What Have the Feminists Done for Us? Feminist Theory and Organizational Resistance

Thomas, Robyn; Davies, Annette

doi:10.1177/1350508405055945

Cited by 142 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Currently the politics of micropractices in context is under-investigated (see also Swan and Fox, 2010) but, as several authors suggest (e.g. Davies, 2005a and2005b;Barry et al, 2007), the politics of daily practices of resistance has significant potential for change, at least at the institutional or organisational level. Conversely institutional or organisational values do affect these practices 5 of resistance, in fact, as Katzenstein (1998) realised through her empirical work in the US military and the Catholic Church, the power of institutions in shaping the differences in contemporary feminism is significant.…”

Section: The Micro-politics Of Change In the Academymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several researchers observe both the temptation and the dangers of incorporation (Deem and Ozga 2000), compliance (Thomas and Davies 2005a) and co-optation (Meyerson and Scully 1995) of inside activists. The temptation to abandon, or at least significantly dumb down, one's personal values and beliefs and embrace more fully those of the dominant organisational culture is always present.…”

Section: Feminist Activism and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore further empirical analysis is needed to shed light on the dynamics of women's activism and resistance in organisations. Thomas and Davies' (2005a) 'politics of reinscription', usefully connects politics of resistance to possibilities for change. They offer a broad-based conceptualisation of resistance arising from the micro-level negotiations taking place between an individual's subject positions.…”

Section: The Micro-politics Of Change In the Academymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

Parsons

Priola

2012

Gender Work & Organization

103

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This paper explores gender politics and processes in the academy and investigates change from the perspectives of feminist academics. In particular it explores the experiences of women academics attempting to effect change to the gendered status quo of their own institutions. Focusing on micro-politics, the feminist movement is empirically explored in localised spaces of resistance and in the small, but significant, individual efforts at making changes within academic institutions. The analysis is based on interviews with female academics working in business and management schools and focuses on the challenges for change and how change attempts affect their personal and professional identities. The paper explores the range of change strategies participants use as they try to progress in their academic career while staying true to their feminist values and priorities through both resisting and/or incorporating dominant discourses of academic work. The analysis highlights such tensions and focuses on a contextualised, bottom up perspective on change which, counter to more totalizing theorisation, takes into account mundane and lived experiences at the level of the individual.

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Section: The Micro-politics Of Change In the Academymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Feminist Activism and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Micro-politics Of Change In the Academymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

Parsons

Priola

2012

Gender Work & Organization

103

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“…Numerous academics have argued that gendered discourses exist to underpin the attitudes and norms operating in an organization, and that organisations themselves can also be described as gendered, indeed are profoundly gendered (for example Acker, 1990;Calás and Smircic, 1991;Gherardi, 1995;Alvesson and Billing 1997;Bargiela-Chiappini and Harris, 1997;Gherardi et al, 2003;Thomas and Davies, 2005quoted in Kelan, 2008, and Kanter, 1977. In her analysis of gendered discourses in management literature, Professor Elisabeth Kelan, 2008 has noted explicit masculinity, with standard managers showing up as male, white and heterosexual (for instance Ferguson, 1994, Gerhard et al 1992) and the systematic use of the male pronoun (Alvesson and Billing 1997;Green et al 2001), as well as implicit masculinity though the persistent use of sport metaphors or of linguistic constructions such as "penetrating markets" (Collinson andHearn, 2005: 264 quoted in Kelan, 2008).…”

Section: Lean Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stories of women at the top: narratives and counternarratives of women’s (non-)representation in executive leadership

Baumann

2017

Palgrave Commun

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There is ongoing debate on a global level about (the lack of) women in senior leadership. Despite years of discussion about the alleged advantages of gender diversity progress has been glacial: top management roles and senior positions of power throughout society remain largely the preserve of men. This critical review explores how women's power is narratively constructed in two dominant European cultures, Germany and Britain, and how stories told about women's representation in top level executive leadership may impact individual identities, possibilities and ambitions. Using thematic and discourse analysis, this article covers empirical research, academic writing, government reports, non-fiction and fictional writing, and some anecdotal evidence gathered by the author, who has executive experience spanning two decades in multinational corporations. For reasons of space, I focus on just three of the stories currently dominating the discussion about gender equality in business: first, the story that there is nothing or little left to fight for, the battle is won; second, the story that gender equality is straightforward because there is a business case for parity; and third, the story that women are not at the top because women choose not to run the world. Each of these has a counternarrative supported by empirical and anecdotal evidence, which I outline; nonetheless, I argue, they serve to maintain the status quo in leadership, reassuring those in power that they have no responsibility for (and therefore no responsibility seriously to address) the lack of women in top positions. I suggest on the basis of the evidence that the cultural narratives of Britain and Germany are remarkably similar and that the prospects of gender equality at the top occurring in our lifetime are dismal. A juxtaposition of the (contradictory) narratives paints a more holistic picture of the discursive sea we all swim in, relevant to scholars of gender equality and women's leadership across disciplines as well as government policy departments. As qualitative methodologies, narrative and discourse analysis cannot provide definitive answers. They can, however, provide a basis for reflecting on how dominant stories impact individuals and the cultural atmosphere. This article is published as part as part of a collection on the role of women in management and business.

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“…Counter-discourses or alternative (often concealed) discourses make available possibilities for resistance (Thomas & Davies, 2005b). Such discourses can 'challenge the dominant discourse by calling into question qualifications that it attaches to professional identity' (Meriläinen et al, 2004, p. 541).…”

Section: Possibilities For Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Disciplining Professionals: A Feminist Discourse Analysis of Public Preschool Teachers

Sisson

Iverson

2014

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

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Educational reforms across the globe have had implications for the work of preschool teachers and thus their professional identities. This article draws on a feminist discourse lens to examine data collected from a recent narrative inquiry focused on understanding the professional identities of five public preschool teachers in the USA. This analysis identifies two discourses (the discourse of professionalism and the discourse of the caregiver), bringing to light the discursive tensions that existed within this context, and examines how dominate discourses construct a double bind that leaves preschool teachers with conflicting identities as they navigate professional expectations.

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What Have the Feminists Done for Us? Feminist Theory and Organizational Resistance

Cited by 142 publications

References 53 publications

Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

Stories of women at the top: narratives and counternarratives of women’s (non-)representation in executive leadership

Disciplining Professionals: A Feminist Discourse Analysis of Public Preschool Teachers

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