Abstract
Gender inequality has been one of the most indisputable facts of our society for years and it remains a major issue even today. There is inequality in social, economic and political realms and all three of them are interconnected. But it is still hard to find the root causes of the persistent gender-inequality in the society. Gender inequality in the corporate sector does not come as a surprise. It remains a major issue in boardrooms across the world with only 19 per cent of women occupying the boardroom seats in 2022. To the surprise of many, some of the world’s most advanced economies such as Japan have only 9 per cent women in the boardrooms. Against this background, the present study provides a comprehensive review of the literature on gendered nature of organizations. It identifies that the literature is predominantly etic in nature. Also, despite several decades of research on gender diversity, there is no systemic feminist theory around women and organizations. The present chapter will also try to understand the key concepts in order to understand the nature of gendered organization.
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Notes
- 1.
Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men- such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed. While most people are born either male or female, they are taught appropriate norms and behaviours – including how they should interact with others of the same or opposite sex within households, communities and workplaces. When individuals or groups do not “fit” established gender norms they often face stigma, discriminatory practices or social exclusion – all of which adversely affect health. It is important to be sensitive to different identities that do not necessarily fit into binary male or female sex categories.
URL: http://www.who.int/gender-equity-rights/understanding/gender-definition/en/
- 2.
Judith Butler as of 2020 said they prefer to use “they” pronouns.
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Vartika (2022). Understanding Gender and Organizations: A Literature Review. In: Marques, J., Dhiman, S. (eds) Leading With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Future of Business and Finance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95652-3_11
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