Am I a champion of gender equality? Using poetry to discover your ethical leader voice as a force for positive change toward UNSDG5

Systemic change toward achieving the UN SDG5 requires disentangling the bias that reifies systems of gender inequality (Villesèche et al., 2021), and enacting ethical leadership through socio-relational outcomes (Villesèche & Sinani, 2023). How to best develop ethical leadership, however, remains enigmatic (Buskirk et al., 2015). This PDW heeds calls to develop leadership through artistic means (Edwards & O’Reagan, 2019), to support leaders’ finding their voice and modelling the way to change (Kouzes & Posner, 2012), and to facilitate reflexive learning to activate moral sensitivity (Hedberg, 2017; Hibbert & Cunliffe, 2015; Waddock, 2010). Reflection, a useful tool for professional development, nevertheless, can get stuck in the rational-cognitive realm. Hence, poetic engagement is used to access cognitive processes of more emotional depth (Morgan, 2016; Armitage, 2015). Engaging with poetry opens a unique space for exploring identity and values; gives voice to feelings, perceptions and genuine concerns; and fosters human connection which has the potential to support moral reasoning and moral action.