How change agents mobilise masculinities to support gender equality in academia

Abstract

This paper theorises the role of men and mobilising masculinities in organisational change towards gender equality by investigating how change agents in academia give meaning to their involvement in such change. Via narrative inquiry I compare the working of emotions and affective solidarity in narratives of 15 male and female change agents at nine universities in four countries. The analysis shows that both male and female change agents mobilise different types of masculinities to foster gender equality: chivalrous masculinity, disruptive masculinity and inclusive masculinity. This paper contributes to the gender equality change literature by theorising masculinities as not only hindering but also potentially transforming organisations in the direction of gender equality. The interplay between knowledge and affect in the narratives of gender equality change agents suggests that interventions should aim to move emotions and support affective solidarity through recognising and understanding participants’ experiences with systems of inequality.