Gender Issues on Change Agenda – Practising Intersectionality in Action Research

Abstract

This article investigates how intersectionalities are handled in the orientations and positions of organization members when conducting feminist action research in workplaces. The Finnish Defence Forces are used as an empirical example of a hierarchical and gendered organization. The article employs the work conference method based on democratic dialogue with the aim of bringing together the divergent experiences and perspectives of the organization's members. Our interpretation is that the intersectional application of the work conference method reveals issues that would not have otherwise arisen. The method helps to highlight the habits and routines that are taken for granted in organizations. We suggest the use of the method both for identifying patterns of inequalities and for seeking remedies for them. The experiences gained from the empirical study support a multi‐method approach to action research. A more theory‐based consciousness of social positions and their interconnections will serve the development process. As a result, action research efforts might also become better anchored in organizational structures and practices.

Organizational perspective to gender mainstreaming in the Finnish state administration

“…Previous gender equality projects in Finnish work organizations have reported about resistance toward advancing gender equality (e.g., Leinonen, Nikkanen, and OtonkorpiLehtoranta 2012;Ylöstalo 2012;Brunila and Ylöstalo 2015;Heiskanen, Otonkorpi-Lehtoranta, and Ylöstalo 2015). Resistance can take an active form, for example when people argue that gender equality planning is useless and their organization is already equal.…”

The Theory and Praxis of Intersectionality in Work and Organisations: Where Do We Go From Here?

“…Nonetheless, we join others (e.g. Creswell, ; Heiskanen et al ., ; Woodhams and Lupton, ) who call for methodological pluralism in intersectionality research and suggest scholars should not limit their choices to methods already employed in the field but also consider methods emanating from structuralist, humanistic and transformative and emancipatory paradigms, including the use of participatory action research methods. Critical ethnographic studies, for example, hold the promise of integrating insights from critical management studies with ethnographic tools to reveal how power is deployed through particular practices and processes (Alvesson and Willmott, ).…”

Gender Aware Employer Branding: How to Become Authentic, Unique and Attractive

“…Both women and men often argue that gender equality is a "non-issue" since it is not articulated as being a problem, and there is a strong belief that gender equality has been achieved (Heiskanen et al, 2015); nor is the gender issue acknowledged as an innovative possibility or seen as an opportunity for a more thorough and creative strategy when examining an organization (Danilda & Granath Thorslund, 2011). However, the level of resistance can be seen as a measure for revealing innovative potential when analyzing an organization.…”

“…Therefore, in order to understand the reproduction of these patterns, it is vital to examine an organization and its internal processes (Acker, 1999;Amundsdotter, 2009;. If a workgroup has the opportunity to reflect together, the members can obtain a different perspective on their own practices (Andersson & Amundsdotter, 2012;Heiskanen, 2015).…”