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1 – 10 of over 37000The purpose of this paper is to present a degendered organizational resilience model challenging current and dominant conceptualizations of organizational resilience by exploring…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a degendered organizational resilience model challenging current and dominant conceptualizations of organizational resilience by exploring how gendered organizational power structures, language and practices of everyday organizational life interplay and limit inclusive constructions of organizational resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
The degendered organizational resilience model was developed using Acker’s (1990) model of gendered organizations, Martin’s (2003) gendering practices, Lorber’s (2000) degendering and other feminist research on gendered organizations. The purpose of the model is to explore power structures, practices and language within the organizational context during conditions requiring organizational resilience.
Findings
A conceptual model for analyzing the theoretical development of organizational resilience is presented. The model analyzes the following three different aspects of organizations: power structure, to identify which resilient practices receive status based on established gendered organizational hierarchies and roles; actions, to identify how resilience is enacted through practices and practicing of gender; and language, to identify how and what people speak reinforces collective practices of gendering that become embedded in the organization’s story and culture.
Practical implications
The degendered organizational resilience model offers a process for researchers, managers and organizational leaders to analyze and reveal power imbalances that hinder inclusive theoretical development and practices of organizational resilience.
Social implications
The degendered organizational resilience model can be used to reveal power structures, gendered practices and language favoring normative masculine organizational practices, which restrict the systemic implementation of inclusive democratic practices that incorporate and benefit women, men and other groups subject to organizational subordination.
Originality/value
This paper offers an original perspective on the theoretical development of organizational resilience by proposing a degendering model for analysis. A feminist perspective is used to reveal the gendered power structures, practices and language suppressing the full range of resilient qualities by restricting what is valued and who gives voice to resilient processes that lead to resilient organizations.
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Yvonne Benschop and Hans Doorewaard
This paper aims to examine if the notion of gender subtext is still a useful concept to study the implicit processes of gender distinctions in organizations. It also aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine if the notion of gender subtext is still a useful concept to study the implicit processes of gender distinctions in organizations. It also aims to confront the authors' earlier elaboration of the concept of gender subtext with recently developed insights on how organizational processes produce gender at work.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature that was used to develop the notion of gender subtext. Then it turns to the new insights, concepts and theories that should be included in the update of the notion of gender subtext. The discussion focuses on three elements in particular: the entrance of intersectionality, the disappearance of the layered processes and the prevailing persistency of power.
Findings
The paper concludes that the original concept of gender subtext as a power‐based set of arrangements that reproduce gender distinctions can benefit from the recent theorizing on gender in organizations. The new notion genderplus subtext takes the interference of multiple inequalities into account. Gender is one important part, but not the only, or even the most important, form of inequality at work. To understand the dynamic process of (re)production of these inequalities, the paper points to the interplay between structural, cultural, interaction and identity processes in organizations, and to the hybrid power processes of compliance, accommodation, resistance and counter‐resistance.
Practical implications
The authors hope that this updated version may trigger more debate about the reproduction and, more importantly, about change of gender inequalities in organizations.
Originality/value
The paper reconceptualizes gender subtext, bringing a new perspective to the understanding of the power processes that produce or alter complex inequalities in organizations.
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Jorid Hovden, Elin Kvande and Bente Rasmussen
The paper criticizes current directions in research on women and management. The purpose of this paper is to propose new directions for such research.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper criticizes current directions in research on women and management. The purpose of this paper is to propose new directions for such research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual and is based on a review of recent literature on elites and the gendering of elite positions internationally and in the Nordic countries. This literature is discussed using studies of changing power dynamics and the development of welfare state services in a context of globalization.
Findings
The paper argues that one needs to move away from the focus on individual traits and “female management” to study the processes and practices that (re)produce power differences between men and women in the organisations where they take place. Two contextual factors make new directions in research necessary. The first is the knowledge economy changing organisations from bureaucratic towards democratic forms at the level of production and the financialization of the economy centralizing power at corporate level. The second is the challenging of Nordic welfare states by globalization of the economy. The welfare state results in a “democratization of motherhood” that increases women's participation in the economy, but may limit their opportunity to obtain elite positions.
Originality/value
To understand women's exclusion of elite positions, new research should combine multidimensional analyses of gender and power to explore the symbolic connections between masculinity and “big money”.
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Beverly Dawn Metcalfe and Christopher J. Rees
Current debates on neo‐liberal and universalistic globalization pay little attention to gender or to other marginalized groups, and fail to consider the complexity and diversity…
Abstract
Purpose
Current debates on neo‐liberal and universalistic globalization pay little attention to gender or to other marginalized groups, and fail to consider the complexity and diversity of the experiences of men and women in specific socio‐political contexts, especially those in the developing world. The paper challenges mainstream theories which present globalization and its associated forces as gender neutral. The main purpose of this paper is to advance theoretical debates on the gendered organizing dynamics of globalization.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on organization theory, gender and development studies literature, and feminist sociology, to advance critical understandings of contemporary debates of the intersecting qualities of globalization, transnational organizations and gender social divisions.
Findings
The paper provides a critical synthesis of the complexity and interconnections between gender, organization and globalization. The paper identifies international development agencies; transnational corporations; international nongovernmental organizations and government state machineries as key stakeholders in the global and national regulation of employment and diversity issues. The paper outlines the organizing praxis of these key stakeholders, and stresses the need for all actors to engage in human rights awareness and equality consciousness raising.
Originality/value
The paper provides an original gendered organization analysis of globalization which reveals the specificity of global‐local linkages mediated by national states, international organizations, women's NGOs and gendered government machineries.
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Lisa Ringblom and Maria Johansson
This study aims to deepen the understanding of inequality regimes in male-dominated industries, specifically in Swedish forestry and mining, by exploring how conceptions of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to deepen the understanding of inequality regimes in male-dominated industries, specifically in Swedish forestry and mining, by exploring how conceptions of gender, class and place are articulated and intertwined when doing gender equality in these organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The article draws on empirical material from four research and development projects inspired by a feminist action research methodology.
Findings
This paper shows how gender equality works in these male-dominated organizations simultaneously constructing gender, class and place. When men are at the focal point of gender equality, our empirical findings suggest that blue-collar workers in rural areas are described as “being the problem” for gender inequality in these organizations. Addressing specific groups such as women or blue-collar workers in rural areas is not enough to challenge the inequality regimes that exist in these organizations, since a unilateral focus on certain groups leads to skewed problem formulations.
Originality/value
Research on gender equality work and its relation to intersectionality in male-dominated industries is limited, and by focusing on men and masculinities, this paper contributes to knowledge concerning gender equality in male-dominated industrial organizations.
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There has been ample research on the antecedents and consequences of workplace sexual harassment (WSH), a volatile issue in contemporary labor markets. There is, however, a…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been ample research on the antecedents and consequences of workplace sexual harassment (WSH), a volatile issue in contemporary labor markets. There is, however, a lingering gap in the scholarly literature regarding the organizational practices involved in contending with WSH incidents following their occurrence. By exploring the practices and challenges of sexual harassment commissioners, a mandatory role performed by Israeli human resource practitioners, this study aims to unpack the embedded power dynamics, which construct how WSH is both deciphered and handled within organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 sexual harassment commissioners (SHCs) in various business organizations in Israel to explore practitioners' conceptions of the challenges underlying their role. A grounded theory approach was utilized.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that, while SHCs seemingly are empowered by their exclusive authority to inquire into an intricate organizational matter, counter practices have emerged to undermine their authority and influence. This negatively affects their ability to reduce the prevalence of WSH. SHCs' attempts to approach WSH utilizing a power discourse are eroded by systematic barriers that channel them toward adoption of the default legal discourse. The latter frames WSH in terms of individual misconduct rather than as a phenomenon stemming from and expressive of organizational and societal gender inequalities.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not represent the voices of WSH complainants or of top executives. The data focused on SHCs' descriptions of their role challenges.
Practical implications
Implications are suggested regarding the academic education and training of SHCs.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on covert and unspoken barriers to gender equality in the labor market.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore what it means to do intersectional research in an organisational ethnographic case study addressing gender, race, power and change. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore what it means to do intersectional research in an organisational ethnographic case study addressing gender, race, power and change. The main contribution of this paper is a methodological one. The focus is on the relevance and experience of adapting two qualitative research methods – diary study and photographic method.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the design, implementation and impact of the diary and photographic methods. Both research methods combine personal reflection with group dialogue. The case study is framed by feminist analysis of the gendered organisation and examines subjectivities and gender power relations embedded in organisational culture.
Findings
Insights from the case study indicate the importance of participatory methodologies for deepening organisational research in the context of an organisational ethnography; the adaptability of the diary and photo methods; the effectiveness of open questions for reflecting on race and gender when participants know the research context; the significance of reflexive practice; the importance of a process approach for organisational analysis and change.
Research limitations/implications
The case study findings are generalisable. The adaptations of the two key methods are applicable for research in practice. The concrete methodologies are significant for intersectional research inside organisations. The choice of intersections to be studied will depend on the research context.
Practical implications
The case study shows methodological refinements for researching gender, power and difference inside organisations.
Originality/value
The paper provides methodological insights into how to conduct intersectional and deep organisational research.
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The purpose of this paper is to show how an application of the qualitative diary method reveals the gendered organisation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how an application of the qualitative diary method reveals the gendered organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the author's experience of her own design and implementation of the diary method, using qualitative diaries, dialogues and interviews. The application is known as the “diary project” and is carried out in a case‐study organisation in which the researcher is addressing wider questions about gender, change and organisation.
Findings
The outcomes show how the diary project methodology is effective for learning about gender norms and practices embedded in organisational culture. Reflections on the interface between the personal and the professional, the formal and the informal, emotion, sexuality and power, hierarchies and difference, draw out significant organisational phenomena which shape advantage and disadvantage and unequal access and control.
Research limitations/implications
The diary project methodology is about the organisation in the present. To study gender embedded in the organisation requires the organisational researcher to also work with other research methods, to achieve a deep understanding.
Practical implications
The experience of the diary project is that it offers organisational researchers and change practitioners a methodology for study and intervention.
Originality/value
The paper is of use to readers looking for a participatory organisational research methodology to examine the gendered organisation. Findings highlight the value of the diary project methodology for a deep analysis of organisation.
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Albert Puni and Sam Kris Hilton
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of power distance culture (PDC) on whistleblowing intentions (WI) by examining the moderating effect of gender on the causal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of power distance culture (PDC) on whistleblowing intentions (WI) by examining the moderating effect of gender on the causal relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used descriptive and cross-sectional survey design. Data were obtained from 300 employees of the selected organizations in Ghana and analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlational and hierarchical regression techniques.
Findings
The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between PDC and WI, and such relationship is moderated by gender. The study also revealed that high PDC is the prevailing culture in the organizations surveyed, indicating low tendency of reporting corporate wrongdoing. However, the result of the moderation analysis indicates being a female worker in a PDC has a stronger influence on WI than being a male. Additionally, whistleblowers are likely to report their coworkers than leaders in high PDC organizations, but they are rather likely to report their leaders than coworkers in low PDC organizations.
Originality/value
This paper makes a significant contribution to the existing whistleblowing literature by establishing how gender moderates the influence of organizational culture on whistleblowing and recommends how to improve organizational ethos to facilitate whistleblowing in high-power distance societies.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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