Marilyn Y. Byrd

Telling Our Stories of Leadership: If We Don’t Tell Them They Won’t Be Told

The purpose of this qualitative study is to bring the interlocking system of race, gender, and social class (intersectionality) to the conversation of leadership by examining the leadership experiences of 10 African American women in predominantly White organizations. According to the women in this study, disempowering encounters, being excluded from the good ole boy social network, being the only one, needing validation, and demythicizing (disrupting myth) stereotypical images were the most salient encounters that they experienced. Another finding from this study was the need for sociocultural theories such as Black feminist theory and critical race theory to explain and give voice to the everyday lived experiences of African American women leaders.

Handbook of research on workforce diversity in a global society : technologies and concepts

Emphasizing the importance of workforce diversity as it relates to valuing the similarities, differences, and talents of employees at all ranks has provided a wonderful topic for research. Leveraging diversity is one emerging paradigm able to demonstrate the value of workforce diversity in its many forms. Handbook of Research on Workforce Diversity in a Global Society: Technologies and Concepts serves as a cutting-edge resource for scholars, researchers, organizational leaders, practitioners, and graduate students who want to enhance their understanding of leverage diversity in the workforce. Secondly, the handbook highlights innovative research, theoretical frameworks, and perspectives that are currently being used to guide the practice of leveraging diversity in multiple organizational settings. It also provides insights on future workforce diversity trends.

Bringing the Voices Together

The linking pin among the articles in this Issue is the existence of sociocultural realities of race, gender, and social class in the everyday, lived experiences of African American women leaders. Sociocultural realities make an argument for recognizing intersectionality (the juncture of these sociocultural realities) and the experiences that can emerge (disempowering, exclusion, etc.). Therefore, sociocultural theories are needed to explain these experiences. The overarching theme of this Issue has been to give voice to African American women on encounters with intersectionality in their leadership experience. Until the silent voices are allowed to speak, the dominant perspectives will continue to ignore and challenge the need for these conversations to take place. It is in making the space for and the hearing of these voices that the value to HRD lies. For doing so informs the development and refinement of informing HRD theories, the expansion of the theoretical foundations of HRD, and the more informed research and practice of the field and profession.

Negotiating new meanings of ‘leader’ and envisioning culturally informed theories for developing African-American women in leadership roles: an interview with Patricia S. Parker

The professional development of African-American women (AAW) in leadership roles in US organizations is a topic that has received scant attention in Human Resource Development (HRD) literature. This is disturbing in light of the increasing number of AAW in positions of leadership within organizational contexts. Even more troubling is the lack of theory-building research that will support a more culturally inclusive perspective of leadership in organizations. Bierema and Cseh’s (2003) analysis of over 600 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) Proceedings papers representing comprehensive HRD research from 1996 to 2000, concluded that few HRD studies have used gender and race/ethnicity as frameworks for analysis. If the field of HRD is concerned with developing leaders in organizations, it is alarming that research and theory on ways that race, gender, and other social constructs might influence the leadership experience are virtually absent. Debates within the field of HRD continue to challenge whether or not Swanson’s (1995) proposed theoretical foundations based on economic, system and psychological theories are adequate for understanding the individual within an organization’s social systems. As Bierema and Cseh (2003) point out, unless we begin to challenge the theoretical frameworks that define the field, they will ‘become embedded and serve to simply reinforce the status quo’ (p. 7). Furthermore, if the field of HRD lacks adequate theoretical foundations that inform the social systems of an organization, that means we are even further from explaining the leadership challenges of AAW in predominantly white organizations given their position within an interlocking system of race, gender, and social class. Dr Patricia S. Parker has contributed groundbreaking research in the area of AAW leaders in her book, Race, Gender, and Leadership: Re-Envisioning Organizational Leadership from the Perspectives of African American Women Executives. In her book, Dr Parker brings race as well as gender into the conversation on leadership and challenges readers to think of new ways to study leadership in contemporary organizations. Dr Parker, an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, has a PhD in Communication Studies from the

Taking a look at National Human Resource Development (NHRD): Interviews with Gary Mclean and Susan Lynham

The 2006 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Research Conference featured a one-day pre-conference titled, ‘National HRD in Social Development and in Facilitating the UN Millennial Development Goals’. This pre-conference session was facilitated by Drs Gary McLean and Susan Lynham. Gary McLean is a professor at the University of Minnesota and past president of the Academy of HRD. Susan Lynham is an associate professor at Texas A&M University and a past board member of the Academy of HRD. Gary was interviewed on 23 February 2006 and Sue on 5 April 2006 – the former by Marilyn Byrd and latter by Marilyn Byrd and Elaine Demps, advanced doctoral students in the HRD programme at Texas A&M University. The interviews were conducted face-to-face using a semi-structured format with open-ended questions. The purpose of the interviews was to gain insight into what stimulated these scholars’ interests in including a national human resource development (NHRD) framework within the focus of HRD. In addition, the interviewers were interested in understanding their views on HRD’s role in the development of NHRD and as an emerging strategic focus of HRD theory, research and practice.

Diversity Issues Exploring “Critical” Through Multiple Lenses

The Problem Social identity diversity is a concept that links an individual to the social world and to other contexts where interactions occur. However, issues that emerge from social identity diversity may not necessarily be viewed as mono-causal, or based on a single form of difference. Because some individuals may experience simultaneously multiple forms of difference that causes oppression, frameworks are needed to critically analyze how these individuals navigate the complexities of their social identities to gain acceptance, satisfaction, and high levels of performance. The Solution Intersectionality will be used as an analytical tool to highlight multiple, interlocking forms of societal oppression experienced by historically marginalized groups and to serve as a means of making sense of these experiences. Key Stakeholders Human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners who are committed to social justice advocacy.

Does HRD have a moral duty to respond to matters of social injustice

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to question whether or not social injustice should matter to human resource development (HRD). The goal is to invoke a sense of moral agency and responsiveness within the HRD community for having more candid and open conversations about social injustice and the lived experiences of marginalized individuals. In this article, a social justice paradigm will be suggested as a dedicated platform for studying social justice as a necessary outcome of social injustice. Organizational social justice will be introduced as a progressive workplace norm that envisions an equal balance of social justice outcomes for all members in organizations and places of work.

Diversity in the workforce : current issues and emerging trends

Workforce Diversity: Why, When, and How. Social Networks. Professionals and Work-Family Links. Conclusion: A Framework Regarding the Effects of Workforce Diversity.

Diversity Branding Strategy: Concealing Implicit Stereotypes and Biased Behaviors:

The Problem From a business perspective, the expression valuing diversity is commonly used as a branding strategy to enhance an organization’s competitive advantage. The problem with diversity branding is its potential to decenter biased behaviors that could actually conceal the detrimental effects of unfair treatment under the banner of valuing difference. Presenting diversity as a utopian state without an ethical and moral concern for the people it represents is a misnomer and is in itself a misrepresentation of value. This article will argue for a more holistic philosophy of diversity that is concerned with the value of people as well as the value diversity brings to an organization’s financial success. The Solution Socially responsible leadership and the action efforts of those seated at the strategic planning table are key to reframing a more holistic philosophy for valuing diversity. Human resource development (HRD) professionals are strategically positioned in multiple roles within the organization to participate in matters of diversity and bringing about social change. Diversity intelligence will be discussed as an emerging model for guiding leaders and decision makers toward upholding an antidiscrimination commitment through the integration of business and social justice perspectives of valuing diversity. The Stakeholders HRD researchers, practitioners, and educators who are committed to social justice outcomes for marginalized groups in the workplace; and organizational leaders responsible for developing and implementing diversity strategy.

HRD Theory and Philosophy

On completion of this chapter you should be able to: Explain the terms theory and philosophy. Recognize and apply foundational theories of HRD. Explain how theory and philosophy are linked to learning and performance. Discuss the significance of human capital theory as a core theory of HRD. Evaluate the reliability of theory. Describe the three philosophical foundations of HRD. Examine how foundational theories and philosophical foundations relate to each other. Suggest ways to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Recognize and explain metaphors of HRD.