Who needs to be “more equal” and why? Doing gender equality in male-dominated industries

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-353
Author(s):  
Lisa Ringblom ◽  
Maria Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Doing Gender ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Industrial Organizations ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Problem Formulations

PurposeThis study aims to deepen the understanding of inequality regimes in male-dominated industries, specifically in Swedish forestry and mining, by exploring how conceptions of gender, class and place are articulated and intertwined when doing gender equality in these organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe article draws on empirical material from four research and development projects inspired by a feminist action research methodology.FindingsThis paper shows how gender equality works in these male-dominated organizations simultaneously constructing gender, class and place. When men are at the focal point of gender equality, our empirical findings suggest that blue-collar workers in rural areas are described as “being the problem” for gender inequality in these organizations. Addressing specific groups such as women or blue-collar workers in rural areas is not enough to challenge the inequality regimes that exist in these organizations, since a unilateral focus on certain groups leads to skewed problem formulations.Originality/valueResearch on gender equality work and its relation to intersectionality in male-dominated industries is limited, and by focusing on men and masculinities, this paper contributes to knowledge concerning gender equality in male-dominated industrial organizations.

Swedish study shows how managers in forestry and mining industries blame gender inequality on male, blue-collar workers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Workplace Relations ◽  
Gender Patterns ◽  
And Gender

Purpose In previous studies of the subject women had received more attention as both the problem and solution. Instead, the authors wanted to focus on how power relations of gender, class and place all have a role to play in how the problem is “constructed.” Design/methodology/approach They used material from four previous research projects in the same industries as a point of departure. The first project examined gender equality in four forestry work organizations. The second project analyzed existing methods for increasing gender equality in forestry organizations. The aim of the third project was to examine gender patterns and equality initiatives in Nordic mining organizations. Finally, the fourth project merged theory concerning industrial workplace relations with gender theory and knowledge about gender equality interventions. Findings The data revealed that gender, class and place are powerful intersecting forces when it comes to “constructing” gender equality in male-dominated industries. Company managers formulating policies tended to blame gender inequality on groups of male, blue-collar workers who represented ‘uneducated’ masculinity in a rural context. Originality/value Framing the issue of gender inequality as a problem of rural, blue-collar masculinity risked reinforcing class-based and place-based inequalities in forestry and mining. Therefore, bringing these exclusionary norms into light helped to broaden the discussion. Instead, companies should focus more on the structures and daily practices embedded in their organizations. From a research point of view, the study had a lot of lessons about challenging organizational inequalities. Meanwhile, from an organizational perspective, a heightened awareness of the interrelated power relations of class, place and gender could help sharpen processes for change.

scholarly journals Skill formation, automation and governance: comparing German and Korean automotive manufacturers in Central-Eastern Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Krzywdzinski ◽  
Hyung Je Jo
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Product Launch ◽  
Skill Formation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Hrm Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Building on neo-institutionalism models of the transfer of human resource management (HRM) practices within multinational companies, this paper aims to analyze the transfer of skill formation concepts using the cases of two automotive OEMs in Slovakia. The purpose of the paper is twofold. First, it aims to explain the differences between the two multinationals. Second, it builds on the empirical analysis to reconsider the neo-institutionalist theoretical framework. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on two qualitative case studies of automotive multinationals in Slovakia. The home country locations of both companies represent different approaches to skill formation: systematic vocational education for blue-collar workers is regarded as crucial at the German manufacturer, while the Korean company relies mainly on on-the-job-training and puts much less emphasis on skilled blue-collar work. Findings The paper shows that the differences between the companies are related to different understandings of technology/automation. It argues that the increasing automation and the decentralization of responsibilities for the product-launch processes supported the transfer of German skill formation concepts to the plant in Slovakia, while the Korean manufacturer’s specific engineering-led automation concept and centralization of product launch responsibilities in its Korean headquarters reduced the need to invest in skill formation for blue collars abroad. The paper concludes that theories of the transfer of HRM practices within multinationals must include technological factors and must also develop more specific concepts of the centralization of multinationals. Originality/value The paper is to the knowledge the first to include technology as a core variable into the neo-institutionalist theory in the field of international business and HRM. While the relationship between technology and organization has gained huge prominence in the recent discussions about digitalization, it has been so far neglected by scholars of international business.

Active entrepreneurs and blue-collar workers. Cultural understandings mirrored in European youth unemployment policies

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 559-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Grimmer ◽  
Jennifer Hobbins
Keyword(s):  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
European Union Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
The One

Purpose – With a particular focus on cultural understandings and the concepts behind welfare policies, the purpose of this paper is to analyse commonalities and dissimilarities in the patterns of social policy, and more precisely youth unemployment policies, in Sweden and Germany. Design/methodology/approach – A document analysis of Swedish and German youth unemployment policies was conducted with regard to how the two welfare regimes’ policies define the underlying problem, the instruments through which this problem is tackled, and the aim of youth activation policies. Findings – The findings show congruency concerning the definitions of the problem of youth unemployment, in which the unemployed are regarded as lacking in discipline, as well as in the policies through which the problem is tackled: through conditionality and pastoral power as policy tools. The solution of the problem on the other hand, found in the notion of the ideal worker to be produced, diverges between active entrepreneurs in one country, and blue-collar workers in the other. The authors conclude that the introduction of supranational policy concepts is not a matter of mere implementation, and that concepts like activation are reinterpreted according to differing cultural ideologies and accommodated into the context of particular welfare states. Originality/value – This paper provides an innovative framework for the understanding of the influence of cultural understandings on policy making, but also on challenges facing activation governance on the one hand and European Union policy initiatives and transnational policy diffusion on the other.

What does work mean to your workers?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Hr Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Talk of blue-collar and white-collar workers will seem faintly outdated for many HR managers. For some, blue-collar workers will conjure up images from the 1970s and 1980s of striking mineworkers, some of the terrible conditions in steel works or in car factories in the pre-robot era. And as for white-collar workers, again this term seems a little anachronistic, albeit it has recently been adopted when referring to computerized “white-collar” crime. And as for pink-collar workers, this surely was left for dead in the 1970s along with bell-bottom flares and male perms. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Blue-collar workers, career success and innovation in manufacturing

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 529-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Cillo ◽  
Alexeis Garcia-Perez ◽  
Manlio Del Giudice ◽  
Francesca Vicentini
Keyword(s):  
Career Success ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between employees’ knowledge and organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 237 blue-collar workers from multinational high-tech manufacturing enterprises in Italy was studied to understand, from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the role of soft skills in the career success of production workers. Findings The results of the analysis indicate a positive relationship between workers’ commitment to develop their soft skills and their career success, as well as a positive relationship between an organisation’s approach to both knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation and the prospects for career success of blue-collar workers. Research limitations/implications The research has both theoretical and practical implications, as any efforts by researchers and practitioners to find effective ways to motivate the workforce will be likely to lead to a positive attitude towards learning and, ultimately, to improved business performance. Originality/value The originality of the paper is the focus on the personality and interpersonal attributes of workforce – blue-collar workers – and how they can affect business performance in highly innovative contexts.

Learning to become an academic in an SME

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
University Education ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Willingness To Change

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how an academic graduate from the cross field between the humanities and the social sciences and blue-collar workers learns to scaffold knowing in a small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME).Design/methodology/approachA case study was conducted in an SME that employed the first academic graduate among the company’s blue-collar workers. The paper applies a practice-oriented theoretical framework to study scaffolding knowing among the workers.FindingsAn academic graduate does not necessarily apply subject-specific knowledge from his or her university education in the SME practice. Rather, general academic knowing and academic work practice is applied when scaffolding knowing in the SME. Further, this depends not only on the knowing of the academic graduate but also on his/her ability to apply knowing and the willingness to change in practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is a single case study gaining in-depth insights into one particular case. This calls for more research.Practical implicationsThe study points at the importance for managers and academic graduates in SMEs to foster learning activities and to be aware of and develop ways to integrate the general academic knowing.Originality/valueThe case study provides new insights into the concept of scaffolding knowing in practice theory. Further, it gains unique insights into the practical possibility of employing graduates from higher education in SMEs.

Psychometric evaluation of the “Men's Polarized Gender Thinking Questionnaire (MPGQ)”

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodil Bergman ◽  
Pernilla Larsman ◽  
Jesper Löve
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Psychometric Testing ◽  
Psychometric Evaluation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Testing Procedures ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Gender Based

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a new measure of gender equality at male-dominated workplaces, allowing quantitative analyses of men's beliefs about gender-based inequality at work. Design/methodology/approach – The present paper examines a questionnaire developed from qualitative interviews based on grounded theory methodology and designed to assess men's beliefs about gender inequality. A 23-item version of the Men's Polarized Gender Thinking Questionnaire (MPGQ) was completed by a sample of 220 men from three different male-dominated organizations in Sweden. Recommended psychometric testing procedures were conducted. Findings – Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-factor model of male attitudes to gender-based inequality: different views on success, stereotypical gender roles – different jargons, benevolent sexism, conscious of gender order, conscious of the male norm system and strategies for gender equality at work. The final model showed acceptable fit to data. All six factors were positively intercorrelated. Practical implications – It was concluded that the MPGQ provides a useful tool for further studies of men's sometimes polarized views of gender equality in male-dominated workplaces. Hence, MPGQ may allow researchers and practitioners to go deeper in their understanding of persistent and often hidden gender-based inequality at work. Originality/value – Equality plans are difficult to fulfill if people do not know on which subtle mechanisms the concept gender-based inequality is founded. The MPGQ illustrates how they are manifested at a specific workplace. Because of the scarcity of this type of workplace measures, this study may make a contribution of concern to the literature. By measuring these sometimes polarized beliefs, management strategies aiming at decreasing barriers to gender equality at work could become more accurate and efficient.

Time has come to close more Polish coal mines

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Coal Industry ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Election Cycle ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Coal Miner ◽  
Imminent Threat ◽  
The Eu

Significance Efforts to tackle financial problems at state-owned coal miner Polska Grupa Gornicza (PGG) were deferred during the two-year election cycle which ended in July. PGG faces the imminent threat of insolvency unless it agrees to major restructuring. Impacts Coal mine closures in Upper Silesia will increase unemployment in the region but other firms may come in that require blue-collar workers. PGG restructuring will cut into regional support for PiS in the long term, possibly with a decisive effect on the 2023 local elections. The EU will maintain its pressure on the Polish coal industry, seeking further closures and the phasing out of coal power.

Modeling the impact of employee engagement and happiness on burnout and turnover intention among blue-collar workers at a manufacturing company

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nivethitha Santhanam ◽  
Sharan Srinivas
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Manufacturing Facilities ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of engagement on job burnout and turnover intention (plan to leave the organization) among blue-collar workers in manufacturing facilities. In addition, this study also explores the role of happiness as a moderator in explaining the effect of engagement on burnout and turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach The data required to examine the hypothesis were collected using well-established research instruments from 1,197 blue-collar employees working at three manufacturing facilities that are owned and operated by the same company in India. The hypotheses were examined and the conceptual model was validated using structural equation modeling. The statistical analyses were conducted using two statistical packages, namely, SPSS and SPSS–AMOS. Findings The results indicate that a disengaged employee is at higher risk of burnout and is likely to leave the organization in the near future. Furthermore, employee burnout was positively associated with turnover intentions. Happiness was established as a significant moderating factor in the relationship between employee engagement and burnout and turnover intention. Besides, the prevalence of happiness and turnover intention was higher in males. Practical implications The results showed the importance of engagement and happiness on reducing burnout and turnover intention. Organizations could capitalize on these findings by implementing new and improving their existing quality management initiatives, which, in turn, could improve the employee’s organizational commitment. Originality/value This study contributes to the industry and academia by exploring the perceptions of working-class, blue-collar employees, which has received limited attention till date, despite specific negative job characteristics.

Marginalized by race and place

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 747-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Parashar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
African Women ◽  
Sex Segregation ◽  
Occupational Sex Segregation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Male Dominated

Purpose – Given South Africa's apartheid history, studies have primarily focused on racial discrimination in employment outcomes, with lesser attention paid to gender and context. The purpose of this paper is to fill an important gap by examining the combined effect of macro- and micro-level factors on occupational sex segregation in post-apartheid South Africa. Intersections by race are also explored. Design/methodology/approach – A multilevel multinomial logistic regression is used to examine the influence of various supply and demand variables on women's placement in white- and blue-collar male-dominated occupations. Data from the 2001 Census and other published sources are used, with women nested in magisterial districts. Findings – Demand-side results indicate that service sector specialization augments differentiation by increasing women's opportunities in both white-collar male- and female-dominated occupations. Contrary to expectations, urban residence does not influence women's, particularly African women's, placement in any male-type positions, although Whites (white-collar) and Coloureds (blue-collar) fare better. Supply side human capital models are supported in general with African women receiving higher returns from education relative to others, although theories of “maternal incompatibility” are partially disproved. Finally, among all racial groups, African women are least likely to be employed in any male-dominated occupations, highlighting their marginalization and sustained discrimination in the labour market. Practical implications – An analysis of women's placement in white- and blue-collar male-dominated occupations by race provides practical information to design equitable work policies by gender and race. Social implications – Sex-typing of occupations has deleterious consequences such as lower security, wage differentials, and fewer prospects for promotion, that in turn increase labour market rigidity, reduce economic efficiency, and bar women from reaching their full potential. Originality/value – Very few empirical studies have examined occupational sex segregation (using detailed three-digit data) in developing countries, including South Africa. Methodologically, the paper uses multilevel techniques to correctly estimate ways in which context influences individual outcomes. Finally, it contributes to the literature on intersectionality by examining how gender and race sustain systems of inequality.

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