This article presents a feminist poststructuralist inquiry perspective on how news and social media discourse around the COVID‐19 pandemic is presenting a potential shift in hegemonic representations of masculine leadership. I am informed by organizational rules and sensemaking theories, and consider how Canadian and international female leaders are showing resilience, emotion and vulnerability as they help lead their countries through these uncertain times. I reflexively ground my observations in my own sensemaking and personal experiences. Despite reservations, I am hopeful. There are indications that the ‘rules of the game’ are starting to be challenged, and feminine frameworks that question traditional gender roles are disrupting conceptions around ‘business as usual’.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to reveal the gendered nature of social arrangements in order to bring to the surface the hidden discourses that mediate the opportunities of women leaders in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses critical sense-making (CSM) to analyze interviews with CSR leaders toward understanding the interconnected layers of influences they draw from as they make sense of their experiences.FindingsDespite the positioning of women as being untapped resources within CSR, the reality within CSR leadership indicates that resilient, stereotypical social constructions of gender are being (re)created. However, cues can disrupt the ongoing process of sense-making and create shocks that represent opportunities for resistance as discriminatory practices are revealed.Research limitations/implicationsApplying CSM as a methodology and to the field of CSR adds a component to CSR and gender scholarship that is currently missing. CSM as a methodology bridges broader sociocultural discourses and the local site of sense-making, making visible the structures and processes that enable some narratives to become legitimized by the formative context and protect the status quo.Social implicationsIf these leaders are able to use their discursive power to establish an alternate, dominant narrative throughout their organizations – a culture of emotional empathy within CSR – alternate meanings about the nature and purpose of CSR may emerge while highlighting the need for change.Originality/valueApplying CSM as a methodology and to the field of CSR adds a component to CSR and gender scholarship that is currently missing. CSM as a methodology bridges broader sociocultural discourses and the local site of sense-making, making visible the structures and processes that enable some narratives to become legitimized by the formative context and protect the status quo.

The United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) champion responsible management education and research globally by instilling social responsibility values in students through teaching, research, and service. As investment capital shifts toward sustainable opportunities and companies recognize the limitations of an exclusive focus on shareholders (to the exclusion of broader stakeholders), the demand for social responsibility focused students has increased. How can business schools meet the dual challenge of recognizing those students with strong global sustainability perceptions, while encouraging those without those perceptions to shift? Our empirical approach uses a freed measurement model to offer a holistic understanding of the precursors of students’ perceptions of ethics and social responsibility. We provide actionable steps for business schools in implementing new pedagogical interventions that provide individualized approaches for increasing students’ perceptions of social responsibility. For students without strong prosocial values, we propose improving their perceptions of social responsibility indirectly through changing attitudes or directly via value system rank order change.