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Deconstructing Organizational Taboos: The Suppression of Gender Conflict in Organizations

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  • Joanne Martin

    (Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305)

Abstract

This paper begins with a story told by a corporation president to illustrate what his organization was doing to “help” women employees balance the demands of work and home. The paper deconstructs and reconstructs this story text from a feminist perspective, examining what it says, what it does not say, and what it might have said. This analysis reveals how organizational efforts to “help women” have suppressed gender conflict and reified false dichotomies between public and private realms of endeavor, suggesting why it has proven so difficult to eradicate gender discrimination in organizations. Implications of a feminist perspective for organizational theory are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanne Martin, 1990. "Deconstructing Organizational Taboos: The Suppression of Gender Conflict in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(4), pages 339-359, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:1:y:1990:i:4:p:339-359
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1.4.339
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    Cited by:

    1. Herrera-Vega, Eliana, 2015. "Relevance of N. Luhmann's theory of social systems to understand the essence of technology today. The Case of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 25-42.
    2. Amernic, Joel & Craig, Russell, 2017. "CEO speeches and safety culture: British Petroleum before the Deepwater Horizon disaster," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 61-80.
    3. Mats Alvesson & Cynthia Hardy & Bill Harley, 2008. "Reflecting on Reflexivity: Reflexive Textual Practices in Organization and Management Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 480-501, May.
    4. Lamberto Zollo & Riccardo Rialti & Cristiano Ciappei & Andrea Boccardi, 2018. "Bricolage and Social Entrepreneurship to Address Emergent Social Needs: A “Deconstructionist” Perspective," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 14(2), pages 19-48.
    5. Isabel Fernandez-Mateo & Sarah Kaplan, 2018. "Gender and Organization Science: Introduction to a Virtual Special Issue," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1229-1236, December.
    6. Calvin Morrill, 2008. "Culture and Organization Theory," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 619(1), pages 15-40, September.
    7. Martin Kornberger & Chris Carter & Anne Ross-Smith, 2010. "Changing gender domination in a Big Four accounting firm: Flexibility, performance and client service in practice," Post-Print hal-02276735, HAL.
    8. Corinne Bendersky & Kathleen L. McGinn, 2010. "Perspective---Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(3), pages 781-797, June.
    9. Izak, Michal, 2013. "The foolishness of wisdom: Towards an inclusive approach to wisdom in organization," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 108-115.
    10. Hoeber, Larena & Shaw, Sally, 2017. "Contemporary qualitative research methods in sport management," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 4-7.
    11. José-Carlos García-Rosell, 2019. "A Discursive Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Education: A Story Co-creation Exercise," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 1019-1032, February.
    12. Anzoise, Valentina & Sardo, Stefania, 2016. "Dynamic systems and the role of evaluation: The case of the Green Communities project," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 162-172.
    13. Gohar Saleem Parvaiz & Owais Mufti & Muhammad Wahab, 2016. "Pragmatism for Mixed Method Research at Higher Education Level," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 8(2), pages 67-79, October.
    14. Maura McAdam & Richard T. Harrison & Claire M. Leitch, 2019. "Stories from the field: women’s networking as gender capital in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 459-474, August.
    15. Kornberger, Martin & Carter, Chris & Ross-Smith, Anne, 2010. "Changing gender domination in a Big Four accounting firm: Flexibility, performance and client service in practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 775-791, November.
    16. Łukasz Sułkowski, 2012. "Elements of Organizational Culture – theoretical and methodological problems," Management, Sciendo, vol. 16(2), pages 63-71, December.
    17. Niveen Mazen Alsayyed & Julian Randall, 2023. "Feminist Emergence in a Traditionally Male Industry: Case from Jordan—The Jordanian Banking Industry," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, January.
    18. Claudia Balan & Marieke van den Brink & Yvonne Benschop, 2023. "New fathers, ideal workers? New players in the field of father‐friendly work organizations," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 957-981, May.
    19. Helene Ahl, 2006. "Why Research on Women Entrepreneurs Needs New Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(5), pages 595-621, September.
    20. Hervé Dumez, 1992. "Actes du séminaire Contradictions et Dynamique des Organisations - CONDOR - III," Post-Print hal-00263275, HAL.

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