We record and analyse the gender balance of characters present in competition-winning papers awarded by the Case Centre. We consider how our future corporate leaders are impacted by the extensive use of gender-biased teaching material.
As a Masters EMCCC student at INSEAD, Lesley noticed the lack of females present in the case study papers. This lead her to complete her highly-acclaimed Master's thesis 'Where are the Women Leaders? Invisible selves: writing women leaders into business school case papers'. With eight years of research collated to date, the picture hasn't changed much since her years at INSEAD. Lesley aims to increase the presence of females in case papers by publicising her research and supporting business schools and corporations who wish to effect change in their organisations.
Lesley adapted the Bechdel Test to analyse the cases in her research. The Bechdel Test is used to measure the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films. The test is:
“One, it has to have at least two women in it, who, Two, talk to each other about, Three, something besides a man.”
Lesley renamed her version the Symons Test, with the test being:
“One, it has to have one woman in it, who, Two, is in a leadership position (the protagonist in this research), Three, who talks to another woman about the business.”
Our most recent research looks at women's presence in award-winning and best-selling case papers from 2009 - 2016. Published in Harvard Business Review in March 2016, you can find the full article here: Only 11% of Top Business School Case Studies Have a Female Protagonist
See the list below for cases with females as the lead. We'd love to add more cases to our collection. If you would like to submit a case paper with a female protagonist then please use our Contact Form to send us the details.
| 9-116-023 |
| 708-462 |
| UVA-QA-0696 |
| UVA-QA-0765 |
| 9-495-031 |
| 9-507-016 |
| 701-120 |
| UVA-F-1589 |
| 9-414-019 |
| UVA-E-0265 |
| UVA-E-0073 |
| UVA-F-1728 |
| 9-508-047 |
| UVA-M-0876 |
| UVA-F-1647 |
| UVA-F-1738 |
| UVA-F-1591 |
| UVA-F-1687 |
| UVA-QA-0546 |
| UVA-QA-0547 |
| UVA-QA-0268 |
| 9-906-414 |
| 106-016-1 |
| UVA-GEM-0134 |
| UVA-GEM-0139 |
| UVA-ENT-0102 |
| UVA-C-2352 |
| UVA-F-1614 |
| 4357 |
| 9-114-082 |
| UVA-C-2168 |
| UVA-C-2160 |
| UVA-F-1636 |
| UVA-QA-0582 |
| 9-313-107 |
| 9-413-003 |
| 4212 |
| UVA-F-1353 |
| UVA-OM-1479 |
| 9-202-027 |
| 9-314-055 |
| UVA-M-0873 |
| 9-913-554 |
| 9-587-055 |
| 9-912-011 |
| UVA-F-1630 |
| UVA-BC-0262 |
| 9-514-026 |
| UVA-OB-1046 |
| 9-392-032 |
| UVA-F-1710 |
| UVA-C-2140 |
| 9-416-015 |
| 4269 |
| UVA-E-0407 |
| UVA-OM-1452 |
| 603-002-1 |
| A CHALLENGER'S STRATEGY: PINAR ABAY AT ING BANK TURKEY |
| ANALYZING RELATIVE COSTS |
| BIDDING FOR THE LEGACY HOTEL |
| CAPRICA ENERGY AND ITS CHOICES |
| CHARLOTTE BEERS AT OGIVLY & MATHER WORLDWIDE (A) |
| CLOCKY: THE RUNAWAY ALARM CLOCK |
| COMPETITOR ANALYSIS: ANTICIPATING COMPETITIVE ACTIONS |
| CROCS, INC. |
| CYNTHIA CARROLL AT ANGLO AMERICAN (A) |
| DANVILLE AIRLINES |
| DAVIS PRESS AND MECCAN MADNESS |
| DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW ANALYSIS |
| DOVE: EVOLUTION OF A BRAND |
| E-CIGARETTES: THE WILD, WILD WEST |
| GLOBAL ASSET ALLOCATION: CRUDE CALCULATIONS |
| GLOBAL ASSET ALLOCATION: INVESTING IN A TIME OF DEBT, DEFICITS, AND QUANTITATIVE EASING |
| GLOBAL ASSET ALLOCATION: WHITHER THE U.S. DOLLAR? |
| GUNA FIBRES, LTD. |
| HIGH PLACES STUDIO (A) |
| HIGH PLACES STUDIO (B) |
| HIGHTOWER DEPARTMENT STORES: IMPORTED STUFFED ANIMALS |
| IKEA'S GLOBAL SOURCING CHALLENGE: INDIAN RUGS AND CHINA LABOR (A) |
| INFINITY BANK (A): RETAIL BRANCHES AND CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY |
| JANET YELLEN: NAVIGATING UNCHARTED WATERS |
| JANET YELLEN: TIME TO TIGHTEN? |
| JENNIFER PARKS AT PILLARPOINT HOME LOANS: DEVELOPING A NEW GROWTH INITIATIVE |
| JUDY GENT--INVENTORY |
| KELLY SOLAR |
| LEVENDARY CAFE: THE CHINA CHALLENGE |
| MANAGING CHANGE AT AXIS BANK (A) |
| MARGE NORMAN AND MINISCRIBE CORPORATION |
| MAVERICK LODGING |
| MEDFIELD PHARMACEUTICALS |
| MERCK & COMPANY: PRODUCT KL-798 |
| MONIQUE LEROUX: LEADING CHANGE AT DESJARDINS |
| NAINA LAL KIDWAI: INVESTING IN HER COUNTRY |
| NEW HERITAGE DOLL COMPANY: CAPITAL BUDGETING |
| NIKE, INC: COST OF CAPITAL |
| NOBULL BURGER |
| OCEAN CARRIERS |
| PEPSICO, PROFITS, AND FOOD: THE BELT TIGHTENS |
| PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE: MAKING PAY AS YOU DRIVE A SNAP FOR CONSUMERS |
| ROBIN ASH AND PRINTZHOF PRESS |
| ROHM AND HAAS (A): NEW PRODUCT MARKETING STRATEGY |
| SAMASOURCE: GIVE WORK, NOT AID |
| SUN MICROSYSTEMS |
| SUSTAINABILITY AT THE COCA-COLA COMPANY IN A NEW ERA OF BRAND BUILDING |
| SUSTAINABILITY AT SIEMENS |
| TEAM CONFLICT: THE "CHATTY" ACCUSATION AT THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT CALL CENTER |
| THE BODY SHOP INTERNATIONAL |
| THE COST OF CAPITAL: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE |
| THE HORIZON INSURANCE AGENCY |
| THE TRANSFORMATION OF MUDO |
| UNITED CEREAL: LORI BRILL'S EUROBRAND CHALLENGE |
| USING A FRAMEWORK TO CREATE BETTER CHOICES |
| ZAPPOS CUSTOMER LOYALTY TEAM |
| ZARA |
These case papers can be ordered from the Case Centre by following the link here.