Dealing with Institutional Sexism: the Coping Strategies of Hong Kong Clergywomen

Abstract

Clergywomen in the male sphere of the deeply patriarchal and hierarchical church system are exposed to many types of gender maltreatment requiring them to constantly adapt and manage the challenges in their role. In this article, I examine how Hong Kong clergywomen cope when facing gravely oppressive and marginalising gender maltreatment at work. I identify four primary types of coping strategies: tolerance, defying the status quo, seeking external support, and quitting. Collectively, these coping behaviours are utilised by women ministers to endure and fulfil their ministerial callings in the face of discriminatory and oppressive actions of their colleagues. The article aims to raise awareness and draw attention to the prevailing conditions of institutional sexism within the church and to the need to address the enduring impacts of wounds inflicted on clergywomen.

Institutional suicide as anomie: decedents speak out for work-related suicides through a Durkheimian exploration of suicide notes in a context without institutional responsibilization for suicide prevention

“…Institutional suicide is a form of suicide that results from policies, practices and discourses that fail to recognize human values and potential and misrecognize individuals, dehumanizing, denigrating and devaluing them. Similar to allied terms such as institutional sexism ( Yih, 2023 ), institutional racism ( UK Parliament, 2021 ), and institutional homophobia/transphobia ( Maughan et al, 2022 ), institutional suicide refers to institutional policies, practices and discourses that generate suicidal outcomes. Even though individual actors and leaders in an institution may not wish to cause suicides or may wish to prevent suicides, an institution may generate suicides through its policies, practices and discourses.…”