Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to research on gender and corporate boards of directors by focusing on how female board professionals construct particular notions of accessing and succeeding in boards. Design/methodology/approach – A discursive perspective is offered,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which gender is “done” in executive search. The authors uncover how the ideal candidate for top management is defined in and through search practices, and discuss how and why women are excluded in the process....