Micro Change Agents for Gender Equality: Transforming European Research Performing Organizations.

Jennifer Dahmen-Adkins,Helen Peterson

doi:10.3389/fsoc.2021.741886

Jennifer Dahmen-Adkins, Helen Peterson

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.741886

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Abstract

This article explores the experiences of micro change agents for gender equality in seven European Research Performing Organizations in seven different countries. The micro change agents were all participants of an international collaborative project consortium, implementing gender equality plans (GEPs), and funded by the European Commission during 4 years. The analysis draws on empirical data consisting of information submitted by the micro change agents during these 4 years and collected using three different monitoring tools, developed within the project to follow the progress of the implementation efforts, but also to provide an arena for individual and collaborative reflection and knowledge exchange between the partners. The aim of the article is to present a systematic analysis of the change practices that these micro change agents experienced as useful and important for promoting gender equality in their different organizational contexts. A total of six such micro change practices are identified, emerging from the empirical data: 1. communicating, 2. community building, 3. building trust and legitimacy, 4. accumulating and using resources, 5. using and transferring knowledge, and 6. drawing on personal motivation. The findings illustrate the multifaceted character of micro change agency for gender equality, particularly in a time-limited project context with a designated funding period. The results from this study can be useful when developing gender equality strategies, policies and practices and can also be used to empower gender equality micro change agents that face challenges while trying to implement GEPs and promote structural change in any kind of institution.

Highlights

Research within the field of critical gender equality studies has highlighted the importance of macro change agents for gender equality, i.e., organizational leaders and managers with formal, positional power who promote gender equality in their institution
The findings in this article illustrate the multifaceted character of micro change agency for gender equality, focusing on six different change practices reported on by the micro change agents
It is important to emphasize that the presentation of the practices as six distinctive categories is solely the result of the authors’ thematic analysis of the data in order to systematize the complex and challenging work performed by the micro change agents

Summary

Introduction

Research within the field of critical gender equality studies has highlighted the importance of macro change agents for gender equality, i.e., organizational leaders and managers with formal, positional power who promote gender equality in their institution (cf. e.g., Peterson 2014; Kelan and Wratil 2018; O’Connor et al, 2019). To add to the already existing literature on change agents for gender equality this article explores the experiences of micro change agents for gender equality in seven RPOs in seven European countries. It adopts a qualitative methodology and a theoretical framework inspired by implementation theory and action research. Change agents are actors who facilitate, promote, coordinate, champion and implement change in organizations (Caldwell 2006). They can play an important role when it comes to changing organizations towards increased gender equality (Meyerson and Tompkins 2007). Previous research suggests that this kind of awareness can develop through direct experiences of being marginalized, which implies that women are more motivated to initiate change than men (Meyerson and Tompkins 2007)

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