Gender Subtexts – Reproduction of Exclusion in Organizational Discourse*

Abstract

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'.

25 Years On: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future in Gender and Management Research

“…These have included how men manage gender in non-traditional occupations (Lupton, 2000); the experiences of women in international management (Linehan and Walsh, 2001); sexuality at work (Fotaki, 2011); issues surrounding flexibility (Stavrou and Ierodiakonou, 2011;Swan and Fox, 2009); and the ongoing debates around the 'glass cliff' phenomenon (Adams, Gupta and Leeth, 2009;Haslam et al, 2010;Haslam, 2005, 2009). A special issue (Gender in Management: New Research Directions) dedicated itself to contemporary concerns including gender subtexts in organizational discourse (Bendl, 2008), women's behaviour to each other in organizations (Mavin, 2008), enactments of gender and sexuality by lesbian managers (Pringle, 2008), issues of ethnicity, gender and work-life balance (Kamenou, 2008), implications of space for the gendering of emotion management practices (Lewis, 2008), as well as the recognition of women's exploitation at work via visual representation in art (Kosmala, 2008).…”

Introducing the Feminist Management Discourse in Organizations

“…Organizational discourse can be produced without any relation to external reality (Bendl, 2008). A non-masculine management discourse might therefore be described as only a change in rhetoric if not other organizational changes also occur (Alvesson and Billing, 2009).…”

Nouvelles formes de masculinités dans les organisations

“…La masculinité peut donc être vue comme un texte sous-jacent, c'est-à-dire comme un ensemble de processus qui, de manière latente, produisent les distinctions de genre. Le concept de texte sous-jacent est lié à celui de pouvoir, étant donné que de tels processus sont de fait orientés vers la reproduction du consensus ou l'acceptation de l'ordre dominant et des pratiques hégémoniques (Benschop et Doorewaard, 1998 ;Bendl, 2008).…”