The godmother of gendered organizations: In celebration of the work of Joan Acker

Joan Acker can be considered the godmother of gendered organizations. In this paper, we reflect on the impact that Joan Acker's work has on our thinking and our careers as gender scholars in management and organization studies in Europe. First, we tell our personal stories of close encounters with Joan Acker. Second, we highlight what we consider to be two key contributions of Joan Acker. The first are the interrelated gendered processes regarding structure, culture, interaction and identity from her work in the early 1990s, the second the notion of inequality regimes from her later work on the intersections of gender, class and race. We then discuss how Acker's work has been influential in our research on gendered organizations, and in our teaching when we use it in our explanations of the functioning of gender in organizations to students, and in our work as advisors and consultants for organizations interested in equality, diversity and inclusion. Finally, we elaborate on new directions building on Acker's work, especially in current theorizing on gender and diversity in organizational change.     

Work in the shadow of finance: Rethinking Joan Acker's materialist feminist sociology

To commemorate the life and work of Joan Acker, this article focuses on the jewel in the crown of her extensive oeuvre: ‘Hierarchies, Jobs and Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations'. I take as my focus the significance of ‘Hierarchies, Jobs and Bodies' for the development of theorizations of labour and especially for theorizations of post‐Fordist work and working. In so doing, I trace the impact of Acker's interventions across a number of bodies of research and sets of debates across the nearly three decades since its publication. But in addition to tracing this impact, I ask if the relevance of ‘Hierarchies, Jobs and Bodies' still holds today. Does this relevance still hold in a context where finance institutions rather than work organizations have emerged as the key institutions of societal discipline and control? In opening out this line of questioning my intention is to advance the broad project to which Acker was firmly committed, namely, the project of materialist feminist sociology.     

Redoing Gender: How Women in the Funeral Industry Use Essentialism for Equality

Although some research considers women's participation in traditionally male‐dominated jobs as an ‘undoing’ of the gender system, other scholars argue that women's participation in non‐traditional roles can actually maintain hegemonic masculinity. Because women have recently entered the funeral industry in unprecedented numbers, the profession offers a unique context to study how women negotiate a sense of belonging in male‐dominated fields. I draw on 22 interviews with women in the funeral industry to reveal how gender is done and undone in an occupational context. In what Hughey ( 2010 . Social Problems, 57, 653–679) refers to as a ‘paradox of participation’, I argue that women in the funeral industry redefine the image of the ideal funeral director by using gender essentialist logic, which originally acted as a barrier to their entry to the field, to justify their participation. By showing how gender essentialism and egalitarianism can constitute reinforcing logics instead of an opposing binary, this research contributes to the literature concerning women in non‐traditional roles.     

Joan Acker and Doing Comparable Worth

Joan Acker's seminal book Doing Comparable Worth, based on her first‐hand experience of implementing comparable worth for Oregon state employees, constitutes a major contribution to understanding the obstacles to achieving the goal of equal pay and is a precursor of her inequalities regimes work. For Acker the foundering of the comparable worth exercise on the rocks of management's opportunistic strategy to marginalize trade unions provided a direct experience of how gender and class inequalities are simultaneously produced and reproduced. Consequently, wage setting is always political and change to wages generates widespread resistance above and beyond issues of gender inequalities. While the feminist activists may be rightly criticized for naivety in their belief in a technical solution to gender pay inequalities, their robust critiques of pay practices is sorely missing in today's renewed acceptance of a gender‐neutral labour market, and more limited feminist interest in theories of pay.     

Celebrating Joan Acker: Sociologist,fearless feminist,friend

Joan Acker's life reflects a time when middle‐class women were expected to be satisfied with maintaining the home front, serving husbands and children, not having paid‐work careers. After living “the ideal” for 37 years, Acker took a new path by earning a Ph. D. and producing path‐breaking scholarship that challenged taken‐for‐granted beliefs about gender, family, work, and organizations. Acker spoke “truth to power” and was an academic heroine in posing feminist challenges to injustices involving gender, social class, and race/ethnicity, particularly (but not solely) related to the workplace. This overview lets Joan tell her story and offers reflections on her milestone publications as seen by Pat Martin.     

Joan Acker's influence on Management and Organization Studies: Review,analysis and directions for the future

This paper pays tribute to Joan Acker by discussing how her ideas have been utilized in Management and Organization Studies (MOS). Through a systematic review of journal articles citing Acker's scholarship from 2000 to 2017 (September), we show how recent scholarship has used Acker to advance discussions in the field and examine how her work was received, and which promises made by her work are still to be met. We identify avenues to carry her legacy forward with a view to realizing the transformative goal she posed as central to meaningful change in social, political and economic life through scholarship in the field of gender and organizations.     

Women,work, and family in the Czech Republic—and comparisons with the West

What are the work-family experiences of Czech women, and to what extent are there similarities and differences with women in the West? Drawing on a cross-national survey and other findings, this paper points out that unlike the extensive part-time employment of many Western European women, most Czech women in the post-Communist era have continued to combine full-time employment with family roles. Maternity and parental leaves, kindergartens, and other policies have been important supports. It is argued that employment and economic independence remain important to Czech women, and although gender differentiation in women's domestic activities and men's preponderance in upper-level jobs in the economy and government is recognized, Western attributions of patriarchy have been resisted. Since family life is highly valued, many have seen women as advantaged in their greater family involvement and integration of both family and employment roles. Rather than opposition between men and women, Czechs generally point to partnership and overall social equality. During Communism Czechs learned that ‘time at work’ does not equal productivity, and women practiced an informal flextime to aid work-family integration. This ‘self-management’ of work time and of work and family activities is cited as a component of Czech women‘s sense of efficacy and gender equality. An interesting question for the post-Communist success of Czech women and work organizations is whether women's interest in self-management will be met by the support of managers and of workplace cultures and structures.     

Gendered and classed activist identity in the Russian oppositional youth movement

This article examines how activist identity is constructed in the Russian opposition youth movement Oborona. The research is based on fieldwork among youth activists in Moscow and St Petersburg. The author analyses how activist identity is classed and gendered, as well as its relations to the Russian civic field. The article suggests, first, that the activist identity is marked by an affiliation with the intelligentsia: activists have grown up in intelligentsia families and articulate their activities through the intelligentsia's ‘markers’, such as intelligence, discussion skills and education. Secondly, activists follow a dissidents' cultural model, by emphasizing the importance of non‐conformism and traditional dissident values, and draw parallels between the contemporary government and the totalitarian Soviet state. Thirdly, this traditional intellectual dissident identity is associated with cosmopolitanism through the movement's international connections and appropriation of the forms of action of global social movements. Sometimes the activist practices and aspirations conflict with the group's ideals. Furthermore, the activist identity is gendered and embodied in the right activist ‘look’, which is defined by masculinity. Regardless of the movement's liberal ideals in regards to democracy, questions of gender and sexuality are not discussed, and activists do not question traditional understandings of gendered divisions of labour.     

Taken in by the numbers game: the globalization of a religious ‘illusio’ and ‘doxa’ in nineteenth-century evangelical missions to India

While the Bourdieusian concepts of capital and relational configurations of positions and position-takings have recently been fruitfully employed to theorize global fields, this paper argues that the concepts of illusio and doxa are especially conducive to analyzing the globalization of a field as an expansion into and transformation of formerly independent national arenas. In deploying the concept of illusio as a (quasi-libidinous) investment in the game, globalization is here first and foremost framed as a process in which more and more actors in various contexts ‘succumb’ to specific field logics that orient them to transnational structures. By emphasizing the concept of doxa as the taken-for-granted fundamentals of a field, the paper furthermore calls attention to the mechanisms that help forge and globalize the tacit presuppositions and shared ontologies on which such logics build. Focusing on a field of global Christian missions that emerged during the nineteenth century, the paper illustrates how its competitive logic of proselytization was introduced into the religious arena of India. It highlights how Western notions of religion gained ground among local traditions and pulled them into a game in which numerical relations of adherents mattered.     

Tribute to Joan Acker (1924–2016): Views from ‘the South’

This short personal piece provides reflections on the contribution of Joan Acker's theorising and insights for gendered organization scholars working in New Zealand. We have positive recollections of Joan Acker the person, as well as her sharp and thoughtful analyses of gendered inequalities. Her contributions moved beyond gender as intersectionality influenced her later works. Her thoughts on positive organizational change are considered and finally, we offer quotes that will endure.     

Gendered images of international research collaboration

Joan Acker's theory on gendered organizations offers important tools for understanding subtler forms of inequalities and gendered practices in the workplace. According to Acker, invisible mechanisms in organizations such as the symbolic and material/structural aspects of organizations reproduce gendered inequalities. My application of Acker's theory demonstrates how imagery itself assigns value to collaborative practices in gender stereotypical ways. In an institutional context that devalues international research collaboration among faculty, gendered images of exploiter, patronizing helper, partner, or friend ultimately serve to construct glass fences ‐ obstacles to international collaborative engagement ‐ particularly for women. The reflection and potential recreation of gendered inequalities among academics simultaneously reconstructs inequalities between the U.S. and abroad, as institutional reward structures attach gendered symbolic and material values that (re)shape (international) collaborations themselves. Together, these processes construct the gendered organization of global science and academia.     

Can ‘art Professions’ Be Bourdieuean Fields Of Cultural Production? The Case Of The Architecture Competition

The difference between ‘artistic and literary fields’ and universes such as architecture usually recognized as ‘art professions’ but which enjoy a far lesser ‘degree of autonomy’ than such fields seemingly constitutes an obstacle to the broader application of the notion of a ‘field of cultural production’ sought by Bourdieu in his Rules of Art. The author of this paper overcomes this obstacle by employing his notion of the ‘field effect’, with the architecture competition serving as the test case. Following Bourdieu, the author replaces the notion of profession with that of the field, for the former is a representation fostered by professional groups themselves. Architecture is a field, but, because architects require clients to construct and realize their works, one unlike the artistic and literary fields, which are markets of symbolic goods where ‘distinterest’ reigns and an autonomy unthinkable elsewhere is enjoyed. However, much like artists and unlike any other ‘professionals’, architects enter competitions, suggesting that this practice is an analytically relevant indicator of the field effect. After defining several of the elements of Bourdieu's relational conceptual matrix (field, illusio, collusion, doxa and space of possibles) and demonstrating that the Baptistery competition in Florence (1401) conforms to Bourdieu's historical beginning point for the process of 'autonomization' of artistic production, I examine a number of competitions from 1401 to 1989 (Berlin Jewish Museum) along with the general properties of competitions (structure and organization, publication and exhibition of results, competitors' economically irrational behaviour, practices of designers and jurors and the associated universe of beliefs), analysing them as those of an artistic field. It is concluded that when architects enter competitions, architecture, at least provisionally resembles an artistic field, for there is a field effect shown by a high degree autonomy, disinterest and the creation of an upside-down world.     

Authorship,gender and the construction of meaning in the Eurythmics' hit recordings

Abstract

Pop songs are often interpreted, by fans, critics and even academic analysts, in relation to traditional notions of ‘authorship’. But in recent pop, such as the Eurythmics' hits, these notions are at the very least in tension with a more fragmented construction of subjectivity. This article seeks to develop a method for analysing such constructions, both generally and in specific Eurythmics songs.

The method draws on Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogic theory of subjectivity and meaning, presenting the various parts of songs (i.e., both textural lines and structural sections) as interactive ‘voices’, each with its characteristic style-features. Such features are always culturally marked, through their multiple associations and their different positionings within various discursive domains. It is possible, therefore, to locate the styles, their features and their interrelations on a range of discursive axes (gender, ethnicity, etc.), making up a ‘map’ of the musico-discursive terrain, then to place the ‘dialogue’ constructed in a specific song in relation to these axes, this map.

For the Eurythmics, the gender axis is the most (though not the only) important one. It functions through the differential positioning of constituent styles (pop, blues, soul, disco, ballad, etc.) on this axis; in relation to other axes of meaning; through articulation in the specific socio-historical context of 1980s British pop; and via interaction with visual images (e.g., on accompanying videos).

After an analysis of eight songs, the article concludes with some implications of the method for the interpretation of gender — and more generally of the construction of subjectivity — in music.     

Corporate Strategy and Gendered Professional Identities: Reorganization and the Struggle for Recognition and Positions

Will decentralization of responsibilities in services give women service workers at the lower levels of the organization better and more ‘professional’ jobs and a recognition of their importance in the organization? This article looks at the valuation of so‐called women's skills in services in reorganization processes involving dehierarchization and decentralization of responsibilities. Through four cases of reorganized private and public services in Norway it is shown that more focus on customers and decentralization of responsibilities for the services may lead to recognition of gendered skills and an improved position for women service workers at the lowest levels of the organization. When the tasks of the workers are closely linked to the core function of the organization and not dominated by the organization's ‘dirty work’, the women at the lowest levels may obtain a more ‘professional’ work role and their work be recognized as important for the organization.     

The economic proposals of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and gender budgeting in Italy

Charlotte Perkins Gilman anticipated Amartya Sen's theories on the economy of wellbeing and the theory of the capabilities by placing humanity at the centre of economic politics, the full development of abilities of the entire population and the participation in all the social, economic and political activities of men and women, as a premise for social progress and genuine democracy. In particular, she highlighted the value of women's competences and female innovative contribution towards the achievement of these goals. Today, the European Union considers these issues as a priority but in Italy they are not fully taken into consideration. Gilman, the American authoritative sociologist and economist, defined in 1993 by the Women's Hall of Fame as one of the 10 most influential women of the twentieth century, thanks to her studies and her in-depth analysis of women's real conditions of life, reached the conclusion that the origins of the traditional sexual roles – and of the female ‘natural’ subordination to man – are not due to nature, but to the economic dependence on man. Consequently, she believed that true freedom and effective citizenship for women are possible only with economic independence. Through the denunciation of the myths and traditional stereotypes that tie women to the so-called ‘natural roles’, Gilman showed the damages that the exclusion of women from socioeconomic activities cause to the progress of human society, and proposed the new woman. The new woman is well-educated – and thus endowed with a critical mind – and professionally prepared, and is aware of the necessity of her full citizenship. Women are also aware of the fundamental social value of maternity. Consequently they are aware that the ‘unpaid caring works’ should not be exclusively assigned to women but rather should be shared by both family and society. Gilman's theories and proposals for the social and economic reorganization, and her criticism of the traditional myths and stereotypes, supply a valid contribution to the present gender politics and in particular to the affirmation of gender budgeting in economics. These policies Gilman had indicated in her study Women and economics, published in 1898!     

Customer First and Customer Sexual Harassment: Some Evidence from the Taiwan Life Insurance Industry

Empirical research suggests that customer sexual harassment is a far more common problem than employee to employee harassment for female salespeople. However, to date, there has been relatively little research conducted on the problem of customer sexual harassment. Insurance salespeople sometimes need to meet customers outside the company, and customer sexual harassment problems may occur. Hence, by using Taiwan's life insurance industry as an example, this study explores three research questions: (1) When the idea of ‘customer first’ is fully recognized by insurance salespeople, does it make the salespeople more tolerant of customer sexual harassment problems? (2) When the idea of customer first is supported by the insurance company, will insurance salespeople expose customer sexual harassment problems? (3) Will insurance salespeople tend to be more tolerant of quid pro quo sexual harassment? A total of 223 full‐time and self‐employed insurance salespeople participated in and completed this study survey. The results showed that the company's attitude may significantly affect the respondents' intention to expose the customer sexual harassment, but the personal belief in ‘customer first’ may not affect the respondents' intention to expose the customer misconduct. Since the three research questions have been less studied in the literature, and customer sexual harassment problems could have serious effects on salespeople, we think the results of this empirical study may have some implications for researchers and practitioners.     

Revisiting Joan Acker's work with the support of Joan Acker

This article is a personal tribute to working with Joan Acker. I worked with Joan in 2012, helping to edit her own thoughts and reflection on how other academics evaluate and used her own theorizing, specifically her seminal work on the gender substructure and inequality regimes. However, while this article is a tribute to Joan, her work and her thinking; it is also a personal thank you to someone I will miss for her generosity and also her activism in challenging inequalities in organizations and beyond. She continues to inspire me and hopefully others to challenge for social justice. In her 80s, Joan remained committed to addressing inequalities in social relations and how these were experienced within a dynamic social and work environment. During our collaboration, she called upon academics to put theory into practice to help address visible and invisible inequalities in organizational processes. This article is inspired by that experience and it will reveal Joan's views about her own, and other academics, theorizing of her two key concepts: the gender substructure of organizations and inequality regimes in organizations and the overlap with intersectionality. This article will offer a unique opportunity to gain insight into Joan's thinking as an academic sociologist as well as a feminist activist thereby uniting Joan as a person with her concepts.     

Men doing women's dirty work: Desegregation,immigrants and employer preferences in the cleaning industry in Norway

The literature on gender desegregation has documented the gendered nature of employment hierarchies and opportunities, but less work has examined how the influx of immigrants in the labour market might affect employment hierarchies and gender segregation. This study examines employers' perceptions of ‘the suitable cleaner' — a traditionally female‐dominated occupation that has received a substantial number of male immigrant workers. Departing from the notion that men in female‐dominated occupations are advantaged by a ‘glass escalator' effect, we analyse how employer preferences position different categories of workers as hireable. Building on interviews with employers in the Norwegian cleaning industry, the study demonstrates how three different but intertwined logics define employer preferences: effectivity demands, professionalization and devaluation. While the first logic favours men as workers and the second devalues ‘female' competence, opening the occupation for men, the third logic favours immigrants, combined positioning immigrant men on top of the hierarchy of suitability.     

The construction of ‘alternative masculinity’ among men in the childcare profession

In Germany about 3%–5% of kindergarten teachers¹1. They are not usually referred to as teachers in Germany because no academic/university education is required of people wanting to work in kindergartens. The German word used to describe caregivers in kindergartens is Erzieher, which could be translated as ‘educator’.View all notes (for children aged 3–6) are men (BMFSFJ 2010). In this qualitative research on men as kindergarten teachers I analyzed how men in this profession construct masculinity while working with children and during interaction with (mostly female) colleagues, parents, and in the interview situation. Therefore, 10 men teachers were observed for one day in their working environment and interviewed in qualitative interviews. One main theoretical implication was the concept of ‘doing gender’ (e.g. West and Zimmerman 1987, Gildemeister 2004), which was adopted to understand the ‘doing masculinity’ of these men. Another theoretical basis is the concept of hegemonic masculinities by Raewyn Connell (1987, 2006), which was used, critically discussed, and as a result re-conceptualized. The discussion of the theoretical implications and the analysis of the empirical material showed that Connell's theory misses a type of masculinity that opposes hegemonic masculinity, just as her type of ‘complicit masculinities’ supports it. From the interviews and observations a type of ‘alternative masculinity’ was developed.     

Schools as workplaces: Intersectional regimes of inequality

Joan Acker extended her 1990 brilliant and path‐breaking article, ‘Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies', to address the intersectional effects of gender, race and class as ‘inequality regimes' in her 2006 article of that name. This research picks up her challenge to see embodied workers holding jobs in organizations structured simultaneously and interactively by gender, race and class processes. Rather than studying a corporate regime in which the actors are managers, supervisors and workers, this study looks at the organizational interactions among teachers and paraprofessionals in one large, urban and unionized school district in the United States. We look at skill, care and respect as three dimensions of interaction embedded in the occupational demands and specific job requirements of teachers and paraprofessionals, and some of the tensions this regime produces between the largely White teachers and the women of colour who are the paraprofessionals. By highlighting the largely invisible racialized work of supporting the moral worth of students and staff, we extend the understanding of skill and care beyond a binary model.