Skip to main content

Where Do Women Fit in University Senior Management? An Analytical Typology of Cross-National Organisational Cultures

  • Chapter
Gender, Power and Management

Abstract

Universities present themselves as gender-neutral meritocracies, concerned with the transmission and creation of scientific, objective knowledge. However, it is now widely accepted that they are in fact gendered organisations (Brooks 2001; Collinson & Hearn 1996; Currie, Thiele & Harris 2002; Deem, Hilliard & Reed 2008; Hearn 2001; Morley 1994, 1999). In this chapter the focus is on the broader organisational culture, focussing particularly on its gendered character as seen through the eyes of senior academic managers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Acker, S. (1998). ‘The future of “gender and organizations”: Connections and boundaries’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 5, 4, 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alasuutari, P. (1995). Researching Culture: Qualitative Method and Cultural Studies (London: Sage).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagilhole, B., Powell, A., Barnard, S. and Dainty, A. (2007). Researching Cultures in Science, Engineering and Technology: An Analysis of Current and Past Literature (Research Report Series for UKRC No.7).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagilhole, B. (2002). ‘Challenging equal opportunities: Changing and adapting male hegemony in academia’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23, 1, 19–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagilhole, B. and Goode, J. (2001). ‘The contradiction of the myth of individual merit, and the reality of a patriarchal support system in academic careers’, The European Journal of Women’s Studies 8, 2, 161–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagilhole, B. (1993). ‘How to keep a good woman down: an investigation of the role of institutional factors in the process of discrimination against women academics’, British Journal of the Sociology of Education, 14, 3, 261–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagilhole, B. and White, K. (2008). ‘Towards a gendered skills analysis of senior management positions in UK and Australian Universities’, Tertiary Education and Management. 14, 1, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailyn, L. (2003). ‘Academic careers and gender equity: Lessons learned from MIT’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 10, 2, 137–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benschop, Y. and Brouns, M. (2003). ‘Crumbling ivory towers: Academic organising and its gender effects’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 10, 2, 194–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, J. (2002). ‘Globalisation and the restructuring of higher education for new knowledge economies: New dangers or old habits troubling gender equity work in universities?’ Higher Education Quarterly, 56, 4, 419–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, J., Thomson, P. and Barty, K. (2006). ‘Principal selection: Homosociability, the search for security and the production of normalised principal identities’, Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 34, 3, 291–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, A. (2001). ‘Restructuring bodies of knowledge’, in A. Brooks and A. Mackinnon (eds), Gender and the Restructured University (Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University), 15–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, A. (1997). Academic Women (Buckingham: Open University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockburn, C. (1991). In the Way of Women: Men’s Resistance to Sex Equality in Organisations (London: Macmillan).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Collinson, D. L. and Hearn, J. (2005). ‘Men and masculinities in work, organisations and management’, in M. Kimmel, J. Hearn and R. W. Connell (eds), Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities (California: Sage), 289–306.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Collinson, D. L. and Hearn, J. (1996). ‘Breaking the silence: On men, masculinities and managements’, in D. L. Collinson and J. Hearn (eds), Men as Managers, Managers as Men: Critical Perspectives on Men, Masculinities and Managements (London: Sage), 75–86.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Collinson, D. L. and Hearn, J. (1994). ‘Naming men as men: Implications for work, organisation and management’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 1, 1, 2–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. (1987). Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. (Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R.M. (2005). ‘Growing up masculine: Rethinking the significance of adolescence in the making of masculinities, Irish Journal of Sociology, 14, 2, 11–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Currie, J., Thiele, B. and Harris, P. (2002). Gendered Universities in Globalised Economies (Oxford: Lexington Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Currie, J. and Thiele, B. (2001). ‘Globalisation and gendered work cultures in universities’ in A. Brooks and A. Mackinnon (eds), Gender and the Restructured University (Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University), 90–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies-Netzley, S. (1998). ‘Women above the glass ceiling: Perceptions on corporate mobility and strategies for success’, Gender and Society, 12, 3, 339–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deem, R., Hilliard, S. and Reed, M. (2008). Knowledge, Higher Education and the New Managerialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Deem, M. (2003). ‘Gender, organisational cultures and the practices of manager-academics in UK universities’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 10, 2, 239–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deem, R. (1999). ‘Power and resistance in the academy: the case of women academic managers’, in J. Hearn and R. Moodley (eds), Transforming Managers: Gendering Change in the Public Sector (London: UCL Press), 60–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deem, R. (1998). ‘“New managerialism” and higher education: the management of performance and cultures in universities in the UK’, International Studies in Sociology of Education 8, 1, 47–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, L. and Manfredi, S. (2006). ‘Women’s progression to senior positions in English Universities’, Employee Relations, 28, 6, 553–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. and van Engen, M. (2003). ‘Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men’, Psychological Bulletin, 129, 4, 569–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ely, R. and Padavic, I. (2007). ‘A feminist analysis of organisational research on sex differences’, Academy of Management Review 32, 4, 1121–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. (2002). ‘The greatly exaggerated demise of heroic leadership: Gender power and the myth of female advantage’, CGO Insights, Briefing Note 13, 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S. (1996). ‘Gendered organisational cultures: Narratives of women travellers in a male world’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 3, 4, 187–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goode, J. and Bagilhole, B. (1998). ‘Gendering the management of change in higher education: A case study’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 5, 3, 148–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grummell, B., Lynch, K. and Devine, D. (2009). ‘Appointing senior managers in education: Homosociability, local logics and authenticity in the selection process’, Educational Management, Administration and Leadership 37, 3, 329–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grummell, B., Devine, D. and Lynch, K. (2008). ‘The care-less manager: gender, care and new managerialism in higher education’, Gender and Education, 20, 6, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P., Thiele, B. and Currie, J. (1998). ‘Success, gender and academic voices: Consuming passion or selling the soul’, Gender and Education, 10, 2, 133–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, H. (1981). ‘The unhappy marriage of Marxism and feminism: Towards a more progressive union’, in Linda Sargent (ed.), Women and Revolution: A Discussion of the Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism. (Boston: South End Press), 1–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hearn, J. (2001). ‘Academia, management and men: Making the connections, exploring the implications’, in A. Brooks and A. Mackinnon (eds), Gender and the Restructured University (Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University), 69–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healy, G., Ozbilgin, M. and Aliefendioglu, H. (2005). ‘Academic employment and gender: A Turkish challenge to vertical sex segregation’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 11, 2, 247–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hey, V. and Bradford, S. (2004). ‘The return of the repressed? The gender politics of emergent forms of professionalism in education’, Journal of Educational Policy 19, 6, 691–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husu, L. (2006). Gate keeping, gender and recognition of scientific excellence, paper presented at XVI ISA World Congress of Sociology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husu, L. (2001a). Sexism, Support and Survival in Academia: Academic Women and Hidden Discrimination in Finland (Helsinki: University of Helsinki).

    Google Scholar 

  • Husu, L. (2001b). ‘On metaphors on the position of women in academia and science’, NORA, 3, 9, 172–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R. (1977/1993). Men and Women of the Corporation (New York: Basic Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerfoot, D. and Knights, D. (1996). ‘The best is yet to come? The quest for embodiment in managerial work’, in D. Collinson and J. Hearn (eds), Men as Managers, Managers as Men: Critical Perspectives on Men, Masculinities and Management (London: Sage), 78–98.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kerfoot, D. and Whitehead, S. (1998). ‘Boys’ own’ stuff: masculinity and the management of further education’, Sociological Review, 46, 3, 436–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knights, D. and Richards, W. (2003). ‘Sex discrimination in UK academia’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 10, 2, 213–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kloot, L. (2004). ‘Women and leadership in universities: A case study of women academic managers’, The International Journal of Public Sector Management 17, 6, 470–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipman-Blumen, J. (1976). ‘Towards a homosocial theory of sex roles’, Signs, 3, 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, K. and Lyons, M. (2008). ‘The gendered order of caring’, in U. Barry (ed.), Where Are We Now? (Dublin: Tasc Publications), 168–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madden, M. E. (2005). ‘2004 Division 35 Presidential Address: Gender and Leadership in Higher Education’, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 3–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIlwee, J. S. and Robinson, J. G. (1992). Women in Engineering: Gender, Power and Workplace Culture (Albany: State University of New York Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Morley, L. (2005). ‘Sounds, silences and contradictions: Gender equity in British Commonwealth higher education’, Australian Feminist Studies 20, 46, 109–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morley, L. (1999). Organising Feminisms: The Micropolitics of the Academy (New York: St Martin’s Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Morley, L. (1994). ‘Glass ceiling or iron cage: Women in UK academia’, Gender, Work and Organization, 1, 4, 194–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neale, J. and Özkanli, Ö. (2010). ‘Organisational barriers for women in senior management positions: A comparison of Turkish and New Zealand Universities’, Gender and Education, 22, 5, 547–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P. (2008). ‘The elephant in the corner: Gender and policies related to higher education’, Administration, 56, 1, 85–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P. (2007). ‘Still changing places: Women’s paid employment and gender roles’, The Irish Review, 35, 64–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P. (1996). ‘Organisational culture as a barrier to women’s promotion’, The Economic and Social Review, 3, 187–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P. and White, K. (2009). Power in the universities: Sources and implications, paper presented to 6th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education, Stockholm.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Meara, B. and Petzall, S. (2005). ‘Vice chancellors for the 21st century? A study of contemporary recruitment and selection practices in Australian universities’, Management and Research News, 28, 6, 18–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozga, J. and Walker, L. (1999). ‘In the company of men’, in J. Hearn and R. Moodley (eds), Transforming Managers: Gendering Change in the Public Sector (London: UCL Press), 107–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, M. and Jary, D. (1995). ‘The McUniversity: Organisation, management and academic subjectivity’, Organisation, 2, 2, 319–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parry, K. W. (1998). ‘The new leader: A synthesis of leadership research in Australia and New Zealand’, The Journal of Leadership Studies, 5, 4, 82–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Probert, B. (2005). ‘I just couldn’t fit it in: Gender and unequal outcomes in academic careers’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 12, 1, 51–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, A. (1998). Doing Leadership Differently (Carlton South: Melbourne University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Smircich, L. (1983). ‘Concepts of culture and organisational analysis’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 3, 339–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R. and Davies, A. (2002). ‘Gender and new public management: Reconstituting academic subjectivities’, Gender, Work and Organization, 9, 4, 372–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Brink, M. (2009). Behind the scenes of science: Gender practices in the recruitment and selection of professors in the Netherlands, PhD Thesis, Nijmegen University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, S. (2001). ‘Women as managers: a seductive ontology’, Gender, Work and Organisation, 8, 1, 86–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, S. M. (1998). ‘Disrupted selves: Resistance and identity work in the managerial arena’, Gender and Education, 10, 2, 199–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright Mills, C. (1970). The Sociological Imagination (Middlesex: Pelican).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wajcman, J. (1998). Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management (Oxford: Wiley and Sons).

    Google Scholar 

  • Witz, A. and Savage, M. (1992). Gender and Bureaucracy (Oxford: Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yancey Martin, P. (1996). ‘Gendering and evaluating dynamics: Men, masculinities and managements’, in D. L. Collinson and J. Hearn (eds), Men as Managers, Managers as Men: Critical Perspectives on Men, Masculinities and Management. (London: Sage), 186–209.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2011 Pat O’Connor

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

O’Connor, P. (2011). Where Do Women Fit in University Senior Management? An Analytical Typology of Cross-National Organisational Cultures. In: Bagilhole, B., White, K. (eds) Gender, Power and Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230305953_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics