Gender In/equality in Worker‐owned Businesses

Abstract

Gender scholars have developed a significant body of scholarship on the reproduction of gender inequality in work organizations. However, the vast majority of that research has been conducted in non-profit organizations or in employer-owned businesses. In this article, we review the existing literature on gender in worker-owned businesses. We begin by defining three distinctly different types of worker-owned businesses: companies with employee stock ownership plans, worker cooperatives, and communes. Next we review the limited research on gender inequality in each of these organizational forms. The current literature finds that women benefit from working in these alternative organizations, but gender disparities nevertheless persist due to occupational segregation and the devaluation of domestic work. Exceptions are those organizations with strong ties to feminism and those with formal power-sharing policies. Granted the scarcity of research on this topic, however, these conclusions are tentative. We conclude with a discussion of areas for further research.

Diversity Regimes in Worker Cooperatives: Workplace Inequality under Conditions of Worker Control

“…It's even possible that “shared values” created organizational discourses that, as some studies suggest, implicitly excluded or disenfranchised members of subordinated groups (Kasmir ; Kleinman ; Scott ). Other scholarship views active address of difference and even conflict as a necessary (if not sufficient) condition for the success of demographically heterogeneous worker cooperatives (Hoffmann ; Meyers ; Miller ; Berry ; Sobering, Thomas, and Williams )—a finding echoed in studies of social justice nonprofit organizations (Sirianni ; Ostrander ; Scott ). Key to these studies is an understanding of how democratic control operates within a population that self‐defines as diverse.…”

Producing and Reducing Gender Inequality in a Worker-Recovered Cooperative

“…Research on gender in collectivist organizations suggests that women are better off than they are working in traditional firms, but are still unrepresented, have lower status, and participate less in decision making in comparison to men (for a review, see Sobering et al ). For instance, a study of gender in the Mondragon system of worker cooperatives in Spain finds that women had higher salaries and greater job security in cooperatives than in private companies (Hacker and Elcorobairutia ; Hacker ).…”

“…Organizational context refers to the internal arrangements and external forces that shape organizations and the possibility of change (Britton ; Dellinger ; Ward ; Britton and Logan ). For example, an organization's ownership arrangement, governance, participation, and ideology are key factors to take into account (Sobering et al :1243). An organization's history and founding moment may also provide insights into how organizational inequality is shaped over time.…”

“…This is despite the fact that Acker once suggested that to dismantle gender inequality, “hierarchy would be abolished, and workers would run things themselves ” (1990:155, my emphasis). Yet literature on gender inequality in worker‐owned businesses is remarkably thin (Sobering, Thomas, and Williams ).…”

Teaching and Learning Guide for “Gender In/equality in Worker‐owned Businesses”

“…In the report, students must provide a brief history and background of the organization, including information about its creation, evolution, current size, and industry. Students must then report on the ownership, governance, participation, and ideological orientation of the business, following the chart found in Sobering, Thomas, andWilliams (2014, p. 1243). Upon completion, students will give oral presentations discussing what they found most interesting about their case study based on the themes presented in class.…”