Search results
1 – 10 of over 95000The article builds upon recent developments in feminist theories as they were adopted in organization studies to review the state of research into women in MNCs and to offer new…
Abstract
The article builds upon recent developments in feminist theories as they were adopted in organization studies to review the state of research into women in MNCs and to offer new directions for the study of MNCs as “gendering organizations,” both as they are shaped by gender relations and are active agents in constructing gender categories, division of labor, images, and inequalities. Juxtaposing insights from gender studies and International Business and Management, the article offers a new agenda for the studies of corporate internationalization and its social consequences.
Details
Keywords
This chapter discusses how gender scholarship has transformed the study of immigration in the United States since the 1970s.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter discusses how gender scholarship has transformed the study of immigration in the United States since the 1970s.
Methodology/approach
This discussion is based on a synthesized review of immigration studies and their connections to gender scholarship in different historical contexts.
Findings
Over the past four decades, gender scholarship has significantly shaped the theories, methodologies, and core concerns in immigration studies in the United States. Before the 1970s, immigration research focused on men. Studies of immigrant women began in the 1980s, which not only challenged previous gender-blind perspectives but also highlighted women’s unique experiences. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, the study of gender and immigration focused on immigrant women’s vulnerabilities in the global economy and enhancing women’s status at home through employment in the host society. Since the 1990s, more diverse topics have emerged to involve discussion on globalization and transnationalism. These gendering trends in immigration studies have not taken place in an intellectual vacuum. Rather, they have been influenced by developments in gender scholarship within different historical contexts.
Research limitations/implications
To enrich gender-focused and feminism-informed research in immigration studies, scholars will have to build connections across subareas and engage in dialogues with each other. More immigrant groups must also be studied to reflect the extremely diverse make-up of current immigrants in the United States. Intersectional analyses are also needed to avoid homogenizing studied groups. Finally, mainstream immigration research must begin to perceive gender as an essential analytical framework.
Details
Keywords
During the last three decades or so, the introduction of gender studies into higher education in Romania as a field of teaching and research has proved to be a very uneven and…
Abstract
During the last three decades or so, the introduction of gender studies into higher education in Romania as a field of teaching and research has proved to be a very uneven and sometimes precarious process. The notion of gender has not been properly integrated into scholarly research, and women’s and gender studies have therefore been seen as an appendix to mainstream research in the humanities and the social sciences. This chapter aims at providing a meaningful picture of how gender studies have become part of the higher education system in Romania, what challenges have been met on the way and what future gender studies have in the education landscape. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the significance and importance of the TARGET project for the implementation of the first gender equality plan in the Romanian higher education system.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this study is to explore gender gaps, values and practices in a Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country, specifically to identify gender inequality in Kenyan leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore gender gaps, values and practices in a Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country, specifically to identify gender inequality in Kenyan leadership and propose suggestions for advancing gender equity.
Design/methodology/approach
This Kenya study replicated the research design of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Project for gathering country data. It sampled middle and upper management in the commercial sector (finance and agriculture) and added the civic sectors of health care and education, using quantitative research (267 managers in over 100 organizations) and qualitative research design (30 interviewees from 23 organizations).
Findings
Gender had no apparent effect on leadership attributes nor on preferred modes of leadership. Statistical and thematic analysis revealed conflicting values and behaviours regarding gender equality and leadership. A high cultural dimension score on practices reflects a traditional leadership approach for male dominance, referred to as the Bwana Kubwa model. However, a high value score for gender equality reflects a more contemporary perspective, identified as the Inspirational Idealist. The gender gap presents a cultural paradox and a leadership constraint.
Research limitations/implications
The Inspirational Idealist model advances African leadership theory as it identifies a preferred value-based paradigm of effective performance-based leadership. This is contrary to the prevalent patriarchal practices of the Bwana Kubwa (Big Boss) model, which reflects biased gendered preference.
Practical implications
Male and female leaders need to challenge the status quo and align leadership practices with the articulated cultural values expressed as an Inspirational Idealist model. It has considerable relevance to advancing African leadership theory and informing culturally relevant policies and contextualized practices focused on gender equity in leadership.
Originality/value
This research on practices and values pertaining to gender equality of Kenyan managers is the first in-depth managerial leadership study of any SSA country. It is unique in that it broadened the scope of study to include professional sectors, gender, age and ethnicity variables.
Details
Keywords
This study deviates from the predominantly feminist/critical school of thought associated with existing gender studies to apply an interpretivist approach to investigate gender…
Abstract
Purpose
This study deviates from the predominantly feminist/critical school of thought associated with existing gender studies to apply an interpretivist approach to investigate gender-reporting practices in Saudi Arabia, an Islamic country in the Gulf region and one of the fast-moving emerging economies both in the Middle East and globally. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of reporting on gender and the drivers behind this practice using the content analysis method.
Design/methodology/approach
This study contributes to the literature by adopting a rarely used three-lens conceptual framework to expand our understanding of reporting on gender in Saudi Arabia. Eleven companies were chosen based on their voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in Saudi Arabia. The CSR and annual reports of selected companies were analysed using NVIVO Pro 11.
Findings
The results indicate that gender disclosures in the Saudi context are driven by legislation, location and international reporting frameworks. Although the number of disclosures increased over time, they were not adopted consistently and systematically because of their voluntary nature.
Research limitations/implications
The first limitation is the disadvantage associated with interpretivism related to the subjective nature of the investigation and room for bias, and hence, the results cannot be generalised. The second limitation is the sample size; future investigations may increase the sample size by including other service and manufacturing sector firms to have more comprehensive insights.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence suggesting that in Saudi Arabia, state legislation is the driving force behind reporting on gender issues. Although workplace disclosures dominate, companies are opening dialogues with other stakeholders (especially the community) by disclosing performance data, and thus emphasising their commitment to this social change.
Social implications
This empirical contribution to the CSR literature will provide rich historical and interpretive data on the emergence of gender transformation in society, and how that is reflected in corporate reports, thus, contributing to the understanding of the purpose of voluntary disclosures.
Originality/value
Employee-related disclosures in corporate reports are very common. However, issues such as diversity and equal opportunities tend to be overlooked. This study explores gender equality and female empowerment disclosures and practices in the emerging market of Saudi Arabia while focusing on whether the social, political and legal changes in Saudi Arabian society have affected these disclosures in corporate reports. There is a lack of qualitative analysis of gender disclosers globally and in emerging economies particularly.
Details
Keywords
Susan R. Madsen and Robbyn T. Scribner
There is still a lack of understanding why there is little progress when it comes to women seeking and obtaining top management and leadership positions in organizations today…
Abstract
Purpose
There is still a lack of understanding why there is little progress when it comes to women seeking and obtaining top management and leadership positions in organizations today, and this is particularly true within the cross-cultural and international management and leadership contexts. One step forward, however, is to understand current work and trends in research and theory to identify these gaps. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recently published literature on the role of gender in management teams within and across cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
This content analysis has examined the most recent literature (i.e. January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2016) in 15 influential academic journals within the cross-cultural and international management field. The study has analyzed 152 primary and 85 secondary articles that met the strict criteria of the study.
Findings
Results include findings on journals/articles, gender of authors, countries included in data collection, constructs measured, tone of manuscripts (i.e. adverse outcomes associated with gender compared to the neutral/mixed or positive effects), and the theoretical frameworks utilized in the articles.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis will be useful for researchers, theorists, and practitioners in understanding the current knowledge base and in discovering the emerging gaps and needs.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind within gender and cross-cultural/international management. The findings clearly show gaps in research and theory that will help guide future work.
Details
Keywords
Carin Holmquist and Elisabeth Sundin
This paper aims to add to the diversity of gender and entrepreneurship studies by presenting the (lived experience) perspective on the development of research on women as…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to add to the diversity of gender and entrepreneurship studies by presenting the (lived experience) perspective on the development of research on women as entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
An essay built on personal reflections on the development of the field since the 1980s.
Findings
Research on entrepreneurship has shifted toward quantitative studies and the paper format, leading to fragmented research. Research on gender shows another trend, where empirical data have become less central – “women” as individuals are to a large extent not discussed. The authors conclude that the field of gender and entrepreneurship, therefore, is a fruitful arena to perform research in as long as the physical women are not neglected.
Originality/value
Building on the lived experience for almost 40 years as researchers of women as entrepreneurs, the perspective contributes to the understanding of the development of the field.
Details
Keywords
Jatta Jännäri and Anne Kovalainen
This paper aims to study the kinds of methodologies used in studying “doing gender” in working life and organisations. To do so, articles that use empirical research materials…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the kinds of methodologies used in studying “doing gender” in working life and organisations. To do so, articles that use empirical research materials from different academic peer-reviewed journals have been analysed. By methodologies, both data gathering tools and the analysing techniques using and concerting the data have been largely understood. In the articles analysed, interviews were the main methodological tool in extracting the “doing gender”, while studies using naturally occurring data, e.g. historical materials and methods in relation to this type of data were in the minority. The following question has been proposed for further exploration: What impact does the domination of interviews as a research method have on the concept of “doing gender”?
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative content analysis, close reading and data were collected from academic peer-reviewed journals with the applied principles of literature review.
Findings
The research methodologies adopted in the articles on “doing gender” mostly deal with interview data and their analysis. Interview data are used most often as the primary source for ethnographic analysis. These method choices limit the potential interpretations available for the analysis of the conceptual idea of “doing gender”.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this article relate to the journals chosen for the analysis.
Originality/value
This paper contributes toward a deeper understanding of the “doing gender” approach, particularly by exploring the research methodologies that have been used when studying “doing gender” approach empirically.
Details
Keywords
Donde Ashmos Plowman and Anne D. Smith
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that gender plays in choice of research methods.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that gender plays in choice of research methods.
Design/methodology/approach
The publication patterns of men and women in four prominent management journals over two decades were analyzed in three North American journals – Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Organization Science – and one European journal – Journal of Management Studies. The authors coded the research methodology– qualitative or non‐qualitative – and author gender for each article from 1986 through 2008, other than Organization Science which began in 1990. The authors also coded the stage of career for the journals whose author bios provided this level of detail and conducted chi‐square tests of the gender authorship between qualitative and non‐qualitative journals.
Findings
It was observed that women are over‐represented and men are under‐represented in published qualitative studies as compared to non‐qualitative authors. This trend remained steady across the study period. As well for each journal, this relationship was significant. Quantitative findings about trends in authorship of qualitative research were connected to three theoretical perspectives that help explain these findings – information processing theory, separate vs connected ways of knowing, and social identity theory.
Originality/value
Management scholars work in a profession that rarely speaks of itself in terms of gender. One may control for gender or explore gender implications in studies of organizational behavior, but gender is not spoken of as a factor that influences the tools used to study organizations. In this study, the authors use quantitative methods to address trends in gender and type of methodology in published papers across two decades and four academic journals.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explain the problem with how gender is positioned in hospitality and tourism management studies. It recommends critical theories to investigate how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain the problem with how gender is positioned in hospitality and tourism management studies. It recommends critical theories to investigate how gender is researched in the sector’s academic and institutional systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual study explains contemporary gender theories and gives examples of relevant hospitality and tourism management studies. A four point critical agenda for researching gender is proposed and justified.
Findings
The study highlights how the focus on “female leadership” as different from the male norm and the use of traditional theoretical framings reinforce stereotypes about the primacy of women’s domestic commitments to their detriment.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this academy focussed study is that it has not recommended specific initiatives to combat specific issues of gender discrimination in hospitality and tourism employment. A further limitation is that the primary focus was on critical management theory to explain heteronormative based gender discrimination. It did not discuss queer theory.
Practical implications
In addition, a new research agenda, steps are proposed to change the masculine culture. Hospitality and tourism universities and research institutions should review men’s/women’s/gender diverse representation at leadership levels. Critical gender research approaches may also be fostered by sectorial conference streams and journal special issues and university graduate research students should be taught to design such studies.
Social implications
The use of contemporary approaches in gender studies will enable researchers to propose more targeted equality and diversity management actions for industry. They will also assist educators to better design curricula that protect and promote the interests of women studying a hospitality, tourism or events degree and those who identify as gender diverse.
Originality/value
The paper challenges the masculine status quo in hospitality and tourism management gender studies, arguing that adherence to traditional orthodoxies has stifled the development of critical paradigms and methodologies. Its key contribution is to reveal the advantages that critical gender theorising can bring to further the aim of gender equality by showing practical applications.
Details