Anatomy of a mass resignation: moral entrepreneurship and academic outsiders within

• Date: 17 January 2025
• Pages: 42-52
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-08-2024-0375
• Published date: 17 January 2025
• Author: Milena Tekeste,Mustafa F. Özbilgin

Anatomy of a mass resignation:

moral entrepreneurship and

academic outsiders within

Milena Tekeste

Division of Social Science, New York University Abu Dhabi,

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and

Mustafa F. €

Ozbilgin

Brunel University London, London, UK

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this viewpoint is to examine the claims made in the resignation letter and global

petition surrounding the mass resignation of editorial members from the journal Gender, Work and

Organization. It aims to shed light on the overlooked voices that criticized the boycott and to reflect on how the

protest, while addressing legitimate concerns, inadvertently marginalized early-career and minoritized scholars,

undermining principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

Design/methodology/approach –The authors adopted a reflexive methodology, engaging with a globally

diverse set of junior, mid-career and senior scholars to gather their insights on the unfolding events.

By intentionally seeking out those critical of the resignation, the authors emphasized their positionality as scholars

committed to fostering inclusivity and fairness. They positioned themselves against the instrumentalization of

social justice rhetoric, critiquing how it disproportionately impacted vulnerable academic communities.

Findings –The viewpoint highlights how the mass resignation and academic boycott of Gender, Work and

Organization failed to account for its adverse effects on early-career and marginalized scholars, missing

opportunities for feminist care and solidarity.It argues that the boycott, while signalling virtue, had a polarizing

impact and overlooked key principles of EDI, leading to unintended negative consequences.

Originality/value –The originality of this viewpoint lies in its focus on the often-unheard voices of scholars who

opposed the mass resignation and academic boycott of Gender, Work and Organization, offering a counter-

narrative to the widely publicized protest. Its value comes from critically examining how actions intended to

promote social justice and equality can inadvertently harm early-career and marginalized scholars. By spotlighting

these complexities and challenging the virtue signalling behind the boycott, the critique contributes to ongoing

discussions on the ethical responsibilities of academic activism, solidarity and inclusivity in feminist scholarship.

Keywords Mass resignation, Moral entrepreneurship, Academic boycott

Paper type Viewpoint

Introduction

In early March 2024, a resignation letter (see Appendix) was circulated through various virtual

channels informing the academic community that some members of the editorial board of the

academic journal, Gender,Work and Organization (GWO) felt compelled to resign from their

positions to safeguard the quality and impact of gender scholarship. One of the editors-in-chief

(EICs) and a number of associate editors (AEs) led the effort, including the creation of a global

petition that called for wider support of their cause. In this contribution, we critique the claims

made in their resignation letter and petition. While the voices of those who have resigned from

the journal are plentiful and heard, we present the relatively unheard voices that have criticized

the mass resignation. We also include our conversations with a globally-diverse set of junior,

mid-career and senior scholars, as we collectively reflect on the unfolding of the mass

resignation. To accentuate these marginalized voices, we approached several scholars who

EDI

44,9

42

© Milena Tekeste and Mustafa F. €

Ozbilgin. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is

published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce,

distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial

purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license

may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 24 August 2024

Revised 21 October 2024

26 November 2024

Accepted 28 November 2024

Equality,Diversity and Inclusion: An

InternationalJournal

Vol.44 No. 9, 2025

pp.42-52

EmeraldPublishing Limited

e-ISSN:2040-7157

p-ISSN:2040-7149

DOI10.1108/EDI-08-2024-0375