In this paper, comments made by a group of senior male academics in Australian universities
about their leadership behaviours, are considered. Whereas the majority of the men in the
study spoke about gender relations, and sometimes feminism in their workplaces, only two of
the men engaged in discourses of gender and/or feminism, as well as actively practising and
supporting pro-feminist principles in their workplaces. For a further four men, who even
though they utilised gender-related discourses, there was dissonance with their work
practices. It is speculated that fears of feminism, masculinity and of litigation may be possible
explanations as to why several of the men grappled with the personal challenges of what it
means to be situated in the ‘uncertain terrain’ of publicly espousing support for feminism
whilst not wanting to lose their positioning as a male in a patriarchal system.