Building Inclusive Leadership Pipelines: Pathways from Higher Education to Executive Leadership

This dissertation examines systemic and cognitive barriers to leadership development, evaluation, and advancement, with a focus on addressing inequities perpetuated by biased leadership prototypes, gendered perceptions, and leader-centric attributions. The research integrates insights from attribution theory, Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs), and Critical Leadership Studies (CLS) to explore how these biases emerge and persist across organizational and educational contexts. The theoretical foundation establishes leadership and attribution as interdisciplinary fields, highlighting how structural inequities in leadership development programs and biased selection criteria limit access for women and marginalized groups. Building on this framework, subsequent research explores how leadership prototypes and gendered perceptions shape evaluations of leaders, particularly within business schools, where the talent pipeline often begins. Findings emphasize the critical role of inclusive pedagogical practices in disrupting traditional leadership stereotypes and cultivating equity in leadership development. Finally, an empirical investigation into leader-centric attributions reveals how these biases obscure systemic and relational contributions to organizational outcomes. By integrating the Romance of Leadership (ROL) framework with CLS, the research advocates for leadership models that prioritize collaboration, inclusivity, and systemic awareness. Together, this research offers actionable strategies for addressing inequities in leadership development and evaluation. By examining leadership as a systemic, relational, and socially constructed phenomenon, this dissertation contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of leadership dynamics. The findings have meaningful implications for educators, practitioners, and policymakers, particularly in fostering inclusive leadership pipelines and rethinking how leadership is taught, identified, and evaluated.