This paper examines the ways in which men manage their gender identity on entry into occupations traditionally undertaken by women. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with men in non‐traditional occupations the paper demonstrates how men who enter “female” occupations face a range of challenges to their sense of ‘masculinity’. It is argued that gender identity and occupational identity become misaligned during this transition. The paper shows how men attempt to realign these two identities, either by a reconstruction or rationalization of the nature of their occupations, or by renegotiation of their own conception of what it means to be a man. The article concludes that the first of these approaches has important implications for the nature of occupations and the way in which work is carried out, while the second may be one of the key processes at work in the desegregation of the labour market.

This article seeks to add to an understanding of why some men enter female-concentrated occupations (and why the majority do not). Drawing on the results of in-depth interviews with 27 men in a range of occupations, I illustrate and interpret the complex and often contradictory ways in which men approach the notion of working in female-concentrated occupations and examine the impact that this has on their occupational outcomes. The data suggest that different attitudes to female-concentrated work cannot in themselves explain men's presence there. Consequently I explore, with particular reference to social class, the context in which attitudes around gender, work and occupational destinations, are framed. I conclude that men's entry to female-concentrated occupations may best be approached, not as an issue of 'masculinity' but as one of social mobility operating within a gendered labour market.

This paper makes the case that the current single-axis approach to the diagnosis and remedy of pay discrimination is inadequate in the case of multiple disadvantage. While a good deal is known about pay gaps, particularly those affecting women, less is known about those affecting people in other disadvantaged groups and those in more than one such group. This analysis of multiple years of pay data, n = 513,000, from a large UK-based company shows that people with more than one disadvantaged identity suffer a significantly greater pay penalty than those with a single disadvantage. The data also suggest that penalties associated with multiple disadvantage exponentially increase. In other words, disadvantages seem to interact to the detriment of people at 'intersections'. The paper considers the implications for policies aimed at reducing pay inequalities. These currently take a single-axis approach and may be misdirected.

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TITLEThe presence of ethnic minority and disabled men in feminised work: intersectionality, vertical segregation and the glass escalator AUTHORSWoodhams, Carol; Lupton, Ben; Cowling, Marc JOURNAL Sex Roles DEPOSITED IN ORE January 2015This version available at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/16156 COPYRIGHT AND REUSEOpen Research Exeter makes this work available in accordance with publisher policies. A NOTE ON VERSIONSThe version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication than other men to be found in female-dominated low-status work, but that they are relatively more likely to be so than are their female counterparts. Men from ethnic minorities, but not those with a disability, are also disproportionately more likely to be found in feminised part-time work. Both men from ethnic minorities and men with disabilities are disproportionally less likely than other men to ride the glass escalator to higher-level work. The article concludes that the intersectional effects of gender, ethnicity and disability sort disadvantaged men into lower-level and part-time work alongside women, and considers the implications for the study of men in female-dominated occupations, and of intersectionalities.

In this paper we present an analysis of recruitment advertisements that suggests that Chinese employers frequently discriminate on gender grounds, both directly and indirectly. We illustrate how employers continue to use entrenched stereotypes and perpetuate highly segregated expectations of men and women's roles at work, predominantly to the detriment of women and hindering their progress in the labour market. The paper concludes that while employers' recruitment practices are not the only cause of women's continued labour-market disadvantage -and are in themselves a function of the wider of economic, socio-cultural and ideological factors that underlie it (Kitching 2001;Patrickson 2001;Leung 2003;Cooke 2005) -a change to employer behaviour in this area is a necessary and potentially achievable step forward towards greater equality.

The focus of much strategic human resource management (SHRM) research has been on large firms and there are questions as to the applicability of the existing SHRM models in small firms that have different modes of operation, particularly where owner managers dominate and human resource (HR) specialists are largely absent. There is nevertheless growing evidence that SHRM can be effective in small firms. To develop understanding, this study uses qualitative data from a project that delivered HR support services to small firms to explore why HR practices exist and how they operate. Owner manager responses to cues prompted take up of HR support and developing their understanding and confidence led to the implementation of both routine and progressive HR practices. Owner managers engaged in sense making to navigate the associated dynamics of formality. We present a model of SHRM in the small firm context, incorporating HR support services as an important contribution.

This article assesses the impact of HR qualified professionals on the adoption of gender‐based equal opportunities policies and practices in small businesses. Earlier research has shown a low level of take‐up of equal opportunities initiatives in small firms. This article explores whether the presence of an HR professional in small to medium‐sized enterprises is associated with a greater level of take‐up of (a) gender‐based equality policies and (b) gender‐based equality practices than in small to medium‐sized enterprises that do not have such expertise. In doing so, the authors draw on empirical data from a recent European Social Fund sponsored study of equal opportunities policy and practice in small to medium‐sized enterprises in the UK. The main finding is that the presence of an HR professional is associated with a greater level of take‐up of formal equality policies, but not with the implementation of equality practices. The authors explore possible reasons for this and consider the implications for the HR profession and the promotion of equality of opportunity in the small business sector.