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The support paradox: Overcoming dilemmas in gender equality programs

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  • Van den Brink, Marieke
  • Stobbe, Lineke

Abstract

This paper revolves around ambivalent discourses surrounding gender equality policies and interventions in organizations. On the one hand, these equality policies are perceived as necessary in order to create more opportunities for upward career mobility for women. On the other hand, both men and women argue against these policies due to issues of reverse discrimination and quality loss that they raise. For a Dutch Funding Organization, this resulted in a dilemma; with gender equality on the one hand, and merit and individual advancement on the other. The support paradox provides a discursive tool to counter this dilemma that finds its roots in a strong belief in the meritocracy and a blindness for the genderedness of the meritocracy and academic careers. By reframing and illustrating this paradox, this study shows that the support that men often receive in their academic careers tends to be taken for granted, while women are expected to advance on their own in order to prove that they are sufficiently qualified. We will argue that it is theoretically interesting and politically important to frame the “getting help” dilemma in terms of a paradox.

Suggested Citation

  • Van den Brink, Marieke & Stobbe, Lineke, 2014. "The support paradox: Overcoming dilemmas in gender equality programs," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 163-174.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:30:y:2014:i:2:p:163-174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2013.07.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Pautasso, 2015. "The Italian University Habilitation and the Challenge of Increasing the Representation of Women in Academia," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Irene Campos-García & José Ángel Zúñiga-Vicente, 2019. "The female presence in different organisational positions and performance in secondary schools: Does a woman leader function as mediator?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-25, September.
    3. van den Brink, Marieke & Holgersson, Charlotte & Linghag, Sophie & Deé, Sharon, 2016. "Inflating and down playing strengths and weaknesses—Practicing gender in the evaluation of potential managers and partners," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 20-32.
    4. Torchia, Mariateresa & Calabrò, Andrea & Gabaldon, Patricia & Kanadli, Sadi Bogac, 2018. "Women directors contribution to organizational innovation: A behavioral approach," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 215-224.
    5. Christian Möller & Saffron Passam & Sarah Riley & Martine Robson, 2024. "All inside our heads? A critical discursive review of unconscious bias training in the sciences," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 797-820, May.
    6. Lina Marcela Ramírez Leguizamón, 2019. "The paradox of equality policies and meritocracy in female leadership," Documentos CEDE 17371, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    7. Nina van Douwen & Marieke van den Brink & Yvonne Benschop, 2022. "Badass marines: Resistance practices against the introduction of women in the Dutch military," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1443-1462, September.
    8. Helen Peterson, 2019. "A Women-Only Leadership Development Program: Facilitating Access to Authority for Women in Swedish Higher Education?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Alison M. Konrad & Orlando C. Richard & Yang Yang, 2021. "Both Diversity and Meritocracy: Managing the Diversity‐Meritocracy Paradox with Organizational Ambidexterity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(8), pages 2180-2206, December.

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