Research Project: Gender Equality and Leadership at Marks & Spencer

This research project proposal investigates the role of gender equality in leadership and management, specifically within Marks and Spencer. The proposal includes an introduction defining equality, aims and objectives to understand gender equality in leadership and analyze its importance, a rationale explaining the topic's significance, and a literature review summarizing existing research on the subject. The methodology outlines the qualitative research approach, interpretivist philosophy, and data collection methods. The proposal also presents a Gantt chart for project management and a list of references. The project aims to identify challenges and recommend strategies for promoting gender equality in leadership, contributing to a more equitable workplace environment. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the planned research, offering valuable insights into the study's scope and approach.

RESEARCH
PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENT
 INTORDUCTION
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
 RATIONALE
 LITERATURE REVIEW
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
 Equality is defined as the providing of all the employees with
equal opportunity to grow in the corporate world.
 This is majorly because of the reason that if there will not be
equality among the employees then the productivity of
company will decrease.
 For this it is very necessary for the companies to have
equality among the employees on the basis of gender.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Aim
“To investigate the role of gender equality in leadership and management with regards to equality and
diversity at workplace. A study of Marks and Spencer.”
Objectives
 To understand the concept of gender equality in leadership and management.
 To analyse the importance of gender equality in leadership and management with regards to Marks
and Spencer.
 To identify the challenges faced by Marks and Spencer in promoting gender equality in leadership and
management.
 To recommend some strategies for promotion of gender equality in leadership and management.

RATIONALE
 The major reason for selection of this topic is that maintenance of equality is very
necessary for the success of the company.
 Thus, this topic will help in gaining knowledge relating to maintenance of gender equality
in leadership and management.
 Another reason for choosing the topic is the personal interest of the researcher as they
want to know about the strategies which can help the company in maintaining gender
equality at time of choosing leaders and managers.

LITERATURE REVIEW
 In the words of Burkinshaw and White, (2019) gender equality in leadership is a concept
which focuses on spreading equality at time of deciding for the management of the
company. The equality here is defined in terms of gender that is male and female.
 This concept states that at time of leading and managing the business women must also be
considered same and equal to men.
 This is majorly pertaining to the fact that both are equal and no discrimination must be
spread among them.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Type of methodology Methodology used
Research type Qualitative research type
Research approach Inductive approach
Research philosophy Interpretivism
Data collection Primary and secondary methods
Sampling 20 employees of Marks and Spencer
Data analysis Thematic data analysis

Task Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Auto Scheduled Developing research aim and objectives 2 days Thu 2/20/20 Fri 2/21/20
Auto Scheduled brief plan development 3 days Mon 2/24/20 Wed 2/26/20 1
Auto Scheduled Research methods selection 4 days Thu 2/27/20 Tue 3/3/20 2
Auto Scheduled Preparing questionnaire 6 days Wed 3/4/20 Wed 3/11/20 3
Auto Scheduled Sending questionnaire for data collection 1 day Thu 3/12/20 Thu 3/12/20 2,4
Auto Scheduled Recording data set in a structured format 5 days Fri 3/13/20 Thu 3/19/20 5
Auto Scheduled Interpreting gathered data set 6 days Fri 3/20/20 Fri 3/27/20 6
Auto Scheduled Concluding findings and recommending solutions 2 days Mon 3/30/20 Tue 3/31/20 7
Auto Scheduled Formatting 1 day Wed 4/1/20 Wed 4/1/20 8
Auto Scheduled Taking feedback 1 day Thu 4/2/20 Thu 4/2/20 9
Auto Scheduled Doing changes as per the feedback provided 1 day Fri 4/3/20 Fri 4/3/20 10
Auto Scheduled Final submission 1 day Mon 4/6/20 Mon 4/6/20 11

CONTINUED

REFERENCES
 Burkinshaw, P. and White, K., 2019. Networking and gender equality in
academic leadership. In Women, Business and Leadership. Edward Elgar
Publishing.
 Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational
Leadership & Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
 Dashper, K., 2019. Mentoring for gender equality: Supporting female leaders in
the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management,
p.102397.