Theorizing Organizational Gendering: Unravelling Acker’s Theory of Gendered Organizations

Payal Kumar
Principal Academic Advisor, Indian School of Hospitality, India

Abstract

Acker’s theory of the gendered organization posits that organizations are inherently gendered, thus making a radical shift of thought from individual to systemic structural gender bias at the workplace (1990). Her conceptually rich, groundbreaking seminal work has no doubt been highly influential across disciplines, from organizational studies to sociology to feminist theory (Kelan, 2009). However, this theory has also been described as unfinished tapestry (Dye & Mills, 2006)—for example the five processes of gender sub-structure provide descriptive accounts of gendered organizations without reasons as to the specific mechanisms of how organizations become gendered (Mooney, 2020). This paper seeks to answer the following research questions: How do the five gender sub-structures of Acker’s theory manifest (division of labour, cultural symbols, gendered interaction, individual identity and organizational logic)? For this, 23 leaders were extensively interviewed over an 8-month period until theoretical saturation point was reached. Table 1: Summary of methods Method Rationale Semi-structured interviews Qualitative method for exploratory purposes Coding for codes and categories To elicit first & second order themes and also aggregate dimensions 2 focus group discussion To understand the ‘why’ behind statements Post-coding semi-structured interviews To verify the accuracy of the themes Analytical memos To enhance sensemaking of raw data by connecting themes and insights Source: Author’s own This research provides deep insights in the form of vignettes that reveal discrimination is often present throughout the work life cycle of women, and that it is more hidden than overt. The main gender subtexts that underlie these gendering processes include:- i. Gendering structures: Employer benevolent sexism ii. Gendering culture: Masculinity contest culture iii. Gendering interaction: Exclusionary male networks iv. Gendered identities: Double bind v. Gendered organizational logic: Family support Many studies have built on Acker’s work by legitimizing that organizations are gendered, rather than empirically tested this (Bates, 2022). To fill this gap this study delves into how several top organizations become gendered by deeply analyzing the five processes of gender sub-structure, leading to theoretical refinement of Acker’s theory. It is envisaged that the study results can be used to build actionable strategies to dismantle the gendered structures of organizations (Gard & Sangwan, 2021).

Presentation