Review 2025

A Proposed Research Agenda to Advance Equity for Women in L&D

Human Resource Development Review
Journal
Abstract

This paper synthesizes a wide range of knowledge on the role of sex/gender in Learning and Development (L&D) and applies Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to propose a research agenda for advancing women’s equity in L&D. The paper highlights how the learning and development of women are historically, culturally and socially constrained by gendered environments, norms, expectations, opportunities, and barriers. The analysis is based on a systematic-narrative hybrid literature review of a wide range of research and contributions on sex/gender in L&D. The paper argues L&D is part of a system that perpetuates inequities for women. The paper proposes a future research focus on the impact of women’s embodied transitions, the role of sex/gender in situated L&D proximal processes and outcomes, intersectionality and diversity within the category women and supporting women’s agency in L&D research and practice. The proposed research agenda is envisioned as a collaborative undertaking between scholars and practitioners. © The Author(s) 2025

Keywords

Author Keywords

learning and development Bronfenbrenner bioecological model equity for women sex/gender

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Education and Language Studies, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
1 Abadi, Mehrangiz, Women in leadership: a systematic literature review of Middle Eastern women managers' careers from NHRD and institutional theory perspectives, Human Resource Development International, 25, 1, pp. 19-39, (2022)
2 Abalkhail, Jouharah Mohammad, Women’s career development in an Arab Middle Eastern context, Human Resource Development International, 22, 2, pp. 177-199, (2019)
3 Acilar, Ali, Towards understanding the gender digital divide: a systematic literature review, Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 72, 3, pp. 233-249, (2023)
4 Acker, Joan, Inequality regimes: Gender, class, and race in organizations, Gender and Society, 20, 4, pp. 441-464, (2006)
5 Acker, Joan, From glass ceiling to inequality regimes, Sociologie du Travail, 51, 2, pp. 199-217, (2009)
6 Aisa, Rosa María, The Role of Gender in Further Training for Spanish Workers: Are Employers Making a Difference?, Feminist Economics, 22, 3, pp. 154-182, (2016)
7 Alagaraja, Meera, The Confluence of Individual Autonomy and Collective Identity in India: A Narrative Ethnography Using an Indian–U.S. Sociocultural Lens, Advances in Developing Human Resources, 18, 1, pp. 26-37, (2016)
8 Corporate Training Market Research 2035, (2024)
9 undefined, (2016)
10 Women S Ways of Knowing the Development of Self Voice and Mind, (1986)
Quick Actions
Full Text via DOI
Citation Metrics
0
Times Cited (Scopus)

References 10
Document Identifiers