Working women positioning themselves in the leader‐follower relationship as a result of pregnancy

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify how pregnant women position themselves in the relationship with their immediate leader as a result of their pregnancy. Secondly, this study explores what kind of discourses pregnant followers' produce and use when they represent the reasons why the relationship with their leader developed the way it did during their pregnancy.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 40 interviews were carried out among 20 working women, adopting a discursive approach in data analysis while focusing on their representations about their periods of pregnancy both during and after the experience.

Findings

Women positioned themselves as “accepted” or “dismissed” in the relationship with their leader due to their pregnancy. The study identifies three different discourses relating to the positioning, namely “similarity”, “expectations”, and “rooting deeper”.

Originality/value

There is a lack of research exploring the explanations behind the nature of leader‐follower relationships in the context of the followers' pregnancies. Furthermore, the discursive approach adopted in this study is less used within studies concerning relationships between leaders and followers, and studies concerning pregnant working women.

Citation

Mäkelä, L. (2009), "Working women positioning themselves in the leader‐follower relationship as a result of pregnancy", Gender in Management, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 46-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542410910930743