An organizational approach to undoing gender: The unlikely case of offshore oil platforms

Ely, Richard; Meyerson, Debra

doi:10.1016/j.riob.2010.09.002

Cited by 243 publications

(317 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Also, an analytical frame that regards sexual majorities as enacting distinct social roles might uncover a variety of novel ways by which majority sexualities enact their roles. For instance, the idealized heterosexual male "role" at work might mask consequential varied forms of enactment (Ely & Meyerson, 2010;Reid, 2011). These examples are only some of the many ways organizational scholars might want to try applying and even expanding the repertoire of frames we identified and see how these frames might modify their own research agendas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The shifting landscape of LGBT organizational research

Anteby

Anderson

2014

Research in Organizational Behavior

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The shifting landscape of LGBT organizational research

Anteby

Anderson

2014

Research in Organizational Behavior

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“…Men may be exposed to greater workplace hazards and traumatic injuries and women more chronic musculoskeletal conditions, anxiety and depression (Messing et al, 2003;Laaksonen et al, 2010). Men in high risk occupations may experience increased exposure to: (i) physical risks associated with mechanical, electrical, or chemical elements; (ii) violence and psychological hazards; and (iii) normative expectations relating to masculinity (sometimes referred to as "hypermasculinity" or "hegemonic masculinity") -which demand that men be physically tough and fearless in the face of risk or danger (Safe Work Australia, 2013;Power and Baqee, 2010;Ely and Meyerson, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, how men express their gender, how closely they identify with dominant norms of masculinity, and how workplaces do, or do not, reinforce dominant masculinities can influence OH&S practices (Du Plessis et al, 2013;Power and Baqee, 2010;Ely and Meyerson, 2010). To date, workplace safety research has focused primarily on examining differences in workplace injuries based on sex (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

et al. 2015

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The workplace is a key setting where gender issues and organizational structures may influence occupational health and safety practices. The enactment of dominant norms of masculinity in high risk occupations can be particularly problematic, as it exposes men to significant risks for injuries and fatalities. To encourage multi-disciplinary collaborations and advance knowledge in the intersecting areas of gender studies, men's health, work and workplace health and safety, a national network of thirteen researchers and health and safety stakeholders completed a critical literature review examining the intersection between masculinities and men's workplace health and safety in order to: (i) account for research previously undertaken in this area; (ii) identify themes that may inform our understanding of masculinity and workplace health and safety and; (iii) identify research and practice gaps in relation to men's workplace health and safety. In this paper we present key themes from this review. Recommendations are made regarding: (i) how to define gender; (ii) how to attend to and identify how masculinities may influence workers' identities, perceptions of occupational risks and how institutionalized practices can reinforce norms of masculinity; (iii) the importance of considering how masculinities may intersect with

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“…The clash between institutionalized views of gender and changing workforce demographics was especially notable among manual laborers, where physical demands previously inherent in the work were once synonymous with masculinity (Ely & Meyerson, 2010;McGinn, 2007;Walter, Bourgois, & Margarita Loinaz, 2004), and among professionals, where gendered assumptions about power and authority further separated roles for men and women (Bertrand, Goldin, & Katz, 2008;Epstein, 1970;Rhode, 2001). By the 1980s, women made up roughly half of the pool of entry-level professionals (Goldin, 2006), but the organizations they entered maintained routines and beliefs suited to the "ideal worker" embodied by married men with stay-at-home spouses (Acker, 1990;Bailyn, 1993;Williams, 2000).…”

Section: Gender In Professional Service Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Outside-Inside Evolution in Gender and Professional Work

Ramarajan

McGinn²,

Kolb

2012

SSRN Journal

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We study the process by which a professional service firm reshaped its activities and beliefs over nearly two decades as it adapted to shifts in the social discourse regarding gender and work. Analyzing archival data from the firm over eighteen years and representations of gender and work from the business press over the corresponding two decades, we find that the firm internalized the broader social discourse through iterated cycles of analysis and action, punctuated by evolving beliefs about gender and work. Outside experts and shifting social understandings played pivotal roles in changing beliefs and activities inside the firm. We conclude with an internalization model depicting organizational adaptation to evolving social institutions.Keywords: Gender; professional service firms; social institutions; organizational learning Evolution in Gender and Work 2 Organizations' employment practices are inevitably shaped by changes in the labor pool.One of the most visible changes in employment in the U.S. since the 1980s-the growing representation of highly educated women-has challenged widely held understandings about gender and professional work. Across racial groups in 2010, women earned the majority of degrees at the bachelor's masters and doctoral levels (U.S. Department of Education, 2011) and comprised over half of the labor pool for professional level jobs. Law, accounting, and medicine in the 21 st century employ women at rates that defy these professions' long-held reputations as male bastions. These changing demographics challenge longstanding beliefs about man's role as breadwinner and woman's role as caregiver and housekeeper (Parsons, 1964;Wharton, 2005).The clash between the changing demographics of the professional workforce and institutionalized views of gender disrupts organizational beliefs and routines, creating the impetus for change within professional service firms.Greenwood and his colleagues define an institution as "more-or-less taken-for-granted repetitive social behavior that is underpinned by normative systems and cognitive understandings that give meaning to social exchange and thus enable self-reproducing social order" (Greenwood, Oliver, Sahlin, & Suddaby, 2008: 4-5). Gender, while often considered an attribute of individuals, is a social institution in the realm of family, religion, schools, language and government (Lorber, 1994;Martin, 2004;Turner, 1997). Gender categorizes people into roles and legitimizes rules and norms guiding their behavior in those roles, thereby structuring and reproducing a gendered social order (Lorber, 1994 (Berger & Luckmann, 1966;Giddens, 1984;March & Olsen, 1989).Scholars from multiple disciplines explore the relationship between organizations and institutions. Studies grounded in institutional theory begin with the assumption that organizations reflect beliefs and activities present in the institutional environment (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991;Scott, 2001) as a result of isomorphism (Friedland & Alford, 1991;Hinings, Greenwood, Reay, & Suddaby, 200...

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An organizational approach to undoing gender: The unlikely case of offshore oil platforms

Cited by 243 publications

References 78 publications

The shifting landscape of LGBT organizational research

The shifting landscape of LGBT organizational research

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

An Outside-Inside Evolution in Gender and Professional Work

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