The research methods used in “doing gender” literature

Jännäri, Jatta; Kovalainen, Anne

doi:10.1108/ijge-04-2014-0012

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…Qualitative interviewing explores interviewees' personal experiences and gains a deeper understanding through the interview process (Jännäri & Kovalainen, 2015). This research was conducted using a semi-structured method.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sponsorship and social identity in advancement of women leaders in South Africa

Scheepers

Douman

Moodley

2018

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Purpose: In South Africa women in senior management positions experience social identity dilemmas, necessitating more research into this domain. While research has been conducted into coaching and mentoring of these women, limited scholarly attention has been paid to sponsorship. This paper thus explored the social identity of women at senior management levels as well as sponsorship as a proposed mechanism to develop talented women.Design/methodology/ approach: This qualitative research included two studies using two sample groups, both of which included executive level respondents in corporate organisations.One study focussed on sponsorship; here the 29-strong sample included 14 male and 15 female executives, of whom 15 were White; nine were African and five Indian. The second study, consisting of only African, Coloured and Indian (ACI) women executives (23 interviewees), focussed more broadly on their development path to the C-suite. Findings:A common theme across the two studies was the inclination to give developmental support, in turn, once supported. There were prerequisites in this support-giving, however. For example, 2 sponsors identified criteria that protégés had to meet. Despite evident gender inequality at senior management levels in South Africa, this paper reveals that in the Study 1 sample, gender as well as race were ostensibly irrelevant when choosing a sponsor or who to sponsor. A closer examination revealed a gender-based expectation, embedded in the South African context. Study 2 showed that ACI women above 50 years of age were more inclined to mentor others; even when they themselves were not mentored, some purposefully developed other ACI women. This paper thus suggests age as an important additional diversity dimension in relation to the career development of ACI women towards the C-suite. The findings have implications for the career development of individual ACI women and for organisations in reaching equality. Gender differences with regards to perceptions also revealed that male respondents perceived sponsorship more as task-based actions, whereas female respondents focussed on relational elements. The paper concludes with recommendations on how individual ACI women and organisations can proactively develop talented women.Originality/ value: The paper offers insight into the gendered expectations of sponsors and gendered perceptions around merit in identifying protégés worthy of sponsorship. ACI women's social identity changed when they joined the C-suite to identify more with their roles as executives, and became less associated with their original ACI women group.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sponsorship and social identity in advancement of women leaders in South Africa

Scheepers

Douman

Moodley

2018

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“…Studies have mainly focused on individual level interactions within organizations that perpetuate (e.g., Pringle et al, 2017) or deconstruct (e.g., Sanchez de Miguel et al, 2015) the gender order. There is a dearth of observational studies within this process, which are best able to grasp the processual and interactive dimensions of how gender is done in organizations (Jännäri & Kovalainen, 2015). Acker (p. 147) describes this process as those "internal gender constructions that help to produce gendered components of individual identity."…”

Section: Gendering Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking how we work with Acker's theory of gendered organizations: An abductive approach for feminist empirical research

Bates

2021

Gender Work & Organization

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In this article I demonstrate the methodological value of working abductively with Joan Acker's theory of gendered organizations, as an approach for feminist empirical research. Although the value of Acker's theory is acknowledged, I note it is most frequently used to legitimize the idea that organizations are gendered, not to test whether they are. Few use her theory fully or as it was originally intended. Fewer still have questioned it. This, I argue, contributes to the stagnation of her ideas and results in blindness toward, or disregard for, data that does not support her theory. To realize the analytical potential of Acker's theory, I call for future studies to work abductively with data unaccounted for in the expectations and predictions set by Acker, while operationalizing her five‐dimensional framework in its entirety. Abduction is about discovering new concepts, ideas, and explanations by working with surprising phenomena or data that cannot be explained by pre‐existing knowledge. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, I draw upon a qualitative case study of one atypical Australian trade union. I outline the creative process of drawing inferences to best explain anomalous observations using other theoretical resources in the gender studies field, which together with Acker, constitute a plausible explanation for questions that arose during analysis. This analysis not only surfaces how masculine power is maintained by having women in leadership positions, who serve as “role models” while quieting “others,” but that women and men cooperated as a “team” to support a feminine public impression of the union that was knowingly contradicted in private, indicating a more “truthful” performance.

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“…Data collection Qualitative interviewing has been used effectively as a means of gaining access to female business owners' experiences (Bjursell and Melin, 2011), and Jännäri and Kovalainen (2015) found that qualitative interviewing was the most widely used method for "doing gender" research. Following this tradition, this study used semi-structured interviews to better understand women's experiences as business owners.…”

Section: Impression Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female business owners hiding in plain sight

Weidhaas

2018

IJGE

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Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to explore what female business owners hide to better understand social norms and discourses that influence the decisions women make about how they structure their home and work lives. Design/methodology/approach-The author used qualitative interviews to access the narratives of female business owners in public relations within the USA. This industry segment attracts primarily women and, unlike a retail store, offers women a variety of ways to structure their business hours and locations. Findings-Women use hiding as a way to manage others' impressions and as a way to gain legitimacy for themselves and their organizations. Specifically, the findings fall into three categories: hiding childcare obligations, obscuring their work locations and "fake it until you make it". Hiding is used a strategy to deal with tensions that arise based on women's interpretations of social norms and discourses. Research limitations/implications-Based on the finite nature of any study, it is difficult to assess the long-term impact of hiding. Further, as with many studies, the geographic location, gender and industry segment provide a context for this research, which means the reader must determine the transferability. Originality/value-Few studies explore hiding as a means to gain access to gendered discourses that can undermine identity construction and business growth. By uncovering what female business owners hide, it provides opportunities for self-awareness and agency.

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The research methods used in “doing gender” literature

Cited by 12 publications

References 42 publications

Sponsorship and social identity in advancement of women leaders in South Africa

Sponsorship and social identity in advancement of women leaders in South Africa

Rethinking how we work with Acker's theory of gendered organizations: An abductive approach for feminist empirical research

Female business owners hiding in plain sight

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