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The purpose of this paper is to deploy the concept of the “glass slipper” to unpack the construction of systematic patterns of inclusion and exclusion along the lines of gender, age and class in the emerging, female-dominated profession of psychological counselling in Russia.

The study draws on an analysis of 26 in-depth qualitative interviews with practising counsellors in Russia.

Drawing on the glass slipper concept, the article demonstrates how seemingly neutral discursive “rules” of professional conduct articulated by counsellors create an association between a collective professional identity and the social identities of typical practitioners, making this profession appear most suitable for middle-aged, middle-class women. The findings also show how certain embodied identities – in this case masculinity – may be able to “fit” into a slipper that was not made for them.

The paper extends the understanding of the dynamics of inequality patterns in a feminized profession in the Russian context by unveiling previously underexplored patterns of marginalization along the lines of class and age. It also strengthens the collective-associative view of occupational identity and extends the glass slipper concept by exposing the mechanisms of body-work association in this profession and demonstrating that certain identity characteristics may be more universally privileged in the construction of professional identities.

This paper aims to draw on Ashcraft’s (2013) metaphor of the “glass slipper” (which highlights the need for alignment between occupational identity and embodied social identities of workers) to show how merit may not adhere to individuals when social identity in the form of gender, race or class fails to fit the definition and perceived characteristics of the job.

This is a conceptual paper.

This study develops the notion of the Teflon effect to describe the way merit may go unrecognised and may therefore not “stick” to the bodies of women in management and leadership roles.

This study provides an explanation for the persistence of the glass ceiling and the barriers women face as they undertake or aspire to management and/or leadership positions in organisations.

This study introduces a more embodied notion of merit which relies on both performance and recognition to “take effect”. Professionals must see beyond “objective” measures of merit in performance reviews and/or in recruitment and promotion decisions to include reflection on the significance of merit’s subjective, “performed” dimensions.

This study adds to understandings of women’s positioning in organisations.

This study develops the notion of the Teflon effect. This highlights the significance of the recognition, performance and embodiment of merit and how merit may fail to adhere to the bodies of women in management and leadership roles.

The purpose of this study is to consider entrepreneurial imagery that sheds light on differing and emerging patterns of female entrepreneurial identity which illustrate shifts in the locus of power that challenge masculine hegemony and power structures. As a concept, power has an image component, and shifts in power are often conveyed by subtle changes in the cultural semiotic. Globally, images of female-entrepreneurship are socially constructed using stereotypes which are often pejorative. The semiotics of gendered identity as a complex issue is difficult to measure, assess and understand. Gender has its own semiotic codes, and, universally, images of female-entrepreneurship are socially constructed using pejorative stereotypes. Entrepreneurial imagery can shed light on differing and emerging patterns of female-entrepreneurial identity illustrating shifts in the locus of power that challenge masculine hegemony and power structures. Artefacts, images and semiotics construct alternative gendered social constructs of the entrepreneur to the heroic alpha-male. The imagery associated with the female-entrepreneur is either said to be invisible, or associated with “Pinkness” and the “Pink Ghetto”. Therefore, images, forms and presence associated with gendered entrepreneurial identities have been explored.

One hundred images of female-entrepreneurship were analysed semiotically using photo-montage techniques to identify common stereotypical representations, archetypes and themes. The resultant conceptual typology highlights the existence of near universal, archetypal gendered entrepreneurial stereotypes including the Business Woman; the Matriarch; the Diva; and the Pink-Ghetto Girl.

Although the results are subjective and open to interpretation, they illustrate that the contemporary female-entrepreneur, unlike their male counterparts, is not forced to adopt the persona of the “conforming non-conformist” because they have more options available to them to construct an entrepreneurial identity.

This study extends research into entrepreneurial identity by considering visual imagery associated with socially constructed stereotypes. In looking beyond images associated with the “Pink-Ghetto” the author challenges stereotypical representations of the appearance of female-entrepreneurs, what they look like and how they are perceived.

This study widens knowledge about entrepreneurship as a socio-economic phenomenon via images forming part of enterprising identity, a physical manifestation of nebulas phenomena acting as “visual metaphors” shaping expected constructs.

draws from a variety of folk traditions, including images and texts, to put together a version of a Cinderella story. The writing blends various elements from Cinderella stories from twenty countries and places to create a tale full of culture-specific images and perspectives. The book illustrates the diversity in people’s lives, which is continuously connected through our similarities and differences. The book is appropriate to use as a hook supporting delivery of a social studies curriculum, and to introduce social studies concepts in third and fourth grade classrooms.

This paper aims to introduce an identity fit perspective adding to the understanding of the Nordic gender equality paradox of top managing positions using a Danish sample as case.

In total, five hypotheses concerning identity perception of top managing positions and the relationship with own identity and type of industry were tested through a correlational research design utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology. A total of 1,054 women aged 18–60 participated in the survey.

The analysis revealed a strong masculine perception of a top managing position whereas women's own identity perception was much more diverse. The more masculine a woman perceives herself to be, the more motivated she is to climb the career ladder. Type of industry moderates the relationship between identity fit and motivation for top positions, but only for the masculine traits. The relationship between identity fit and motivation is stronger for women in high masculine industries.

Apart from being the first study of identity fit in a Nordic setting, this study contributes to the identity fit theory by employing a semi-objective fit approach exploring identity fit on an industry level, including female-dominated industries, as well as examining identity fit in relation to motivation to pursue a top managing position.

This paper aims to examine how the work of Ruth Simpson and the subsequent collaborations have contributed to understanding of the gendered constructions of meritocracy, as they apply in organizations.

This paper is a personal analysis of the work of Ruth Simpson and her colleagues and the way in which her work has resonated with me and influenced our joint collaborations. The key questions our work has addressed, both when we work together and with others, include how merit is constructed. Is it gendered? How does it influence organizational outcomes? How is merit recognized? Is merit “performed”? Key theoretical constructs and frameworks are used to address these issues; including, gendered organizational structures and regimes (Acker, 1990; Ely and Meyerson, 2000; Gherardi and Poggio, 2001), the gendered nature of meritocracy (Thornton, 2007; Sommerlad, 2012, Brink van den and Benschop, 2012) and the performance and “stickiness” of meritocracy (Ashcraft, 2013, Bergman and Chalkley, 2007).

The paper reveals alternative ways of interrogating the discourse of meritocracy. Usually taken for granted, as an objective and fair mechanism for the allocation of scarce resources, the concept is examined and found to be much more contingent, unstable and subjective than had previously been considered. The gender-based implications of these findings are assessed.

The implications of the work are to broaden the field and develop frameworks within which we can understand more clearly the way in which merit is understood. Through the work we have done, we have highlighted that merit far from being an objective measure of ability is deeply rooted in contextual and we argue, gendered understandings of contribution, worth and desert.

The practical implications are that firms can no longer rely on discourses of meritocracy to evidence their commitment to equality and fairness. They will need to go further to show a direct link between fairness in the design of processes as well as fairness in the outcomes of these processes. Until these objectives are more clearly articulated, we should continue to shine a light on embedded inequalities.

The social implications are that a call for wider societal understanding of meritocracy should be made. Rather than simply accepting discourses of merit, key constituent groups who have not benefitted from the prevailing orthodoxy should seek to examine the concept and draw their own conclusions. In this manner, the author develops societal mechanisms that do not just purport to ensure equality of outcome for all; they achieve it.

This paper offers an examination of the development of ideas, how we can learn from the work of influential scholars within the field and, in turn, through collaboration, advance understanding.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the current status of women in management and explanations offered for this status in light of a rare empirical field study of the “glass ceiling” phenomenon the authors conducted about 20 years ago.

The authors review the study’s key arguments, unexpected results, and implications for organizational effectiveness (which have been largely ignored). The authors then review what has transpired and what has been learned about the glass ceiling phenomenon since.

The nature of glass ceilings has remained essentially stable over a 20-year period, although further explanations for them have flourished.

More scholarly examinations of ways to shatter glass ceilings and thereby enhance organizational effectiveness are recommended.

Organizations, human resources directors, and internal decision makers need to adopt practices that foster “debiasing” of decisions about promotions to top management.

Societies need to encourage organizations to adopt ways to shatter glass ceilings that continue to disadvantage women.

A systematic review and analysis of the present-day implications of an early study of the glass ceiling phenomenon has not previously been conducted.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight key issues for women managers, leaders and precarious academic women during COVID-19 in organisations and in academy.

This paper shares the authors’ personal experiences during COVID-19 in the UK as a woman Professor and Director of a Business School and a woman Research Associate and link these with existing scholarship to reflect on areas for continued research and action.

This paper underlines how COVID-19 destabilises the progress made towards gender equality.

This paper outlines future avenues for research and practice as a result of experiences of COVID-19.

This paper looks at the gendered implications of COVID-19 for women across organisational hierarchies and highlights commonalities in their experiences and devastating effects of the pandemic.