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Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 7 September 2023

Ellen Ernst Kossek, Brenda A. Lautsch, Matthew B. Perrigino, Jeffrey H. Greenhaus and Tarani J. Merriweather

Work-life flexibility policies (e.g., flextime, telework, part-time, right-to-disconnect, and leaves) are increasingly important to employers as productivity and well-being…

Abstract

Work-life flexibility policies (e.g., flextime, telework, part-time, right-to-disconnect, and leaves) are increasingly important to employers as productivity and well-being strategies. However, policies have not lived up to their potential. In this chapter, the authors argue for increased research attention to implementation and work-life intersectionality considerations influencing effectiveness. Drawing on a typology that conceptualizes flexibility policies as offering employees control across five dimensions of the work role boundary (temporal, spatial, size, permeability, and continuity), the authors develop a model identifying the multilevel moderators and mechanisms of boundary control shaping relationships between using flexibility and work and home performance. Next, the authors review this model with an intersectional lens. The authors direct scholars’ attention to growing workforce diversity and increased variation in flexibility policy experiences, particularly for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality, which is defined as having multiple intersecting identities (e.g., gender, caregiving, and race), that are stigmatized, and link to having less access to and/or benefits from societal resources to support managing the work-life interface in a social context. Such an intersectional focus would address the important need to shift work-life and flexibility research from variable to person-centered approaches. The authors identify six research considerations on work-life intersectionality in order to illuminate how traditionally assumed work-life relationships need to be revisited to address growing variation in: access, needs, and preferences for work-life flexibility; work and nonwork experiences; and benefits from using flexibility policies. The authors hope that this chapter will spur a conversation on how the work-life interface and flexibility policy processes and outcomes may increasingly differ for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality compared to those with lower work-life intersectionality in the context of organizational and social systems that may perpetuate growing work-life and job inequality.

Details

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-389-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2019

Rifat Kamasak, Mustafa Ozbilgin, Sibel Baykut and Meltem Yavuz

Treatment of intersectionality in empirical studies has predominantly engaged with individual categories of difference. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is…

Abstract

Purpose

Treatment of intersectionality in empirical studies has predominantly engaged with individual categories of difference. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is utility in exploring intersectionality at the intersection of individual and institutional levels. As such the authors move beyond the polarised take on intersections as either individual or institutional phenomenon and tackle intersectionality as a relational phenomenon that gains meaning at the encounter of individuals and institutions in context. Therefore, the authors explicate how intersectionality features as forms of solidarity and hostility in work environments. As such the authors posit that not only individuals but also the institutions should change if inclusion is aimed at societal and organisational levels.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic analysis on qualitative interview data of a purposive- and snowball-selected sample of 11 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer working adults in Turkey was used.

Findings

This paper finds evidence to support the existence of a multidimensional model of intersectionality, where conflicting and complementary individual and institutional intersections create four intersectional typologies in the form of intersectional hostility, intersectional struggle, intersectional adjustment and intersectional solidarity.

Originality/value

The extant literature offers rich insights into individual intersectionality but sheds very little light on institutional intersectionality and its interaction with individual intersectionality. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by investigating intersectional encounters as interactions between the individual and institutional intersections.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 5 August 2019

Ann Marie Ryan and Caitlin Q. Briggs

Work-life research has been critiqued for focusing on the experiences of middle and upper class, younger, White, western and heterosexual women. The purpose of this paper is to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Work-life research has been critiqued for focusing on the experiences of middle and upper class, younger, White, western and heterosexual women. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical lens to conceptualizations that take an intersectionality approach, or at least consider multiple identities, in examining work-life conflict and balance.

Design/methodology/approach

A brief review of the current status of intersectionality research within the work-life realm is provided before discussing the implications of primarily using a single-identity approach to work-life issues. The advantages and challenges of adopting a multiple identity approach are discussed.

Findings

This paper highlights the problems of a lack of an intersectional focus in terms of unidentified needs, ignored values, unresolved conflicts and unhelpful advice. Tensions inherent in trying to adopt an intersectional perspective when dealing with practice and policy issues, particularly with regard to visibility and authenticity, are noted. The paper concludes with a discussion of how considerations of identity and power in work-family research connect to the broader concept of inclusion in the workplace, noting the possible challenges of stereotyping and ambiguity in doing so.

Originality/value

Applying an intersectionality lens to efforts to promote work-life balance in organizations can increase inclusivity, but there are tensions and pitfalls associated with this that are particularly of note for practitioners and policy. A research agenda is outlined as a starting point for addressing these issues.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

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Article
Publication date: 14 December 2017

Rémi Jardat and Florimond Labulle

This study aims to explore inefficiencies that arise from public and private policy initiatives undertaken in suburbs and outlying localities, where various intersecting economic…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore inefficiencies that arise from public and private policy initiatives undertaken in suburbs and outlying localities, where various intersecting economic, educational, ethnic and geographical disadvantages mutually reinforce each other. The authors propose to transpose the cross-disciplinary concept of intersectionality from an individual and community-based level (i.e. encompassing a variety of racial, ethnic and socio-economic minority communities) to a locality-based context.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data underlying this study were based on a long-term field study drawing on both interviews and observations. A self-administered ethnographic research approach was combined with classic analyses of conversations transcribed verbatim, using qualitative coding.

Findings

The main actors’ inability to understand the concrete situations experienced by subjects residing in outlying localities, as well as the managers’ failure to cooperate and engage collectively to promote employment among these populations, can be explained by the ineffectiveness of the categories that were designed and used in carrying out managerial action, as part of corporate policy, and then implemented within factories. These findings are particularly well-illustrated by the relatively lower inefficiency of SMEs, which had more limited resources, as compared with the actions undertaken at production facilities run by large companies, even though the latter devoted considerable resources to vocational inclusion (recruitment, integration and job preservation) and efforts to combat discrimination.

Research limitations/implications

In identifying a new way to categorize a certain type of social dynamic driven by businesses and various social actors, the authors sought to overcome the epistemological obstacles that arise from relying on neo-institutional theory, which, when applied to the case at hand, would have merely resulted in mimetic similarities, without offering any means for unblocking the socio-economic factors that come into play. The limitations of the study are related to its strict temporal and geographic isolation (i.e. a two-year study examining three production facilities located within the same suburb north of Paris).

Practical implications

The authors hope the study will urge actors operating in the same disadvantaged locality to collectively address the multiple intersectional challenges that tend to render policies for social inclusion and economic development so difficult to implement within areas suffering from a myriad of socio-economic ills. The first step in that direction, the authors feel, consists in naming these intersectionalities adequately.

Originality/value

Using a rich empirical database, this paper aims to show the relevance of the concept of intersectionality beyond its traditional scope of application (disadvantaged minority communities and individuals) while directing interest toward a less anthropocentric level of analysis: the locality.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 August 2017

Jeanette N. Cleveland, Lena-Alyeska Huebner and Madison E. Hanscom

Aging workers are a diverse group yet research on aging infrequently examines the joint effects of age and gender upon various life domains and decisions. In order to fully…

Abstract

Aging workers are a diverse group yet research on aging infrequently examines the joint effects of age and gender upon various life domains and decisions. In order to fully understand the experience of a person, you must examine her/his roles and identities as they intersect. Intersectionality extends to the work setting, and the notion of intersectionality is presented as a paradigm that can yield significant insights into the joint consideration of age and gender in the workplace. These relationships have the potential to shape identities, which may in turn influence work perceptions and outcomes. As a result there are important considerations, consequences, solutions, and future research topics, as well as Human Resource practices that are discussed in this chapter.

Details

Age Diversity in the Workplace
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-073-0

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Abstract

Details

Stem-Professional Women’s Exclusion in the Canadian Space Industry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-570-2

Article
Publication date: 6 December 2021

Madison Portie-Williamson, David R. Marshall, Milorad M. Novicevic, Albert J. Mills and Caleb W. Lugar

This study aims to analyze the exemplary historic case of Ms Viola Turner – an African-American insurance executive in the early 1900s to gain insights into how individuals

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the exemplary historic case of Ms Viola Turner – an African-American insurance executive in the early 1900s to gain insights into how individuals negotiate the tension between intersecting identities and moral foundational values over time.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed research design and a genealogical-pragmatic approach to analyze this exemplary case. This study uses computer-aided textual analysis software to analyze interviews conducted with Ms Turner, generating quantitative insights. This study qualitatively codes the interviews to aid in establishing the behavioral patterns across Ms Turner’s lifespan.

Findings

This study found that Ms Turner altered her underlying configurations of moral foundations to better align with her intersecting identities. This study also revealed cross-level interactions of intersecting identities, life stages and social contexts. Individuals manage and cope with power imbalances through these identity-value alignments.

Originality/value

The findings shed light on how intersectional history contributes to understanding the ways in which individuals deal with power relationships embedded in intersecting identities over time.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 February 2019

Edward Fuller, Liz Hollingworth and Brian P. An

There is growing recognition of the importance of educator diversity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the production, placement and employment of school leaders as…

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Abstract

Purpose

There is growing recognition of the importance of educator diversity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the production, placement and employment of school leaders as assistant principals, principals and school leaders in Texas by the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender over 23 years.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a quantitative study that employs multilevel logistic regression analysis to examine using 25 years of educator employment data from Texas.

Findings

The authors find descriptive evidence of an increase in diversity of school leaders driven by a decreasing percentage of white men educators and an increasing percentage of Latina educators. Important differences, however, emerge when examining assistant principal vs principal positions, particularly with respect to the odds of being hired. The authors find black male and Latino educators are more likely than white male educators to be hired as an assistant principal but are less likely than white male educators to be hired as a principal. Women educators, regardless of race/ethnicity were less likely to be hired as assistant principals or principals relative to white male educators. Women of color had the lowest odds of being hired in any position relative to white male educators. With respect to school leader preparation program accountability, the authors find few program characteristics associated with placement and differences between programs explained very little of the variation in placement rates, bringing into question efforts to hold programs accountable for such outcomes.

Originality/value

A longitudinal examination of racial/ethnic and gender intersectionality over 25 years is a unique contribution to the study of inequitable access to school leadership positions.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 57 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2014

Doyin Atewologun

The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences relating to and the nature of the episodes that raise individuals’ salience of their intersecting gender, ethnic and senior…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences relating to and the nature of the episodes that raise individuals’ salience of their intersecting gender, ethnic and senior organizational identities. This paper is based on a presentation given at a British Academy of Management Joint Gender in Management and Identity Special Interest Groups Research Seminar entitled “Exploring Intersectionality of Gender and Identity”.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on identity-heightening incidents elicited through diaries and interviews from minority ethnic women and men in middle- and senior-management positions, the paper adopts a multilevel, intersectional framework to present “sites” of intersectional identity salience. Identity-salient sites were analysed from accounts of episodes that raised the salience of gender, ethnic and senior identities for respondents. Researcher reflections on identity salience are also analysed.

Findings

This paper draws on subjective accounts of identity salience from researcher and respondent experiences on pre-defined identity dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

This paper uses rich, in-depth accounts of everyday experiences to reveal the dynamics of intersectional identity salience. Gender, ethnic and senior identities infuse each other with significance and meaning simultaneously and consecutively in everyday experiences.

Originality/value

This paper’s originality is drawn from the advancement of intersectionality studies through empirical research based on collecting identity-heightening qualitative data.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2021

The existing work-life literature is full of studies that consider the influence of a single social identity, which is “an individual’s self-concept derived from membership in a…

166

Abstract

Purpose

The existing work-life literature is full of studies that consider the influence of a single social identity, which is “an individual’s self-concept derived from membership in a social group.” There are many values and emotions attached to a social identity, but in the modern world, individuals often belong to more than one social grouping. Therefore, the authors wanted to discuss the effect of belonging to “multiply stigmatised groups.”

Design/methodology/approach

The authors began their study with a review of the literature in the work-life space on multiply stigmatized identities. They included ProQuest searches of 104 databases using key words such as “religion”, “ethnicity”, “race”, “disability”, “sexual orientation”, “religion” and “intersectionality.” They found 31 papers that focused on the intersection of two, or more, identities.

Findings

The study provides a framework for future research into the impact of multiple identities on issues of power and privilege. If intersectionality is not considered, the authors say, there will be “unidentified needs, ignored values, unresolved conflicts and unhelpful advice.”

Originality/value

The authors said they had written the paper in response to the criticism that work-life research tends to focuses on the experiences of middle, or upper-class, younger, white, western and heterosexual women.

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest , vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

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