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A Critical Look at Staff Appraisal: The Case of Women in Scottish Universities
Author(s) -
Wilson Fiona,
Nutley Sandra
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
gender, work and organization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.159
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1468-0432
pISSN - 0968-6673
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0432.00197
Subject(s) - critical appraisal , normalization (sociology) , discipline , disadvantage , gender equity , equity (law) , psychology , sociology , public relations , political science , social science , medicine , law , alternative medicine , pathology
An analysis of appraisal of women staff in Scottish universities reveals two ‘puzzles’. First, although there is a general decline in the use of appraisal schemes in these universities, women staff still have a strong sense of being subject to a disciplinary technology. Second, although appraisal and the broader disciplinary technology disadvantage women, they still want to be appraised. This article uses the critical literature on appraisal, and particularly a Foucauldian analysis of disciplinary power, to shed light on these apparent contradictions. Such an approach helps explain the first of these ‘puzzles’ but a basic conundrum for women remains — although there are demands for appraisal and normalization in the name of fairness and equity, such processes of normalization tend to be gender‐biased and hence should be resisted by women.