership? We make sense of the mixed findings of servant-leadership related to gender or race-ethnicity and their implications through these lenses. Further, we propose future pathways to advance our understanding of the complex intersection of identity and servant-leadership.
Recommended Citation
Chung, Helen H.; Lee, Don; and Solberg, Brie
(2025)
"A Critical Reflection on Servant-Leadership Through the Lens of Gender and Race-Ethnicity,"
International Journal of Servant-Leadership: Vol. 19, Article 19.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64749/2160-8172 & 2160-8164.1443
Available at:
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ijsl/vol19/iss1/19
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Copyright 2025 The Author(s).