Call for Abstracts GWO Methodologies: extending gender and organization scholarship

Transcription

1 Call for Abstracts GWO 2016 Methodologies: extending gender and organization scholarship Stream Conveners Irene Ryan, AUT University, New Zealand Barbara Myers, AUT University, New Zealand Shelagh Mooney, AUT University, New Zealand Judith Pringle, AUT University, New Zealand Regine Bendl, WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Austria Angelika Schmidt, WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Austria Not only does knowledge come in different forms, the forms of its creation differ. (Eisner, 2008, p.5) The knotty relationship between gender and organisations has been the subject of much research (Kumra, Simpson and Burke, 2014). This stream provides a platform to address an important and timely question: how can innovative and/or emerging research methodologies reinvigorate and extend understanding of the continuing reproduction of gender inequities in organizational processes and practices? Feminist scholars (Lewis and Simpson, 2012) have noted a trend towards gender denial with paid work organisations viewed as meritocracies and places of equal opportunity. There is a need to look at systemic problems in new ways (Acker, 2012). In this stream we wish to engage scholars in conversations of different methodologies that investigate what else underpins and perpetuates gender inequalities in paid work. How can we add other investigative tools to better address the changing contours of inequality? (Calas, Smircich and Holvino, 2014, p.44). Many methodologies have been used in the herstory of gender research but more are emerging, especially within qualitative and non-positivist genres. Using participants own words has been particularly significant when studying women s stories, ensuring that their experiences are no longer invisible (Simpson and Lewis, 2007). Narrative inquiry has been used increasingly by researchers to connect individual lives to organizations (Clandinin, 2007; Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). There are no set procedures for gathering, analyzing and presenting narratives (Bold, 2012) providing the opportunity for a variety of methodological 1

2 approaches such as autobiography, autoethnography, biography, case history/study, ethnography, life history, life story and oral history to record, interpret and present individual stories. More recently, dissatisfaction with the limits of traditional forms of academic inquiry and representation (Carless and Douglas, 2011, p.440) has led some researchers to embrace arts-informed inquiry. Such work explores the hidden experiences traditional methods are unable to reach (Leggo, 2008; Kendall and Murray, 2004). A further step in creative methodology draws on poetry, song writing and the presentation of these in a performative context (Douglas 2012). Multimodality represents another emergent methodology in organizational studies (Kress, 2010). While discourse studies have tended to privilege the written and spoken word over other modes of communication the importance of the visual mode has been identified for some time (Potter, 1996). For example, Pritchard and Whiting (2015, pp. 1) use the visual analysis of gendered ageing to explore intersections of gender and age. Communication modes such as blogs, social media and virtual communities also have the capacity to uncover rich layers of visual and textual meanings. In addition to calling for papers on innovative methodologies, we also welcome papers that discuss the constraints that researchers may face when servicing a dual agenda. Reflexivity is a cornerstone of a feminist epistemology (Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2012), and to be reflexive places the role of researchers under increased scrutiny requiring consciousness of the values, and agendas they bring to the research (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2006). This stream provides a space to disclose the messier realities and dilemmas of our fieldwork. For example, how can we package feminist research in a way that is acceptable to research participants and their organizations? How do research stakeholders such as funding bodies and organizations influence the way in which we gather, process data and report the findings? How do emergent technologies that blur the boundaries between public and private information impact on the ethics of feminist research (Hesse-Biber and Piatelli, 2014). Given research relationships are reciprocal, the extent to which the researchers may find themselves changed by the research is a worthy area of further investigation. We encourage conceptual, theoretical and empirical papers from all researchers (doctoral, early career, mid-career and senior academics) that engage in methodologies that craft research in different or new ways to investigate inequality regimes (Acker, 2006). As 2

3 feminist researchers focussed on gender in organizations, we question the extent to which our research is contributing to changing inequality (Calas, Smircich and Holvino, 2014). We invite others to join our methodological discussions, thus gendering the silences (Lowe, Mills and Mullen, 2002, p.422) and further challenging the androcentric bias of traditional social science research (Reinharz and Chase, 2002). Abstracts of approximately 500 words (submitted direct to AND on ONE page, Word document NOT PDF, single spaced, excluding references, no header, footers or track changes) are invited by 1 st November 2015 with decisions on acceptance to be made by stream leaders within one month. Abstracts can be submitted independently of streams but may be assigned to them where appropriate. Prospective contributions will be independently referred. Abstracts should include FULL contact details, including your name, institutional affiliation, mailing address, and address. If your abstract is accepted for this stream authors are encouraged to submit a developmental or full paper (5,000 to 7,000 words excluding references) by Monday 6 th June. These papers will be circulated to stream participants prior to the 2016 GWO conference. Key words: methodologies, gender, intersectionality, inequalities, feminist, masculinities References Acker J (2006) Inequality regimes: Gender, class, and race in organizations. Gender and Society, 20(4), Acker J (2012) Gendered organizations and intersectionality: Problems and possibilities. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 31(3), Alvesson M and Skoldberg K (2012) Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: SAGE Publications Ltd. Bold C (2012) Using narrative in research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. Calas M, Smircich L and Holvino E (2014) Theorizing gender-and-organization: Changing times, changing theories. In: Kumra S, Simpson R, and Burke RJ (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 3

4 Carless D and Douglas K (2011) What s in a song? How songs contribute to the communication of social science research. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 39(5), Clandinin DJ (2006) Handbook of Narrative Inquiry: Mapping a Methodology. Thousand Oaks, London, New Dehli: SAGE Publications Ltd. Denzin NK and Lincoln YS (2011) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd. Douglas K (2012) Signals and signs. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(6), Hesse-Biber S and Leavy P (2006) Introduction: Emergent methods in social research within and across disciplines. 1st ed. In: Hesse-Biber S and Leavy P (eds), Emergent Methods in Social Research, Sage Publications, Inc, pp. ix xxx. Hesse-Biber S and Piatelli D (2014) The feminist practice of holistic reflexivity. 2nd ed. In: Hesse-Biber S (ed.), Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis, Guilford Publications, pp Kendall M and Murray S (2008) Poems from the heart: living with heart failure. In: Narrative Research in Health and Illness, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, pp , Available from: (accessed 21 August 2015). Kress G (2010) Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication. London; New York: Routledge. Kumra S, Simpson R and Burke RJ (2014) The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations. Oxford University Press. Leggo C (2008) The ecology of personal and professional experience: a poet s view. In: Cahnmann-Taylor M and Siegesmund R (eds), Arts-Based Research in Education: Foundations for Practice, London and New York: Routledge, pp Lewis P and Simpson R (2012) Kanter revisited: Gender, power and (in)visibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(2), Lowe L, Mills A and Mullen J (2002) Gendering the silences: psychoanalysis, gender and organization studies. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(5), Potter J (1996) Representing Reality: Discourse, Rhetoric and Social Construction. Thousand Oaks, London, New Dehli: SAGE Publications Ltd. Pritchard K and Whiting R (2015) Taking stock: a visual analysis of gendered ageing. Gender, Work & Organization, 22(5),

5 Reinharz, S and Chase S E (2002). Interviewing women. In J F Gubrium and Holstein J A (eds), Handbook of interview research context and method, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp Simpson R and Lewis P (2007) Voice, Visibility and the Gendering of Organisations. Hampshire New York: Palgrave McMillan. 5