‘You Just Had to Get on with It’: Exploring the Persistence of Gender Inequality through Women’s Career Histories

Ford, Jackie; Atkinson, Carol; Harding, Nancy; Collinson, David

doi:10.1177/0950017020910354

Cited by 26 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…As women have reached these top positions relatively recently, studies on the careers of younger women still dominate the literature (Atkinson, Ford, Harding, & Jones, 2015). For this reason, the literature on women growing old in corporate leadership positions is still scarce (Ford, Atkinson, Harding, & Collinson, 2020;Gersick & Kram, 2002;Jyrkinen & McKie, 2012), supporting the relevance of this research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

The Aging Process for Women in Leadership Positions: The Imminence of Symbolic Death and Rebirth

Cepellos

Tonelli

2022

Organ. Soc.

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This article explores how women in leadership positions experience and develop ways to deal with their aging process in organizations in Brazil. As women have reached these top positions relatively recently, studies on the careers of younger women still dominate the literature. For this reason, the literature on aging women who hold corporate leadership positions is still scarce. Based on empirical data obtained from 58 in-depth interviews based on grounded theory, this research showed that women experience their aging process as symbolic physical, social, and professional deaths and face an age glass ceiling due to their age. However, they also create new life stories based on a redefinition of work and/or a search for a new career, a phenomenon we call ‘symbolic rebirth.’ This paper proposes concepts related to how women see their aging process, uncovering the dynamics and implications of aging for women. There seems to be no room to aging in corporations, even for women in leadership positions. Despite the innumerable changes that have taken place in recent decades, this organizational space is still associated with the male gender, and ageism persists even for women who are in top-ranking executive positions in corporations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

The Aging Process for Women in Leadership Positions: The Imminence of Symbolic Death and Rebirth

Cepellos

Tonelli

2022

Organ. Soc.

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“…The corporations attracted high-performing graduate expertise in what appeared a gender-equal way at lower recruitment levels. Yet these organisations continue to have a highly unequal gender hierarchy at middle and top levels, with career obstacles for women, as elsewhere (Ford et al, 2020).…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motherhood 2.0: Slow Progress for Career Women and Motherhood within the ‘Finnish Dream’

Niemistö

Hearn

Kehn

et al. 2021

Work, Employment and Society

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This article investigates the gendered dynamics of motherhood and careers, as voiced by professionals in the knowledge-intensive business sector in Finland. It is informed by the CIAR method through 81 iterative, in-depth interviews with 23 women and 19 men. Among the women respondents with no children, one child, or two children, three dominant forms of discursive talk emerge: ‘It takes two to tango’, ‘It’s all about time management’ and ‘Good motherhood 2.0’. Though Finland provides a seemingly egalitarian Nordic welfare state context, with the ‘Finnish Dream’, women face contradictions between expectations of women as full-time ideal workers pursuing masculinist careers and continuing responsibilities at home, performing ‘good motherhood’. The women’s double strivings meet the double constraining demands of these ideals. The gendered pressures are imposed on the women by themselves, male colleagues, the organisation more broadly and society, leading the women to enact a form of ‘bounded individualism’.

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“…Uma vez que mulheres alcançaram essas posições de liderança há relativamente pouco tempo, estudos sobre as carreiras de mulheres mais jovens ainda prevalecem na literatura (Atkinson, Ford, Harding, & Jones, 2015). Por esse motivo, a literatura sobre o processo de envelhecimento de mulheres em cargos de liderança corporativa ainda é incipiente (Ford, Atkinson, Harding, & Collinson, 2020;Gersick & Kram, 2002;Jyrkinen & McKie, 2012), o que corrobora a relevância desta pesquisa.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

O Processo de Envelhecimento de Mulheres em Cargos de Liderança: a Iminência da Morte e do Renascimento Simbólicos

Cepellos

Tonelli

2022

Organ. Soc.

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Resumo Este artigo explora como mulheres em cargos de liderança em organizações no Brasil vivenciam e desenvolvem formas de lidar com seu processo de envelhecimento. Uma vez que as mulheres alcançaram essas posições de liderança há relativamente pouco tempo, os estudos sobre as carreiras de mulheres mais jovens ainda prevalecem na literatura. Por esse motivo, a literatura sobre mulheres maduras que ocupam cargos de liderança corporativa ainda é incipiente. Com base em dados empíricos obtidos a partir de 58 entrevistas aprofundadas baseadas na teoria fundamentada, esta pesquisa mostrou que as mulheres vivenciam seu processo de envelhecimento como morte simbólica física, social e profissional, além de enfrentarem discriminação por sua idade. No entanto, elas também criam novas histórias de vida a partir da redefinição do seu trabalho e/ou da busca por uma nova carreira, em um fenômeno conhecido como ‘renascimento simbólico’. Este artigo propõe conceitos relacionados a como mulheres veem seu processo de envelhecimento, desvendando as dinâmicas e implicações do envelhecimento para essa população. Parece não haver espaço para o envelhecimento nas corporações, mesmo para mulheres em cargos de liderança. Apesar das inúmeras mudanças ocorridas nas últimas décadas, esse espaço organizacional ainda está associado ao gênero masculino; além do mais, o preconceito de idade persiste mesmo para mulheres que ocupam cargos executivos de alto escalão, em diferentes corporações.

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‘You Just Had to Get on with It’: Exploring the Persistence of Gender Inequality through Women’s Career Histories

Cited by 26 publications

References 50 publications

The Aging Process for Women in Leadership Positions: The Imminence of Symbolic Death and Rebirth

The Aging Process for Women in Leadership Positions: The Imminence of Symbolic Death and Rebirth

Motherhood 2.0: Slow Progress for Career Women and Motherhood within the ‘Finnish Dream’

O Processo de Envelhecimento de Mulheres em Cargos de Liderança: a Iminência da Morte e do Renascimento Simbólicos

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