Gender, Power and Organization ─ A Psychological Perspective on Life at Work

Work organisations are a major site of gender politics for professional women and men and although there are more women in senior positions than ever before, these increased opportunities have not been gained without psychological consequences. Rather than catalogue the barriers to women's success, Paula Nicholson examines the problems they can face as a result. She explores the ways that patriarchal structures resist women's progress, and how male success has psychological implications for women's sense of subjectivity, self-esteem and gender identity, and how achieving against such odds has an impact on women's everyday lives.

This fully updated and revised edition re-examines the picture nearly 20 years on from the original publication: in today's world there are far more women entering the workplace with many taking senior positions across public, private and third sector organisations, but issues remain about women’s experiences of leadership on all levels. Evidence suggests that the ‘battle’ for gender equality in organisations has not been won but has instead been buried in the rhetoric which points to the greater numbers of women CEOs, professors, business leaders. The dominant discourses generally fail to examine top women’sexperiences and the high levels of stress they have to endure. They also fail to focus on men’s experiences of working with more women and women in senior positions, frequently senior to them. This has psychological implications for all involved as well as the system they are working within.

Research evidence on bullying at work – who are the perpetrators, its form and its targets - has developed considerably since the first edition and there are clear gender/power issues that have emerged in the subsequent evidence base. There has also been recent exposure of women’s experience of sexual harassment and sexual abuse in organisations that have turned a blind eye to the actions of senior and influential men and the consequences for the mental health of women and men. All this body of knowledge and debate has added to the field of gender and power in organizations.

Evidence-based and theoretically driven, the new edition of Gender, Power and Organization raises important questions about gender and power in the workplace and the psychology of women’s advancement. Using examples from recent research and the author's own consultancy work, it offers an accessible survey of the subject for professional managers and students of leadership, psychology, management, sociology, gender and women’s studies.