Title: Gendernorms in transition – a road to gender equality? A study of how men’s construction of masculinity and femininity affects attitudes towards equality in workplaces dominated by men.
Authors: Hanna Bark, Markus Gatier och Linda Sandström
Advisor: Marie Aurell Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology
Course: Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge and understanding of how men construct gender in male-dominated workplaces, and how this gender construction affects these men’s attitudes towards equal workplaces.
Method: To achieve the purpose of the study, we have chosen to use a qualitative method where empirical data were gathered through conversation with men working in male-dominated workplaces. Suitable respondents were derived by a convenience sample, a sample where respondents were picked from a circle of our own acquaintances. Regarding the question of how men construct gender, the empirical data were analyzed through the lens of our theoretical framework, while the question of how the gender construction of these men can be linked to attitudes towards equal workplaces have been analyzed freely by examining given data.
Results: This study has shown that men in male-dominated workplaces construct masculinity- and femininity norms out of each other opposites. The construction is made through some form of linguistic comparison as well as direct links towards what is considered to be masculine and feminine. A clear pattern is that strength is primarily linked to masculinity and sensitivity is primarily linked to femininity. Furthermore, the study has shown that the construction of one’s own masculinity is made both through comparing with other men, and also through a reconfiguration of the constructed masculinity norm. Regarding the later, it appears that the current norm of masculinity is considered to be inadequate, and that’s why it is reconfigured so that the definition of one’s own masculinity becomes a wider definition of the current norm of masculinity. The study has shown that the further to the left men is located in the scale of masculinity “rebellious – heroic/normal – heroic”, the greater the will and awareness these men possess to reconfigure norms of masculinity by adding what is normally considered to be feminine. Finally the study has shown that different kinds of masculinities affect attitudes towards equality. The study shows that the further to the left in the scale of masculinity “rebellious – heroic/normal – heroic” a man finds himself, it is more likely to exist attitudes that includes changing/challenging the current masculinity norm of the workplace, and all the more likely these attitudes can be considered to be system-changing attitudes of equality.