Gender in Organizations

Abstract

Gender in management and organizations is an ever-present, though somewhat marginalized, topic. Unlike sex, which is linked to biology and reproduction, gender is a social category, though the two terms are closely connected, and the latter is seen as a social expression of the former. Gender is often raised in the context of persisting inequalities in labor markets and organizations. Legislation in many countries outlaws gender-based discrimination at work, yet gender equality has not so far been achieved in most organizations—in either advanced or developing economies. Various approaches drawn from psychological, sociological, and cultural theories explain the role of gender as an attribute, focusing on the unequal treatment of women in management (WIM). These approaches assume that organizational structures, including reward and beliefs systems, shape individual identities and influence micro-level behaviors in work organizations. A related trend concerns “women’s voice” literature, accounting for women’s experiences, interests, and values. In contrast, feminist thinking influenced by social constructivism theorizes inequality by proposing a conception of gendering as an outcome of relational interactions in organizational contexts. Rather than conceiving gender as a variable, such explanatory frames focus on organizing processes by which members are judged, defining their relationships with desirable organizational outcomes. Overall, feminist theory sees gender as an effect of social processes that are amenable to change. The shift from gender as an attribute possessed by individuals or practiced in organizations to gendering as an act we perform is also underscored by the recent shift toward intersectionality. These approaches and feminist postcolonial insights criticize the assumption that the term woman has a uniform meaning, irrespective of context and history. Rejecting the concept of gender identity and organizations as immutable and stable, in Gender and the Organization: Women at Work in the 21st Century (London: Routledge, 2017), Fotaki and Harding take their inspiration from Judith Butler’s post-structuralist feminist ideas. Taken together, such perspectives explain the politics of gender by offering a more nuanced and complex account of how organizations work in a global context, and they stress the power of gendered discourses and practices in reproducing gender. The latter must be constantly performed by the subjects themselves to reinforce social norms. This article addresses topics concerning WIM, and it considers gendering as a process created and reproduced by organizations. It focuses specifically on examining the causes of gender inequality in work organizations and argues the importance of feminist perspectives to better understand these issues. The article offers a selective review of the most influential books, textbooks, and articles on a range of topics relating to both WIM and gendering in organizations. It also discusses key feminist ideas that have influenced gender scholarship in management and organizations and outlines their potential for addressing persisting inequalities in organizations and society.