Chapter 6: Beyond the Binary: Advancing Socially Just Leadership Through the Lens of Gender

We must only open our eyes and ears to everyday interactions and messages to recognize the society in which we live in is quite gendered. From an early age we are taught, albeit not always directly, what is feminine and what is masculine, how girls should behave and how boys should behave, and the positive or negative repercussions that come from obeying or disobeying these gendered expectations. Society categorizes individuals from birth into rigid boxes of gender identity and expects conformity and adherence to those assigned identities. These messages and expectations are so powerful and ingrained that often we are not aware of them or how they impact our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, or our expectations of others. More often than not, these messages and expectations are unquestioned and taken as objective truth rather than understood as socially constructed. From a standpoint of advocating for socially just leadership, we argue that failing to critically examine gender is dangerous. Leadership educators play a crucial role in helping individuals critically examine and problematize the constructs of gender and leadership.