Performing Gender at Work Ismail Amla, Partner and Human Capital & Diversity Lead, Accenture Elisabeth Kelan brings a fresh perspective to an age-old issue, which is impacting all businesses today. How – in a world of changing demographics, employee expectations and business need – do we leverage the potential of the full workforce so that diversity of gender provides distinctiveness and com- petitive advantage? Kelan provides some insight supported by robust empirical evidence. A great tool for professionals looking at developing a Human Capital Strategy that will stand the tests of the coming decade. Silvia Gherardi, for of , University of Trento This passionate book takes a look at the rapidly changing relationship between gender and technology. It is a must read for those who want to learn more about what it means to perform gender and to be performed by gender at work. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, President, Center for Work Life Policy A strongly motivated, compelling piece of research. Elisabeth Kelan challenges us to think about the ways in which the evolving economy shapes new gender inequities. Her eye popping investigation into how gender progress lags as tech- nology expands is a must read. Susan Vinnicombe, OBE, Professor and Director of the International Centre for Women Leaders, Cranfield University This book challenges the gendered nature of ICT work and is based on studies of two companies in Switzerland. Scholars of gender will welcome Elisabeth Kelan’s insightful reflections. The author should be congratulated on producing such a well written and engaging book. Judy Wajcman, Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics Technology, the economy and gender relations are at a critical juncture of transformation. This book provides a major and original contribution to grasp- ing the mechanisms involved by treating gender as a performance. It is a compel- ling read for anyone interested in the gender relations of the digital economy. Performing Gender at Work

Elisabeth Kelan Lecturer in Work and Organisations Department of , King’s College London © Elisabeth Kelan 2009 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-57781-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the , Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-36745-0 ISBN 978-0-230-24449-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230244498 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 To my grandfathers, Dr. med. Fahri Keçeciog˘lu and Herbert Wehrmann, who maintained a keen interest in new technologies throughout their lives This page intentionally left blank Contents

Acknowledgements viii

1 Introduction 1 2 Changes at Work and in Gender Relations 11 3 Theorising Performing Gender 40 4 Ideal Workers, Ideal Gender 70 5 Performing Gendered Work Biographies 107 6 Gender as an Ideological Dilemma 145 7 Conclusions 182

Appendix 1: Participants 189 Appendix 2: Studying Gender as Performance 190 Appendix 3: Transcription System 211

Notes 212 References 218 Index 249

vii Acknowledgements

Many people have helped me to research this book. First of all, I thank Rosalind Gill for her continuing guidance and support over the past years and for encouraging me to think through the topics explored in this book. Judy Wajcman sparked my interest in gender and technology, and without her I would not have written a book on this topic. Margaret Wetherell and Flis Henwood provided valuable feedback on my work for which I am grateful. I thank Andrea Maihofer, Julia Nentwich, Therese Steffen, the participants in the ‘Graduierten Kollegien’ Gender Studies in Switzerland, the research students and staff of the Gender Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science and various sem- inar and conference participants for the inspiring conversations on my research. I thank Barbara Schultes-Glatz for helping me with the interview transcription and Hazel Johnstone and Ralph Kinnear for their help with editing the manuscript. Thanks also to Virginia Thorp from Palgrave, who was fantastic in guiding me through publishing my first book. I wrote the book while working as a senior research fellow in the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business at the . I am very grateful to have been part of this wonderful team. I learnt so much about doing and communicating research from Lynda Gratton, Lamia Walker, Enid Silverstone, Katharine Buckley, Ellen Miller, Rachel Dunkley Jones, Alice Mah and David Lane. Thanks to all of you for your professional support and friendship. This research would not have been possible without the financial sup- port of the following institutions: the ‘Graduierten Kolleg’ Knowledge Society and Gender Relations at the University of Zurich, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Gender Caucus of the UN World Summit on the Information Society, the Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust, a Metcalfe studentship and an LSE research studentship. Parts of this book have previously been published in academic jour- nals and edited books. I am indebted to Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, Sage and the Idea Group for allowing me to re-use work published in their journals and books. This work includes:

Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2007), ‘ “I Don’t Know Why”: Accounting for the Scarcity of Women in ICT Work’, Women’s Studies International Forum, 30:6, 499–511.

viii Acknowledgements ix

Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2007), ‘Tools and Toys: Communicating Gendered Positions towards Technology’, Information, Communication & Society, 10:3, 357–382. Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2008), ‘Emotions in a Rational Profession: The Gendering of Skills in ICT Work’, Gender, Work & , 15:1, 49–71. Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2008), ‘Gender, Risk and Employment Insecurity: The Masculine Breadwinner Subtext’, Human Relations, 61:9, 1171–1202. Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2008), ‘Self-Entrepreneurial Careers: Current Management Practices in Swiss ICT Work’, in Dariusz Jemielniak and Jerzy Kociatkiewicz (eds.), Management Practices in High Tech Environments (pp. 283–297) (Hershey, PA: Idea Group). Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2009), ‘Gender Fatigue: The Ideological Dilemma of Gender Neutrality and Discrimination in Organisations’, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences (forthcoming). Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2010), ‘The Binary Logic: Un/Doing Gender at Work’, Gender, Work & Organization (forthcoming).

My family supported and encouraged me throughout the research and writing process. Thanks to Susanne, Deniz, Beate and Michael. I would also like to thank my fantastic yoga teachers for inspiring my practice and helping me to understand how a union of opposites can be achieved. Thanks to Cathy Underwood, Colin Davies, Yogi Hari and Shiva Rea. A special thanks to all the people who were willing to share their work and lives with me. Without them it would have been impossible to write this book.