Gendered identification: between idealization and admiration

While much of the literature on gender focuses on role models, this paper extends the understanding of gendered professional identification processes by exploring these processes through the lenses of idealization and admiration. Using the method of discourse analysis to analyse MBA students' accounts of people with whom they identify, this paper explores discourses of idealization, defined as aggrandizing a person, and of admiration, which means discussing positive as well as negative and neutral characteristics of a person. It is shown, first, that most male and female MBA students idealized the self-made ‘authentic’ CEO or founder of an organization and, second, that women mainly admired other women through naming their positive, neutral and negative attributes. The paper thereby adds to understanding of how gendered identification processes are structured by idealization and admiration.The authors would like to thank Rachel Dunkley Jones for helping to collect the material. The research was financially supported by the research consortium on Generation Y, convened by the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business at London Business School. The consortium included the following partner companies: Accenture (Founding Partner), Allen & Overy, Barclaycard Business, Baxter International, Cargill, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and KPMG. Thanks also to Judy Wajcman, Lynda Gratton and Julia Nentwich for their constructive feedback on earlier versions of this paper. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the Editor of the British Journal of Management for their patience in developing this paper

Lamu Sensitive Aid: Barriers to Distribution, Acceptance, and Use of Malaria Prevention in Lamu District

his study examines how organizations work locally to distribute malaria aid and education for malaria prevention. Additionally, it analyzes the effectiveness this aid has in improving malaria preventative techniques used by the people of Lamu District. This effectiveness was compared in the contexts of several regions of the district to further understand differences in rural and urban settings. Information was gathered using a variety of interviews with organizations and prominent community leaders to gauge their ideas on malaria in Lamu and strategies used to prevent it, and informal field interviews to observe different communities’ perspectives on malaria and also their perception of the aid efforts by organizations. The results of the study suggest that while malaria preventative measures are gaining popularity in Lamu District and malaria prevalence has decreased, effective prevention measures are still not used by many in the district. It also shows a troubling reality that barriers to malaria prevention in Lamu District extend to greater levels than just community acceptance. The funding structure for local organizations also limits the community’s ability to combat urgent issues such as malaria

'Female heroes': celebrity executives as postfeminist role models

This article explores the significance of contemporary celebrity businesswomen as role models for women aspiring to leadership in business. We explore the kind of gendered ideals they model and promote to women through their autobiographical narratives, and analyze how these ideals map against contemporary postfeminist sensibility to further understand the potential of these role models to redress the under-representation of women in management and leadership . Our findings show that celebrity businesswomen present a role model that we call the ‘female hero’, a figure characterized by 3Cs: confidence to jump over gendered barriers, control in managing these barriers, and courage to push through them. We argue that the ‘female hero’ role model is deeply embedded in the contemporary postfeminist sensibility; it offers exclusively individualized solutions by calling on women to change themselves to succeed, and therefore has limited capacity to challenge the current gendered status quo in management and leadership. The article contributes to current literature on role models by generating a more differentiated and socially-situated understanding of distant female role models in business and extending our understanding of their potential to generate sustainable and long-term change in advancing gendered change in management and leadership

Chilled mist as a viable alternative method for transporting commercially caught crustacean and mollusc species

Shellfish are often transported live to markets to ensure freshness upon arrival. Traditional transport methods involve large volumes of water (1:1 animal:water, vivier) hence reducing the mass of animals that can be transported with one journey, or they are transported dry, with both methods often inducing high stress levels. To assess the viability of an alternative method, the physiological stress of three commercially important species (Buccinum undatum, Nephrops norvegicus, and Homarus gammarus) was measured over time (24h – N. norvegicus, 72h – H. gammarus, and 96h – B. undatum) within an experimental re-circulating intermittent (IM) and continuous (CM) mist environment. Haemolymph stress parameters such as L-lactate, ammonia, D- glucose, total protein, pH, and behaviour were measured every 24h to determine the condition of the animals. The responses of animals in the misted environments were compared to the traditional method of transport for each species: vivier or dry. The mist was effective at reducing levels of haemolymph ammonia in the animals compared to simulated dry transport (3 and 2.4 fold lower ammonia concentration in B. undatum and H. gammarus haemolymph; at 96 hours and 72 hours; respectively). The IM group had 8.8 times lower ammonia concentration in the reservoir water compared to the CM group at 96 hours for the B. undatum trials, suggesting that IM may be a more efficient use of water for longer journeys. In its current form, misting is not suitable for the transport of N. norvegicus, as high mortalities were recorded in both IM – 30%, CM – 10%, compared to traditional vivier – 0%, however IM reduced mortality rates compared to traditional dry transport of B. undatum (IM - 5.25%, CM – 28.07%, dry - 22.8%). The efficacy of Accutrend handheld meter for L-lactate determination in decapod crustaceans is discussed in detail within this study. This study offers a novel, easily implemented method of transport with potential for replacing traditional methods, whilst maintaining animal health. This study can be used by fishers as a base for developing more efficient, cost-effective methods of live shellfish transport

Master of Science

thesisThis study examined elementary school teacher attitudes and beliefs about their perceived and desired role in childhood obesity prevention. An online survey was administered to K-6 teachers (n=628) in 55 public elementary schools in the greater Salt Lake City area. Questions addressed teachers' classroom practices, personal health behaviors, and their beliefs and attitudes about role in childhood obesity prevention. The majority of teachers (64%) believed they should play a role in childhood obesity prevention and 68% believed they can impact student health behaviors. Seventy percent of teachers included nutrition education in the classroom, with the majority (56%) teaching between 1-5 hours of nutrition lessons during the school year. On average, teachers self-reported moderate levels of nutrition self-efficacy and good to excellent overall health. Personal health practices, nutrition-self efficacy, and nutrition attitudes and beliefs were significantly correlated. Overall, teachers understood the impact of healthy nutrition practices in the classroom, but less than a quarter (21%) agreed that they have the support they need to teach nutrition in the classroom. Barriers to nutrition education include core curriculum demands, lack of time, and pressure to integrate lessons. Teachers reported the need for curriculum with short nutrition lessons, resources for nutrition guest speakers, and support for a healthy school nutrition environment

Mobilising femininities in the workplace: offering intra-gender support as a way to make work ‘work’

Recent research has highlighted the negative intra-gender relations that occur between women in organisations, focusing on aspects such as micro-violence (Mavin & Williams, 2013), the queen bee syndrome (Derks, van Laar, Ellemars, & de Groot, 2011; Camussi & Leccardi 2005), negative intra-gender relations (Mavin et. al, 2014), and competition and distance between women (Mavin et. al, 2013; Cooper, 1997; Duguid, 2011). These studies have suggested that women’s intra-gender relationships are based on competition rather than co-operation, and argue that gendered organisational cultures exacerbate these negative intra gender relationships (Mavin, Williams & Grandy, 2014). However van den Brink & Benschop (2014) expand this conceptualisation by framing both the positive and negative aspects of women’s relationships within the context of ‘mobilising femininities’. They suggest that women mobilise femininities in both a contested and affiliated way. However affiliation presents risks to the individual as this affiliative behaviour is scrutinised in a way which their male colleagues is not. This growing body of research both overlooks the positive aspects of women’s relationships and ignores the impact that conservative feminists such as Sheryl Sandberg are having on discourse within organisations. Although Sandberg’s book has created lots of debate in the media, there has been little discussion in the academic community about the impact this conservative feminism has made (GWO 2016 Call for Abstracts, Exploring the Rise of Moderate Feminism in Contemporary Organizations) The aim of this paper is to further develop our understanding of women’s peer relationships and the way in which women mobilise femininities in the context of conservative feminism. This article draws upon empirical data from interviews with sixteen women asked to consider their intra-gender relationships at work. Eleven of the interviews were conducted with women who worked at a corporate bank and five were members of a women’s network and predominantly worked in small to medium sized enterprises. The interviews lasted between 40 and 70 minutes, they were recorded and transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The material shows that affiliation and mobilising femininities at work is an important part of the way women make work ‘work’ for them by providing a buffer from the dominant masculinities that prevailed. Women talked about the support and positive relationships they have being based on four themes. Firstly, ‘seeing the whole you’, this focussed on the importance of relationships that went beyond work, of being ‘tight’ and having conversations that were not work based. Secondly, a ‘mum’s network’, this involved a bond that came from being a mother or providing advice to those who were thinking about having children. The third involved ‘feedback’, the importance of using other women as a sounding board, giving each other feedback and helping each other to advance their careers. Finally, ‘I’ve got your back’, a conscious recognition of the need to support each other and defend each other against men and masculinities at work. However, there is a fine line between supportive relationships and the point at which women seek to create distance from each other. A critical engagement existed within the relationships as the women need to enact femininity in an appropriate way or they are penalised. Behaviour that prompted distancing from other women involved ‘over-mothering and smothering’, women who are over-feminised and smother people therefore holding them back and ‘not a real women’, women who were too polished or too closed off, described as corporate ‘cut outs’. The paper argues that women’s relationships can be conceptualised as a protection from the dominant masculinity that prevailed in their organisations and as a way to bring femininity to the workplace. Furthermore, it is argued that women emphasised the importance of fostering affiliative relationships. The paper thereby makes a contribution to understanding how women’s affiliation can be seen in the context of a growing acceptability of moderate feminism within the media and corporate world

Gendered identification : between idealization and admiration

While much of the literature on gender focuses on role models, this paper extends the understanding of gendered professional identification processes by exploring these processes through the lenses of idealization and admiration. Using the method of discourse analysis to analyse MBA students' accounts of people with whom they identify, this paper explores discourses of idealization, defined as aggrandizing a person, and of admiration, which means discussing positive as well as negative and neutral characteristics of a person. It is shown, first, that most male and female MBA students idealized the self-made ‘authentic’ CEO or founder of an organization and, second, that women mainly admired other women through naming their positive, neutral and negative attributes. The paper thereby adds to understanding of how gendered identification processes are structured by idealization and admiration

Are celebrity women executives good role models for women?

The confidence, control and courage they prescribe are not enough to bring women to top leadership roles, write Maria Adamson and Elisabeth Kelan