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‘Not one of the family’: Gender and precarious work in the neoliberal university
Author(s) -
O'Keefe Theresa,
Courtois Aline
Publication year - 2019
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/gwao.12346
Subject(s) - casual , precarious work , inequality , work (physics) , sociology , gender studies , irish , power (physics) , gender inequality , higher education , social inequality , gender equality , citizen journalism , neoliberalism (international relations) , political science , social science , law , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Gender inequality within the university is well documented but proposals to tackle it tend to focus on the higher ranks, ignoring how it manifests within precarious work. Based on data collected as part of a broader participatory action research project on casual academic labour in Irish higher education, the article focuses on the intersection of precarious work and gender in academia. We argue that precarious female academics are non‐citizens of the academy, a status that is reproduced through exploitative gendered practices and evident in formal/legal recognition (staff status, rights and entitlements, pay and valuing of work) as well as in informal dimensions (social and decision‐making power). We, therefore, conclude that any attempts to challenge gender inequality in academia must look downward, not upward, to the ranks of the precarious academics.