“A testing time, full of potential?”

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look back since the first edition of what was then Women in Management Review as a way of looking forward to suggest a future potential. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on some historical work on issues central to the literature and practices associated with women/gender in management. It also draws on feminist theories to outline what the author calls “testings” – theoretical, conceptual and activist challenges – to some of that early thinking. Findings The paper emphasises the importance of differentiating women in order to understand the complexity of inequalities, and white middle class women's part in reproducing inequality. In addition, the different theoretical turns have emphasised the multiple and intersecting sources of discrimination – economic, cultural, psychosocial, social, linguistic and ideological. Originality/value The paper offers insights into gender in management, histories and futures.