Strategic Leadership and Gender Mainstreaming: The Mediating Effect of Gender Unit Empowerment

This study was designed to examine the mediating role of gender unit on effects of strategic leadership in mainstreaming gender. In order to address this case, the descriptive and explanatory research designs were employed. Accordingly, survey questionnaire was used to collect primary data from two offices (communication and gender unit) in each of 135 randomly selected public institutions. The data were analyzed using SPSS software to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive result of this study shows that more public organizations relatively exercise transformational leadership style followed by contingent reward of transactional and laissez-faire styles. The study also found that the gender mainstreaming practices in public organizations were mainly focused on “equal treatment” perspective that entails the formulation and enforcement of legal instruments to promote equal participation in decision making positions. In addition, the results of regression analysis depict that both transformational and contingent reward of transactional leadership styles have positive effect on practices of gender mainstreaming in public organizations. It was also confirmed that the positive effects of transformational and contingent reward of transactional leadership styles on gender mainstreaming practices were partially mediated by empowered gender unit. Therefore, it is very important to establish   an autonomous, skilled and experienced, well-resourced and empowered gender unit in public organizations to enhance the role of strategic leaders to ensure gender mainstreaming practices from all equal treatment, women and gender perspectives.