Case 15.2: Lack of Inclusion and Credibility
Case synopsis and analysis
Lori Bradley, an experienced probation officer, meets with two other male officers, Ian and Ted,
and their supervisor, Len. The four employees are meeting to plan an orientation session for new
probation officers. All three men, however, ignore Lori and discount her ideas.
Learning objectives:
1. Students will recognize gender prejudice and understand how it influences a woman’s
ability to excel.
Answers to questions in the text:
1. What advancement barriers is Lori encountering?
Lori encountered gender bias, stereotyping, and prejudice. Stereotypes are cognitive shortcuts
that influence the way people process information regarding groups and group members. People
Here, it seems that Ian and Ted had clear stereotypes about women’s interest in sports and ability
to contribute ideas at a meeting. Ian, Ted, and Len all seemed to suffer some prejudice about
Lori, perhaps believing that a woman’s voice was unworthy of being heard.
2. What should Lori’s male coworkers have done when Lori entered the room?
3. How should Len have behaved to provide a role model for Lori’s male colleagues? What
should Len have said after Ian made the same recommendation that Lori did?
4. What could the organization do to foster the effectiveness of all four managers?
The organization needs to work to remove gender prejudice and stereotypes. Employees need to
Potential teaching approaches:
Below is a way to structure a class based on case study 15.2:
• Hold a lecture on women and leadership.
• Ask students to read case 15.2 and answer the questions.
Exercises for this case study:
1) The case study shows that women’s voices are not heard at her organization. What sort
of new “meeting norms” could be established to help ensure equality at meetings? How
can meetings be run so that everyone’s voice is heard and recognized? Students should
2) Students will draft an apology, assuming the following facts are true: Lori complains
about the meeting to their boss, who asks Len, Ted, and Ian to write an apology.