Unspeakable Inequalities: Post Feminism, Entrepreneurial Subjectivity, and the Repudiation of Sexism among Cultural Workers

Abstract

Work in the cultural and creative fields is marked by stark and growing inequalities relating to gender, class and race/ethnicity. Yet the same fields are also characterised by an ethos that celebrates openness, egalitarianism and meritocracy. This paper explores this paradox, focusing in particular on gender inequalities. It argues that there is a need to move beyond the standard conventional explanations for women's underrepresentation within the creative workforce, which point to female childbearing and childcare as central. Whilst not disputing the significance of motherhood to women's career trajectories, the paper suggests that the repeated focus on maternity is problematic, and may close down other areas of potential investigation and critique.The paper suggests that three alternative foci would repay attention in understanding inequalities in the cultural and creative industries (CCI). First, the new, mobile, subtle and revitalised forms of sexism in circulation urgently require further examination. Secondly, the power of the dominant postfeminist sensibility which, in suggesting that 'all the battles have been won', renders inequality increasingly difficult to voice or speak about, demands critique. And thirdly, the new forms of labouring subjectivity required to survive in the field of cultural work may themselves be contributing to the inequalities in the field, by favouring an entrepreneurial individualistic mode that disavows structural power relations. These three aspects of life in the field of cultural work merit further attention, and suggest that gender inequality has a variety of different causes, not all located in women's childbearing abilities. Moreover, the paper argues that the very myth of egalitarianism at work in the CCI may itself be a key mechanism through which inequality is reproduced.

Artists and Multiple Job Holding—Breadwinning Work as Mediating Between Bohemian and Entrepreneurial Identities and Behavior

“…Due to the results of this study pointing to the interrelation between different kinds of work, I argue that this is an issue worthy of attention as much as any exploitative characteristic of creative work explored by researchers, such as Dex et al (2000), Gill (2014), Eikhof and Warhurst (2013), and Siebert and Wilson (2013).…”

“…Artists and creative workers have been targeted as forerunners of a kind of work subjectivity that is understood as entrepreneurialmanaging one's own career progression rather than through employment, recognizing opportunity, and managing risk (Bridgstock, 2013;Gill, 2014;Pralong et al, 2012) 4 . Diverse fields of creative and artistic work-especially the creative industries-have even been targeted by policymakers as the key to job growth, gross domestic product growth, and urban regeneration (Bridgstock, 2013;Eikhof &Warhurst, 2013;Florida, 2002) 5 .…”

From passionate labour to compassionate work: Cultural co-ops, do what you love and social change

“…On the one hand, the fact that co-ops are critical and aware of the problems of cultural sector work breaks with DWYL because it brings demands for good working condition back onto the agenda. It creates spaces in which the inequalities, stresses and power relations of cultural sector work, which as Ros Gill (2014) has observed tend to be rendered unspeakable by neoliberal work cultures, are voiced, discussed and critiqued. A caring co-operative work culture has the potential to create a space to express vulnerability and discuss inequality.…”

Celebridade, Empreendedora e Estética: Representações das Feminidades na Revista Exame

“…No âmbito da indústria cultural e criativa, Gill (2014) observou que o pouco tempo de permanência das mulheres é justificado pela dificuldade em conciliar a carreira com o lar, de modo que "ser trabalhadora" é uma das subjetividades das mulheres que sobrevivem ao mercado de trabalho. Elas precisam ser "flexíveis, adaptáveis e boas em desempenhar múltiplas tarefas e em negociação" (Gill, 2014, p. 517).…”

“…No que se refere às características femininas de liderança, observamos a presença de discursos distintos com relação ao modo da mulher gerir uma organização. Por um lado, encontramos elementos intrínsecos às qualidades femininas (Alvesson, 1998;Gill, 2014), como a capacidade de desempenhar multifunções devido à dupla jornada de trabalho, a organização, a busca pela harmonia do ambiente, a relação de confiança que estabelece com os funcionários e o foco no trabalho em equipe. Essas características compõem a feminidade empreendedora relacional proposta por Lewis (2014), cujos elementos podem ser identificados nos trechos destacados, a seguir:…”