Women’s leadership development programs: lessons learned and new frontiers

The quest to develop talent across all workforce segments coupled with the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in organizations across the globe has led to increasing demand for women’s leadership development programs (WLDPs) over recent years. This special issue, titled Women’s Leadership Development Programs: Lessons Learned and New Frontiers, considers the use of these programs to foster transformational change (Anderson, Vinnicombe, & Singh, 2008; Debebe, 2011; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2002, 2003; Bilimoria, Joy, & Liang, 2008; Bilimoria & Liang, 2012; Ely & Meyerson, 2000; Fletcher, 2004). In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of transformational learning and change at the individual and organizational levels and go on to highlight five key themes in the literature on women’s leadership programs, identifying some of the questions and issues that motivated this special issue. We then provide a description of each article included in the special issue before concluding with some thoughts on fruitful directions for future research on women’s leadership programs.