SCHOOL Suliman S Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut (AUB) MEASURES TO CURB MATERNITY LEAVERS
COUNTRY Lebanon
nstances of injustice and inaction around maternity leave continue to drive high‑potential
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female professionals away from their careers, according to a new study led by Camille Desjardins, an assistant professor at AUB’s Suliman S Olayan School of Business. Drawing on interviews with 35 highly educated women in France, the study found several factors influencing women’s experience of work in and around the time of maternity leave that ‘push’ them away from their roles and prior ambitions. These include missed promotions, negative comments and being sidelined. At the same time, the study noted ‘pull’ factors that centre on a shift in women’s priorities as they reconsider their careers and work–life balance in light of their growing family. The findings offer insights to any organisation or government trying to lessen the impact of maternity leave on women returning to work. The study recommends that organisations are more proactive in managing fairness around maternity leave, that they equip managers with the ability to be more empathetic with the processes involved and create smoother back-to-work transitions. The study was co-authored with Toulouse Capitole University’s Marion Fortin and published in the Journal of Organisational Behaviour . EB
RAMPING UP THE REACH OF AFRICAN BUSINESS CASES
other organisations face in Africa are not only immensely interesting for business leaders and students across the continent and around the world, but they are also more important than ever,” declared UCT GSB dean Catherine Duggan. “By 2050, estimates are that 25 per cent of the world’s population will be African, so it is critical that the leaders of tomorrow gain familiarity with these markets.” The move marks a step forward for a case centre that was established to bring the realities of business across the African continent to those working there, as the centre’s editor, Sarah Boyd noted: “It’s vital for African students to have learning materials that reflect their local environments.” Aptly named from the perspective of this magazine, Harvard Business Impact is the new identity of HBP’s Corporate Learning and Education market units. It offers educators more than 65,000 learning materials,
SCHOOL University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business COUNTRY South Africa
A frica-focused business cases will be more accessible to management education students around the world, thanks to a new partnership between the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) and Harvard Business Impact, a division of Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). A collection of teaching cases from UCT GSB’s Case-Writing Centre is now available through the Harvard platform as a result of the agreement. Together, they cover a range of topics in the context of fast-moving African markets, including South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Mozambique. “The opportunities and challenges that executives, companies and
encompassing case studies, simulations, articles and online courses. TBD
8 Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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