Managing Change from a Gender Perspective (original) (raw)
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In this chapter we use the lens of Critical Sensemaking (CSM) to review the literature on organizational change and gender. Specifically we focus on two interrelated themes: (i) organizational change programs and the gendering of organization-exploring the impact of such programs of gendered practices; and (ii) gendered organization and change-exploring the implications of feminist theory for organizational change practices. We conclude with a synthesis of insights from the literature review and suggested strategies for changing gender and gendering change.
No change from within: senior women managers’ response to gendered organizational structures
Women in Management Review, 2003
The gendered nature of organizations has now been well-established by feminist researchers. In particular, the most senior levels of management have been identified as sites of hegemonic masculinity; the causes of which are complex, socially reproduced interrelationships that are highly resistant to change. While it has been argued that these structures will become less problematic as more women enter the paid workforce and more move into senior management, in this paper we challenge this argument. Our recent research concerning women in the most senior ranks of management in the private sector in Australia suggests that while the majority of these women identify the need for change, they have not used their role in senior management as a means of challenging gendered structures. The implications of the findings are that it is invalid to assume that change will come about through increasing numbers of women in management. Other means of challenging gendered organizational structures must be implemented if quantifiable change is to come about.
Women managers as change agents : overcoming gender discrimination in transformation
2012
My sincere gratitude goes to the following people: My supervisor, DR KC Moloi, for her assistance, guidance and support throughout the duration of the mini-dissertation. Her helpful comments and recommendations assisted me in the completion of this study. Dr Moloi's expertise is unsurpassed, and I wish her great success in all her endeavours. Thembi Mashiloane, for typing my proposal and Lesedi for her support. My father, Abel Setlhodi, who unequivocally supported me in all my endeavours from preschool to date. I feel that I have to uphold his name. Hence the double-barrel surname. He made me to be the woman I am. My mother, Alina, she ensured that I always concentrated on what will make me successful whilst taking care of my family tasks. A true role model that she is. I would have not been where I am today, without her support. My sister, Ann, for her encouragement. Kgotso and Koketso, for believing in me. My husband, Mohlabi, for his patience and support. Finally and most importantly, I want to praise my God Almighty. The strength, power and will that I had would not have been possible. It is the Lords Grace, that has sustained me throughout my studies and towards the succesful completion of this research project. Glory be to Thee. V Die aanbevelings wat in hierdie navorsing gemaak word, is gebaseer op die kategoree wat in die onderhoude sowel as in die waarneming geidentifiseer is. Hierdie kategoriee is: sabotasie, stereotipering, positiewe strategiee, hindernisse en swakhede. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii SYNOPSIS iii SINOPSIS iv CHAPTER ONE ORIENTATION OF THE RESEARCH 1.1 9 1.10 CHAPTER DIVISION 9 1.11 CONCLUSION CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH LITERATURE 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2.2 FEMINIST THEORIES 2.2.1 Liberal feminism 2.2.2 Radical feminism 2.2.3 Socialist feminism 2.2.4 Black feminism 2.2.5 Post-structuralism feminism 2.3 GENDER AND ORGANISATIONS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.4 WOMEN MANAGERS AS CHANGE AGENTS 2.4.1 Women and change 2.4.2 Closing the management gender gap 2.4.3 The need for planned change 20 2.4.4 Organisational approaches to change strategies 22 2.5 STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN MANAGERS TO OVERCOME GENDER DISCRIMINATION 24 2.5.1 Dealing with prejudice and stereotype 24 2.5.2 Overcoming patriarchal obstacles 26 2.5.3 Addressing inequalities in defying gender discrimination 28 viii 2.5.4 Organisational approaches to gender inequalities 29 2.5.5 Embrasing equality: are women ready? 2.5.6 Empowerment and career development for women 31 2.6 TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 34 2.6.1 Transforming 'masculine' positions 35 2.6.2 Transforming cultures in township secondary schools 2.6.3 Emotional intelligence: a transformational strategy for women managers 2.7 CONCLUSION 40 CHAPTER THREE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 THE RESEARCH DESIGN 3.2.1 Types of qualitative design 3.3 SAMPLING AND SELECTION 3.4 METHODOLOGY EMPLOYED 3.4.1 The interview 3.4.2 Observation program and field notes 3.5 THE RESEACHER'S ROLE 3.5.1 Researcher effects 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS 3.7 RELIABILITY, VALIDITY AND ETHICAL ISSUES 3.7.1 Reliability 3.7.2 Validity 51 3.7.3 Ethical issues 51 ix 3.8 CONCLUSION CHAPTER FOUR THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA 4.1 INTRODUCTION 4.2 INTERACTION WITH THE RESPONDENTS 4.2.1 The school environment and population 4.2.2 About the principal 4.3.3 Educators responces about the principal 4.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 4.3.1 Theories on gender 4.3.2 Women as change agents 4.3.3 Strategies to overcome gender discrimination 4.3.4 Transfromational leadership 4.4 THE CONSTANT COMPARATIVE METHOD EMPLOYED 4.4.1 Positive strategies employed by the principal 4.4.2 Educator's sabotage of the principal's management 4.4.3 Existing stereotypical elements 4.4.4 Barriers and weakneses 4.5 CONCLUSION CHAPTER FIVE THE SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 SUMMARY 5.3 FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS 5.3.1 Findings in respect of the first aim 5.3.2 Findings in respect of the second aim 5.3.3 Findings in respect of the third aim 5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS 5.4.1 Overcoming gender discrimination 5.4.2 Dealing with perceptions about women managers 5.4.3 Women managers and transformation
Introduction: The Many Faces of Gender and Organization
Texts on gender and organizations often start by referring to common knowledge or statistics showing an inferior position of women in relation to men. Women in general have lower wages, even within the same occupation and at the same level, experience more unemployment, take more responsibility for unpaid labour, are strongly underrepresented at higher positions in organizations, and have less autonomy and control over work and lower expectations of promotion (e.g. Chafetz, 1989; Nelson and Burke, 2000; Ely et al., 2003). There is massive empirical evidence on these issues and those arguing that there exists a gendered order (or patriarchal society), which gives many more options and privileges to men, particularly in working life, but also in life in general, have little difficulty in substantiating their case.
Management Styles, Gender Theories
Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World
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Gender Issues in Business Coaching
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd eBooks, 2012
Coaching p. S39). Oakley (1972 /1985) was one of the first to distinguish biological "sex" differences from "gender" as a set of socio-cultural constructions, identifying how what was often thought of as natural and biological was also social, cultural, historical, and political. However, some of the problems with the approaches in the 1960s and 1970s was with their cultural specificity, and relative lack of attention to power, change, and social structures (Broadbridge and Hearn, 2008 , p. S40; Eichler, 1980). Gatrell and Swan (2008) explore the background to the women's rights movement and the influence of liberal feminism on the equal opportunities agenda. The history of women's employment is positioned as a social issue within specific social contexts. Although formal workplace activism started in the 1960s and 1970s, the authors acknowledge that "women have always found ways to fight and resist discriminatory practices, individually and collectively" (Gatrell and Swan, 2008 , p. 21). The theories of Marxist feminism, radical feminism, and patriarchy are considered as influences on our understanding of discrimination against women. Greer (1970 /2006) and Friedan (1963) gave voice to feminist thinking on gender, work, and inequality. Radical feminism gave "a positive value to womanhood rather than supporting a notion of assimilating women into areas of activity with men" (Beasley, 1999 , p. 54). Social and cultural perspectives are examined on how traditional stereotypes of masculinity and femininity have created the gendered division of labor at work, with particular emphasis on the discrimination of women with and without children (Gatrell and Swan, 2008 , pp. 36-7). During the 1970s and 1980s, the two dominant sets of literature on gender and management came from studies of gendered labor markets, "influenced by studies of political economy and by Marxist and socialist feminist work", and writings on "women and management" (Broadbridge and Hearn, 2008 , p. S41). Rosabeth Moss Kanter's (1977) "extended case study of a large US corporation in Men and Women of the Corporation , significantly opened up the field, although Kanter stopped short of presenting a fully gendered account of power" (Broadbridge and Hearn, 2008 , p. S41; Kanter, 1977). By the late 1970s and 1980s, most relevant work was on gender divisions of labor, authority and hierarchy, and sexuality in management and organizations (Hearn and Parkin, 1983). With the move away from "women in management", to "gender in management", in 1986 Women in Management Review was renamed Gender in Management: An International Journal. In 1992, organizational theorist, Joan Acker set out to analyze gendered processes in organizations, describing how they intertwine with organizational culture, sexuality, and violations. A second journal, Gender, Work and Organization , was founded in 1994 due to the expansion of research in this area. Butler (1990) argued that the sex-gender distinction is a socio-cultural construction. Although "the area of gender, organizations and management is now a recognized legitimate and important area," and it is recognized that there are "key issues of gender power relations in academic organizations and academic management which need urgent attention," gender "should not be isolated from other social divisions and oppressions, such as class or race" (Broadbridge and Hearn, 2008 , pp. S38-40). "The idea of 'gender and gendering', as opposed to 'women' in management as an analytic lens, means that the relationality between men and women, masculinity and femininity-the way they cannot be thought apart from each other-draws attention to the social construction of masculinity and femininity" (Gatrell and Swan, 2008 , pp. 4-5). Gender, although a term widely used, finds "no common understanding of its meaning, even amongst feminist scholars" (Acker, 1992 , p. 565). For most social theorists, gender is a social construction which means that "as for other social categories such as race, sexuality