Dismantling Gender‐Washing in Business Schools: A Nonbinary Perspective

ABSTRACT This paper explores the negotiations surrounding the identity of a nonbinary academic across multiple business schools. These institutions increasingly pledge their support for gender equality and prominently display queer, rainbow‐related discourses. Employing an autoethnographic approach and drawing on insights from identity work and stigma identity management, this study explores the multiple interactions encountered throughout my journey as a nonbinary faculty member. These interactions include negotiations with faculty leadership, committees, and offices within business schools, spaces within these institutions, and external academic entities like associations, accreditation bodies, and ranking organizations. The findings highlight the persistence of imbalanced symbolic power between actors and the pervasive dominance of a traditional male/female binary framework, which continues to overshadow efforts to foster more inclusive understandings of gender. Despite instances of negotiation conducive to broader acceptance of nonbinary identities, the large majority of these interactions expose the persistent presence of gender‐washing within business schools. This work thus challenges the narratives of diversity and gender equality promoted by business schools, highlighting the enduring barriers faced by nonbinary faculty.