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Crafting the Elastic Self? Gender and Identities in Senior Appointments in Irish Education
Author(s) -
Devine Dympna,
Grummell Bernie,
Lynch Kathleen
Publication year - 2011
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.1468-0432.2009.00513.x
Subject(s) - irish , performativity , rhetoric , ideology , gender studies , sociology , work (physics) , political science , pedagogy , public relations , politics , engineering , law , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics
This article considers the impact of new managerial reform on the recruitment and retention of women into senior management posts across the Irish education sector. In Ireland as elsewhere, the rhetoric of gender equality permeates new managerial reforms. Yet our data suggest that an emphasis on performativity and an intense commitment to paid work consolidates masculinist management cultures disguised through the ideology of choice. This works to the detriment of women, especially those with caring responsibilities. Drawing on studies of 23 top‐level educational appointments in primary, secondary and higher education, we show how the relentless crafting of an elastic self is required for both those who remain in management positions in education and those who seek them.