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Maneuvering within postfeminism: A study of gender equality practitioners in Danish academia

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  • Ea Høg Utoft

Abstract

In Denmark, gender equality in academia has seen limited progress during the past 30 years. To improve our understanding of this persistent problem, this article examines gender equality practitioners in relation to the wider discursive context of Danish society. Theorizing Denmark as a “postfeminist gender regime,” I analyze how practitioners negotiate a space for action in a context which generally opposes gender equality initiatives. I introduce the notion of “maneuvering” as a way to understand this negotiation between hegemonic, postfeminist discourses, on the one hand, and marginal and potentially subversive discourses on the other. Practitioners may maneuver in how they understand inequality and potential solutions, and in the meetings between them, their work and the postfeminist gender regime. Successful maneuvering enables the use of more radical change strategies than postfeminism otherwise allows. Practitioners' ability to maneuver rests on their critical reflexivity, which in turn is conditioned by their knowledge of gender and power dynamics. The study thus points to the centrality of selecting highly qualified individuals as gender equality practitioners.

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  • Ea Høg Utoft, 2021. "Maneuvering within postfeminism: A study of gender equality practitioners in Danish academia," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 301-317, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:1:p:301-317
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12556
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    1. Yvonne Benschop & Patricia Lewis & Ruth Simpson & Rosalind Gill & Elisabeth K. Kelan & Christina M. Scharff, 2017. "A Postfeminist Sensibility at Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 226-244, May.
    2. Yvonne Benschop & Patricia Lewis & Ruth Simpson & Patricia Lewis & Yvonne Benschop & Ruth Simpson, 2017. "Postfeminism, Gender and Organization," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 213-225, May.
    3. Debra E. Meyerson & Maureen A. Scully, 1995. "Crossroads Tempered Radicalism and the Politics of Ambivalence and Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(5), pages 585-600, October.
    4. Patricia Lewis & Ruth Simpson, 2017. "Hakim Revisited: Preference, Choice and the Postfeminist Gender Regime," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 115-133, March.
    5. Yvonne Benschop & Patricia Lewis & Ruth Simpson & Nick Rumens, 2017. "Postfeminism, Men, Masculinities and Work: A Research Agenda for Gender and Organization Studies Scholars," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 245-259, May.
    6. Mathias Wullum Nielsen, 2017. "Reasons for Leaving the Academy: a Case Study on the ‘Opt Out’ Phenomenon among Younger Female Researchers," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 134-155, March.
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    2. Jennifer C. Davis & Eric Ping Hung Li & Mary Stewart Butterfield & Gino A. DiLabio & Nithi Santhagunam & Barbara Marcolin, 2022. "Are we failing female and racialized academics? A Canadian national survey examining the impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on tenure and tenure‐track faculty," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 703-722, May.
    3. Ingeborg C. Kroese, 2023. "Sex/gender‐blind training maintains and creates inequity," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 917-936, May.
    4. Soline Blanchard, 2022. "Feminism through the market? A study of gender‐equality consultants in France," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 443-465, March.
    5. Bourabain, Dounia, 2024. "Racial and Gender Inequality as a (Non)Crisis: The Discursive Strategies of Academic-Managers in Belgian and Danish universities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

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