The sociopolitical zeitgeist surrounding gender issues is undergoing rapid transformation. While several countries have made significant advances in terms of gender equality, many of the same countries are now experiencing backlash that undermines this very progress. An emblematic example can be found in the United States. During his presidential inauguration in January 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the U.S. government would officially recognize only two genders\u2014male and female\u2014thereby reigniting widespread debate about the future of diversity and inclusion policies (Wendling & Epstein, 2025). This statement has been widely interpreted as a step backwards from the inclusive policies that had been progressively advanced up to date, fueling concerns about a potential rollback of diversity and inclusion initiatives and the prospect of having to rebuild progress from the ground up (Mihaylova & Rietmann, 2025). Despite the substantial public attention surrounding these perceived setbacks, shifts in political and public attitudes toward gender equity had already become visible several years earlier. Regardless of the momentum achieved by global movements advocating for gender equality (Cavale, 2025; Equal Pay Today, n.d.; Me Too Movement, n.d.; The Associated Press, 2025), large companies such as Meta and Amazon had begun to scale back their DE&I investments and initiatives. Alongside this, increasingly vocal criticism of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies arose, with opposition framed as a reaction to \u201cwoke\u201d politics that were accused of disadvantaging men and other dominant social groups by privileging identity-based politics over merit. The rise of conservative and alt-right agendas has also flourished online, such as the growing visibility of movements like the Tradwives (Minina, 2026), which promote a return to more traditional gender roles and family arrangements, alongside the increasing popularity of online narratives around \u201calpha masculinity\u201d propagated by the growing cultural reach of the manosphere (I\u00f1igo 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such developments demonstrate that dialogue and action related to gender have become increasingly polarised across different actors spanning organisational life, markets, and society at large. This special issue will critically examine these gendered dynamics across different organizations, industries, and related stakeholders. The aim is to provide a platform for bringing together discussions that have so far remained fragmented across different and often disconnected fields of research, particularly those examining how gender issues intersect with leadership structures, labour practices, media representations, and consumer experiences (Johansson, 1998; Holt & Lewis, 2011). This includes research examining gender equity through the lens of accounting (Haynes, 2024), corporate social responsibility (Grosser & Moon 2005; Bhagwat et al., 2020), brand activism (Eilert & Nappier Cherup, 2020; Vredenburg et al., 2020), leader activism (Chatterji & Toffel, 2019), \u201ctempered\u201d activism (O\u2019Shea et al., 2024), media studies (Gill, 2007), and marketing (Bettany et al., 2010; Middleton & Turnbull, 2021; Cooke et al., 2022; Gurrieri et al. 2022; Pe\u00f1aloza et al., 2023). It also includes how corporate engagement with socio-political issues such as gender equity may generate both support and backlash among stakeholders in globalised environments (Tekeste, Nickson, & Hadjisolomou, 2025), raising questions about legitimacy, authenticity, and performativity (Sobande, 2019; Villagra et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By bringing these perspectives into dialogue, this special issue seeks to advance a more integrated understanding of how gender dynamics are negotiated across organizations, markets, and society. By engaging with a plurality of viewpoints across disciplines and empirical settings, this collection aims to interrogate how gender issues are negotiated, contested, and reinterpreted in contemporary societies. In doing so, we furthermore seek to create space for perspectives and contexts that may currently be underrepresented across these debates. Accordingly, we welcome diverse contributions\u2014including empirical studies, theoretical papers, critical narratives, and reflective accounts\u2014that explore these dynamics in depth. We particularly encourage interdisciplinary work from across management, marketing, organization studies, entrepreneurship, and related fields, drawing on qualitative, quantitative, or conceptual approaches. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof. Elena Cedrola<\/a> Dr. Cinzia Colapinto<\/a> Dr. Lauren Gurrieri<\/a> Dr. Stefania Mas\u00e8<\/a> Dr. Alisa Minina Jeunema\u00eetre<\/a> Prof. Shumaila Yousafzai<\/a> To be considered for this special issue, submissions must fit with the aim and scope of Gender, Work and Organizations<\/em><\/a>.
Macerata University
Italy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Venice School of Management
Italy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RMIT University
Australia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IPAG Business School
France<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emlyon Business School
France<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nazarbayev University
Kazakhstan<\/p>\n\n\n\nSubmission Guidelines\/Instructions:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Before Submission, please refer to the Author Guidelines<\/a>.
Please select the \u2018Original Article\u2019 as the article type on submission. On the Additional Information page during submission, select \u2018Yes, this is for a Special Issue\u2019 and the Special Issue title from the dropdown list, \u2018Change meets resistance: re(shaping) gender dynamics in an era of backlash\u2019. For questions about the submission system, please contact the Editorial Office at gwooffice@wiley.com<\/a>.
All submissions will be double-blind peer-reviewed by multiple reviewers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sociopolitical zeitgeist surrounding gender issues is undergoing rapid transformation. While several countries have made significant advances in terms of…","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-23307","call-for-papers","type-call-for-papers","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n