Addressing the gender data gap to advance theory, interventions, and equity for women

Abstract

The Gender Data Gap concerns the circumstance that organizational decisions are based mostly on data that appear to be biased in favor of (white) men and fundamentally contributes to ongoing gender disparities in organizational decision making. The lack of (adequate) data for women leads to unfavorable outcomes for women's careers and ineffective interventions and can even shorten women's lives. In this management focus section of the European Management Journal, we use the Gender Data Gap as a novel approach to investigating the basis for policies that disadvantage women. Organizations' policies and practices might not discriminate overtly against women, but if they are based solely on male data, the resulting male bias in organizational expectations and outcomes negatively impacts women's careers. Our editorial features four articles that illustrate the pervasiveness of the Gender Data Gap yet also offer novel insights for interventions, and identify and discuss topical areas for future inquiry.