Varda Wasserman | The Open University of Israel (original) (raw)
Papers by Varda Wasserman
Gender, Work & Organization, Nov 14, 2023
Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in I... more Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in Israel, we examine how women's body regulations are collectively negotiated, challenged, and resisted. Our paper shows that through the disruption of religious clothing and hairstyling, JUFFEs have challenged the patriarchal expectations of women's ideal type in their authoritative society and triggered various changes that allowed for the construction of alternative forms of femininity. Our contributions are twofold: First, we advance the understanding of the body as a site of resistance by exposing the analytical constituents of embodied resistance, namely, the forms of femininity constructed through embodied resistance, which demands are challenged, which types of modesty are resisted, which bodily means are used in women's resistance acts and the implications of the resistance. By deepening our understanding of the constitutive resources of embodied resistance, we offer a more nuanced and detailed analysis of the various embodied ways and means through which women of religious communities may prompt changes regarding women’s visibility and economic status. Second, we broaden the conceptualization of resistance’s outcomes in authoritarian regimes by demonstrating how alternative religious femininities are constructed through the collective power of fashion. We present two manifestations of femininity: femininity as a marker of diversity (individualized femininity) and femininity as a marker of economic status (affluent femininity) — both deviate from the one prescribed by their leadership and community. We demonstrate how entrepreneurs’ subversive messages are diffused through their clientele’s bodies as the carriers of their subversive messages.
מרחבי נאו-ליברליזציה בישראל: כלכלה פוליטית, אתניות, מגדר ודת , 2024
דברים, 2024
בהתבסס על חקר מקרה של נשים חרדיות שמועסקות בתעשיית ההיי-טק בישראל, מראה המאמר הנוכחי כיצד נוצרת מ... more בהתבסס על חקר מקרה של נשים חרדיות שמועסקות בתעשיית ההיי-טק בישראל, מראה המאמר הנוכחי כיצד נוצרת מטריצה של יחסי כוח (matrix of domination), שנובעת מההצטלבות של הזהות המגדרית והדתית, וכיצד היא חושפת את הנשים האלה למשטרי נראוּת (visibility regimes) סותרים של פיקוח ושליטה מצד מנהלים, עמיתים והקהילה החרדית. צייתנותן של המועסקות החרדיות לכל אחד ממשטרי הנראות הופכת אותן לעובדות "היפר-מוכפפות", אך בו בזמן מאפשרת להן להשתמש ב(אי)-הנראות שלהן כמשאב, על ידי תמרון בין משטרי הנראות השונים ושיסויים זה בזה. יכולת זו לתמרן בין משטרי הפיקוח הצולבים מאפשרת להן, לטענתנו, לשמר את מעמדן כחברות בעלות ערך בארגון. המאמר מסתמך על תובנות תאורטיות מתוך גישות מחקריות בתחומי המגדר והשליטה הארגונית, וחושף את תפקידם של מבטי פיקוח מרובים (multiple gazes), הן בשעתוק הדרתן ודחיקתן של נשים חרדיות לשוליים והן באופן שבו הם מאפשרים להן לגייס את שוליותן כדי לשמר את זהותן הקולקטיבית.
Gender, Work & Organization, 2024
Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in I... more Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in Israel, we examine how women's body regulations are collectively negotiated, challenged, and resisted. Our paper shows that through the disruption of religious clothing and hairstyling, JUFFEs have challenged the patriarchal expectations of women's ideal type in their authoritative society and triggered various changes that allowed for the construction of alternative forms of femininity.
Our contributions are twofold: First, we advance the understanding of the body as a site of resistance by exposing the analytical constituents of embodied resistance, namely, the forms of femininity constructed through embodied resistance, which demands are challenged, which types of modesty are resisted, which bodily means are used in women's resistance acts and the implications of the resistance. By deepening our understanding of the constitutive resources of embodied resistance, we offer a more nuanced and detailed analysis of the various embodied ways and means through which women of religious communities may prompt changes regarding women’s visibility and economic status.
Second, we broaden the conceptualization of resistance’s outcomes in authoritarian regimes by demonstrating how alternative religious femininities are constructed through the collective power of fashion. We present two manifestations of femininity: femininity as a marker of diversity (individualized femininity) and femininity as a marker of economic status (affluent femininity) — both deviate from the one prescribed by their leadership and community. We demonstrate how entrepreneurs’ subversive messages are diffused through their clientele’s bodies as the carriers of their subversive messages.
Gender, Work and Organization , 2023
This paper examines the creation of women-only organizational spaces as a diversity practice and ... more This paper examines the creation of women-only organizational spaces as a diversity practice and assesses their potential to facilitate the workforce inclusion of religious women from gender-conservative groups. Based on longitudinal fieldwork in two ultra-Orthodox-Jewish women-only colleges in Israel and interviews with students and staff, we demonstrate how this practice constitutes three types of liminality-spatial, social, and epistemic-that enable ultra-Orthodox women to move unimpeded between a familiar, religious environment and a secular one. In this protected and carefully curated environment, they feel safe and are able to develop new identities relevant to the secular labor market while maintaining or even enhancing their traditional, religious sense of self. The liminal space of the college reinforces their sense of belonging to a space of their own and serves as a bridge that helps them cope with the secular world.
Organization, 2024
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women’s sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
“Hold your nose and harness these men”: Sexual vulnerability in a hyper-masculine organization – A barrier or a resource?, 2022
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women's sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
Organization, 2023
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women's sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
This paper focuses on aesthetic communication-communication based on aesthetic attributes-color, ... more This paper focuses on aesthetic communication-communication based on aesthetic attributes-color, size, shape, ornamentation, or texture, for example -in the context of organizational communication. We argue that aesthetic communication is potent because, when done effectively, it leads message receivers, such as the organization’s various stakeholders, employees, customers, etc., to accept an organization’s message as natural and obvious. Our paper theorizes the conditions that render aesthetic communication effective in this regard. To develop our theory, we highlight that aesthetic communication consists of three distinct modes: one linked to the associations the aesthetic attributes evoke, one linked to the habitual bodily responses the attributes form, and one linked to the linguistic communication articulating the effect of the aesthetic attributes. We suggest that aesthetic communication is more effective when there is a high degree of internal consistency among these modes. A...
The study’s objective was to examine the relations between successful Ethiopian immigrant women i... more The study’s objective was to examine the relations between successful Ethiopian immigrant women in Israel and their traditional community, as well as the strategies they adopt to contend with its expectations. Based on a qualitative life and work history methodology, the data were collected from 34 successful women who emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel. Results show three dialectical axes scrutinizing the interrelations of the participants with their community (found both between different participants and within the same woman): (a) trenchant criticism of the community coupled with praise and pride; (b) community as a support base or as hindering personal development; and (c) a desire for separation/detachment from community coupled with a desire to support the community. The findings demonstrate how the Ethiopian women contend with the normative demands of two different, clashing systems: the Ethiopian community-family system and Israel’s neoliberal labor market.
Organization Studies, 2022
How can resistance produce substantial social changes without becoming detrimental to those resis... more How can resistance produce substantial social changes without becoming detrimental to those resisting? Drawing on qualitative study of diverse social and business Jewish-ultraorthodox female entrep...
Gender & Society, 2020
On the basis of a case study of the integration of Haredi Jewish women into the Israeli high-tech... more On the basis of a case study of the integration of Haredi Jewish women into the Israeli high-tech industry, we explore how gender–religiosity intersectionality affects ultra-conservative women’s participation in the labor market and their ability to negotiate with employers for corporate work–family practices that address their idiosyncratic requirements. We highlight the importance of pious women’s affiliation to their highly organized religious communities while taking a process-centered approach to intersectionality and focusing on the matrix of domination formed by the Israeli state, employers, and the organized ultra-orthodox community. We dub this set of actors “the unholy-trinity” and argue that it constructs a specific, religion-centric inequality regime that restrains women’s job and earning opportunities. At the same time, the “unholy trinity” also empowers women in their struggle to create a working environment that is receptive to their religiosity and what that commitme...
Studies in Higher Education, 2020
Organization Science, 2020
This paper explores the everyday practices, forms, and means by which employees mobilize national... more This paper explores the everyday practices, forms, and means by which employees mobilize national identity as a tool of resistance in opposing managerial demands of their dual, global/Western and local/Japanese, organizational identity. Drawing on an ethnographic study of a Japanese subsidiary of a multinational corporation, we show how employees use national identity to invoke three forms of othering in constructing various resistant identities: individual employees’ resistant identities through verbal othering, expressed in employees’ talk; departmental resistant identities through spatial othering, referring to employees’ use of space; and subsidiary resistant identity through ritual othering, illustrating employees’ collective use of ritual practices and symbolic artifacts. Our study makes three significant theoretical contributions: First, by illustrating the ways and means by which employees take on different national identities to construct diverse and often contradictory res...
Human Relations, 2019
How does the multiplicity of surveilling gazes affect the experience of employees subjected to a ... more How does the multiplicity of surveilling gazes affect the experience of employees subjected to a matrix of domination in organisations? Building on a case study of ultra-religious Jewish women in Israeli high-tech organisations, the article demonstrates how the intersectionality of gender and religiosity exposed them to a matrix of contradicting visibility regimes – managerial, peers, and religious community. By displaying their compliance with each visibility regime, they were constructed as hyper-subjugated employees, but simultaneously were able to use (in)visibility as a resource. Specifically, by manoeuvring between the various gazes and playing one visibility regime against the other, they challenged some of the organisational and religious norms that served to marginalise them, yet upheld their status as worthy members of both institutions. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from organisational surveillance and gender studies, the article reveals the role of multiple surveillin...
Gender & Society, 2018
This article examines the importation of new gender ideals into a highly masculine organization t... more This article examines the importation of new gender ideals into a highly masculine organization through top-down and bottom-up processes. We analyze how a dominant group of men undo and redo gender to reproduce their supremacy and create a new, “improved” form of masculinity. Based on qualitative research on the practice of debriefing in the Israel Air Force, we explore how new practices of masculinity are incorporated into a hegemonic masculinity by introducing so-called “soft” organizational practices and thus constructing a new form of “upgraded” masculinity. We show that pilots are involved in two continual and dialectical processes of performing masculinity. The first includes top-down practices neutralizing opportunities to execute exaggerated masculine performances, including new technologies allowing recording and documenting of all flights, a safety discourse emphasizing the protection of human life, and organizational learning based on self- and group critiques aimed at im...
Organizational Behaviour and the Physical Environment, 2019
Israel Studies, 2017
ABSTRACT: The article examines the image of Christianity and Christians as expressed in the narra... more ABSTRACT: The article examines the image of Christianity and Christians as expressed in the narratives used to guide Israeli pupils at Christian sites in Jerusalem. Based on an analysis of tour observations and interviews with tour guides and those who prepare the itineraries, it explores how the presentation of Christianity and Christians serves as a means of constructing a modern Israeli identity. It argues that despite the power of Jews in the Israeli state, there is a growing sense of victimhood in Israeli society, one that leads to the introduction of Jewish-Christian polemics into the Zionist narrative, and to the transformation of tours—ostensibly designed to expose students to cultural/religious pluralism—into a means of perpetuating the notion of hostile “others”.
Gender, Work & Organization, Nov 14, 2023
Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in I... more Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in Israel, we examine how women's body regulations are collectively negotiated, challenged, and resisted. Our paper shows that through the disruption of religious clothing and hairstyling, JUFFEs have challenged the patriarchal expectations of women's ideal type in their authoritative society and triggered various changes that allowed for the construction of alternative forms of femininity. Our contributions are twofold: First, we advance the understanding of the body as a site of resistance by exposing the analytical constituents of embodied resistance, namely, the forms of femininity constructed through embodied resistance, which demands are challenged, which types of modesty are resisted, which bodily means are used in women's resistance acts and the implications of the resistance. By deepening our understanding of the constitutive resources of embodied resistance, we offer a more nuanced and detailed analysis of the various embodied ways and means through which women of religious communities may prompt changes regarding women’s visibility and economic status. Second, we broaden the conceptualization of resistance’s outcomes in authoritarian regimes by demonstrating how alternative religious femininities are constructed through the collective power of fashion. We present two manifestations of femininity: femininity as a marker of diversity (individualized femininity) and femininity as a marker of economic status (affluent femininity) — both deviate from the one prescribed by their leadership and community. We demonstrate how entrepreneurs’ subversive messages are diffused through their clientele’s bodies as the carriers of their subversive messages.
מרחבי נאו-ליברליזציה בישראל: כלכלה פוליטית, אתניות, מגדר ודת , 2024
דברים, 2024
בהתבסס על חקר מקרה של נשים חרדיות שמועסקות בתעשיית ההיי-טק בישראל, מראה המאמר הנוכחי כיצד נוצרת מ... more בהתבסס על חקר מקרה של נשים חרדיות שמועסקות בתעשיית ההיי-טק בישראל, מראה המאמר הנוכחי כיצד נוצרת מטריצה של יחסי כוח (matrix of domination), שנובעת מההצטלבות של הזהות המגדרית והדתית, וכיצד היא חושפת את הנשים האלה למשטרי נראוּת (visibility regimes) סותרים של פיקוח ושליטה מצד מנהלים, עמיתים והקהילה החרדית. צייתנותן של המועסקות החרדיות לכל אחד ממשטרי הנראות הופכת אותן לעובדות "היפר-מוכפפות", אך בו בזמן מאפשרת להן להשתמש ב(אי)-הנראות שלהן כמשאב, על ידי תמרון בין משטרי הנראות השונים ושיסויים זה בזה. יכולת זו לתמרן בין משטרי הפיקוח הצולבים מאפשרת להן, לטענתנו, לשמר את מעמדן כחברות בעלות ערך בארגון. המאמר מסתמך על תובנות תאורטיות מתוך גישות מחקריות בתחומי המגדר והשליטה הארגונית, וחושף את תפקידם של מבטי פיקוח מרובים (multiple gazes), הן בשעתוק הדרתן ודחיקתן של נשים חרדיות לשוליים והן באופן שבו הם מאפשרים להן לגייס את שוליותן כדי לשמר את זהותן הקולקטיבית.
Gender, Work & Organization, 2024
Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in I... more Drawing on qualitative research of Jewish ultraorthodox female fashion entrepreneurs (JUFFE) in Israel, we examine how women's body regulations are collectively negotiated, challenged, and resisted. Our paper shows that through the disruption of religious clothing and hairstyling, JUFFEs have challenged the patriarchal expectations of women's ideal type in their authoritative society and triggered various changes that allowed for the construction of alternative forms of femininity.
Our contributions are twofold: First, we advance the understanding of the body as a site of resistance by exposing the analytical constituents of embodied resistance, namely, the forms of femininity constructed through embodied resistance, which demands are challenged, which types of modesty are resisted, which bodily means are used in women's resistance acts and the implications of the resistance. By deepening our understanding of the constitutive resources of embodied resistance, we offer a more nuanced and detailed analysis of the various embodied ways and means through which women of religious communities may prompt changes regarding women’s visibility and economic status.
Second, we broaden the conceptualization of resistance’s outcomes in authoritarian regimes by demonstrating how alternative religious femininities are constructed through the collective power of fashion. We present two manifestations of femininity: femininity as a marker of diversity (individualized femininity) and femininity as a marker of economic status (affluent femininity) — both deviate from the one prescribed by their leadership and community. We demonstrate how entrepreneurs’ subversive messages are diffused through their clientele’s bodies as the carriers of their subversive messages.
Gender, Work and Organization , 2023
This paper examines the creation of women-only organizational spaces as a diversity practice and ... more This paper examines the creation of women-only organizational spaces as a diversity practice and assesses their potential to facilitate the workforce inclusion of religious women from gender-conservative groups. Based on longitudinal fieldwork in two ultra-Orthodox-Jewish women-only colleges in Israel and interviews with students and staff, we demonstrate how this practice constitutes three types of liminality-spatial, social, and epistemic-that enable ultra-Orthodox women to move unimpeded between a familiar, religious environment and a secular one. In this protected and carefully curated environment, they feel safe and are able to develop new identities relevant to the secular labor market while maintaining or even enhancing their traditional, religious sense of self. The liminal space of the college reinforces their sense of belonging to a space of their own and serves as a bridge that helps them cope with the secular world.
Organization, 2024
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women’s sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
“Hold your nose and harness these men”: Sexual vulnerability in a hyper-masculine organization – A barrier or a resource?, 2022
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women's sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
Organization, 2023
Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the... more Based on 34 in-depth interviews with women in the Israeli military, this article explores how the sexual vulnerability of women in power positions is used as both a disciplining power and a resource for agency that enables them to negotiate a hyper-masculine organizational culture. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from the CMS literature on sexuality within organizations with those arising from the Butlerian conceptualization of vulnerability, we offer an analytical framework for understanding women's sexual vulnerability in hyper-masculine environments, not exclusively as a victimization process but also as a significant survival practice designed for coping with their organizational exclusion. Accordingly, the theoretical contribution of this article allows for a nuanced examination of subjects experiencing exclusion and devaluation as they constitute their political subjectivity in hostile work environments.
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
This paper focuses on aesthetic communication-communication based on aesthetic attributes-color, ... more This paper focuses on aesthetic communication-communication based on aesthetic attributes-color, size, shape, ornamentation, or texture, for example -in the context of organizational communication. We argue that aesthetic communication is potent because, when done effectively, it leads message receivers, such as the organization’s various stakeholders, employees, customers, etc., to accept an organization’s message as natural and obvious. Our paper theorizes the conditions that render aesthetic communication effective in this regard. To develop our theory, we highlight that aesthetic communication consists of three distinct modes: one linked to the associations the aesthetic attributes evoke, one linked to the habitual bodily responses the attributes form, and one linked to the linguistic communication articulating the effect of the aesthetic attributes. We suggest that aesthetic communication is more effective when there is a high degree of internal consistency among these modes. A...
The study’s objective was to examine the relations between successful Ethiopian immigrant women i... more The study’s objective was to examine the relations between successful Ethiopian immigrant women in Israel and their traditional community, as well as the strategies they adopt to contend with its expectations. Based on a qualitative life and work history methodology, the data were collected from 34 successful women who emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel. Results show three dialectical axes scrutinizing the interrelations of the participants with their community (found both between different participants and within the same woman): (a) trenchant criticism of the community coupled with praise and pride; (b) community as a support base or as hindering personal development; and (c) a desire for separation/detachment from community coupled with a desire to support the community. The findings demonstrate how the Ethiopian women contend with the normative demands of two different, clashing systems: the Ethiopian community-family system and Israel’s neoliberal labor market.
Organization Studies, 2022
How can resistance produce substantial social changes without becoming detrimental to those resis... more How can resistance produce substantial social changes without becoming detrimental to those resisting? Drawing on qualitative study of diverse social and business Jewish-ultraorthodox female entrep...
Gender & Society, 2020
On the basis of a case study of the integration of Haredi Jewish women into the Israeli high-tech... more On the basis of a case study of the integration of Haredi Jewish women into the Israeli high-tech industry, we explore how gender–religiosity intersectionality affects ultra-conservative women’s participation in the labor market and their ability to negotiate with employers for corporate work–family practices that address their idiosyncratic requirements. We highlight the importance of pious women’s affiliation to their highly organized religious communities while taking a process-centered approach to intersectionality and focusing on the matrix of domination formed by the Israeli state, employers, and the organized ultra-orthodox community. We dub this set of actors “the unholy-trinity” and argue that it constructs a specific, religion-centric inequality regime that restrains women’s job and earning opportunities. At the same time, the “unholy trinity” also empowers women in their struggle to create a working environment that is receptive to their religiosity and what that commitme...
Studies in Higher Education, 2020
Organization Science, 2020
This paper explores the everyday practices, forms, and means by which employees mobilize national... more This paper explores the everyday practices, forms, and means by which employees mobilize national identity as a tool of resistance in opposing managerial demands of their dual, global/Western and local/Japanese, organizational identity. Drawing on an ethnographic study of a Japanese subsidiary of a multinational corporation, we show how employees use national identity to invoke three forms of othering in constructing various resistant identities: individual employees’ resistant identities through verbal othering, expressed in employees’ talk; departmental resistant identities through spatial othering, referring to employees’ use of space; and subsidiary resistant identity through ritual othering, illustrating employees’ collective use of ritual practices and symbolic artifacts. Our study makes three significant theoretical contributions: First, by illustrating the ways and means by which employees take on different national identities to construct diverse and often contradictory res...
Human Relations, 2019
How does the multiplicity of surveilling gazes affect the experience of employees subjected to a ... more How does the multiplicity of surveilling gazes affect the experience of employees subjected to a matrix of domination in organisations? Building on a case study of ultra-religious Jewish women in Israeli high-tech organisations, the article demonstrates how the intersectionality of gender and religiosity exposed them to a matrix of contradicting visibility regimes – managerial, peers, and religious community. By displaying their compliance with each visibility regime, they were constructed as hyper-subjugated employees, but simultaneously were able to use (in)visibility as a resource. Specifically, by manoeuvring between the various gazes and playing one visibility regime against the other, they challenged some of the organisational and religious norms that served to marginalise them, yet upheld their status as worthy members of both institutions. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from organisational surveillance and gender studies, the article reveals the role of multiple surveillin...
Gender & Society, 2018
This article examines the importation of new gender ideals into a highly masculine organization t... more This article examines the importation of new gender ideals into a highly masculine organization through top-down and bottom-up processes. We analyze how a dominant group of men undo and redo gender to reproduce their supremacy and create a new, “improved” form of masculinity. Based on qualitative research on the practice of debriefing in the Israel Air Force, we explore how new practices of masculinity are incorporated into a hegemonic masculinity by introducing so-called “soft” organizational practices and thus constructing a new form of “upgraded” masculinity. We show that pilots are involved in two continual and dialectical processes of performing masculinity. The first includes top-down practices neutralizing opportunities to execute exaggerated masculine performances, including new technologies allowing recording and documenting of all flights, a safety discourse emphasizing the protection of human life, and organizational learning based on self- and group critiques aimed at im...
Organizational Behaviour and the Physical Environment, 2019
Israel Studies, 2017
ABSTRACT: The article examines the image of Christianity and Christians as expressed in the narra... more ABSTRACT: The article examines the image of Christianity and Christians as expressed in the narratives used to guide Israeli pupils at Christian sites in Jerusalem. Based on an analysis of tour observations and interviews with tour guides and those who prepare the itineraries, it explores how the presentation of Christianity and Christians serves as a means of constructing a modern Israeli identity. It argues that despite the power of Jews in the Israeli state, there is a growing sense of victimhood in Israeli society, one that leads to the introduction of Jewish-Christian polemics into the Zionist narrative, and to the transformation of tours—ostensibly designed to expose students to cultural/religious pluralism—into a means of perpetuating the notion of hostile “others”.
Is the historical rivalry between Jews and Christians forgotten in modern Israel? Do Jewish-Israe... more Is the historical rivalry between Jews and Christians forgotten in modern Israel? Do Jewish-Israeli young people partake in the historic memory of the polemics between the two religions? This book scrutinizes the presentations of Christians and Christianity in Israeli school curricula, textbooks, and teaching in the state education system, in an attempt to elucidate the role of relations to Christianity in the construction of modern Jewish-Israeli identity, and it reveals that despite the changes in Jewish-Christian relations, they are still a significant factor in the construction of modern Jewish-Israeli identity.