“…These have contributed to the persistence, even intensification, of high levels of sex segregation both within and between occupations (Charles 2011). For example, Lyng (2010) demonstrates how normative, high‐commitment careers in professions such as Law, characterized as having a masculine gender, exclude women and how discourses of meritocracy and individual choice help to conceal the gendered nature of its dynamics (Lyng 2010); Harwood (2010) exposes the ‘hidden’ attitudes and practices in the police that support a masculine culture; while Watts (2010) explores, within the highly masculinized occupation of engineering, the ways in which ‘token’ women can be undermined – both conspicuous as ‘physical spectacle’ and invisible in relation to the authority required for the job. Read through the frame of the (In)visibility Vortex, these accounts can expose the mechanics of segregation in terms of the durability, insecurity and invisibility of the norm, how it preserves and conceals gendered processes through normalizing discursive practices such as those around the notion of ‘natural’ difference, as well as the ways in which visibility and invisibility are implicated in day‐to‐day interactions, experiences and strategies of the margins.…”
This paper revisits Kanter's (1977) seminal work Men and Women of the Corporation, rereading her account of numerical advantage and disadvantage through a poststructuralist lens which exposes hidden dimensions of gendered power. This lens is captured in the ‘(In)visibility Vortex’ (Lewis and Simpson, 2010) which highlights struggles and tensions around the norm through processes of preservation and concealment within the norm as well as dynamics of revealing, exposure and disappearance as features of the margins. The study draws on developments in feminist theorizing, specially around visibility, invisibility and power, to facilitate this rereading. In so doing, the author demonstrate that while Kanter retreated from explanations based on the gendering of organizations or from recognition of gendered power, these dynamics can be identified in her text. The authors suggest that rereading classic texts can surface dimensions of organizations that have contemporary significance and can inform future research.
“…These have contributed to the persistence, even intensification, of high levels of sex segregation both within and between occupations (Charles 2011). For example, Lyng (2010) demonstrates how normative, high‐commitment careers in professions such as Law, characterized as having a masculine gender, exclude women and how discourses of meritocracy and individual choice help to conceal the gendered nature of its dynamics (Lyng 2010); Harwood (2010) exposes the ‘hidden’ attitudes and practices in the police that support a masculine culture; while Watts (2010) explores, within the highly masculinized occupation of engineering, the ways in which ‘token’ women can be undermined – both conspicuous as ‘physical spectacle’ and invisible in relation to the authority required for the job. Read through the frame of the (In)visibility Vortex, these accounts can expose the mechanics of segregation in terms of the durability, insecurity and invisibility of the norm, how it preserves and conceals gendered processes through normalizing discursive practices such as those around the notion of ‘natural’ difference, as well as the ways in which visibility and invisibility are implicated in day‐to‐day interactions, experiences and strategies of the margins.…”
This paper revisits Kanter's (1977) seminal work Men and Women of the Corporation, rereading her account of numerical advantage and disadvantage through a poststructuralist lens which exposes hidden dimensions of gendered power. This lens is captured in the ‘(In)visibility Vortex’ (Lewis and Simpson, 2010) which highlights struggles and tensions around the norm through processes of preservation and concealment within the norm as well as dynamics of revealing, exposure and disappearance as features of the margins. The study draws on developments in feminist theorizing, specially around visibility, invisibility and power, to facilitate this rereading. In so doing, the author demonstrate that while Kanter retreated from explanations based on the gendering of organizations or from recognition of gendered power, these dynamics can be identified in her text. The authors suggest that rereading classic texts can surface dimensions of organizations that have contemporary significance and can inform future research.
“…The majority of respondents argued that performing one's official roles better than others, doing more than the minimum required (Lyng, ) and making one's excellent performance visible to important others were essential to progress upwards. Rupika explains how she climbed up the hierarchy of a large public bank:The first time I took part in DOC's launching of new branches — I discovered that I was quite a good trainer.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Early and mid‐career respondents argued that being seen in the organization outside official working hours (Gambles et al ., ) and participating in wider activities, entertaining organizational clients and attending social events were essential to progress (Lyng, ). Sashi, a lecturer, explains the presenteeism expectations in a leading public university:Being seen is very important to the people in the department — the more you are seen the happier they are.…”
This paper places respectable femininity at the very centre of career enactment. In the accounts of 24 Sri Lankan women, notions of being a 'respectable' woman recurred as respondents described how important it was to adhere to the powerful behavioural norms for women in their organizations and society. However while such respectability was vital for women's career progression, it ultimately restricted their agency and conflicted with other requirements for advancement. Based on our empirical findings, we propose that being a respectable woman was experienced as paradox, where at times it was seen as impossible to be both a good woman and a successful careerist. We highlight the implications of our findings for women's careers in South Asia and more widely.
“…But new mothers who work are often subjected to unjust hostility when breastfeeding in the workplace and it has even been shown to be deliberately discouraged by certain employers (Galtry, ; Gatrell, ; Kitzinger, ; McKinlay and Hyde, ). What Gatrell () describes as the hard labour of employed parenthood is thus treated almost exclusively as residing within the domain of the mother; while, as discussed above, fathers are still widely assumed to be principally concerned with the iconic activity of breadwinning and, as such, as being unaffected by the visible bodily and domestic responsibilities of having children (Lyng, ; Tracy and Rivera, ).…”
Section: Working Fathers In Absentiamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Further, a number of employers unfairly assume there is a correlation between maternity and reduced work‐orientation and competencies (Blair‐Loy, ; Cockburn, ; Collinson, ; Cooper and Davidson, ). Lyng (, p. 95) suggests that this is due to organizational beliefs that mothers cannot maintain ‘up‐and‐go‐career’ trajectories, especially in professional and managerial settings (Haynes, , ; Gatrell, ). Visibly pregnant and newly maternal bodies at work can evoke discomfort among colleagues, employers and even other employed mothers (Acker, ; Longhurst, ; Mäkelä, ; Warren and Brewis, ).…”
This article first provides a review of fatherhood in the gender and organization literature on work and family, and the body and (in)visibility. It observes how organizational assumptions which frame fathers as breadwinners, ignoring their paternal role, remain extraordinarily persistent because policies (no matter how long established) do not necessarily change social attitudes and behaviours. The article then draws upon original qualitative data to demonstrate how while male workers may feel valued as employees, they often feel invisible at work in their paternal role. Fathers perceive that, while family‐friendly policies might in theory be available to ‘parents’ these are in practice targeted at working mothers. The article considers why working men's paternity is so often ignored, as though fathers are a ghost in the organizational machine. A recommendation for the establishment of a fatherhood and motherhood passport is made.
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