Abstract
This article illustrates some of the ways in which the notion of (paid) work is actively being gendered, and how these gendering processes take place not only through organizational practices but also in discourses that circulate outside an organization in the private domain. Drawing on 15 in-depth interviews with women who opted out of their own professional career in order to accompany their husbands on their overseas work assignment to Hong Kong, we demonstrate some of the benefits of using a discourse analytical approach to capturing and identifying the processes through which these women actively (although not necessarily consciously) gender the notion of work, thereby reinforcing the gender order and its male bias. We argue that identifying and making visible these gendered and gendering practices is an important component of, and a potential trigger for, change both in organizations as well as private contexts.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 414-434 |
Journal | Gender, Work and Organization |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 1 Aug 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2020 |
Bibliographical note
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Schnurr, S, Zayts, O, Schroeder, A, Le Coyte‐Hopkins, C. ‘It's not acceptable for the husband to stay at home'. Taking a discourse analytical approach to capture the gendering of work. Gender Work Organ. 2019, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12408. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.Keywords
- conceptualizations of work
- discourse
- gender order
- gendered work
- gendering work
- trailing spouses