an article by Erin D. Reilly (Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA), Germine H. Awad and Aaron B. Rochlen (University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA) and Megan M. Kelly (Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA; University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA) published in Journal of Career Development Volume 46 Issue 4 (August 2019)
Abstract
As research on retention for working women matures, it is necessary to identify particular factors that influence work satisfaction for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
This study collected data on 249 women who had worked 11.51 years on average in STEM. To investigate retention, we modeled the relationship between perfectionism, depression, and stigma consciousness on work engagement and intention-to-leave one’s job using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.
Depression, stigma consciousness, and perceived lack of comparable pay positively predicted greater intent to leave one’s job, with a perfectionistic mind-set representing a nonsignificant predictor. In terms of reported work engagement, depression, perfectionistic discrepancy, and stigma consciousness were significant negative predictors, while having perfectionistic high standards positively predicted work engagement.
For work engagement, lack of comparable pay was a nonsignificant predictor.
Implications and future directions for culturally responsive and intersectional research on the psychological and occupational functioning of STEM women are discussed.
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Monday, 5 August 2019
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
We are strong and we are resilient: Career experiences of women engineers
an article by Shaista E. Khilji and Kelly Harper Pumroy (The George Washington University, USA) published in Gender, Work & Organization Volume 6 Issue 7 (July 2019)
Abstract
With the purpose of breaking down socially derived, implicit assumptions regarding women and highlighting their resilience and strength within organizations, this study focused upon career experiences of women engineers.
Findings indicated women constantly navigated gendered social and organizational norms to develop their careers. We found them to employ three distinct coping strategies, conforming to play by the rules, negotiating to play around the rules and defying to establish own rules. The ways in which participants arrived at and enacted on these coping strategies is illustrative of their strength, forethought and self‐directedness. All participants demonstrated high self‐concept and the ability to learn and adapt.
The study allowed us to acknowledge prevalence of gendered norms and expectations, while also highlighting women's strength in navigating their careers.
We hope that the study is able to illuminate persistence of male perspective in the literature and promote a perspective of women as strong and resilient professionals.
Abstract
With the purpose of breaking down socially derived, implicit assumptions regarding women and highlighting their resilience and strength within organizations, this study focused upon career experiences of women engineers.
Findings indicated women constantly navigated gendered social and organizational norms to develop their careers. We found them to employ three distinct coping strategies, conforming to play by the rules, negotiating to play around the rules and defying to establish own rules. The ways in which participants arrived at and enacted on these coping strategies is illustrative of their strength, forethought and self‐directedness. All participants demonstrated high self‐concept and the ability to learn and adapt.
The study allowed us to acknowledge prevalence of gendered norms and expectations, while also highlighting women's strength in navigating their careers.
We hope that the study is able to illuminate persistence of male perspective in the literature and promote a perspective of women as strong and resilient professionals.
Friday, 26 July 2019
The future is ours: Women, automation and equality in the digital age
a new IPPR publication
Following the Commission on Economic Justice's work on automation, IPPR has examined the impact automation could have on women. Our new report The Future is Ours: Women, automation and equality in the digital age shows that working women are more than twice as likely as working men to hold jobs with high potential for automation. But when workers are cheaper than machines, there is little incentive to invest in automating technologies.
The report argues that without intervention gender inequality could deepen as women are stuck in low-pay roles and less able to access new roles in the economy. It is imperative that government ensures that the increasing use of robots, cognitive technologies and artificial intelligence don't widen existing gender pay and wealth gaps.
Managed correctly, automation could increase productivity. These gains could be used to increase low incomes and to transform how we value key job roles that have historically been characterised by feminised work performed primarily by women, for low wages. Increased productivity could also allow us to produce the same amount with less work: we could choose to reduce working time, potentially relieving the 'double shift' of paid and unpaid work faced by many women and facilitating a more equal balance of unpaid work between genders.
Technology is not destiny. Now is our chance to accelerate automation to create a more just economy. To realise these benefits will require automation to be led by those it affects, and that must include women.
Summary report (PDF 2pp)
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Following the Commission on Economic Justice's work on automation, IPPR has examined the impact automation could have on women. Our new report The Future is Ours: Women, automation and equality in the digital age shows that working women are more than twice as likely as working men to hold jobs with high potential for automation. But when workers are cheaper than machines, there is little incentive to invest in automating technologies.
The report argues that without intervention gender inequality could deepen as women are stuck in low-pay roles and less able to access new roles in the economy. It is imperative that government ensures that the increasing use of robots, cognitive technologies and artificial intelligence don't widen existing gender pay and wealth gaps.
Managed correctly, automation could increase productivity. These gains could be used to increase low incomes and to transform how we value key job roles that have historically been characterised by feminised work performed primarily by women, for low wages. Increased productivity could also allow us to produce the same amount with less work: we could choose to reduce working time, potentially relieving the 'double shift' of paid and unpaid work faced by many women and facilitating a more equal balance of unpaid work between genders.
Technology is not destiny. Now is our chance to accelerate automation to create a more just economy. To realise these benefits will require automation to be led by those it affects, and that must include women.
Summary report (PDF 2pp)
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Thursday, 27 June 2019
Feminising politics, politicising feminism? Women in post-conflict Northern Irish politics
an article by Jennifer Thomson (University of Bath, UK) published in British Politics Volume 14 Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
2018 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the establishment of devolved governance in Northern Ireland. Yet, whilst devolution has largely been held to have positive effects in Scotland and Wales with regards to both women’s descriptive and substantive representation, this impact has been less discernible in Northern Ireland.
Of the four regions of the United Kingdom, politics in Northern Ireland is arguably the most unfeminised — women have routinely seen lower descriptive representation in the Northern Irish Assembly and policy-making in areas such as reproductive rights lies far behind the rest of the UK.
The article explores why politics is so unfeminised in the post-conflict context in Northern Ireland, by looking at efforts to feminise formal politics (especially the various peace/inter-party agreements and attempts to include women in formal politics) and efforts to politicise feminist activism (the work of the women’s sector to influence policy-making in the province). It then explores some of the academic explanations as to why the feminisation of politics remains so difficult in Northern Ireland.
Abstract
2018 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the establishment of devolved governance in Northern Ireland. Yet, whilst devolution has largely been held to have positive effects in Scotland and Wales with regards to both women’s descriptive and substantive representation, this impact has been less discernible in Northern Ireland.
Of the four regions of the United Kingdom, politics in Northern Ireland is arguably the most unfeminised — women have routinely seen lower descriptive representation in the Northern Irish Assembly and policy-making in areas such as reproductive rights lies far behind the rest of the UK.
The article explores why politics is so unfeminised in the post-conflict context in Northern Ireland, by looking at efforts to feminise formal politics (especially the various peace/inter-party agreements and attempts to include women in formal politics) and efforts to politicise feminist activism (the work of the women’s sector to influence policy-making in the province). It then explores some of the academic explanations as to why the feminisation of politics remains so difficult in Northern Ireland.
Wednesday, 8 May 2019
Challenging the gendered rhetoric of success? The limitations of women‐only mentoring for tackling gender inequality in the workplace
an article by Katherine Dashper (Leeds Beckett University, UK) published in Gender, Work & Organization Volume 26 Issue 4 (May 2019)
Abstract
Mentoring is widely acknowledged to be an important contributor to women's career success and progression, but women often struggle to access mentoring networks that can help sponsor and develop their careers.
Formal mentoring programmes designed specifically for women help overcome this challenge, but such schemes may at the same time reinforce masculine discourses which position women as deficient in relation to the invisibly male norm that is implicit within contemporary working practices.
Drawing on a formal women‐only mentoring programme built on gender‐positive goals to empower women to ‘be the best they can be’ within the events industry, this article considers the extent to which such programmes can both challenge and reproduce gendered discourses of business and success. Interviews with mentors and mentees illustrate how such programmes make gender visible within business and individual careers, but masculinist underpinnings of organizational discourses remain invisible, unacknowledged and thus largely unchallenged.
Abstract
Mentoring is widely acknowledged to be an important contributor to women's career success and progression, but women often struggle to access mentoring networks that can help sponsor and develop their careers.
Formal mentoring programmes designed specifically for women help overcome this challenge, but such schemes may at the same time reinforce masculine discourses which position women as deficient in relation to the invisibly male norm that is implicit within contemporary working practices.
Drawing on a formal women‐only mentoring programme built on gender‐positive goals to empower women to ‘be the best they can be’ within the events industry, this article considers the extent to which such programmes can both challenge and reproduce gendered discourses of business and success. Interviews with mentors and mentees illustrate how such programmes make gender visible within business and individual careers, but masculinist underpinnings of organizational discourses remain invisible, unacknowledged and thus largely unchallenged.
Friday, 5 April 2019
The gendered impact of welfare reform
This is the title of an article by Richard Machin (Nottingham Trent University) published in Adviser the citizens advice journal for advisers and subscribers.
I have read it thanks to the British Library and it clearly sets out the problems that have beset women because of benefit changes. The article itself is not available online but many of the source materials used are. I've not copied them all but have picked those which I believe to be most relevant.
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018), "Pressing for progress: women’s rights and gender equality in 2018"
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/pressing-progress-women%E2%80%99s-rights-and-gender-equality-2018
Close the Gap (2018), "Challenging poverty means challenging women’s inequality at work", https://www.closethegap.org.uk/news/blog/challenging-poverty-means-challenging-womens-inequality-at-work/
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018), "The cumulative impact of tax and welfare reforms" https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/cumulative-impact-tax-and-welfare-reforms
Full Fact (2018), "Do new Universal Credit requirements affect women more?", https://fullfact.org/economy/universal-credit-women/
It is not strictly true to say that this is not available online but you need to sign up to Medium (using Google or Facebook) and then get lost in the multiplicity of sources. Personally I do not advise that you do this.
I have read it thanks to the British Library and it clearly sets out the problems that have beset women because of benefit changes. The article itself is not available online but many of the source materials used are. I've not copied them all but have picked those which I believe to be most relevant.
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018), "Pressing for progress: women’s rights and gender equality in 2018"
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/pressing-progress-women%E2%80%99s-rights-and-gender-equality-2018
Close the Gap (2018), "Challenging poverty means challenging women’s inequality at work", https://www.closethegap.org.uk/news/blog/challenging-poverty-means-challenging-womens-inequality-at-work/
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018), "The cumulative impact of tax and welfare reforms" https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/cumulative-impact-tax-and-welfare-reforms
Full Fact (2018), "Do new Universal Credit requirements affect women more?", https://fullfact.org/economy/universal-credit-women/
It is not strictly true to say that this is not available online but you need to sign up to Medium (using Google or Facebook) and then get lost in the multiplicity of sources. Personally I do not advise that you do this.
Tuesday, 5 March 2019
The gendered landscape of UK higher education: do men feel disadvantaged?
an article by Ruth Woodfield (University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK) published in Gender and Education Volume 31 Issue 1 (2019)
Abstract
The landscape of UK higher education (HE) has changed significantly over the past decades. Key shifts relate to the changing gender balance of the undergraduate student body and to emergent gender gaps in retention and attainment.
Men are now less likely to access HE, complete their degrees or achieve ‘Upper’ degrees. There has been minimal empirical exploration of men’s perceptions of the current gender patterning of HE, and none focusing on the extent to which they identify as a minority, or experience minority disadvantage, within this context.
This study explores these questions via analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from 333 male and female survey respondents.
The findings suggest that men do not recognise themselves as comprising a disadvantaged minority within HE, and that both men and women perceive that women face greater challenges because of their gender, both during their studies and in relation to post-degree life chances.
Abstract
The landscape of UK higher education (HE) has changed significantly over the past decades. Key shifts relate to the changing gender balance of the undergraduate student body and to emergent gender gaps in retention and attainment.
Men are now less likely to access HE, complete their degrees or achieve ‘Upper’ degrees. There has been minimal empirical exploration of men’s perceptions of the current gender patterning of HE, and none focusing on the extent to which they identify as a minority, or experience minority disadvantage, within this context.
This study explores these questions via analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from 333 male and female survey respondents.
The findings suggest that men do not recognise themselves as comprising a disadvantaged minority within HE, and that both men and women perceive that women face greater challenges because of their gender, both during their studies and in relation to post-degree life chances.
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
The cognitive authority of user-generated health information in an online forum for girls and young women
an article by Noora Hirvonen, Alisa Tirroniemi and Terttu Kortelainen (University of Oulu, Finland) published in Journal of Documentation Volume 75 Issue 1 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of one particular online discussion forum as a potentially authoritative health information source for its users. The concept of cognitive authority is used as a starting point for understanding information evaluation in this context. The focus is placed on the types of information users seek for from this forum, the ways they assess the credibility of information obtained, and their views on the impact of this information.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected with a questionnaire survey from the users of a Finnish online forum for girls and young women (n=290). The data were analyzed qualitatively with content analytic techniques and quantitatively by using descriptive analysis.
Findings
The forum was found to offer girls and young women the possibility to receive health information from peers. It was viewed as an appropriate source for experiential rather than factual health information and used to find information on sexuality, bodily functions and diets, for example. Author-related cues, argumentation and tone, veracity and verification were recognized as means to evaluate information credibility. Credibility evaluation was found to be linked with conceptions of the forum and the type of information sought. A share of the respondents recognized the information obtained to have influence on their thinking or behavior.
Originality/value
Based on the findings, it can be argued that the members of the online forum – individually or collectively – can act as cognitive authorities for other users. The findings cannot be generalized beyond this online forum, to Finnish girls or young women, or even the users of the online forum. However, they provide insights into the ways young people evaluate user-generated information in a particular online setting and domain of knowledge and as such contribute to research on cognitive authority, credibility evaluation and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of one particular online discussion forum as a potentially authoritative health information source for its users. The concept of cognitive authority is used as a starting point for understanding information evaluation in this context. The focus is placed on the types of information users seek for from this forum, the ways they assess the credibility of information obtained, and their views on the impact of this information.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected with a questionnaire survey from the users of a Finnish online forum for girls and young women (n=290). The data were analyzed qualitatively with content analytic techniques and quantitatively by using descriptive analysis.
Findings
The forum was found to offer girls and young women the possibility to receive health information from peers. It was viewed as an appropriate source for experiential rather than factual health information and used to find information on sexuality, bodily functions and diets, for example. Author-related cues, argumentation and tone, veracity and verification were recognized as means to evaluate information credibility. Credibility evaluation was found to be linked with conceptions of the forum and the type of information sought. A share of the respondents recognized the information obtained to have influence on their thinking or behavior.
Originality/value
Based on the findings, it can be argued that the members of the online forum – individually or collectively – can act as cognitive authorities for other users. The findings cannot be generalized beyond this online forum, to Finnish girls or young women, or even the users of the online forum. However, they provide insights into the ways young people evaluate user-generated information in a particular online setting and domain of knowledge and as such contribute to research on cognitive authority, credibility evaluation and information literacy.
Saturday, 5 May 2018
Forget What Other People Expect and Do What’s Right for You
a post by Sara Fabian for the Tiny Buddha blog
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.“ – Steve Jobs
When we come to this world, we know nothing. We are all products of the societies that raised us and shaped our belief system with things labeled good or bad, right or wrong, normal or abnormal.
I was raised in an Eastern European culture that led me to believe every single woman on Earth must tick off certain boxes.
During the time I was single, especially once I turned thirty, many people started to wonder “what was wrong with me” and why I couldn’t find that illusionary person that was supposed to be “The One”. The prince on the white horse who was supposed to make me forever happy. I was perceived as smart, healthy, funny, and beautiful, so “why was I single?”
Continue reading
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.“ – Steve Jobs
When we come to this world, we know nothing. We are all products of the societies that raised us and shaped our belief system with things labeled good or bad, right or wrong, normal or abnormal.
I was raised in an Eastern European culture that led me to believe every single woman on Earth must tick off certain boxes.
During the time I was single, especially once I turned thirty, many people started to wonder “what was wrong with me” and why I couldn’t find that illusionary person that was supposed to be “The One”. The prince on the white horse who was supposed to make me forever happy. I was perceived as smart, healthy, funny, and beautiful, so “why was I single?”
Continue reading
Monday, 24 August 2015
The political economy of ‘lap dancing’: contested careers and women’s work in the stripping industry
an article by Kate Hardy and Teela Sanders (University of Leeds, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 29 Number 1 (February 2015)
Abstract
The visibility of striptease (‘lap dancing’) as a workplace and site of consumption has grown significantly over the past 15 years in the UK.
This article draws on the first large scale study of stripping work in the UK, exploring original empirical data to examine why women continue to seek work in an industry that is profoundly precarious and often highly exploitative. It suggests that rather than either a ‘career’ or a ‘dead end’ job, many women use lap dancing strategically to create alternative futures of work, employment and education.
It is argued that precarious forms of employment such as lap dancing can be instrumentalised through agentic strategies by some workers, in order to achieve longer term security and to develop opportunities outside the sex industry.
As such, it is averred that engagement in the industry should instead be understood in a wider political economy of work and employment and the social wage.
Abstract
The visibility of striptease (‘lap dancing’) as a workplace and site of consumption has grown significantly over the past 15 years in the UK.
This article draws on the first large scale study of stripping work in the UK, exploring original empirical data to examine why women continue to seek work in an industry that is profoundly precarious and often highly exploitative. It suggests that rather than either a ‘career’ or a ‘dead end’ job, many women use lap dancing strategically to create alternative futures of work, employment and education.
It is argued that precarious forms of employment such as lap dancing can be instrumentalised through agentic strategies by some workers, in order to achieve longer term security and to develop opportunities outside the sex industry.
As such, it is averred that engagement in the industry should instead be understood in a wider political economy of work and employment and the social wage.
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
The effects of ill health and informal care roles on the employment retention of mid-life women: Does the workplace matter?
an article by Siobhan Austen (Curtin University, Australia) published in JIR: the journal of industrial relations Volume 55 Number 5 (November 2013)
Abstract
This article uses longitudinal data to measure the effects of ill health and informal care roles on the employment chances of mid-life women, and to examine how these effects are mediated by workplace characteristics.
We find that women in jobs with lower skills/status encounter the greatest difficulty in finding accommodations for changes in their health and informal care roles. We identify an important role for paid sick leave and holiday leave in boosting employment retention.
However, we find that the positive employment effects of permanent contracts do not extend to women experiencing increased informal care roles. Additionally, we do not identify a positive link between employment retention and flexible working time arrangements.
However, we do establish a link between a preference for reduced working hours and employment cessation, suggesting that some women experience problems in achieving flexible working hours and that this causes some of them to leave work altogether.
We argue that these findings are relevant to the design of policy initiatives aimed at lifting rates of workforce participation as part of the response to population ageing.
Abstract
This article uses longitudinal data to measure the effects of ill health and informal care roles on the employment chances of mid-life women, and to examine how these effects are mediated by workplace characteristics.
We find that women in jobs with lower skills/status encounter the greatest difficulty in finding accommodations for changes in their health and informal care roles. We identify an important role for paid sick leave and holiday leave in boosting employment retention.
However, we find that the positive employment effects of permanent contracts do not extend to women experiencing increased informal care roles. Additionally, we do not identify a positive link between employment retention and flexible working time arrangements.
However, we do establish a link between a preference for reduced working hours and employment cessation, suggesting that some women experience problems in achieving flexible working hours and that this causes some of them to leave work altogether.
We argue that these findings are relevant to the design of policy initiatives aimed at lifting rates of workforce participation as part of the response to population ageing.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Exploring order and disorder: Women’s experiences balancing work and care
an article by Louise Wattis (University of Teesside, UK) and Liz James (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) published in European Journal of Women’s Studies Volume 20 Number 3 (August 2013)
Abstract
This article explores how working mothers negotiate the often competing spheres of paid work and unpaid domestic and care work.
Drawing upon qualitative data from a varied sample of women, it discusses the impact of workplace demands on home life, women’s attempts to contain the domestic sphere so as not to disrupt paid work, and the emotional conflicts inherent to combining dual roles.
In addition, the article applies Bauman’s concepts of order and disorder to women’s experiences of work–care negotiation. Whilst it is recognized that Bauman’s work largely ignores gender, his discussion of solid modernity with its emphasis on order and the transition to liquid modernity with its emphasis on disorder provide a useful theoretical lens through which to illuminate women’s accounts of managing dual roles.
Abstract
This article explores how working mothers negotiate the often competing spheres of paid work and unpaid domestic and care work.
Drawing upon qualitative data from a varied sample of women, it discusses the impact of workplace demands on home life, women’s attempts to contain the domestic sphere so as not to disrupt paid work, and the emotional conflicts inherent to combining dual roles.
In addition, the article applies Bauman’s concepts of order and disorder to women’s experiences of work–care negotiation. Whilst it is recognized that Bauman’s work largely ignores gender, his discussion of solid modernity with its emphasis on order and the transition to liquid modernity with its emphasis on disorder provide a useful theoretical lens through which to illuminate women’s accounts of managing dual roles.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Female Labour Supply, Human Capital and Welfare Reform
COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1892 by Richard Blundell (University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies), Monica Costa Dias (Institute for Fiscal Studies and CEF-UP at the University of Porto), Costas Meghir (Yale University, Institute for Fiscal Studies and NBER) and Jonathan Shaw (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)
Abstract
We consider the impact of Tax Credits and income support programmes on female education choice, employment, hours and human capital accumulation over the life-cycle. We thus analyse both the short run incentive e ffects and the longer run implications of such programmes.
By allowing for risk aversion and savings we are also able to quantify the insurance value of alternative programmes. We find important incentive e ffects on education choice, and labor supply, with single mothers having the most elastic labour supply. Returns to labour market experience are found to be substantial but only for full-time employment, and especially for women with more than basic formal education.
For those with lower education the welfare programmes are shown to have substantial insurance value. Based on the model marginal increases to tax credits are preferred to equally costly increases in income support and to tax cuts, except by those in the highest education group.
Full text (PDF 54pp)
Abstract
We consider the impact of Tax Credits and income support programmes on female education choice, employment, hours and human capital accumulation over the life-cycle. We thus analyse both the short run incentive e ffects and the longer run implications of such programmes.
By allowing for risk aversion and savings we are also able to quantify the insurance value of alternative programmes. We find important incentive e ffects on education choice, and labor supply, with single mothers having the most elastic labour supply. Returns to labour market experience are found to be substantial but only for full-time employment, and especially for women with more than basic formal education.
For those with lower education the welfare programmes are shown to have substantial insurance value. Based on the model marginal increases to tax credits are preferred to equally costly increases in income support and to tax cuts, except by those in the highest education group.
Full text (PDF 54pp)
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Mothers and work–life balance: exploring the contradictions and complexities involved in work–family negotiation
an article by Louise Wattis (Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK), Kay Standing (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and Mara A. Yerkes (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 16 Issue 1 (February 2013)
Abstract
This article presents data from a project exploring women’s experiences of work and care.
It focuses primarily on work-life balance as a problematic concept.
Social and economic transformations across advanced post-industrial economies have resulted in concerns about how individuals manage their lives across the two spheres of work and family and achieve a work-life balance. Governments across the European Union have introduced various measures to address how families effectively combine care with paid work.
Research within this area has tended to focus on work-life balance as an objective concept, which implies a static and fixed state fulfilled by particular criteria and measured quantitatively. Qualitative research on women’s experiences reveals work-life balance as a fluctuating and intangible process.
This article highlights the subjective and variable nature of work-life balance and questions taken-for-granted assumptions, exploring problems of definition and the differential coping strategies which women employ when negotiating the boundaries between work and family.
Abstract
This article presents data from a project exploring women’s experiences of work and care.
It focuses primarily on work-life balance as a problematic concept.
Social and economic transformations across advanced post-industrial economies have resulted in concerns about how individuals manage their lives across the two spheres of work and family and achieve a work-life balance. Governments across the European Union have introduced various measures to address how families effectively combine care with paid work.
Research within this area has tended to focus on work-life balance as an objective concept, which implies a static and fixed state fulfilled by particular criteria and measured quantitatively. Qualitative research on women’s experiences reveals work-life balance as a fluctuating and intangible process.
This article highlights the subjective and variable nature of work-life balance and questions taken-for-granted assumptions, exploring problems of definition and the differential coping strategies which women employ when negotiating the boundaries between work and family.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Early-career outcomes and gender: can educational interventions make a difference?
an article by Nan S. Langowitz, I. Elaine Allen and Mary Godwyn (Babson College, Massachusetts, USA) published in Gender in Management: An International Journal Volume 28 Issue 2 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
Extant research studies document gender differences in career outcomes for middle and advanced career stages. The purpose of this study is to examine potential gender differences in early-career success with a particular focus on whether educational intervention might mediate any potential differences.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data for recent business college alumni were analysed using descriptive techniques, linear regression and logistic modelling; the response rate was 25 percent and all data were self-reported. Both objective and subjective measures were used to assess outcomes. A priori, given similar educational training and expectations for managerial careers, we should expect to find similar early-career progress regardless of gender.
Findings
Differences are apparent out of the starting gate for women in early-career stages compared with their male counterparts, by both objective and subjective measures. Results also suggest an opportunity to improve outcomes through educational interventions. Limitations of the findings include the use of self-reported data and a modest response rate.
Practical implications
The findings of this study highlight the importance that integrated leadership development programs may play in supporting women’s early-career success and the need to advise young women to negotiate more assertively for salary and leadership opportunity at the immediate start of their careers. For educational institutions, the findings suggest that concerted focus on support for women students’ development may enhance their early-career outcomes.
Originality/value
By focusing on early-career outcomes, the paper seeks to contribute to the gender and careers literature by highlighting results that may set up the patterns seen among women in mid-career and senior level managerial careers. In addition, the paper demonstrates the educational interventions may be of value in reducing the impact of stereotype threat on women's career outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
Extant research studies document gender differences in career outcomes for middle and advanced career stages. The purpose of this study is to examine potential gender differences in early-career success with a particular focus on whether educational intervention might mediate any potential differences.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data for recent business college alumni were analysed using descriptive techniques, linear regression and logistic modelling; the response rate was 25 percent and all data were self-reported. Both objective and subjective measures were used to assess outcomes. A priori, given similar educational training and expectations for managerial careers, we should expect to find similar early-career progress regardless of gender.
Findings
Differences are apparent out of the starting gate for women in early-career stages compared with their male counterparts, by both objective and subjective measures. Results also suggest an opportunity to improve outcomes through educational interventions. Limitations of the findings include the use of self-reported data and a modest response rate.
Practical implications
The findings of this study highlight the importance that integrated leadership development programs may play in supporting women’s early-career success and the need to advise young women to negotiate more assertively for salary and leadership opportunity at the immediate start of their careers. For educational institutions, the findings suggest that concerted focus on support for women students’ development may enhance their early-career outcomes.
Originality/value
By focusing on early-career outcomes, the paper seeks to contribute to the gender and careers literature by highlighting results that may set up the patterns seen among women in mid-career and senior level managerial careers. In addition, the paper demonstrates the educational interventions may be of value in reducing the impact of stereotype threat on women's career outcomes.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Structure, agency and career strategies of white women and black and minority ethnic individuals in the legal profession
an article by Jennifer Tomlinson (University of Leeds, UK), Daniel Muzio (University of Manchester, UK), Hilary Sommerlad (University of Leicester, UK) and Lisa Webley and Liz Duff (University of Westminster, UK) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 2 (February 2013)
Abstract
The legal profession in England and Wales is becoming more diverse. However, while white women and black and minority ethnic (BME) individuals now enter the profession in larger numbers, inequalities remain.
This article explores the career strategies of 68 white women and BME legal professionals to understand more about their experiences in the profession.
Archer’s work on structure and agency informs the analysis, as does Emirbayer and Mische’s (1998) ‘temporally embedded’ conceptualisation of agency as having past, current and future elements.
We identify six career strategies, which relate to different career points. They are assimilation, compromise, playing the game, reforming the system, location/relocation and withdrawal. We find that five of the six strategies tend to reproduce rather than transform opportunity structures in the legal profession.
The overall picture is one of structural reproduction (rather than transformation) of traditional organisational structure and practice. The theoretical frame and empirical data analysis presented in this article accounts for the rarity of structural reform and goes some way towards explaining why, even in contexts populated by highly skilled, knowledgeable agents and where organizations appear committed to equal opportunities, old opportunity structures and inequalities often endure.
Abstract
The legal profession in England and Wales is becoming more diverse. However, while white women and black and minority ethnic (BME) individuals now enter the profession in larger numbers, inequalities remain.
This article explores the career strategies of 68 white women and BME legal professionals to understand more about their experiences in the profession.
Archer’s work on structure and agency informs the analysis, as does Emirbayer and Mische’s (1998) ‘temporally embedded’ conceptualisation of agency as having past, current and future elements.
We identify six career strategies, which relate to different career points. They are assimilation, compromise, playing the game, reforming the system, location/relocation and withdrawal. We find that five of the six strategies tend to reproduce rather than transform opportunity structures in the legal profession.
The overall picture is one of structural reproduction (rather than transformation) of traditional organisational structure and practice. The theoretical frame and empirical data analysis presented in this article accounts for the rarity of structural reform and goes some way towards explaining why, even in contexts populated by highly skilled, knowledgeable agents and where organizations appear committed to equal opportunities, old opportunity structures and inequalities often endure.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Women and the Modernization of British Trade Unions: Meanings, Dimensions and the Challenge of Change
an article by Mark Stuart and Jennifer Tomlinson (University of Leeds, UK) and Miguel Martinez Lucio (Manchester Business School, UK) published in The Journal of Industrial Relations volume 55 Number 1 (February 2013)
Abstract
This article examines the position of women within the modernisation processes of British trade unions, based on the first analysis to date of projects funded under the British government’s Trade Union Modernisation Fund.
The focus of the article on the Trade Union Modernisation Fund provides unique insights into the relatively under-explored ‘inner workings’ of unions, and allows an examination of the types of modernisation projects that may advance women’s interests within unions and the types of challenges such initiatives face.
The projects suggested that reflection and learning around women’s interests and equality agendas were taking place, along with a degree of mainstreaming and embedding activity within union structures.
However, projects had to face not only deeply entrenched constraints, but also a new set of challenges raised by the process of modernisation itself.
Abstract
This article examines the position of women within the modernisation processes of British trade unions, based on the first analysis to date of projects funded under the British government’s Trade Union Modernisation Fund.
The focus of the article on the Trade Union Modernisation Fund provides unique insights into the relatively under-explored ‘inner workings’ of unions, and allows an examination of the types of modernisation projects that may advance women’s interests within unions and the types of challenges such initiatives face.
The projects suggested that reflection and learning around women’s interests and equality agendas were taking place, along with a degree of mainstreaming and embedding activity within union structures.
However, projects had to face not only deeply entrenched constraints, but also a new set of challenges raised by the process of modernisation itself.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Muslim women’s workplace experiences: implications for strategic diversity initiatives
an article by Terrie C. Reeves (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA), Arlise P. McKinney (Coastal Carolina University, Conway, USA) and Laila Azam, (Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) published in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal Volume 32 Issue 1 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Muslim women’s decisions to wear headscarves, known as hijab, in the workplace. The decision to wear hijab may result in a stigmatised identity, so the paper also aims to examine perceived or experienced discrimination and impact on employment outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative methodology to capture nuances, the study was based on demographic responses and semi-structured interview questions by 79 Muslim women physicians and other healthcare professionals.
Findings
The paper finds that many factors influenced their decisions, but Muslim women had a wide variety of views in terms of the hijab and adherence to Islamic precepts. Those who wear hijab reported negative experiences of intolerance and discrimination. The decision to wear hijab was subsequently associated with perceived discrimination that would limit one’s employment opportunities.
Practical implications
Religion is one diversity categorisation that can be invisible yet still has a significant impact on workers and their engagement in the workplace. Organisations engaged in strategic diversity initiatives may need to better understand specific nuances of diversity concerning religious expression and the potential psychological toll hiding those expressions may have on workers. The paper's findings have implications for personnel selection, training, and managing interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
Originality/value
Religious expression is an under-studied workplace diversity facet, especially when disclosing religion is a choice that may result in being stigmatised. There has been research on workplace treatment of Muslims and the influences of spirituality, but no research that examined the decision to wear hijab and the associated workplace consequences.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Muslim women’s decisions to wear headscarves, known as hijab, in the workplace. The decision to wear hijab may result in a stigmatised identity, so the paper also aims to examine perceived or experienced discrimination and impact on employment outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative methodology to capture nuances, the study was based on demographic responses and semi-structured interview questions by 79 Muslim women physicians and other healthcare professionals.
Findings
The paper finds that many factors influenced their decisions, but Muslim women had a wide variety of views in terms of the hijab and adherence to Islamic precepts. Those who wear hijab reported negative experiences of intolerance and discrimination. The decision to wear hijab was subsequently associated with perceived discrimination that would limit one’s employment opportunities.
Practical implications
Religion is one diversity categorisation that can be invisible yet still has a significant impact on workers and their engagement in the workplace. Organisations engaged in strategic diversity initiatives may need to better understand specific nuances of diversity concerning religious expression and the potential psychological toll hiding those expressions may have on workers. The paper's findings have implications for personnel selection, training, and managing interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
Originality/value
Religious expression is an under-studied workplace diversity facet, especially when disclosing religion is a choice that may result in being stigmatised. There has been research on workplace treatment of Muslims and the influences of spirituality, but no research that examined the decision to wear hijab and the associated workplace consequences.
Friday, 21 December 2012
The Women and Work Commission legacy in the age of austerity
an article by Rosalie Ward (Social Researcher, Policy Analyst and Writer, UK)
published in Local Economy Volume 27 Number 8 (December 2012)
Abstract
In 2006 the UK Women and Work Commission found that significant pay inequalities between men and women in the workplace continued.
Many of the contributory factors were complex but, crucially, occupational segregation, lack of vocational qualifications, discrimination and fewer quality job opportunities enabling women to combine their work and care roles, needed to be addressed in order to close the gender pay gap.
Through the viewpoint of three senior women trade unionists, this article examines the findings and recommendations of the UK Women and Work Commission as set out in the first report 2006 and final report 2009. It assesses the progress made against the final recommendations and discusses the impact that the change in government policy direction, with its focus on deficit reduction, is having on closing the gender pay gap.
Abstract
In 2006 the UK Women and Work Commission found that significant pay inequalities between men and women in the workplace continued.
Many of the contributory factors were complex but, crucially, occupational segregation, lack of vocational qualifications, discrimination and fewer quality job opportunities enabling women to combine their work and care roles, needed to be addressed in order to close the gender pay gap.
Through the viewpoint of three senior women trade unionists, this article examines the findings and recommendations of the UK Women and Work Commission as set out in the first report 2006 and final report 2009. It assesses the progress made against the final recommendations and discusses the impact that the change in government policy direction, with its focus on deficit reduction, is having on closing the gender pay gap.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Constructing Masculinity in the Building Trades: ‘Most Jobs in the Construction Industry Can Be Done by Women’
an article by Kate Ness (University of Reading, School of Construction Management and Engineering, UK) published in Gender, Work & Organization Volume 19 Issue 6 (November 2012)
Abstract
Construction is one of the most gender-segregated sectors of the UK economy; men constitute over 99 per cent of the employees in the building trades.
This article focuses on the role of discourse in reflecting and reproducing the absence of women in the construction trades. A small excerpt from an industry report is described, interpreted and explained using critical discourse analysis.
The analysis takes as its starting point one phrase, ‘most jobs in the construction industry can be done by women’ and places it in its structural, institutional and historic context, showing its dependence on presuppositions about women’s abilities, and the ideological basis of those assumptions.
Male construction workers’ masculine identity is defined in relation to their ‘tough’ job. The culture of taking safety risks, and working long hours in primitive working conditions suits some employers very well.
The report’s assertion that women can do ‘most jobs’ in construction appears to challenge the dominant ideology but it actually reproduces it, helping to maintain gender segregation. Thus it contributes in a small way to sustaining existing power relations by containing potentially transformative movements.
Abstract
Construction is one of the most gender-segregated sectors of the UK economy; men constitute over 99 per cent of the employees in the building trades.
This article focuses on the role of discourse in reflecting and reproducing the absence of women in the construction trades. A small excerpt from an industry report is described, interpreted and explained using critical discourse analysis.
The analysis takes as its starting point one phrase, ‘most jobs in the construction industry can be done by women’ and places it in its structural, institutional and historic context, showing its dependence on presuppositions about women’s abilities, and the ideological basis of those assumptions.
Male construction workers’ masculine identity is defined in relation to their ‘tough’ job. The culture of taking safety risks, and working long hours in primitive working conditions suits some employers very well.
The report’s assertion that women can do ‘most jobs’ in construction appears to challenge the dominant ideology but it actually reproduces it, helping to maintain gender segregation. Thus it contributes in a small way to sustaining existing power relations by containing potentially transformative movements.
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