Management and managing are characteristically
gendered in many respects. Over the last 30 years
there has been a major international growth of
studies on gender relations in organizations in
general and in management in particular. This
applies in both empirical research and more
general theoretical analyses. The area of gender,
organizations and management is now recognized
in at least some quarters outside of itself as a
legitimate, even an important, area. This is to be
seen in the current market in publications, in the
activities of mainstream international publishers,
in journals,1 in courses within degree programmes,
and in research groups, networks, and conferences
and conference streams. Nevertheless, the field of
activity is still somewhat precarious, in some ways
very precarious. The vast majority of mainstream
work on organizations and management has no
gender analysis whatsoever or if it has it is very
simple and crude. In business schools and
university departments the position of genderexplicit
work is very far from established. Even
critical management studies, which may be concerned
with, for example, power, class, labour
process, resistance, discourse, deconstruction, does
not necessarily take gender into account.

/pdf/gender-and-management-new-directions-in-research-and-bb5o0w4zeo.pdf

Gender and Management: New Directions in Research and Continuing Patterns in Practice

In this Counterpoint, we build on Paauwe's suggestions to take the field of HRM and Performance further. Rather than aiming for a synthesis or proposing a radical alternative, we argue that R(econstructive)-reflexivity is needed for theorizing HRM. In particular, we bring in insights from critical studies on the notion of HRM, on the notion of performance, and on the theoretical relation-ship between them as a way to open up new research avenues and lines of interpretation. For each of these three aspects, we indicate how studying the employment relationship can be reframed. In particular, we emphasize practice-oriented research as one possible research path for the field of HRM as it allows for an examination of HRM as a set of practices, embedded in a global economical, political and socio-cultural context. We end our counterpoint by reflecting on reflexivity, proposing three practices that can guide HRM scholars in becoming reflexive in the ways they study HRM.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00812.x

HRM and Performance: A Plea for Reflexivity in HRM Studies

This article argues that research on the work-family interface has evolved against a backdrop of dramatic and ongoing social and workplace change and must continue to reflect current and future context. The article overviews current trends that have implications for work and family and considers some possible future scenarios. It identifies a number of research areas and questions that build on previous theoretical and practical developments in the work-family field and reflect current trends. It is argued that questions about the well-being and sustainability of workplace human resources, of families in their diverse forms, and of communities are of overriding significance for the work-family research agenda, particularly if current trends continue unabated.

The work-family research agenda in changing contexts.

Purpose – This mixed-method study aims to determine the extent to which the career paths of senior managers conform with the traditional versus protean elements described in the careers literature and whether these paths vary by gender. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 15 senior managers (seven women and eight men) in a large public sector agency in Australia were interviewed about their career trajectories to date. Data were coded according to four major areas which characterise and distinguish between traditional and protean careers: development, orientation of the employee, definition of success, and organisational environment. A total of 81 managers (34 women and 47 men) from the same organisation were also surveyed. Variables of interest were those that could be triangulated with qualitative data such as the availability of career opportunities. Findings – Results suggest that, contrary to much existing literature which proposes that all careers have been fundamentally altered, the traditional career which relies on length of service, geographic mobility and a steady climb up the corporate ladder, is still the dominant model in some organisations. However, the trend towards protean careers is evident and is more pronounced for women than for men. Research limitations/implications – The specific nature of the organisation (large, male-dominated, public sector) may limit the generalisability of results. Practical implications – The framework used to explore career paths according to traditional/ protean elements in this study may assist human resource practitioners to develop appropriate strategies which maximise the professional development of employees. Originality/value – The results of this research challenge the universality of change in the nature of careers, particularly in public sector environments.

/pdf/have-traditional-career-paths-given-way-to-protean-ones-2ve2pzi2nd.pdf

Have Traditional Career Paths Given Way to Protean Ones? Evidence from Senior Managers in the Australian Public Sector

https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/39804/Hoobler_Women_2014.pdf;sequence=1

Women’s Managerial Aspirations An Organizational Development Perspective

The Opportunity 2000 Campaign has recognized that equal opportunity policy change has to be accompanied by a process of culture change in organizations. However, sustaining commitment to an equal opportunity culture may be a difficult task in times of rapid and varied organizational change. In particular, the volume and scope of 'restructuring' that follow mergers, acquisitions, divestment, the introduction of internal markets, and other changes in business strategy often lead to 'downsizing', 'delayering', and outsourcing of business functions. This can have very variable outcomes for the careers of women managers. For them the experience of organizational restructuring is akin to participation in a lottery in which they are occasionally winners, but usually losers. This is the main finding from in-depth case studies of three large organizations in the public sector, pharmaceuticals, and financial services, which have all experienced some form of 'restructuring' over the last five years. The main conclusion of this research is that unless restructuring involves an expansion of managerial positions it is likely to disadvantage women managers. The reasons for this are that it leads to job losses in functions where women are concentrated; highlights the disadvantages of poor line manager support; reinforces exclusion from the valuable informal organizational networks that provide access to career development opportunities; and renders formal equal opportunity policy monitoring ineffective. These findings have considerable implications for organizational and national policy initiatives to achieve an equal opportunity business culture.

Organizational restructuring and the achievement of an equal opportunity culture

Lost opportunities? Organisational restructuring and women managers

Challenges the assumption implicit in much of the literature on women managers that their failure to progress can be explained solely in terms of the individual behaviour of women and their employers. Examines the characteristics of organizations in which women make their careers which are potent factors impeding female advancement. Draws attention to the effects of radical organizational change, and explores some of the consequences of this change for women managers through the in‐depth analysis of a “typical” case. Explores the complex process by which restructuring and managerial policy and practice eventually combined to undermine the organization’s stated intent to expand significantly the number of women in management. Suggests that in‐depth analysis over time is required to understand the complex processes of change and its often unanticipated consequences for management careers.

Organizational change and women managers’ careers: the restructuring of disadvantage?

Despite the growing amount of literature on women′s career life histories and individual career paths, analysis of the different and changing organizational contexts in which women pursue their careers is sparse. Uses an in‐depth case study of Public Sector Utility to examine how the restructuring of a public sector bureaucracy over a five‐year period affected the careers of women managers. Finds that although restructuring at PSU has opened up opportunities for women through an increase in the number of managerial jobs and through changes in the objective requirements of managerial work, a number of factors operated to keep glass ceilings in place: the concentration of women in the “velvet ghetto” of human resources, or their isolation in the cul‐de‐sac of other professional specialisms; the increased significance of informal organizational processes and networks as a means to career progress in a time of uncertainty; poor line manager support for access to work‐related career development opportunities s...

Rosemary Welchman

Papers

Organizational restructuring and the achievement of an equal opportunity culture

Lost opportunities? Organisational restructuring and women managers

Organizational change and women managers’ careers: the restructuring of disadvantage?

Winning the lottery? Organizational restructuring and women′s managerial career development