The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations

The issue of gender in organizations has attracted much attention and debate over a number of years. The focus of examination is inequality of opportunity between the genders and the impact this has on organizations, individual men and women, and society as a whole. It is undoubtedly the case that progress has been made with women participating in organizational life in greater numbers and at more senior levels than has been historically the case, challenging notions that senior and/or influential organizational and political roles remain a masculine domain. The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations is a comprehensive analysis of thinking and research on gender in organizations with original contributions from key international scholars in the field.

The Handbook comprises four sections. The first looks at the theoretical roots and potential for theoretical development in respect of the topic of gender in organizations. The second section focuses on leadership and management and the gender issues arising in this field; contributors review the extensive literature and reflect on progress made as well as commenting on hurdles yet to be overcome. The third section considers the gendered nature of careers. Here the focus is on querying traditional approaches to career, surfacing embedded assumptions within traditional approaches, and assessing potential for alternative patterns to evolve, taking into account the nature of women’s lives and the changing nature of organizations. In its final section the Handbook examines masculinity in organizations to assess the diversity of masculinities evident within organizations and the challenges posed to those outside the norm.

In bringing together a broad range of research and thinking on gender in organizations across a number of disciplines, sub-disciplines, and conceptual perspectives, the Handbook provides a comprehensive view of both contemporary thinking and future research directions.

Savita Kumra, Senior Lecturer, Brunel Business School, Ruth Simpson, Professor of Management, Brunel University, Ronald J. Burke, Emeritus Professor of Organizational Studies, Schulich School of Business, York University

Dr Savita Kumra is a Senior Lecturer at Brunel Business School. Savita completed her doctorate at Cranfield School of Management where she is a Visiting Fellow in the Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders. Savita is also International Research Fellow in the Novak Druce Centre for Professional Services at the Said Business School, University of Oxford. She has published in British Journal of Management, Gender, Work and Organization, Journal of Business Ethics and Gender in Management: An International Journal. She has recently published her first book, co-authored with Dr. Simonetta Manfredi, Equality and Diversity Management: Theory and Practice, published by Oxford University Press.

Ruth Simpson is a Professor of Management at Brunel Business School, UK. She has published widely in the area of gender and management, gender and emotions and gender and careers. Recent books include Men in Caring Occupations: Doing Gender Differently; Gendering Emotions in Organizations; Revealingand Concealing Gender in Organizations; Dirty Work: Concepts and Identities; and Emotions in Transmigration.

Ronald Burke is Professor Emeritus of Organizational Studies, Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto. He is the editor or co-editor of 41 books and has published numerous articles and book chapters. The founding editor of the Canadian Journal of Administrative Studies, he has served on the editorial boards of over 20 journals. His current research interests include work and health, corporate reputation, human frailties in the workplace, and women in management. He has served as Associate dean-Research, head of the Doctoral Program, Research Committee and Organizational Studies area at Schulich.