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The Gendered Nature of Managerial Discourse: the Case of a Local Authority
Author(s) -
Maile Stella
Publication year - 1995
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/j.1468-0432.1995.tb00029.x
Subject(s) - ethos , restructuring , sociology , hegemony , identity (music) , focus (optics) , discourse analysis , gender studies , epistemology , political science , linguistics , aesthetics , politics , law , philosophy , physics , optics
This paper is a response to organizational analysis which highlights the significance of discursive processes in the formation of occupational gender identity. A recurrent weakness in many of these accounts is their focus on the simple dualisms which structure gendered discourse. This tendency is often associated with the abstraction of debate from specific organizational settings. I aim therefore to address the question of the gendered nature of managerial discourse with reference to a case study of a local authority under restructuring. I argue here that the gendered nature of managerial discourse has to be seen as particularly complex, given the way in which it incorporates both ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ identities within an overarching managerial ethos, which is itself related to wider hegemonic projects.