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What's New in New Forms of Organizing? On the Construction of Gender in Project‐Based Work

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  • Monica Lindgren
  • Johann Packendorff

Abstract

abstract In several industries, projects are now the normal form of work for individuals. The consequences of project work have not so far been subject to critical inquiry, however. This implies inquiry not only on how people handle project work at work, it also means inquiring into how they live their lives when working by projects. In this paper, we study this from a constructionist gender perspective, in which project work is seen as an ongoing construction of patterns of femininity and masculinity in society. The aim of the paper is to contribute to an understanding of how project work is related to the ongoing construction of femininity and masculinity in the work and lives of human beings. From a narrative study of individuals in the same project team in an IT‐consultancy company, we discuss masculinization and femininization in project‐based work. It appears that current project work practices imply reproduction of masculinities such as rationality, efficiency, control, devotion to work etc, while femininization is instead found in the rhetoric of the organizational context and the expectations on newly recruited women. The organization was in the process of femininization through rhetoric on ‘family friendliness’, but everyday life for consultants was not spent at the organization but in project teams in the customers' offices. Projects are special in the sense that they are clearly delimited episodes of work in which it is possible to apply entirely different norms than ‘outside’ the project – which makes the tendency to reproduce traditional masculinities even stronger.

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  • Monica Lindgren & Johann Packendorff, 2006. "What's New in New Forms of Organizing? On the Construction of Gender in Project‐Based Work," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 841-866, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:43:y:2006:i:4:p:841-866
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00613.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gabriel, Yiannis, 2000. "Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297062.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yavuz Korkmazyurek, 2022. "Does Project Citizenship Behavior Leads Network Expansion? Gender-Based Comparison," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    2. Ferratti, Gustavo M. & Sacomano Neto, Mario & Candido, Silvio E.A., 2021. "Controversies in an information technology startup: A critical actor-network analysis of the entrepreneurial process," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Saleem Gul & Muhammad Nouman, 2009. "Time Flux: An Examination Of Non-Temporal Considerations In Projects," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 1(1), pages 40-46, April.
    4. Stefano Armenia & Rosa Maria Dangelico & Fabio Nonino & Alessandro Pompei, 2019. "Sustainable Project Management: A Conceptualization-Oriented Review and a Framework Proposal for Future Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, May.
    5. Sage, Daniel & Dainty, Andrew & Brookes, Naomi, 2013. "Thinking the ontological politics of managerial and critical performativities: An examination of project failure," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 282-291.
    6. Evelyn Micelotta & Marvin Washington & Iva Docekalova, 2018. "Industry Gender Imprinting and New Venture Creation: The Liabilities of Women’s Leagues in the Sports Industry," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 94-128, January.
    7. Augustsson Gunnar & Rasmusson Maria, 2018. "Regular and Temporary Employees in Project Organized Business Pay Different Attention to Preconditions for Learning," Organizacija, Sciendo, vol. 51(2), pages 97-110, May.
    8. Helen Clare Lingard & Valerie Francis & Michelle Turner, 2010. "The rhythms of project life: a longitudinal analysis of work hours and work-life experiences in construction," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(10), pages 1085-1098.
    9. Juras, Ana, 2019. "Competency Profile of Project Team Members – Interplay with Team Dynamics and Project Success," 7th International OFEL Conference on Governance, Management and Entrepreneurship: Embracing Diversity in Organisations (Dubrovnik, 2019), in: 7th International OFEL Conference on Governance, Management and Entrepreneurship: Embracing Diversity in Organisations. April 5th - 6th, 2019, Dubrovn, pages 272-286, Governance Research and Development Centre (CIRU), Zagreb.
    10. Sieben, Barbara & Braun, Timo & Ferreira, Aristides I., 2016. "Reproduction of ‘Typical’ gender roles in temporary organizations—No surprise for whom? The case of cooperative behaviors and their acknowledgement," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 52-62.

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