Gender Mainstreaming - Hidden Leadership?

British Journal of Management

The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which leadership at middle management level in the public realm is gendered. This is attempted largely through a consideration of academic literature, supported by some empirical findings from a research investigation into higher education and social work in Sweden and England and a review of literature that reveals varying types of leadership characterized as masculinist. Taking the position that context shapes social relationships and subject positions, and provides opportunities as well as constraints, we consider leadership in the public sector under the sway of new public management, framed by neo‐liberalism and the valorization of competition, self‐interested instrumentality, uncertainty and risk, operationalized in public sector organizations through performative regimes. It is argued that while some women and men are willing participants in the new regimes, others are antagonistic or ambivalent, finding themselves mired in neo‐...

Leadership, 2006

This article explores leadership as a discursive phenomenon. It examines contemporary discourses of leadership and their complex inter-relations with gender and identity in the UK public sector. In particular, it focuses on various ways in which managers' identities are constructed within discourse, produced in specific historical and institutional sites within specific discursive formations and practices, by specific enunciative strategies . Drawing from interviews with senior managers employed in a large UK local authority, this article researches the dominant discourses of modernization and the primacy afforded to discourses of leadership in the council. It explores first how these discourses become part of managerial workplace identities, and second, what other discourses help to shape managers' identities. Contradiction, discursive production, plurality and ambiguity feature heavily in the analysis of these managers. Accordingly, the article questions dominant hegemonic and stereotypical notions of subjectivity that assume a simple, unitary identity and perpetuate androcentric depictions of organizational life.

2000

I would like to thank my supervisory team: Christine Booth, my Director of Studies, and Professor Sue Yeandle. It is not an exaggeration to say that without their investment in me, and their enthusiasm for my work, I could not have completed this thesis. I would also like to thank all those people who have supported and encouraged me along the way, in particular Zoe and 'the girls', Sophie and Karen, but most of all my parents, David and Julie, whose confidence in me has never wavered, my brother D and Simon. Lastly, my case study fieldwork was achieved because a large number of practitioners gave up their time to speak to me. I extend my thanks to them all, especially Marilyn Taylor and Jane Becker. However, as always, I remain solely responsible for the contents.

Review of International Studies, 2010

Gender mainstreaming is portrayed as the next step in the global gender equality landscape and has been widely adopted internationally in a variety of governments and political organisations. However, the radical potential of gender mainstreaming to transform organisations has not been fulfilled. In this article, I explore three paradoxes which are inherent in the intent, implementation and institutionalisation of gender mainstreaming. I argue that we cannot fully understand these global paradoxes without a better understanding of local experiences which underpin them in the everyday working lives of those people involved in advocating gender mainstreaming. Using results from an institutional ethnography of the implementation of the Gender Equality Duty by gender mainstreaming advocates in the Scottish Executive, I show that bureaucratic practices, fossilised norms and the continued reliance on soft measures to promote mainstreaming are reflections at the local level of barriers to ...

2007

This essay ponders the study of gender, race, and leadership in the public sector. It develops a framework for the study of diversity leadership based upon ideas drawn from feminist theory and critical legal and race theories. To do so I first briefly consider impediments within political science and public administration in terms of leadership studies, and then turn to disciplinary treatments of gender and race. Finally, and at greater length, I explore the emerging intersectionality paradigm in terms of the study of leadership in the public sector. I argue that diversity leadership should prove to be an outstanding venue to apply intersectionality methodologies within political science and public administration, both because of correspondence between general approaches to leadership and intersectionality and because exploring diversity leadership inevitably highlights the hegemonic elements holding "nondiverse" leadership in place.

2016

From the advent of the democratic dispensation, South Africa as a country promulgated various policies addressing gender equity transformation in the public service and private sector. In 2005, the South African Cabinet adopted A Strategic Framework for Gender Equality within the Public Service (2006-2015). The framework's intention was to address gender disparities in leadership structures in the public service. The central principle of the framework stipulates that public service leadership governance should be on a 50/50 representation. The strategic pillar of this framework was to ensure that women are integrated into the senior management services-regardless of race, disability or ethnicity. The promulgation of this framework was to impact positively on the elimination of gender disparity challenges the apartheid regime left behind when the government of today took power in 1994.

Women in Management Review, 2006

PurposeThis discussion asks why women leaders are, at the beginning of the twenty‐first century, as scarce in the corporate boardrooms and university corridors as they were 30 years ago. After nearly three decades of legislative and organisational support for more gender equity and inclusive management practices, the illusive glass ceiling still remains an issue for management policy debate.Design/methodology/approachIn this discussion the culture of work in the new economy is discussed.FindingsIt seems that the feminist approach calling for equity in public life has lost its currency as new management restructures and workplace changes are again “gender inflicted”.Originality/valueIn the final analysis more research is required where successful women leaders are positioned centre stage so that they stay in the mainstream of paid work and public life, not in the margins.

Gender in Management: An International Journal, 2010

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to assess developments in gender and leadership since 1995. Design/methodology/approach-The author reflects on how she developed her work as an organisational psychologist during this time and introduces an "inclusive" model of leadership. Findings-Statistics regarding the intransigence in progress in the representation of women means there is little to celebrate. Originality/value-The paper offers suggestions as to how gender bias in leadership can be eliminated or reduced.

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2019

The enabling environment is assessed in terms of the prioritisation and participation of Senior Management Services (SMS) and operational staff in driving the gender agenda in the Department of Public Service and Administration, the availing of resources (both human and financial) and the support from external structures to the operations of the Department of Public Service and Administration in mainstreaming gender. These criteria are measured through an analysis of reports generated for both projects as well as through testimonies of relevant staff members in the Department of Public Service and Administration. In addition, the creation of an enabling environment is also assessed as it relates to external support for gender mainstreaming, such as the National Gender Machinery, the Department of Women and the Commission for Gender Equality. 1.See http:www.dpsa.gov.za. 'Looking beyond Compliance' assesses the role of an enabling environment as a major factor in the successful mainstreaming of gender. This article analyses the important role of political will in influencing the creation of an enabling environment. The article suggests that several role-players need to possess the political will to ensure that an enabling environment is created. Notably, the actions of an individual have an impact on the institutional reforms developed and vice versa. Political will is argued as the most influential component in the development of an enabling environment and therefore creates the enabling environment through political buy-in. The argument specifically looks at the Department of Public Service and Administration located in the South African public service.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine male and female executives as leaders “championing” gender change interventions. It problematizes current exhortations for male leaders to lead gender change, much as they might lead any other business-driven change agenda. It argues that organizational gender scholarship is critical to understanding the gendered nature of championing. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on a feminist qualitative research project examining the efficacy of a gender intervention in a university and a policing institution. Interviews with four leaders have been chosen from the larger study for analysis against the backdrop of material from interviewees and the participant observation of the researcher. It brings a social constructionist view of gender and Acker’s gendering processes to bear on understanding organizational gender change. Findings – The sex/gender of the leader is inescapably fore-fronted by the gender change intervention. Gendered expectations and choices positioned men as powerful and effective champions while undermining the effectiveness of the woman in this study. Research limitations/implications – Further research examining male and female leaders capacity to champion gender change is required. Practical implications – This research identifies effective champion behaviors, provides suggestions for ensuring that gender equity interventions are well championed and proposes a partnership model where senior men and women play complementary roles leading gender change. Originality/value – This paper is of value to practitioners and scholars. It draws attention to contemporary issues of leadership and gender change, seeking to bridge the gap between theory and practice that undermines our change efforts.