Opting out : professional women develop reflexive agency

Purpose While previous research on opting out has been mainly about women who leave their careers altogether, the purpose of this paper is to follow a broader definition of opting out to investigate the process and experience of women developing agency as they leave masculinist career patterns to adopt alternative career solutions. Design/methodology/approach Building on an interdisciplinary framework and a narrative approach, this paper analyses the opting out and in processes of women managers in Finland and the USA. Findings This paper demonstrates four micro-strategies that the women used to develop individual agency in their processes of opting out of masculinist career models and opting in to alternative solutions for work. These micro-strategies are redefining career success, transcending boundaries, renegotiating working conditions and keeping in touch with professional networks. Practical implications Organisational leaders can use the knowledge of the strategies that empower women in their opting out processes when making decisions regarding working practices. In order to retain their employees, organisations should be supportive of employees’ individual agency and their participation in developing work structures, as well as providing more opportunities for two-way blurring between work and family instead of the current one-way blurring where work spills over to family life, increasing work-family conflict. Originality/value This paper develops a framework to better understand women’s agency during the process of opting out of corporate careers and opting in to solutions like part-time work and self-employment, deepening the current understanding of these solutions and presenting the micro-strategies they use to develop reflexive agency.Peer reviewe

Gender, diversity and intersectionality in professions and potential professions: analytical, historical and contemporary perspectives

The fields of gender studies, gender and organizations, diversity and diversity management, and intersectionality studies have all grown extensively in recent years as ways of analyzing social divisions. Each and all of these have major implications for the analysis of professions, even if the issues they raise have often not been at the forefront of mainstream studies. In this chapter we consider the relevance of gendered intersectional analysis for the understanding of professions, potential professions and professionalization. Indeed put this way, we may ask: is it really possible to analyze professions and professionalization without considering gender and gender relations? To read some of the classics in the vast literature on professions, you would think so

The reproduction of gender differences in early career choices and professional identity of young dentist in Finland

Introduction For over the last 20 years, approximately 70% of working dentists in Finland have been women. However, there is internal division of the profession along gender lines. Female dentists work more often in the public sector and male dentists in the private sector. The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in young dentists' early career choices, specialization plans, values and perceptions of professional identity. Materials and methods The data were taken from a national e-mail questionnaire study called "Young Dentist," which was sent to 458 dentists who had received their licence to practise dentistry in 2014-2016 from all four universities with dental curricula in Finland. A total of 52% young dentists (n = 238) answered the questionnaire. Results and discussion The results indicated that whereas female dentists were more likely to perceive themselves as comforters, social workers and health promoters, male dentists tended to perceive themselves as technicians. These professional identities were interrelated with early-stage career choices in which female dentists worked more often in the public than in the private sector when compared to male dentists. There were also clear gender differences in the importance of values and the specialization plans of the young dentists. Conclusion Young dentists in Finland make career choices and develop professional identity in accordance with the attributes traditionally associated with cultural ideals related to femininity and masculinity.Peer reviewe

“It is also about helping people” : Women attorneys’ commitment to public service and incentives for pro bono work in Finland and Poland

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Women’s Sense-making of Opportunity Structures in the Profession of Attorney in Poland

The article examines the ways in which women make sense of the opportunity structures in which they operate as female attorneys in Poland. The study applies Joan Acker’s theory of gendered organization and a narrative approach to the analysis of interview data with 15 Polish female attorneys who practice law and are members of the Warsaw Chamber of the Bar. These women are pursuing their careers in a highly competitive and still male-dominated profession. The results demonstrate the continuing struggle of women to reconcile the often conflicting expectations and roles of professional and personal lives. The findings point towards four gendering processes that venture from the structure of the profession of attorney in Poland: professionally committed women are not limited by their family life; women need to invest more in activities that attract new clients; male attorneys are attributed greater authority; and women are more empathic. These processes sustain gender inequalities in the profession of attorney as they carry expectations of women to adapt to the existing professional structures in order to access more equal career opportunities. However, by making sense of the shared experiences of work-life conflict and of the feminine/masculine dichotomy, women exert agency to their claims to professional expertise

Women attorneys and gendering processes in law firms in Helsinki

This article provides an in-depth analysis of how gender dynamics are narrated by women attorneys practising law in law firms in Helsinki. It draws on Joan Acker’s theory of gendered organization and the theories of agency to examine how women engage with the processes that are gendering their career choices and life in general. This study draws on the narrative framework applied to interview data with nine Finnish women attorneys who are pursuing their careers in a highly competitive work environ- ment. The findings point towards four processes, specifically increasing the recruitment of women, the ideal of a flexible lawyer, the norm of having it all and women’s use of flexible work arrangements, which provide women with a sense of agency in devising their own methods of combining career and family. Yet, they do not challenge the male advantage instilled in the prerequisites for career advancement in this work environment

Professionalism in everyday work : women lawyers' strategies to exercise control over their work in Finland, French Canada and Poland

This chapter focuses on professional autonomy, which has been a touchstone of professions and professional work. Here, professional autonomy is examined from a gender perspective, focusing on women lawyers' strategies to cope with their disadvantaged positions and discriminatory professional environments across three civil law countries. The examination draws on two ideas of professionalism: as a "third logic" (Freidson, Professionalism: The third logic. University of Chicago Press, 2001) and as "organisational" (Evetts, Curr Soc. 54(1):133-143, 2006; Curr Soc. 59(4), 406-422, 2011). The analyses are based on interview data collected from 42 women lawyers from Finland, French Canada, and Poland. The results show that women lawyers are capable of acting resourcefully to exercise control over their work and the professional market. The results demonstrate five strategies that these women used: (1) highlighting the status of the profession, to additional educational qualifications and to the title of law firm partner, (2) highlighting altruistic aspects of legal work, (3) the "typing" of clients and cases, (4) personalising relationships with clients, and (5) establishing joint law offices with friends and sharing office space. This chapter contributes to the "between" dimension of professionalism as it demonstrates differences in the strategies women lawyers use to strengthen their professional autonomy across professional systems and structures

Gender and Age in the Professions: Intersectionality, Meta-work, and Social Change

Sociologists have paid little attention to the shifting significance of gender to professional work. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the meanings attached to gender, and the gendering of work, have shifted over time, such that the experiences of newer cohorts of professionals differ from those of professionals in previous generations. In this paper, we show how combining intersectionality theory and life course approaches facilitates the exploration of inequalities by gender, class, and race/ethnicity across generations and age cohorts. We present empirical research findings to demonstrate how this approach illuminates the convergence of gender and age in the professions to confer privilege and produce disadvantage in professional workplaces. Subsequently, we introduce the concept of meta-work—hidden, invisible and laborious work performed by non-traditional and disadvantaged professionals—through which they endeavor to cope with structural inequalities embedded in the professions. As professions and professional workplaces are still designed primarily for middle-class, dominant-ethnicity men, professionals who do not fit these categories need to invest extra time and energy to develop individual strategies and tactics to cope with professional pressures in and around their work. Meta-work is intrinsically linked to the traditional and normative ideals surrounding professional roles and identities, and therefore is intimately connected with professionals’ sense of self and their feeling of belonging to professional communities. Meta-work, and the tactics and strategies that result from it, are important coping mechanisms for some professionals, enabling them to deal with rapidly changing work realities and a lack of collegial support. Finally, we highlight several areas for future research on the intersections of gender and age in the professions