Abstract
This chapter examines the conflicts around the acceptance/rejection of idealized femininity within the workplace of two groups of professional women in Puebla (Mexico) and Barcelona (Catalonia/Spain). Drawing from a qualitative study based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, the chapter explores the following two concepts: first, how top labor hierarchies are impacted by the portrayal of (hegemonic) femininities/masculinities and secondly, how these women mobilize or reject particular expressions of femininity in order to advance in their professional careers. The focus is not why fewer women get to the top of their profession, but rather how the participants position themselves in relation to the inherently gendered practices and norms in the organizations and the multiple ways in which they contest or adhere to the traditional ideas of femininities in order to legitimize their position as leaders in their professions. Through the use of feminist narrative research, I provide a fine-grained analysis of stories of women who struggle to fit the dominant archetype of authority along with the risk that these women face when they do not comply with this archetype. Attention is given to the problematic dominant view of women transgressing femininity and their accounts of how they manage their position as visibly gendered workers within highly masculine work dynamics. Further, the link from the personal to the sociopolitical aims to improve our understanding of contemporary women’s challenges and responses in the light of renewed gender regimes, power, and ideologies.
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Notes
- 1.
For more information about the demographics of each group of women, see Appendix 1.
- 2.
Semi-private schools are educational centers created by the initiative of civil society but publicly funded. The education expenditures are supported partially by parents and by the state.
- 3.
Key transcription system: {.} Denotes a pause. ... Denotes a section of text omitted.
- 4.
Female moron.
- 5.
As Blair-Loy (2001) mentions, homosocial relationships are those in which men spent time playing golf, watching sports, serving on community boards, or going out for drinks together. They (men) took it for granted that the other powerful people they would be dealing with would be other men. This is how the networks of prospective clients and other professional service providers who refer business to one another are predominantly male.
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Appendix 1: Socio-demographic profile of the participating women
Appendix 1: Socio-demographic profile of the participating women
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Arteaga-Villamil, M. (2021). Femininity in Dispute: Perspectives of a Comparative Study of Professional Women in Puebla and Barcelona. In: Fitzgerald, A. (eds) Women’s Lived Experiences of the Gender Gap. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1174-2_2
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