Male-dominated Profession Research Articles

“Songs of Pain”

This article explores urban Romani song in southern Romania and how ethnicity and gender inform the repertoire and style of two 20th-century female vocalists: Romica Puceanu and Gabi Luncǎ. Both established their renown during the communist period, initially at in-group weddings in addition to family and other social gatherings and eventually at Romanian venues as well. Numerous songs that they performed were also issued on recordings. Puceanu and Luncă were best-known for their quintessentially Romani song genres and style of singing: muzica lăutărească (“lǎutar music” – the music of Romani musicians), namely, cântece lăutăreşti (“lăutar songs”) or “songs of pain.” Cântece lăutăreşti are often characterized by a slow, heartfelt style and express anguish, suffering, and longing. How did ethnicity and gender inform the artistry of Puceanu and Luncă? Which themes in their song repertoires were they drawn to, and how did the lyrics and style of the songs that they sang reflect their roles as female Romani performers not only surrounded by a majority society that had enslaved Roma for centuries and in which anti-Romani racism was (and still is) widespread, but also within a patriarchal society and male-dominated profession? I examine how Puceanu and Luncă became icons of muzica lăutărească in a world dominated by men. I argue that as vocalists who were both Roma and women, they found nuanced ways to express ethnic and gendered identity through song.

Postfeminism in prison: A discourse analysis of women correctional officers’ accounts of gendered appearance at work

This article explores sense-making among female prison workers as they negotiate their appearance at work. Appearance is a vehicle through which gender is performed; yet research into how women account for their appearance in this male-dominated profession remains limited. We address this gap through an analysis of 16 women's accounts of their appearance work produced from an in-depth cooperative inquiry with women working in Australian men's prisons. We discuss three overarching patterns of talk, “look good, feel good, be good,” “my choice, not yours,” and “look good, but not too good.” These accounts showed both alignments and tensions between (a) postfeminist imperatives to meet feminine appearance norms and (b) an organisational culture that devalues normative femininity but values attention to appearance. In this context, our participants developed individualised solutions, crafting their appearance in ways that would consolidate their own sense of identity and communicate their professional value to others. We find that exploring women's sense-making of appearance at work provides a critical avenue to understand the manifestation of sexism within organisations.

Empowerment of Women in Male-Dominated Profession of Policing: A Qualitative Study of Women Police Officers of Lahore

Empowerment of Women in Male-Dominated Profession of Policing: A Qualitative Study of Women Police Officers of Lahore

Unraveling gender disparities in arbitrators' social networks: differential effects of centrality and tie strength on career outcomes among independent contractors

PurposeThe prevalence of independent contractors in the US workforce is growing. This research examines the social environment and career outcomes of labor and employment arbitrators, a unique profession of high-skilled and high-status independent contractors who play a significant role in facilitating organizational justice. Previous research has focused on the employment relationships that independent contractors have with hiring organizations and the characteristics of individuals who become independent contractors; however, little attention has been given to how relational factors influence the career outcomes of high-skilled independent contractors or how such influences differ by gender. Building upon theories of social networks and unequal network returns (UNR), our study investigates the informal social relationships among arbitrators, the association between interpersonal relationship patterns and arbitrators’ career success, and how these associations vary based on gender.Design/methodology/approachA social network survey is used to collect the social networks, attitudes and fee information of 407 labor and employment arbitrators working in North America. A multi-level regression analysis was used to examine the proposed relationships among social networks, gender and career outcomes of the arbitrators.FindingsWe discovered that occupying a central position within advice networks is positively associated with occupational satisfaction. On the other hand, having strong ties is associated with achieving high employment arbitration fees. Notably, we found that the advantages of strong ties for arbitration fees are comparatively weak for female arbitrators relative to their male counterparts.Originality/valueThis research examines the relationship between social networks and career outcomes for independent contractors in the unique context of arbitrators. It further highlights inequalities experienced by female arbitrators in a male-dominated profession where their social networks offer fewer rewards relative to their male counterparts.

‘The Doctor in Search of Herself’: women doctors’ autobiographies, second wave feminism, and the feminist women’s health movement, 1976-1987

Second wave feminist legal and educational reform contributed to the fourfold rise in the number of women doctors in the United States between 1970 and 1990, challenging the hierarchical medical...

Socio-economic Challenges Deterring Sustainable Pastoralism Among Women Pastoralists in the Sahel Region of Northern Nigeria

Female pastoralists exhibit great strength in the drive to make a dependable livelihood from livestock tending. This is not without challenges that are gender- specific. This paper examines the socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by women pastoralists in the Sahelian Region of Northern Nigeria. Primary data were derived from an interview of 2,290 adult female household members in 6 local government areas in Bauchi and Gombe States in Nigeria. A stepwise regression analysis determined that amongst 23 socio-economic variables, 14 were significant explanatory or predictive variables (p < 0.05) for the socio-economic status of women, as a measure of their capacity to sustain pastoralism. The results indicate that the length of time or experience in pastoralism had the most predictive power (β = 0.31; p < 0.05), and contributed 13% (R 2 = 0.13) in enhancing the socio- economic status of pastoralist women. This was followed by other socio-economic factors such as the level of formal educational attained, participation in household livestock raising, ownership of large livestock, climate change awareness, prevalence of out-of-school children within the household, availability of household transportation means, category of health care facility accessed, involvement in non- agricultural economic sectors, involvement in food crop farming, ownership of small livestock, amount of rest/sleep affordable, membership of community development groups, and age. The paper recommends support for female education in pastoral communities, access to health care in remote areas, and upgrading community development groups to cooperative or self-help groups that can provide affordable loans to assist pastoralist women in thriving better in a supposedly male-dominated profession.

Hiring Discrimination Under Pressures to Diversify: Gender, Race, and Diversity Commodification across Job Transitions in Software Engineering

White, male-dominated professions in the United States are marked with substantial gender and racial inequality in career advancement, yet they often face pressures to increase diversity. In these contexts, are theories of employer biases based on gender and racial stereotypes sufficient to explain patterns of hiring discrimination during common career transitions in the external labor market? If not, how and why do discrimination patterns deviate from predictions? Through a case study of software engineering, we first draw from a large-scale audit study and demonstrate unexpected patterns of hiring screening discrimination: while employers discriminate in favor of White men among early-career job applicants seeking lateral positions, for both early-career and senior workers applying to senior jobs, Black men and Black women face no discrimination compared to White men, and White women are preferred. Drawing on in-depth interviews, we explain these patterns of discrimination by demonstrating how decision-makers incorporate diversity value—applicants’ perceived worth for their contribution to organizational diversity—into hiring screening decisions, alongside biases. We introduce diversity commodification as the market-based valuative process by which diversity value varies across job level and intersectional groups. This article offers important implications for our understanding of gender, race, and employer decision-making in modern U.S. organizations.

Are women entrepreneurs more androgynous than men entrepreneurs? A comparative content analysis of language used by Shark Tank India Judges

ABSTRACT Despite a significant increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in India, it remains a gendered profession. In this study, we aim to re-examine gender dynamics in entrepreneurship by using language as an interpretative tool to assess entrepreneurs’ psychological characteristics – motives, values, and linguistic styles. There has been a lack of academic research that focuses on successful women entrepreneurs. To address this, we specifically focused on seven entrepreneurs, who appeared as judges on Shark Tank India, Season One. Using computer-aided text analysis (LIWC software), we content-analysed 571 Tweets, 328 LinkedIn posts, and 13 media interaction videos (total 436:38 minutes), resulting in 912 individual observations. Results showed evidence of gender maturity in entrepreneurship, suggesting that women entrepreneurs had androgynous stable dispositions of both masculine and feminine characteristics. However, analysis of the media interactions showed that women entrepreneurs are significantly higher on affiliation motive as compared to their counterparts. This paradoxical situation validates the socio-cultural embeddedness where the perceptive portrayal of Indian women entrepreneurs as communal continues to be rooted in deep gender-bias. Interestingly, in terms of language usage, we found that women employed more masculine language than men, facilitating their entry and acceptance in a male-dominated profession.

How a Female Cartoonist Has Become Even More Famous Than Her Male Peers: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach

Political cartooning has always been a male-dominated profession. Though this could be partly explained by the fact that many female cartoonists suffer sexism at work, it reignites the dreaded “women aren’t funny” argument, a preconception that largely stems from the stereotype of a polite, reserved woman. Indeed, women such as star architect Zaha Hadid have launched their careers into the stratosphere in spite of discrimination. A systematic analysis of a female cartoonist’s work may thus not only shatter tired gender stereotypes, it may explain why there are apparently fewer female humorists in general. This study, informed by insights from cognitive corpus pragmatics, aims at explaining why Doaa Eladl is the Arab world’s most famous female cartoonist. Part of her success, it is suggested, lies in challenging some societal and cultural stereotypes that women are often pinned with, but also in having an idiosyncratic style. She frequently uses taboo metaphors and discusses sensitive topics such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual harassment. But far more interesting is her occasional resistance to the “women as object” metaphor. To reach wider audiences, Eladl often publishes English-language versions of her cartoons and employs metaphorical source domains from Christianity. She has comic heroes that have become the reader’s dear friends, but also meme-like cartoons that contain Photoshopped stills. All this has implications for gender studies, humor research, metaphor scholarship, and media (digital or otherwise).

Achieving Gender Parity: A Comprehensive Analysis of Women’s Underrepresentation on the International Court of Justice and Strategies for Future Reforms

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the highest judicial entity within the United Nations, resolving international conflicts to maintain global peace. The current judge selection process for the ICJ ensures diverse geographic representation with judges of varied nationalities, races, and cultures. However, female judges are underrepresented, comprising only 4.6% of judges in the court’s history. This research article aims to examine the connection between this lack of female representation and the judge selection process, starting from the nomination phase and extending through the election process. It is argued that there are four primary drivers for female underrepresentation on the ICJ: almost exclusively focusing on geographical representation, a male-dominated nomination process, the preference of judicial qualities aligned with expertise in male-dominated professions, and re-elections allowing judges to serve multiple terms. A diverse ICJ bench is imperative to ensure impartial case outcomes because they have the potential to impact entire societies. Consequently, equitable representation of the global population at large is inevitable. This research article proposes strategic reforms focused on refining the nomination and election procedures to achieve gender parity on the ICJ.

Tussle of identities: Indian women engineers on work–family conflict

PurposeThis study aims to focus on understanding the work–family conflict of Indian women engineers through the lens of identity conflict.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews conducted with 20 Indian women engineers working in India and abroad of varying ages and work experience helped in understanding the types, sources and coping decisions about work–family conflicts experienced by them. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the qualitative data.FindingsThe findings reveal that as women engineers negotiate their “engineering” and “woman” identities, work–family conflict manifests as a battle of time and responsibilities, psychological strain and behaviour-based conflict. Furthermore, self-expectations and negative social sanctions play an important role in augmenting the experiences of these conflicts. The results also reveal how women re-strategize their career decisions to conciliate their conflicting identities.Originality/valueThis study furthers the literature on resolving work–family conflict by taking an identity perspective. Recommendations in literature such as work flexibility and part-time work, place the onus on women to increase their capacities to perform different roles better. Examining work–family conflict from an identity perspective allows us to look at the psychological processes underlying the challenges women face in balancing work and home in a male-dominated profession. These give insights into the need to go beyond accommodations in the workplace to redefine gender roles and relations for equal participation of women in the modern workforce.

Do you want to be a urologist? Gender differences for medical student perception of urology.

Gender inequality has been prevalent in the history of medicine, specifically within surgical specialties. Though there have been advances, urology has remained overwhelmingly male-dominant, with slow growth in female recruitment. This survey study evaluated whether gender-related differences in the perception of urology are present among future applicants that could account for gender disparity seen in recruitment. An anonymized, online survey was distributed to medical students enrolled at the Max Rady College of Medicine during the 2022-2023 semester. Attracting and deterring survey statements were created using current literature to guide topics of interest. Participants rated each statement using a five-point Likert scale with optional supplemental qualitative responses. Likert ratings were compared using a Mann-U-Whitney calculation between self-identifying male and female participants. We received 90 responses over six weeks, achieving a response rate of 23%. Female students, compared to their male peers, were deterred by factors such as working in a male-dominated specialty (p<0.001) and working with primarily male patients (p<0.001). There were no significant gender-related differences for statements pertaining to interest in surgery, work-life balance, or exposure to urology. In this survey study, the biggest deterrents reported by female medical students to entering urology were working in a male-dominated profession and seeing primarily male patients. There were no significant gender-related differences for questions relating to interest in surgery, work-life balance, and exposure to urology.

Bridging the Gender Gap in STEM Fields: Empowering Women for Economic and Social Development in Malaysia

The study’s primary goal is to understand and address gender disparities in STEM education and careers in Malaysia. The methodology entails an in-depth review and analysis of existing policies, academic literature, and statistical data from previous reports. The study reveals that the gender discrepancy in STEM education and careers has significant ramifications, not just for women’s economic empowerment, but also for the overall economic growth and development of the country. Also, research has demonstrated that the involvement of women in STEM education and professions is essential for promoting innovation, stimulating economic development, and propelling social advancement. However, despite efforts to advance gender equality in education and the job market, Malaysian women still face numerous obstacles when it comes to pursuing STEM education and employment. These obstacles include the underrepresentation of women in the workplace, the absence of female role models, a family-friendly environment, and societal norms and gender stereotypes that discourage women from entering traditionally male-dominated professions. This study emphasizes the importance of improving these issues to encourage female participation in STEM fields by empowering them for economic and social development.

Women in Microsurgery Fellowships: Trends and Impact on Future Practice Patterns.

While the number of female plastic surgeons has continued to increase over time, plastic surgery has historically been a male-dominated profession with only 15% of practicing plastic surgeons being female. Microsurgery, as a subspecialty, has been long perceived as an even more male-centric career path. The objective of this study was to determine the representation of females in the subspecialty field of microsurgery and the impact of microsurgical fellowship training. A review of all microsurgery fellowship programs participating in the microsurgery fellowship match from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. Fellows were identified through fellowship Web site pages or direct contact with fellowship program coordinators and directors. The current type of practice and performance of microsurgery were also identified through a Web search and direct contact with fellowship program coordinators and directors. A total of 21 programs and 317 fellows over a 10-year period were analyzed. Over this 10-year period, there was a total of 100 (31.5%) female microsurgery fellows and 217 (68.5%) male microsurgery fellows. There was a small, statistically insignificant increase in the yearly percentage of female microsurgery fellows over this 10-year period with an average yearly increase of 2.7% (p = 0.60; 95% confidence interval: -6.9 to 13.2%). There were significantly fewer females who continued to practice microsurgery compared to males (75 [75.0%] vs. 186 [85.7%], p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the current practice types (academic, private, and nonacademic hospital) between females and males (p = 0.29). Women are underrepresented in the field of microsurgery to a similar extent as they are underrepresented in overall plastic surgery. While there is a small insignificant increase in the number of female microsurgery fellows every year, a significantly smaller proportion of females continue to practice microsurgery compared to males.

Impact of Women Empowerment on Career Advancement of Female Engineers

The importance of women in national development cannot be understated, and women's empowerment is still a topic of discussion on a global scale. The attainment of gender parity and the empowerment of women have been considered essential to the accomplishment of sustainable development objectives. As a result, the participation of women is becoming more prevalent in a variety of areas, including engineering. In addition to providing excellent service, women in this field have debunked the myth that engineering is a male-dominated profession. Organizations that employ female engineers report high levels of satisfaction with the outcomes attained, and this inspires more women to join the field. Even though more women are graduating from engineering programs, very few of them remain in the workforce, and of those who do, very few move up the corporate ladder. This raises the question of whether empowerment alone will be sufficient to keep female engineers on track and guarantee their career advancement. In light of the aforementioned, this study examined the impact of women's empowerment on the career advancement of female engineers. The study employed a descriptive survey research design to investigate how female engineers' career advancement is influenced by promotion, inclusion, continuous professional development, and recognition. 30 respondents made up the target population of female engineers across all cadres. Data was gathered online using a self-administered questionnaire with the help of Google Forms. The questionnaire items were highly appropriate for data collection, as evidenced by the Cronbach's alpha value of 0.97. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables was investigated using inferential statistics. All of the independent variables (promotion, r=0.922, p&lt;0.01), continuous professional development, r=.935, p&lt;0.05, recognition, r=0.897, p&lt;0.01, inclusion, and r=.939, p&lt;0.05) showed a strong positive correlation with the dependent variable, career advancement of female engineers. The study's findings indicated that female engineers' career advancement was significantly impacted by inclusion. The findings also revealed that continuous professional development was essential to the advancement of female engineers in their careers. The study recommended inclusion of female engineers in technical matters, equal pay for equal work, continuous training, and mentorship to ensure career advancement and to keep more female engineers on board.

Barriers to Attracting and Retaining Female Construction Graduates into Academic Careers in Higher Education Institutions

Increasing women’s representation in male-dominated professions has become an unending debate due to different gender barriers across various sectors. This study examined the barriers to female construction graduates’ employment as construction faculty in Nigerian higher education institutions. This study developed a quantitative questionnaire to examine the barriers to female construction graduates entering academic careers using purposive sampling technique to identify Master of Science graduate students in higher education institutions in southwestern Nigeria. Three hundred copies of the questionnaire were administered to female construction graduate students, while two hundred and fifty-nine retrieved data were analysed. Firstly, data validity and reliability were determined using Cronbach’s alpha, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test, and Bartlett’s sphericity tests, followed by descriptive and exploratory factor analysis. The exploratory factor analysis clustered five factors of barriers to female graduate student recruitment as faculty in higher education institutions: gender profiling, academics competency requirements, non-prioritised support for female careers in academics, female enrolment, graduation, and job position difficulties and perceived difficulties in women’s recruitment, workload, and growth. The study recommends establishing grassroots female careers support, improving female enrolment and graduation rates, campaigning against gender profiling, and establishing career pathways in academics to improve gender inclusiveness in higher education institutions when recruiting female construction graduates as faculty.

A Glimpse into the Gendered Dynamics in Industrial Design through the Podcast Discourse

Industrial design is a male-dominated profession, though the reasons for its persistent gender disparity have not been as well-researched as in other STEM disciplines. This work analyzes recent podcast discourse for insights regarding gender dynamics in the US industrial design industry. Feminist critical discourse analysis was applied to episodes from two popular industrial design podcasts in which the podcast hosts, who are industrial designers or design educators, interview professional industrial designers. We found that women designers were given less airtime in the podcasts, mentioned less frequently, and spoken of less positively than men designers. Areas where women industrial designers more commonly work, such as toy design, were devalued, while design consultancies focusing on consumer electronics were highly valued. Skills in design that were more closely linked with manufacturing engineering, such as computer-aided design, were also valued more highly than ‘softer’ design skills like user research. Thus, the podcast discourse contributed to the masculinization of the industrial design profession and the devaluing of women in the field. We conclude that in order to foster a more inclusive culture within the discipline of industrial design, the devaluing of women designers and feminized subdisciplines should be acknowledged and addressed.

Parallel lines? The homogeneous and gendered career patterns of senior leaders in policing in England and Wales

ABSTRACT Under-representation of women in policing is a global phenomenon, with considerable commonality in barriers to career success and differential career experiences compared to men. Through a comparative analysis utilising unique survey and interview data with female and male senior police leaders in England and Wales, this paper considers whether cultural and structural barriers persist and how they are experienced by gender; examines the challenges encountered en route to senior rank; and considers how similarities or differences by gender impact upon careers. The findings are considered to have world-wide relevance, demonstrating that those officers achieving seniority tend to share similar career experiences whatever their gender, particularly at the highest ranks. Leadership styles emerge as homogenous with agentic traits and traditional styles persisting. Costs to achieving higher rank appear to differ by gender however, and access to senior rank is revealed as dependent upon engaging in traditional behaviours including a long-hours culture and ensuring family does not reduce work capacity, effectively promoting a ‘child-tax’ upon female policing leaders. It thus appears that a widespread and global tacit acceptance of policing as a male-dominated profession endures, impacting on female advancement compared to men.

Seeking support through solidarity: female leader's experiences of workplace solidarity in male-dominated professions.

While there is a plethora of research that documents the numerous barriers affecting female leaders in the modern workplace, there is a lack of literature which focuses on strategies or motivating resources that women use to navigate the workplace environment. Despite facing significant barriers in their leadership journeys, there are female leaders who are able to overcome these barriers to achieve leadership positions. These women leaders draw on personal and external motivating factors to assist them in dealing with the challenges associated with being a female leader as a result, research on motivating strategies for women's career progression is a research topic that warrants immediate attention. Female solidarity as a motivating resource has been gaining traction in the field of leadership studies and can be seen as a supportive resource that can be used by current and aspiring female leaders to progress in underrepresented environments. Although female solidarity is but only one of the many strategies that can be implemented to motivate women in leadership positions, the increase of female solidarity in the workplace is expected to alleviate the conditions that reinforce essentialist notions of the "queen bee syndrome" in which women are seen as unsupportive of each other. A qualitative research approach was used for this study, following an interpretive descriptive design. A total of 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with female leaders in male-dominated professions within South Africa. Data was analysed using thematic content analysis. Results of the study were analyzed in line with three primary content areas, i.e., barriers to female solidarity in the workplace, benefits of female solidarity in the workplace and workplace interventions to increase solidarity. In the context of the study the predominant barriers to female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were identified as unfair workplace behaviours, generational beliefs, societal expectations, organisational cultures, stereotypes and stigmas. The benefits of female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were identified as career shaping mentorship, female recognition, female representation and female support. Lastly, the interventions that can be implemented to increase female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were conceptualised as networking, transforming the company culture, socialisation and mentorship.

Women in uniform breaking the glass ceiling? An exploratory study of female officers in leadership positions in Ghana’s Security Services

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine how women become leaders in the Security Services in Ghana and the challenges they face in the discharge of their responsibilities.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted to explore the intentions and opinions of the participants, interpret their worlds through their lived experiences and present a clearer understanding of their stories.FindingsThe study revealed that women deliberately positioned themselves to be considered for leadership placements in their male-dominated professions. The study’s findings also suggest that although both men and women are considered equal in the service, women were faced with challenges in their daily experiences as leaders due to their gender. The gender barriers created a strenuous situation for women to rise to top leadership placements in the Security Services.Originality/valueThis research is one of the first studies that explored the experiences of women in middle and top leadership positions in the national Security Services in Ghana. It contributes to the literature by presenting how female leaders in the Security Services successfully navigate into leadership placements, the challenges and their strategies in excelling in their duties. The study is important in bridging the gender gap in leadership positions in the Security Services.