Female leadership in the public sector: a systematic literature mapping

Abstract

Female leadership has emerged as an important driver of diversity, innovation, and inclusion within organizations, including the public sector. Although recent years have brought significant progress and achievements, the path for women to assume management positions in organizations remains highly challenging. Aiming to map the existing studies on female leadership in public organizations between 2019 and 2024, a systematic literature mapping was conducted. The results highlight seven main themes addressed in the analyzed articles, including challenges in leadership roles, barriers to career development for women, and gender inequality. Public universities are among the most frequently studied research settings, and there are notable gaps regarding methodological approaches and the depth of thematic analysis. Overall, most studies focused on identifying the challenges women face in reaching leadership positions. Although there has been significant growth in the inclusion of women in strategic roles, persistent barriers continue to hinder both access to and permanence in decision-making positions. Phenomena such as the glass ceiling, the leadership labyrinth, and the queen bee syndrome illustrate the complexity of the obstacles encountered. Nevertheless, the findings underscore the need for further studies addressing other important aspects of the topic, such as empirical analyses of the impact of gender equity policies, evaluations of successful career advancement strategies, and insights into the learning processes of women leaders, among others.