Still Blaming the Women? Gender Equality Work in Academic Organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of the article is to explore, through comparative analysis, how different objectives within the universities influence the process when implementing programmes with a gender-theoretical orientation for women researchers and leaders. In the Nora programme, with an individual objective, gender theory is repeatedly rejected by the participants, as the structural perspective in the theories collides with the participants’ idea of themselves and their organization. In Svea, with a structural objective, gender theory instead becomes a useful tool for the participants. The objective also has a significant effect on the participants ability to cope with resistance from the academic environment. In both programmes, participants experienced resistance that triggered frustration. In Svea, the frustration that arose could be repaired by connecting to gender theory, whereas in Nora the participants could not interpret the resistance from a power perspective and were trapped in frustration. When objectives focus on the individual, the problem of inequality is interpreted at the individual level, i.e., that the problem is women, and that women are still to blame. With objectives focusing on the structure, inequality is interpreted as stemming from a gendered organization which opens up for organizational change.