21st century bridling: Non-disclosure agreements in cases of organizational misconduct

Abstract

In this article I argue that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) represent the latest in a continuum of tools used to silence women who seek justice for the misconduct of those in authority. I draw a connection between the use of these apparently objective, non-corporeal organizational processes and the historic use of the scold’s bridle, a corporeal instrument of control applied to physically silence. Specifically, I argue that both are on a continuum of violence from the antiquated, overt and embodied, to the present day, covert and epistemic with embodied effects. This article offers a critical phenomenological analysis of the effects on women who submitted evidence of their experiences to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry into the use of NDAs in Discrimination Cases. By critically analysing these accounts I offer a contribution towards a continued understanding of the ways in which oppressive organizational practices according to gender continue to function and reproduce through practices of embodied epistemic injustice.

Misogyny and Organization Studies

“…Alison Pullen et al (2017), for example, argue strongly for the transformation of individual shame and hurt, such as that created by misogynistic acts and behaviours, into strength, joy and change, through collective resistance founded on socializing an ‘affective trajectory’ of embodied social interaction that is both ‘corporeal and political’ (p. 118). The examples of misogyny and resistance provided here suggest that formal resistance through legal means is the primary route at the moment, yet even that is organizationally unsatisfactory and agentically challenging (Pagan, 2023). However, there is perhaps potential, again as Emma Bell and Amanda Sinclair (2014) suggest, in the ‘intimacy of collaborative relationships’ (p. 269) that create meaningful working spaces that exist outside, or alongside, masculine gendered organizations and misogynistic affective atmospheres.…”

“…This argument is supported by reading key texts in organization theory as cultural artefacts, and therefore also has implications for how we understand ourselves and our practice. Finally, Victoria Pagan (2023) presents a compelling argument analysing the use of non-disclosure agreements to suggest that they operate as covert epistemic silencing of women that produce significant embodied effects. Pagan shows how this legal technology can be understood as a means of perpetuating structural sexism and misogyny, as a means of denying witness to its practice and silencing women (cf.…”

Gender and work relations: a new research agenda

“…According to Fotaki and Harding (2018, p. 31), this harmful discourse of misogyny persists in both corporate environments -such as workplaces, written materials, and business media -and academic realms -including theses, dissertations, and published articles in the field of business or public administration. Furthermore, Pagan (2023) argues that confidentiality agreements serve as a covert mechanism for silencing women, with significant ramifications. The author observes that this legal tool effectively perpetuates structural sexism and misogyny.…”

Gênero e relações de trabalho: por uma nova agenda de pesquisa

“…Há ainda o trabalho de Pagan (2023), que argumenta que os acordos de confidencialidade funcionam como um silenciamento epistêmico encoberto das mulheres e que tem efeitos significativos. Em sua óptica, essa tecnologia legal é, na verdade, um instrumento cuja finalidade é perpetuar o sexismo estrutural e a misoginia.…”