Feminism through the market? A study of gender‐equality consultants in France

Abstract

This article explores the professional subjectivities of gender-equality (GE) consultants in France based on 63 interviews. A central concern is how these experts shape positions when working on a topic at the crossroads of personal, political, and economic stakes -in organizational and business contexts that are reluctant to embrace any feminist-like perspective. Questioning the rationales for entering this market activity, the ways to embody professional work and service impact self-assessment, the analysis highlights the tensions and dilemmas experienced by GE consultants in terms of aligning convictions and business imperatives, and the pragmatic and variable arrangements they make on a daily basis to put GE principles into practice. This research documents GE work by reanalyzing colliding dyads such as work/activism, professionalism/feminism, co-optation/resistance, and by reviewing the use of market logics in subverting the existing gender/economic order. It draws a nuanced picture of the constraints and opportunities that GE consulting offers to destabilize power from within organizations.

Shaped by resistance: Discursive politics in gender equality work

“…Third, research has focused on experts who take on the burden of initiating and carrying out gender equality work in organizations and who experience, or become entangled in, resistance first-hand. This includes "consultants" (Blanchard, 2022), "workers" (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), "actors" (Tildesley et al, 2021), and "practitioners" (Utoft, 2021).…”

“…Experts navigate their surroundings in organizations (Blanchard, 2022), perform balancing acts between (feminist) ideals for change and neo-liberal management trends (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), engage in power struggles (Tildesley et al, 2021), and "maneuver" with available discourses to negotiate spaces for action (Utoft, 2021).…”

“…Third, research has focused on experts who take on the burden of initiating and carrying out gender equality work in organizations and who experience, or become entangled in, resistance first‐hand. This includes “consultants” (Blanchard, 2022), “workers” (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), “actors” (Tildesley et al., 2021), and “practitioners” (Utoft, 2021). Experts navigate their surroundings in organizations (Blanchard, 2022), perform balancing acts between (feminist) ideals for change and neo‐liberal management trends (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), engage in power struggles (Tildesley et al., 2021), and “maneuver” with available discourses to negotiate spaces for action (Utoft, 2021).…”

“…This includes “consultants” (Blanchard, 2022), “workers” (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), “actors” (Tildesley et al., 2021), and “practitioners” (Utoft, 2021). Experts navigate their surroundings in organizations (Blanchard, 2022), perform balancing acts between (feminist) ideals for change and neo‐liberal management trends (Keisu & Carbin, 2014), engage in power struggles (Tildesley et al., 2021), and “maneuver” with available discourses to negotiate spaces for action (Utoft, 2021). Experts working for equality are susceptible to being accused—and frequently experience feelings—of “selling out” (Petersson McIntyre, 2021a).…”

“…Whereas anti-genderism and far right populism serve as sites for opposing gender equality ideology (Giritli Nygren et al, 2018;Lilja & Johansson, 2018), our study focuses on resistance that operates beneath the surface in organizations in societies characterized by apparent consensus on the value of equality (Korvajärvi, 2011;Mathieu, 2009). Since gender equality work continues to evoke covert and subtle resistance (Lee-Gosselin et al, 2013;Smolović Jones et al, 2021 ), we suggest that the voices of experts who work for gender equality and who experience and engage with resistance must be heard (see also e.g., Blanchard, 2022;Keisu & Carbin, 2014;Tildesley et al, 2021;Tzanakou & Pearce, 2019;Utoft, 2021).…”