Many scholars have set out to re-read, deconstruct and reconstruct organizational texts in terms of gender. Their work examines the gender subtexts in the extant literature. First, this text uses the term 'gender subtext' and discusses the methodological basis of gender subtext discourse. Then, eight forms of gender subtext are presented, which reflect the current reproduction of gender in organizational discourse. These variations of gender subtext are based on a re-reading of 24 texts. This paper forms part of a wider intellectual objective of creating discursive space, which transgresses mainstream malestream disciplinary borders, aiming to create 'gendered organization theory'.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which gender is "done" in executive search. The authors uncover how the ideal candidate for top management is defined in and through search practices, and discuss how and why women are excluded in the process. Design/methodology/approach -The study is based on in-depth interviews with male and female Austrian, Finnish and Swedish executive search consultants. The authors study the ways in which consultants talk about their work, assignments, clients, and candidates, and discern from their talk descriptions of practices where male dominance in top management is reinforced. Findings -The ways in which gender is "done" and women are excluded from top management are similar across socio-cultural contexts. In different societal conditions and culturally laden forms, search consultants, candidates and clients engage in similar practices that produce a similar outcome. Core practices of executive search constrain consultants in their efforts to introduce female candidates to the process and to increase the number of women in top management.Research limitations/implications -The study is exploratory in that it paves the way for more refined understandings of the ways in which gender plays a role in professional services in general and in practices of executive search in particular. Practical implications -Unmasking how gender is woven into the executive search process may provide openings for "doing" gender differently, both for consultants and their clients. It may serve as a catalyst for change in widening the talent pool for top management. Originality/value -Research on gendered practices in executive search is extremely rare. The study provides new insights into this influential professional practice and its outcomes.

PurposeThe paper's aim is to examine how diversity management discourse reproduces heteronormative essentialist notions of identity in organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a critical analysis of diversity management discourse that draws upon concepts, frames and the language of queer theory and insights from social identity construction to offer an alternative approach to reconceptualising diversity management. The key question of the paper is: what are the conceptions of identity underpinning the diversity management discourse and how do they reproduce heteronormativity?FindingsThe paper unveils the reproduction of binaries in diversity management discourse. Possible counter strategies from queer theory are proposed to alter the diversity management discourse.Originality/valueThis paper offers a first reading of diversity management discourse against the grain from a queer perspective and offers possible points of departure for altering diversity management discourse.

The glass ceiling metaphor, a framework of the 1980s, constructs discrimination processes in a particular way in particular organizational frameworks. Using a procedure of metaphor evaluation, we examine the glass ceiling metaphor to determine whether it continues to be useful in contemporary social and economic contexts. We analyse the recently introduced firewall metaphor for its usefulness for constructing discriminatory processes in organizations, which remain hidden in the glass ceiling metaphor. Our analysis suggests that both metaphors are useful for constructing diverse aspects of discrimination. In the contemporary context, however, firewalls may have greater utility due to their complexity, fluidity, heterogeneity and possibilities for permeability.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore flexpatriates' perceptions of work life balance (WLB) issues and identify possible adjustments of WLB programs to better meet the needs of flexpatriates. This paper investigates flexpatriates' challenges at the interface of personal and work lives and their perception of standard WLB programs and then proposes organizational adjustments to better meet the needs of flexpatriates.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a qualitative research approach and two kinds of empirical data were collected: first, through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 40 employees involved in flexpatriate assignments in multinational companies operating in Austria and, second, through a document analysis of the homepages of their employing organizations to gain information about WLB practices.FindingsDrawing upon the study findings, the authors present a typology of flexpatriates and propose a model that considers both WLB and work life imbalance as a desirable or acceptable option and offers a new theoretical perspective for examining organization and individual dimensions in WLB.Originality/valueThe authors' contribution is a new contextualization of WLB initiatives that incorporates both WLB and work life imbalance as valid perspectives of employees.