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This is (still) a man’s world: Young professional women’s identity struggles in gendered workplaces
Journal
Feminism and Psychology
ISSN
0959-3535
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Gibson, Kerry
Abstract (De)
Recent research has documented the rise of neoliberal and postfeminist sensibilities within young women’s sense-making and accounting activities in western countries – exemplified by the image of the ‘‘top girl’’. Yet workplaces remain structured by male power and patriarchal norms. In this qualitative focus group study conducted in Auckland, New Zealand, we investigated how young professional women negotiate the contradictions between the ‘‘top girl’’ mode and gendered workplaces in their accounts of workplace difficulties. Our aim was to explore the affective dimension of participants’ identity struggles and to discuss possible implications for thinking about young professional women’s experiences of emotional distress. We identified shared
narratives about how to ‘‘survive’’, and suggest the imperatives bound up in them can be thought of as lessons that women learn to get by at work. In addition to reinforcing the status quo, they represent the negotiation of inherently conflictual professional identities, which places a considerable emotional strain on women.
narratives about how to ‘‘survive’’, and suggest the imperatives bound up in them can be thought of as lessons that women learn to get by at work. In addition to reinforcing the status quo, they represent the negotiation of inherently conflictual professional identities, which places a considerable emotional strain on women.
Language
English
Keywords
gendered organization
emotional distress
professional identity
neoliberalism
postfeminism
‘‘top girl’’
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Sage
Volume
29
Number
4
Start page
475
End page
493
Pages
19
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
259594