A strategic HRM perspective in promoting gender equality: Empirical evidence from the Italian context

Gender equality has emerged as a major area of study and application in human resource management (HRM), reflecting larger social trends towards inclusivity and diversity. Even though there is a general acknowledgement that gender equality should be part of the business strategy, extant literature has not offered theoretical insights on the process that align the gender equality HR practices to the corporate strategy. Drawing on the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) framework, the present research aims to provide insights on how companies integrate gender equality as a main component of their business strategy and how they design coherent bundles of HR practices through the different phases of the employee lifecycle. In doing so, we implemented a multiple-case study in replication logic in four Italian companies that pursued the Italian gender equality certification, introduced by The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan and subsequently regulated by a specific national law in 2021. We implemented a theoretical sampling in the selection of the cases, identifying two companies operating in industrial contexts still permeated by a male-dominated culture and two companies belonging to sectors that do not present a male-dominated culture. For each subset we identified one company that has a long tradition in promoting a culture of gender equality and one company that started recently to strategically approach gender and inclusion. The theoretical sampling allowed us to better understand the different companies’ strategic approaches to gender equality and the possible different bundles of HR practices. The findings advance the debate bridging the literature on gender equality and SHRM, highlighting the importance of pursuing the alignment between gender equality HR practices and corporate strategy. The study also provides practical implications for those organizations that are still struggling to close the gender gap, offering insights on how to create an inclusive workplace in which men and women have the same treatment and opportunities.