Women are underrepresented among the top echelons of management at Hong Kong academic libraries. This is in contrast with the situation in the United States and certain other countries, where the representation of women in senior management is broadly in line with the profession as a whole. The present study addresses the possible role that the gender stereotyping of leaders might have in accounting for this situation. To this end, the beliefs of academic library professionals were surveyed so as to determine whether they endorsed a masculine, feminine, or androgynous (gender-neutral) sex role for an ideal library manager. This was achieved through the development of a modified form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), with particular care taken to ensure the measure remained valid in a Chinese cultural context. The results showed that 50% of respondents believed that a masculine personality type makes for an ideal leader, compared to just 12% that endorsed a female personality type. A preference for male leadership was therefore widespread among respondents. Additionally, there was little difference between male and female respondents, and women were just as likely as men to endorse a masculine role for good leaders. The possible impact of cultural factors on gender stereotypes among Hong Kong librarians is suggested as a potentially fruitful area for further investigation. Based on the results, a key recommendation of the paper is for managers and administrators in academic libraries and the higher education sector more generally to be made aware of the potentially unconscious impact that gender stereotyping can have on hiring and promotion decisions. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the complexities that constitute women’s narratives within a mining organisation in South Africa. A review of the literature suggests that social constructions about gender influence the way in which individuals construct narratives and meaning in their lives, which inform their ways of being. This research draws upon two main schools of thought, that is, post-modern social constructionism and post-structuralism. Based on these world views, a qualitative analysis was selected as the most appropriate research design. This research examined the narratives of nine women in senior positions from a single mining organisation, in the form of semi-structured in depth interviews carried out in September 2011. An ethnographic research design was selected, in line with the theoretical framework of this study. A thematic analysis was conducted, and the results revealed two central themes, viz. Navigating the interceptions between occupational and multiple identities; and negotiating a space for women in mining. The nature of identity that emerged from participant’s narratives was viewed as an act of weaving together the multiple strands of the self, where participants recognise the points at which these multiple strands intercept and where they diverge. So rather than merging these strands into a unified (and essentialist) self, participants seemed to recognise the fluid, dynamic and contextual sense of self and in-so-doing, participants began to, in their narrative, construct an authentic sense of self. At each interception participants are faced with (i) contradictions and ambiguity, or (ii) congruency of the self between roles, which emerged as ‘identity salience’. Interceptions were interpreted as an illustration of the micro-physics of power, as postulated by Foucault (1979). In some cases, participants internalise normative and ‘masculine’ prescriptions of the self, resulting in the reification of gendered norms and the subsequent ‘disciplining’ of the self to embody such norms. However, participants also exercise individual and collective agency in resisting dominant ideology, thereby driving shifts in the power dynamics of society and negotiating an authentic and egalitarian self, and space for women in mining. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

<font face="Arial">This study investigated the attitudes and responses of male employees to the implemention of the Gender Equity Strategy and considered the implementation for the development of a gender education and training intervention. The study investigated the initial resistance to the introduction and implementation of the Gender Equity Strategy at the Polymer Plant by male employees. </font>

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management, 1999. / Bibliography: leaves 353-372. / Introduction and thesis overview -- A clarification of how common terms and key concepts within managerial and organisational discourse are interpreted within the thesis -- Theoretical and philosophical concerns: gender and the discourse of management and organisation(s) -- Contextualising the research: an overview of social, political, economic/business organisational conditions in contemporary Australia and review of literature germane to the empirical research studies -- Research methodology, judgement criteria and framework for analysis and representation -- Women managers: day to day managerial work and behaviour: ethnographic/participant observation studies -- Women's perceptions of their experience as managers: the interview studies -- Conclusions and thesis summary. / This thesis investigates the managerial experience of senior women in contemporary Australian public and private sector organisations and explores the implications this investigation has in relation to the discourse of management and organisation(s). -- The thesis proposes that although women have gained a presence in the ranks of senior management in the last twenty years, they continue to remain marginal to the discourse of management and organisation(s). The reason for this, it is argued, is because of the preoccupation this discourse has with conceptions of rationality and masculinity. This proposition is elaborated in the thesis by tracing the philosophical and sociological interpretations of reason and rationality from ancient Greek philosophy to its embodiment in the contemporary discourse of management and organisation(s). -- Whether for biological, social or psychological reasons, it can be argued that men and women are 'different'. A further proposition, therefore, is that they will have a 'different' experience as managers. On the basis of this proposal, the thesis evaluates contemporary theories of gender and sexual difference, but stops short of defining 'difference' specifically with regard to women's experience as managers. Instead, it allows the empirical research to determine what it is that constitutes 'difference' in such a context. -- The empirical component of the thesis seeks to develop an understanding of how senior women managers in contemporary Australian organisations both experience and interpret their experience in management. This is achieved by the use of two different, but complementary studies. Using an ethnographic/participant observation case study approach, the first of these investigates the day to day managerial activities, over time, of two senior women managers, one from the private and one from the public sector. The second component of the empirical research involves as series of in depth interviews with forty senior women managers in Australian public and private sector organisations, together with a small number of interviews with their immediate superiors and subordinates, and observation, by the researcher, of their workplaces. The location of the empirical research in the late 20th century, some twenty years or so after women started to enter the ranks of management in Australia, allows for a reflection on women's progress in management in this country during this period. It also allows for contemporary social and organisational conditions in Australia to be a consideration in evaluating the research participant's managerial experience. The thesis, therefore, links the empirical research findings to Australian literature and research on women and management, current social trends in this country, characteristics of the Australian business culture, Australian managementand the Australian manager. / The research framework utilised in the thesis is informed by critical, feminist and postmodern approaches to organisational analysis. For this reason the Deetz (1994) schema, which defines organisational reserch from the perspective of four differing discursive spaces - dialog, critical, interpretive and normative is utilised to locate the research orientation of the empirical studies. This schema recognises that overlap between the four discursive spaces is possible and thus can accommodate insights from each of the above mentioned approaches, as well as areas of overlap between them. -- The principal research findings suggest, in summary, that women in senior management in Australia largely conform to the traditional (masculine) norms that are deeply embedded in the discourse of management and organisation(s) and in managerial practice, yet at the same time, they consider themselves to be 'different'. A feminist interpretation of Social Contract theory, together with a feminist analysis of Foucault's (1988) notion of an 'ethics' of the self and the link between this notion and non essentialist feminist theory are used in the discussion of the empirical research findings to construct an interpretation of 'difference' as it applies to women's managerial experience. -- The contribution to knowledge in the field of organisational analysis that the thesis seeks to make includes: adding new grounded empirical research whcih uses alternative approaches to organisational understanding; providing a comprehensive analysis of the philosophical and sociological underpinnings of the relationship between management, rationality and masculinity; providing a platform for future policy development and organisational practice, and adding a perspective on contemporary managerial practice and organisation conditions against which to gauge classical studies of managerial work and behaviour. -- Finally, the thesis can also be seen to provide additional insights into recent critiques of essentialist feminsit theory and the 'feminisation of management'/female advantage literature. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / x, 376, [9] leaves

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-45).

Zugl.: Bielefeld, University, Diss., 2006 u.d.T.: Pfeil, Patricia: Geschlecht und Polizei.

Thesis (M.C.M.)--Lincoln University, 2008. / Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2009. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1462519. ProQuest document ID: 1693888261. Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-138)

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Title from screen (viewed on Aug. 13, 2008). Department of Communication Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Kim White-Mills, Catherine A. Dobris, Ronald M. Sandwina. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-66).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007.