Gender diversity management and gender disclosure: current trends and future stream of research

The issue of gender inequalities in the workplace is gaining increasing attention within both the academic and professional realms. From the 1930s, literature began to ascribe to businesses a societal role, not merely an economic one. In this context, companies cannot solely operate based on profit-driven logic but should aim to cater to the diverse needs of their stakeholders. One issue companies must face to pursue sustainable development is gender inequality. In the pursuit of sustainable development and, thus, adhering to principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concerning gender equity, organizations must endeavour to implement strategies that promote equal opportunities in areas of recruitment, compensation, roles, training, safety, and the reconciliation of work-life balance. This paper aims to situate the topic of gender equality within the broader conceptual framework of Diversity Management (DM) and Gender DM, subsequently focusing on a critical review of the literature on Gender Disclosure (GD), a subject of business-economic studies. We will then propose a systematic analysis of the literature to identify the gap and point to new research paths. Based on the initial findings, through the analysis of a pilot case study, we will test the strands of study drawn from the literature with the approaches of practice to understand whether and to what extent firms' choices on GD converge/diverge from the scholars' theoretical approaches. This initial analysis will require further investigation by extending conclusions to gradually larger samples of firms differentiated by sector, territoriality, and size. This paper can contribute to increasing the existing literature on gender diversity management and gender disclosure by providing an organized literature review and offering insights and considerations for future research.