Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Cheryl-Marie Osborne

Second Advisor

Jeffrey Lee

Third Advisor

Sharon Floyd

Fourth Advisor

George Sziraki

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine, through the lens of activity theory (AT), barriers individuals on public company boards of directors experienced in achieving or maintaining gender balance and supports that mitigated those barriers.

Methodology: Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 16 directors representing 13 gender-balanced public company boards. Data were coded using the AT framework, which conceptualizes human activity through interacting components including subject, object, rules, tools, community, and division of labor. In this study, barriers were tensions that obstructed progress toward gender balance, and supports were methods, resources, or actions that mitigated those tensions.

Findings: The most significant barriers were concentrated in the board system’s rules and tools and reflected embedded norms, expectations, and legacy practices. Director bias and norms were the most substantial barrier, including bias against women, preference for former chief executive officers, and reliance on personal comfort and familiarity. Other barriers included narrow qualification criteria, antiquated recruitment methods, inflexible leadership roles, director apathy or resistance, good old boys’ behaviors, and perceptions of a limited pool of qualified women. Supports included strong board commitment to parity, women directors’ influence on culture and effectiveness, inclusive board cultures, a shared philosophy of representation, and the perception of gender balance as a governance and competitive advantage.

Conclusions: Gender balance is shaped by interacting forces throughout the board system rather than by any single intervention. External forces may create urgency, but lasting progress appears to depend on boards internalizing gender balance as a governance norm and sustaining it through intentional recruitment, refreshment, succession planning, and inclusive culture. Parity is sustained not through numbers alone, but when women have meaningful participation, legitimacy, and influence. This study extends AT by using the framework to identify both tensions and the supports that mitigate them. Barriers clustered primarily in rules and tools, but the strongest supports clustered in community, suggesting that durable change depends on shared commitment and relational culture as much as on formal mechanisms or external pressure.

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