Reaction to the Death of the Girlboss: Critical Feminist Epistemology and Implications for HRD

Girlboss is an archetype made popular in the 2010s that defined women’s success in terms of their individual determination and hard work. In their critique “The Death of the Girlboss: Critical Feminist Epistemology and Implications for HRD,” the authors problematize the girlboss archetype’s noting it’s individualistic nature and how it fails to acknowledge and account for the systemic barriers that all women continue to face at work. This reaction paper shares an alternative perspective on the girlboss archetype by expanding the definition of gender and women, discussing the need for collective acknowledgment of women’s successes, a proposing an evolution for girlboss.