‘In a Male Workplace,Things Would Never Be Like This’: Using Gendered Notions to Neutralize Conflicts in a Swedish Supermarket

This study concerns the ‘practising of gender neutrality’ and the organizational practices that contribute to the creation of gendered notions in a relation of mutual constitution. Based on a case study of one Swedish supermarket, I investigate the gendered notions present in the descriptions of the supermarket activities by relating them to the organization of the work and the gendered and aged employment structure of the supermarket. The findings suggest that the problems which, according to gendered notions were grounded in the nature of men and women, could be related to organizational practices. It was concluded that specific notions of gender were used to neutralize potential conflicts and to make them into a non‐issue for the organization. This study also contributes insights to the discussions surrounding the intersection of age and gender in organizations, and skills and learning in retail work .