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Taking on the Institution: An Autoethnographic Account

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  • Margaret Hodgins

    (Independent Researcher, H91 TX33 Galway, Ireland)

Abstract

The over-representation of men and the under-representation of women in senior positions in academic institutions is a familier and deep-rooted problem. While gender inequality in Higher Education Institutions has multiple causes, recruitment and internal promotion practices are particularly potent contributors to inequality regimes. This paper contains an autoethnographic account based on my failure to secure promotion and my subsequent legal action. It offers a personalized account of the experience of gender discrimination, in order to illuminate aspects of the culture of the Higher Educational Institution that contribute to this problem, and the challenges inherent in changing it. The theoretical perspective includes notions of organizational culture as gendered, drawing on the works of Louise Morley and Georgina Waylen, Pat O’Connor, Louise Chappel and Teresa Rees, as well as Carol Agócs work on institutionalized resistance to change, and theories of hidden and invisible power. The paper is a personal narrative autoethnography with self-reflection, adopting an analytic/interpretive approach. Based on an analysis of publicly available documents, personal journaling and media material, I identify four themes; (1) Slow Fuse burning, (2) From indifference to resistance, (3) Fixing me/Fixing women, (4) Solidarity. I conclude with reflections on the importance of seeing gender inequality and discrimination when it occurs and the importance of data in creating greater transparency that facilitates ‘seeing’. I also consider the importance of female anger and the importance of female solidarity.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret Hodgins, 2021. "Taking on the Institution: An Autoethnographic Account," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:39-:d:542972
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bachrach, Peter & Baratz, Morton S., 1962. "Two Faces of Power1," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 947-952, December.
    2. Pat O’Connor, 2011. "Where Do Women Fit in University Senior Management? An Analytical Typology of Cross-National Organisational Cultures," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Barbara Bagilhole & Kate White (ed.), Gender, Power and Management, chapter 7, pages 168-191, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Margaret Hodgins & Patricia Mannix McNamara, 2019. "An Enlightened Environment? Workplace Bullying and Incivility in Irish Higher Education," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(4), pages 21582440198, December.
    4. Pat O’Connor & Gemma Irvine, 2020. "Multi-Level State Interventions and Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions: The Irish Case," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Thomas, Robyn & Hardy, Cynthia, 2011. "Reframing resistance to organizational change," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 322-331, September.
    6. Mats Alvesson & Hugh Willmott, 2002. "Identity Regulation as Organizational Control: Producing the Appropriate Individual," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 619-644, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Margaret Hodgins & Patricia Mannix-McNamara, 2021. "The Neoliberal University in Ireland: Institutional Bullying by Another Name?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, May.

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