Women, know your limits: Cultural sexism in academia

Despite the considerable advances of the feminist movement across Western societies, in Universities women are less likely to be promoted, or paid as much as their male colleagues, or even get jobs in the first place. One way in which we can start to reflect on why this might be the case is through hearing the experiences of women academics themselves. Using feminist methodology, this article attempts to unpack and explore just some examples of ‘cultural sexism’ which characterise the working lives of many women in British academia.This article uses qualitative methods to describe and make sense of just some of those experiences. In so doing, the argument is also made that the activity of academia is profoundly gendered and this explicit acknowledgement may contribute to our understanding of the under-representation of women in senior positions

How can the intersections between gender, class, and sexuality be translated to an empirical agenda?

The social categories of gender, sexuality, class, and ethnicity, and their relation to subjectivities have received theoretical attention, but their empirical interrelationships remain underexplored. In this article, the authors consider how class, gender, and sexuality interrelate in practice by drawing and reflecting on (a) an empirical study of women in the wine industry that they have undertaken and (b) a selection of contemporary works that links multiple social categories. In conclusion, they argue that to investigate power and tension within and across multiple social categories meaningfully, a useful approach is to combine life histories with theories of embodiment.Lia Bryant, Elizabeth Hoo

Queen bees, wannabees and afraid to be bees: no more "best enemies" for women in management

There is a lack of research that problematizes solidarity behaviour and the Queen Bee label for women in management. Few studies contextualize the propensity for women to support each other to reach senior management or surface the shadow side of relationships between women in management. Underpinning assumptions of solidarity behaviour and Queen Bee focus upon individual women's behaviour. Neither questions whether women are enabled 'natural allies'. It is assumed that women align themselves with women; in senior management women are responsible for the 'women in management mantle', and when they do not conform they are pejoratively labelled Queen Bees. Queen Bee 'blames' women for not supporting each other, constructs women as out of place in senior management and maintains a gendered status quo. This article provides a conceptual critique of solidarity behaviour and the Queen Bee as labels researchers and the popular media attach to women's behaviour in organizations. The aim is to challenge assumptions and inherent contradictions and highlight the negative impact of the sexist Queen Bee label, prompting us to reflexively question and challenge our own assumptions about solidarity behaviour and use of the Queen Bee label, to prevent unrealistic expectations of senior women and continued pejorative construction of women in management

Gender Differences in Children’s Internet Use:Key findings from Europe

This paper analyses comparative empirical data from across Europe on gender differences in children’s internet use, and through a new interpretive framework on young people’s experiences, seeks to add new findings to this growing international knowledge base. Linking feminist theory on gender and technology with theories of youth gender identity construction, four key areas are investigated. Firstly, the impact of increased internet access and use in schools and in homes on gender equality is examined. Secondly, youth communication and content creation practices are investigated to explore whether the internet is facilitating flexibility in gender identity and the transcendence of traditional gender roles. Thirdly, gender differences in skills and perceptions of expertise are discussed. Finally, internet activities which demonstrate overtly gender-stereotypical masculine attributes – pornography and action/violent game playing - are discussed. We argue that gender remains a salient factor in researching the complexity of young people’s internet use and call for multiple theoretical perspectives to contribute to further research on this topic