Call for Papers

Multidisciplinary Workshop

A Diverse Leadership for Accountable Institutions:

Enhancing Trustworthiness and Corruption Resistance

Mid-Term Event of the The Margins of Corruption ERC/FNS Advanced Grant

(PI: Emanuela Ceva, University of Geneva)

Congressi Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità (Ascona, Switzerland), 28-30 April 2025

The workshop offers an opportunity to explore the conceptual, normative, and empirical relationship between institutional structures and the accountability of institutional action, examining the role of leadership diversity in securing institutional trustworthiness and resistance to corruption. Bringing together perspectives from political theory, public ethics, international relations, public policy, and business economics, this multidisciplinary event will address how diversity in leadership—especially regarding gender but also ethnic background, biography, and age—can contribute to enhancing the quality of institutional action. Recent research suggests that organizations with gender-diverse leadership are significantly more likely to implement stringent anti-corruption policies, resulting in reduced unethical practices and increased financial transparency. For instance, companies with higher female board representation disclosed information more transparently and maintained higher compliance standards (Transparency International, 2021). Moreover, the World Bank found that diverse leadership teams in development projects were better equipped to identify and prevent corruption due to their ability to anticipate challenges and establish more comprehensive accountability frameworks (World Bank, 2018).

Main Question: How does diversity in leadership structures contribute to the accountability of institutional action, enhancing its trustworthiness and resistance to corruption?

We invite paper proposals that address the main question through various disciplinary outlooks, engaging with such topics as:

 - How can leadership structures make a difference for the normative quality of institutional practices?

- Should diversity in institutional leadership be actively promoted instead of blanket commitments to difference-blindness and impartiality? On what grounds?

- How is the inclusion of diverse perspectives in institutional leadership conceptually and / or normatively related to greater institutional accountability and trustworthiness?

- How does diversity in international organizations influence their effectiveness in preventing corruption and securing global trust?

- How do diverse leadership structures impact the ability of international institutions to advocate for anti-corruption norms?

 - What role does diversity in public sector leadership play in reducing corruption and improving the quality of policy implementation?

 - How does the presence of members of underrepresented groups in corporate governance structures affect the financial integrity and ethical decision-making of businesses?

- What empirical evidence links diverse boards and leadership teams to improved corporate compliance and reduced corruption?

- What interdisciplinary methodologies are best suited to assess the impact of institutional diversity on accountability for enhancing corruption resistance and institutional trustworthiness?

Invited Speakers:

Monika Bauhr (Göteborgs University)

Emanuela Ceva (University of Geneva) and Maria Paola Ferretti (Goethe University, Frankfurt)

Simone Dietrich (University of Geneva)

Maria-Teresa Marchica (Manchester Business School)

We invite paper proposals to fill other five available speakers’ slots in the workshop program. The call is exclusively targeted at early career scholars, defined as scholars who received their Ph.D. no more than 8 years prior to the workshop year (2025). Submissions should be in English, in the form of an extended abstract (maximum 1500 words, including selected bibliography), along with a brief abstract (maximum 200 words) and a curriculum vitae of the applicant. Both the short and extended abstracts must be anonymized for blind review. Applications should be sent to margins-corruption(at)unige.ch by 17:00 CEST, Tuesday 10 September 2024. A limited number of bursaries will be available to cover part of the selected speakers’ expenses.

The same deadline applies to those who wish to register as workshop participants.

Please include in the submission email relevant contact information: the author(s) name(s), department(s) and affiliation(s), mailing address(es), email address(es); a declaration of the status of early career scholar (PhD +8years max); and whether the applicant wishes to be considered for one of the bursaries.

The Congressi Stefano Franscini is ETH Zurich's conference platform located at Monte Verità, a beautiful hilltop overlooking Ascona and Lago Maggiore, in Southern Switzerland. The workshop is scheduled from Monday, 28.04.2025 to Wednesday, 30.04.2025. The three-day structure will allow generous time for in-depth discussions and cross-pollination of ideas among speakers, discussants, and participants from diverse fields of expertise.