WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP AS A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY

This article provides a rigorous academic investigation into women’s leadership as a pivotal component of organizational resilience in the context of contemporary global disruption, characterized by intersecting crises such as pandemics, military conflicts, climate change, economic instability, and geopolitical fragmentation. The study adopts a multidimensional approach, synthesizing interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and empirical findings from international research reports (McKinsey & Company, LeanIn.Org, Harvard Business Review, IDEA) and national case-based studies with a focus on Ukraine. Organizational resilience is reconceptualized as the institution’s capacity not only to survive exogenous shocks but also to adapt, regenerate, and evolve in complex and uncertain environments. The article demonstrates that women’s leadership – typically marked by transformational, participatory, and empathy-based styles – contributes to key resilience dimensions including trustbuilding, adaptive decision-making, inclusive governance, emotional intelligence, and long-term vision. These capabilities become critical under conditions of structural uncertainty and institutional stress. The study identifies and classifies eight interrelated groups of systemic barriers preventing women’s full access to leadership: cultural stereotypes, institutional inertia, structural inequalities, limited access to capital and networks, dual caregiving roles, underrepresentation in strategic roles, implicit bias, and psychological obstacles such as impostor syndrome. In the Ukrainian context, the relevance of women’s leadership has intensified as female leaders contribute decisively to crisis management, recovery coordination, and innovation across strategic sectors. The article argues that genderdiverse leadership should be treated not as a normative ideal but as an operational imperative for building institutions capable of sustaining functionality, legitimacy, and strategic transformation. Without institutional reforms that embed inclusive leadership models into governance systems and resilience strategies, the adaptability and sustainability of organizations will remain incomplete and vulnerable to future shocks.