Journal article
‘Are we to become a gender university?’ Facets of resistance to a gender equality project
Gender, Work and Organization, Vol.25(2), pp.127-143
2018
Abstract
Gender equality (GE) is something 'we cannot not want'. Indeed, the pursuit of equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for all women and men throughout a society freed from gendered oppression is widely visible in recent organizational GE initiatives. In practice, however, GE initiatives often fail in challenging gendered norms and at effecting deep-seated change. In fact, GE measures tend to encounter resistance, with a gap between saying and doing. Using a GE project at a Swedish university, we examined the changing nature of reactions to GE objectives seeking to understand why gender inequality persists in academia. We used 'resistance' to identify multiple, complex reactions to the project, focusing on the discursive practices of GE. Focusing our contextual analysis on change and changes in reactions enabled a process-oriented analysis that revealed gaps where change is possible. Thus, we argue that studying change makes it possible to identify points in time where gendered discriminatory norms are more likely to occur. However, analysing discursive practices does not itself lead to change nor to action. Rather, demands for change must start with answering, in a collaborative way, what problem we are trying to solve when we start a new GE project, in order to be relevant to the specific context. Otherwise, GE risks being the captive of consensus politics and gender inequality will persist.
Details
- Title
- ‘Are we to become a gender university?’ Facets of resistance to a gender equality project
- Authors
- Stina Powell (Corresponding Author) - Swedish University of Agricultural Science, SwedenM Ah-King (Author) - Stockholm University, SwedenA Hussénius (Author) - University of Gävle, Sweden
- Publication details
- Gender, Work and Organization, Vol.25(2), pp.127-143
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1111/gwao.12204
- ISSN
- 0968-6673; 0968-6673
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451389202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Management
- Women's Studies
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