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‘Not one of the family’: Gender and precarious work in the neoliberal university

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  • Theresa O'Keefe
  • Aline Courtois

Abstract

Gender inequality within the university is well documented but proposals to tackle it tend to focus on the higher ranks, ignoring how it manifests within precarious work. Based on data collected as part of a broader participatory action research project on casual academic labour in Irish higher education, the article focuses on the intersection of precarious work and gender in academia. We argue that precarious female academics are non‐citizens of the academy, a status that is reproduced through exploitative gendered practices and evident in formal/legal recognition (staff status, rights and entitlements, pay and valuing of work) as well as in informal dimensions (social and decision‐making power). We, therefore, conclude that any attempts to challenge gender inequality in academia must look downward, not upward, to the ranks of the precarious academics.

Suggested Citation

  • Theresa O'Keefe & Aline Courtois, 2019. "‘Not one of the family’: Gender and precarious work in the neoliberal university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 463-479, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:26:y:2019:i:4:p:463-479
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12346
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    Cited by:

    1. Omar Manky & Sergio Saravia, 2022. "From pure academics to transformative scholars? The crisis of the “ideal academic” in a Peruvian university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 971-987, July.
    2. Marta Vohlídalová, 2021. "The Segmentation of the Academic Labour Market and Gender, Field, and Institutional Inequalities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 163-174.
    3. Rosie R. Meade & Elizabeth Kiely & Órla O’Donovan, 2023. "“Cruel optimism” in the universities: A discursive‐deconstructive reading of promising promotional projects of gender equality," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1709-1724, September.
    4. Katherine Doerr, 2024. "“Flying under the radar”: Postfeminism and teaching in academic science," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 710-726, May.
    5. Joanna M. Davies & Lisa Jane Brighton & Florence Reedy & Sabrina Bajwah, 2022. "Maternity provision, contract status, and likelihood of returning to work: Evidence from research intensive universities in the UK," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1495-1510, September.
    6. Anna‐Liisa Kaasila‐Pakanen & Pauliina Jääskeläinen & Grace Gao & Emmanouela Mandalaki & Ling Eleanor Zhang & Katja Einola & Janet Johansson & Alison Pullen, 2024. "Writing touch, writing (epistemic) vulnerability," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 264-283, January.
    7. Danielle Docka‐Filipek & Lindsey B. Stone, 2021. "Twice a “housewife”: On academic precarity, “hysterical” women, faculty mental health, and service as gendered care work for the “university family” in pandemic times," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 2158-2179, November.

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