IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v86y2022ics1045235421000265.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Female leaders as ‘Superwomen’: Post-global financial crisis media framing of women and leadership in investment banking in UK print media 2014–2016

Author

Listed:
  • Sheerin, Corina
  • Garavan, Thomas

Abstract

The print media is an important and powerful social arbiter. It both reflects and crafts societal opinion, and consequentially has received significant scholarly attention. This article analyses the media framing of women and leadership in Investment Banking (IB) post the GFC (2014–2016) to understand both the framing content, and how it has or has not changed. Utilising an institutional perspective, and the concept of IB as gendered social space, we reveal the existence of an overarching meta-frame which illustrates IB as a setting characterised by unequal power relations between men and women and the sustainment of hegemonic norms. This meta-frame did not change significantly during the period analysed. Our analysis reveals a meta-frame which emphasises ‘deficiency’ and is underpinned by three key interpretive repertoires, each giving expression to different dimensions of IB as a gendered social space. We found evidence of contradictory interpretive repertoire and media framing ignored issues of female agency, the male perspective on leadership in IB and the domestic context of female leaders. While the media did champion certain ‘superwomen’, the framing of women’s absence from senior roles was embedded with stereotypes about gender relations and suggestions that women’s lack of progress could be attributed to their supposed internal weaknesses rather than IB organisations. The characteristics of IB as a gendered space and their role in maintaining unequal gender power dynamics are less frequently highlighted in media framing. In addition, while media framing makes attempts to positively frame female leaders in IB, overall very little has changed.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheerin, Corina & Garavan, Thomas, 2022. "Female leaders as ‘Superwomen’: Post-global financial crisis media framing of women and leadership in investment banking in UK print media 2014–2016," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:86:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000265
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102307
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235421000265
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102307?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Grey, Christopher & Robson, Keith, 2005. ""Helping them to forget..": the organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 469-490, July.
    2. Lupu, Ioana, 2012. "Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women's careers in large accounting firms. Evidence from the French Big Four," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 351-369.
    3. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "(Re)figuring accounting and maternal bodies: The gendered embodiment of accounting professionals," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 328-348.
    4. Baker, Darren T & Brewis, Deborah N, 2020. "The melancholic subject: A study of self-blame as a gendered and neoliberal psychic response to loss of the ‘perfect worker’," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Richardson, Alan J., 2015. "Quantitative research and the critical accounting project," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 67-77.
    6. Adapa, Sujana & Rindfleish, Jennifer & Sheridan, Alison, 2016. "‘Doing gender’ in a regional context: Explaining women's absence from senior roles in regional accounting firms in Australia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 100-110.
    7. Tommaso Palermo & Michael Power & Simon Ashby, 2017. "Navigating Institutional Complexity: The Production of Risk Culture in the Financial Sector," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 154-181, March.
    8. Trent Steidley & Cynthia G. Colen, 2017. "Framing the Gun Control Debate: Press Releases and Framing Strategies of the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 98(2), pages 608-627, June.
    9. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "Transforming identities: Accounting professionals and the transition to motherhood," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 620-642.
    10. Kyriacou, Orthodoxia, 2016. "Accounting for images of ‘equality’ in digital space: Towards an exploration of the Greek Accounting Professional Institute," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 35-57.
    11. 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.
    12. Thomas Roulet, 2015. "“What Good is Wall Street?” Institutional Contradiction and the Diffusion of the Stigma over the Finance Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 389-402, August.
    13. Koveshnikov, Alexei & Tienari, Janne & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2019. "Gender in international business journals: A review and conceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 37-53.
    14. McKinlay, Alan, 2010. "Performativity and the politics of identity: Putting Butler to work," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 232-242.
    15. Anna Lamin & Srilata Zaheer, 2012. "Wall Street vs. Main Street: Firm Strategies for Defending Legitimacy and Their Impact on Different Stakeholders," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 47-66, February.
    16. Fligstein, Neil & Goldstein, Adam, 2011. "Catalyst of Disaster: Subprime Mortgage Securitization and the Roots of the Great Recession," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt83x2h03n, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    17. Jane Broadbent & Linda Kirkham, 2008. "Glass ceilings, glass cliffs or new worlds?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 465-473, May.
    18. Kathryn Haynes, 2013. "Sexuality and sexual symbolism as processes of gendered identity formation," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 374-398, March.
    19. Rodolphe Durand & Jean-Philippe Vergne, 2015. "Asset divestment as a response to media attacks in stigmatized industries," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(8), pages 1205-1223, August.
    20. Paul Andon & Clinton Free, 2014. "Media coverage of accounting: the NRL salary cap crisis," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(1), pages 15-47, January.
    21. Duff, Angus, 2011. "Big four accounting firms’ annual reviews: A photo analysis of gender and race portrayals," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 20-38.
    22. Louise Nash, 2018. "Gendered places: Place, performativity and flânerie in the City of London," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 601-620, November.
    23. Gerardo Patriotta & Jean‐Pascal Gond & Friederike Schultz, 2011. "Maintaining Legitimacy: Controversies, Orders of Worth, and Public Justifications," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(8), pages 1804-1836, December.
    24. Edgley, Carla & Sharma, Nina & Anderson-Gough, Fiona, 2016. "Diversity and professionalism in the Big Four firms: Expectation, celebration and weapon in the battle for talent," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 13-34.
    25. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Lambert, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," Post-Print hal-00687845, HAL.
    26. Clemente, Marco & Roulet, Thomas, 2015. "Public Opinion as a Source of Deinstitutionalization: A 'Spiral of Silence' Approach," MPRA Paper 60130, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    27. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    28. LINDA McDOWELL, 2010. "Capital Culture Revisited: Sex, Testosterone and the City," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 652-658, September.
    29. Irene van Staveren, 2014. "The Lehman Sisters hypothesis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(5), pages 995-1014.
    30. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-16.
    31. Benschop, Yvonne & Meihuizen, Hanne E., 2002. "Keeping up gendered appearances: representations of gender in financial annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 611-636, October.
    32. Kuasirikun, Nooch, 2011. "The portrayal of gender in annual reports in Thailand," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 53-78.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Detzen, Dominic, 2024. "‘A building of shame and disgrace’ or ‘trial by media’? Media framing of KPMG Netherlands’ head office," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    2. Faragalla Widad Atena & Adriana Tiron-Tudor, 2019. "Gender as a Dimension of Inequality in Accounting Organizations and Developmental HR Strategies," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Bitbol-Saba, Nathalie & Dambrin, Claire, 2019. "“It’s not often we get a visit from a beautiful woman!” The body in client-auditor interactions and the masculinity of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Walaa Wahid ElKelish*, 2023. "Accounting for Corporate Human Rights: Literature Review and Future Insights," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(2), pages 203-226, June.
    5. Sian, S. & Agrizzi, D. & Wright, T. & Alsalloom, A., 2020. "Negotiating constraints in international audit firms in Saudi Arabia: Exploring the interaction of gender, politics and religion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Sian, S., 2023. "Off-ramps and on-ramps: Career continuity and discontinuity in professional accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    7. Agrizzi, Dila & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Alsalloom, Abeer, 2021. "Spatiality and accounting: The case of female segregation in audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. Garcia-Blandon, Josep & Argilés-Bosch, Josep Maria & Ravenda, Diego, 2019. "Is there a gender effect on the quality of audit services?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 238-249.
    9. Amondarain, Josune & Aldazabal, M. Edurne & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2023. "Gender differences in the auditing stereotype and their influence on the intention to enter the profession," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    10. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Edgley, Carla & Robson, Keith & Sharma, Nina, 2022. "Organizational responses to multiple logics: Diversity, identity and the professional service firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Kokot-Blamey, Patrizia, 2021. "Mothering in accounting: Feminism, motherhood, and making partnership in accountancy in Germany and the UK," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. Ashley, Louise & Empson, Laura, 2016. "Convenient fictions and inconvenient truths: Dilemmas of diversity at three leading accountancy firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 76-87.
    13. Baker, Darren T & Brewis, Deborah N, 2020. "The melancholic subject: A study of self-blame as a gendered and neoliberal psychic response to loss of the ‘perfect worker’," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women Career Paths in Accounting Organizations: Big4 Scenario," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Egan, Matthew & Voss, Barbara de Lima, 2023. "Redressing the Big 4’s male, pale and stale image, through LGBTIQ+ ethical praxis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    16. Widad Atena Faragalla & Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Liana Stanca & Delia Deliu, 2023. "Gender Discrimination Insights in Romanian Accounting Organisations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-25, January.
    17. Mara Del Baldo & Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women’s Role in the Accounting Profession: A Comparative Study between Italy and Romania," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Ogharanduku, Bridget Efeoghene & Jackson, William J. & Paterson, Audrey S., 2021. "Beautiful SWAN, or ugly duckling? The attempt to reduce gender inequality by the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    19. Jeffrey R. Cohen & Derek W. Dalton & Lori L. Holder-Webb & Jeffrey J. McMillan, 2020. "An Analysis of Glass Ceiling Perceptions in the Accounting Profession," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 17-38, June.
    20. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-16.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:86:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000265. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.