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Doing gender, modestly: Conceptualizing workplace experiences of Pakistani women doctors

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  • Ayesha Masood

Abstract

Using the theoretical framework of inequality regimes, this article offers a reconceptualization of purdah as it is practised, lived and experienced by women doctors of Pakistan. Based on an ethnographic study of Pakistani women doctors, this research indicates that practising purdah in the workplace is perceived as doing femininity within the hegemonic masculine workplace culture of Pakistan. In Pakistani organizations, individual and institutionalized practices of purdah create a gendered substructure which marginalizes women doctors by dictating the norms of conduct, international ethics, organization of physical space and work allocation. Patriarchal interpretations of religious doctrines of modesty provide legitimacy to the existence of these inequality regimes. Based on this, the article argues for a system‐level theorization of purdah that accounts for both individual and institutional norms of veil. Such conceptualization contributes to our understanding of how religion intersects with gender, class and race to create complex systemic inequities in organizational structure.

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  • Ayesha Masood, 2019. "Doing gender, modestly: Conceptualizing workplace experiences of Pakistani women doctors," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 214-228, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:26:y:2019:i:2:p:214-228
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12308
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hennie Boeije, 2002. "A Purposeful Approach to the Constant Comparative Method in the Analysis of Qualitative Interviews," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 391-409, November.
    2. Jawad Syed, 2008. "A context-specific perspective of equal employment opportunity in Islamic societies," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 135-151, January.
    3. Jenny Rodriguez & Evangelina Holvino & Joyce K. Fletcher & Stella M. Nkomo & Mayra Ruiz Castro & Evangelina Holvino, 2016. "Applying Intersectionality in Organizations: Inequality Markers, Cultural Scripts and Advancement Practices in a Professional Service Firm," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 328-347, May.
    4. Faiza Ali & Jawad Syed, 2017. "From Rhetoric to Reality: a Multilevel Analysis of Gender Equality in Pakistani Organizations," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 472-486, September.
    5. Jawad Syed & Edwina Pio, 2010. "Veiled diversity? Workplace experiences of Muslim women in Australia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 115-137, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicole Ferry, 2025. "Where is the patriarchy?: A review and research agenda for the concept of patriarchy in management and organization studies," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 302-329, January.
    2. Ayesha Masood & Muhammad Azfar Nisar, 2020. "Crushed between two stones: Competing institutional logics in the implementation of maternity leave policies in Pakistan," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 1103-1126, November.
    3. Mariam Mohsin & Jawad Syed, 2020. "The missing doctors — An analysis of educated women and female domesticity in Pakistan," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 1077-1102, November.
    4. Nick Jephson & Hugh Cook & Andy Charlwood, 2024. "Prisoners of oath: Junior doctors’ professional identities during and after industrial action," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(2), pages 556-578, May.
    5. Muhammad Junaid Ashraf & Daniela Pianezzi, 2024. "Gender, Money, and Sexuality: An Exploration into the Relational Work of Pakistani Khwajasiras," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(4), pages 1021-1040, August.

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