The affective economy of feminist leadership in Finnish universities: class-based knowledge for navigating neoliberalism and neuroliberalism

Morley, Louise; Lund, Rebecca

doi:10.1080/01596306.2020.1855567

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Neoliberalism’s impact on organizational life and its ability to maintain gender injustices may also take on alternative, less obvious forms. As an example, collegiality has been replaced by an “emphasis on heroic individualism” (Morley and Lund, 2021, p. 121), the effect of which is to intensify gender and other inequities (Curtis, 2013).…”

Section: Gender Injustices and The Neoliberal Turn In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing gender-based violence policies in the neoliberal university: challenges and contradictions

Gardiner

Finn²

2022

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Purpose Undertaking feminist inquiry calls for scholars to challenge the powerful hegemonic, masculinist, taken for granted values and gender injustices that continue to underpin institutional life (Wickstrom et al., 2021). A root cause of gender injustice is misogynistic and neoliberal institutional practices. Gender injustices range from micro-aggressions to workplace bullying (Mavin and Yusupova, 2021), as well as the perpetuation of sexualized and gender-based violence (GBV). The purpose of this paper is to consider the challenges with policy implementation of GBV policies. Specifically, the authors discuss the barriers three senior women leaders at one Canadian university face in their efforts to change institutional culture, with the intention of minimizing GBV on campus. By attending to the lived experiences of women leaders involved in trying to effect institutional change, the authors learn that GBV is not an unusual event. Rather, it is an everyday occurrence perpetuated by hierarchical cultures that resist those women leaders who think and act differently. Put simply, trying to lead differently is not without risk, especially for those women courageous enough to speak out against gender injustices in the workplace. The risks associated with speaking out are at the individual level (personal identity) and interactional level (social ties) (Khan et al., 2018). Furthermore, these findings suggest women leaders willing to speak out may experience isolation. Over time, this isolation can lead to a lack of support and burnout (Zumaeta, 2018). Design/methodology/approach Building upon the work of Ahmed (2014; 2015; 2017; 2019; 2021), this paper seeks to explicate the interconnections between gender and structural inequities in the neoliberal academy. The authors use a theoretical and methodological approach that draws upon Ahmed’s (2014) notion of “practical phenomenology.” This approach can highlight valuable insights from the experiences of those involved in the act of “doing,” which, in this case, refers to three women leaders engaged in the implementation of a GBV policy. Using this approach helps to weave theory and praxis together to comprehend the difficulties women leaders experience in putting policy into practice to enact institutional change to eradicate gender inequities. Findings The findings of this paper indicate the challenges women leaders in academia have in putting policy into practice. Four interconnected themes emerge: the insidious institutional roots of GBV; naming or lack thereof; pockets of resistance; and balancing contradictions. These findings also indicate that leading this type of institutional policy change requires determination and courageous action to combat organizational sexism (Ahmed, 2021). This action is not without challenges to the careers of those willing to speak out against gender injustice in the workplace. Research limitations/implications Research limitations are that this is a small study undertaken at one university in Canada. As such, these findings cannot be generalized. That said, learning from women leaders' practical experiences can help feminist scholars understand the difficulties in effecting institutional change, especially in regards to turning GBV policy into practice. In turn, this learning adds value to the gender and management literature. Originality/value This paper’s originality is twofold. First, this paper lies in the practical phenomenological approach the authors engage in to consider gender inequities relating to the difficulties of effecting institutional change in higher education institutions. Engaging in this critical approach helps to learn from the experiences of “expert knowers,” which, in this case, refers to those senior women leaders at the forefront of trying to effect institutional change by putting GBV policies into practice. Second, this paper adds to the literature critiquing how masculinist structures in higher education operate to shore up institutional sexism.

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Section: Gender Injustices and The Neoliberal Turn In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing gender-based violence policies in the neoliberal university: challenges and contradictions

Gardiner

Finn²

2022

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“…They argue that the women were effectively invited to emulate male-centred academic cultures, that is, become more competitive, more narrowly focussed, say 'no' to anything that was not CV-supportive, focus on number one (that is, themselves) and so on; in other words, they were neoliberalized and indeed, invited to adapt themselves to the masculinized work environment that the neoliberal academy has promoted (Hearn, 2017). The authors rightly ask if this is the kind of R&I environment we want to foster (see also Morley and Lund, 2020).…”

Section: Structure Of the Volumementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Being one of the few selected for preliminary evaluation may have made the female associate professors feel special and worthy of consideration. Such processes can be seductive, hooking people into what has been termed 'neuroliberalism', capturing the combination of principles of neoliberalism combined with the insights of behaviourism (Morley and Lund, 2020). The more you align, and direct yourself towards the 'right' things, the more acknowledgement you receive and the less resistance you experience.…”

Section: The Practical Mental and Emotional 'Work' Of Preliminary Eva...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Academic work they had hitherto not been particularly aware of or had negative emotions towards, gradually became attached to other and more positive emotions such as pride, joy and a sense of being seen. Such affective and emotional shifts are central to complying with and internalizing neoliberal value systems (Morley and Crossouard, 2016;Morley and Lund, 2020) and, ultimately, for the exclusion of those positioned as losers. Through the reponsibilization of individuals, differences in opportunity structures are concealed (Lund, 2020b).…”

Section: Gendered Academic Idealsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation

2022

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“…Monet pitivät oveaan auki ja huolehtivat ryhmäläisistään, kannattelivat yliopistoyhteisöään ja tekivät siinä näkymätöntä vastuullista hoivatyötä. Vaikka tämä kaikki parantaa yhteisön tasa-arvoa ja hyvinvointia, tarkoittaa se professorille ylimääräistä työtä ja mahdollisesti heikompaa asemaa tuotoksia mittaavassa arvioinnissa -ja sitä kautta epätasa-arvoa (Britton 2017;Morley & Lund 2021).…”

Section: Professoriunclassified

Sitkeät sukupuolten epätasa-arvoisuudet yliopiston tutkimus- ja innovaatiotyössä

Vehviläinen

Korvajärvi

Ylijoki

2021

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Sukupuolten tasa-arvon uskotaan suomalaisessa yliopistossa jo toteutuneen. Silti epätasa-arvoa tuottavat käytännöt ovat jatkuneet vuosikymmenestä muodostuvat muuttuvassa yliopistoinstituutiossa. Aineistonamme on 30 urahaastattelua (vuosilta 2018–2020) naisilta, jotka ovat tehneet tutkimus- ja innovaatiotyötä terveysteknologian aloilla yliopistoissa. Metodologiana on institutionaalinen etnografia. Analysoimme yliopistoinstituution sukupuolittuneita käytäntöjä ja sukupuolten epätasa-arvon tuottamista väitöstutkijan, tutkijatohtorin, yliopistotutkijan ja professorin uravaiheissa. Pureudumme nimenomaan epätasa-arvon pysyvyyksiin. Peilauspintana käytämme 1980-luvun alun ja vuosituhannen vaihteen tutkimuksia naisten tutkijanuran ongelmista. Analyysi osoittaa sitkeitä sukupuolten epätasa-arvoa tuottavia käytäntöjä kaikissa uravaiheissa. Näitä käytäntöjä ovat erityisesti äitiyden ja tutkimustyön yhdistäminen sekä miesten keskinäiset verkostot ja suosimisjärjestelmät. Tasa-arvon edistämiseksi 2020-luvun yliopistoissa tarvitaan näiden pysyvyyksien tunnistamista ja järjestelmällistä toimintaa niiden murtamiseksi.

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The affective economy of feminist leadership in Finnish universities: class-based knowledge for navigating neoliberalism and neuroliberalism

Cited by 11 publications

References 54 publications

Implementing gender-based violence policies in the neoliberal university: challenges and contradictions

Implementing gender-based violence policies in the neoliberal university: challenges and contradictions

Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation

Sitkeät sukupuolten epätasa-arvoisuudet yliopiston tutkimus- ja innovaatiotyössä

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