Gendering Organisations: Current Perspectives

Abstract

Over the past fifteen years, there have been significant developments in the analysis of gender and organisations. The following review examines three recently pub lished texts that represent very different genres as well as possible future paths for research. Given their considerable diversity, this review does not present a comparative analysis. All the books contribute to our understanding of various aspects of gender and organisations, albeit to different degrees and using different approaches. The first is a textbook which, according to the author, is designed to 'help formulate how organisational behaviour can be viewed' (6). As with most textbooks it is a summary of the work of others in the field. The second book is an edited text which focuses on gendered cultures in organisations and provides examples of research/intervention initiatives in public sector organisations. The final book, which is particularly challenging and interesting, contributes to theory development by identifying important links between gender, symbolism and organisational cultures. Each chapter in the textbook by Fiona Wilson is interspersed with questions and discussion points and ends with review questions which can be used as 'project, essay or dissertation topics' (7). Seeking to expose myths about gender by examining debates on whether we can expect the behaviour of men and women in organisations to be essentially different or the same' (248), the chapter themes and headings address topics drawn mainly from organisational psychology (with the exception of one chapter on sexuality). The structure follows the usual textbook format. Chapter one contains some interesting statistics in relation to women at work and in the home. There is a critical examination of three commonly held myths about women workers: women have equal opportunity; women only work for pin money and women's work commitment is less than men's. The chapter concludes that evidence to contest that the typecasting of women is important in undermining women's disadvantaged position in the labour market. Chapter two considers the way women are perceived in organisations. The author highlights issues such as 'the double standard' in the evaluation of men's and women's strengths and weaknesses and the stereotyping of women in the workplace. It concludes that women are perceived in a negative way by both men and women