Suchergebnisse

Tackles the assumptions surrounding the family as a changing institution and supposed haven from the public sphere of life. This book considers families and social change in terms of concepts of power, inequality, gender, generations, sexuality and ethnicity. It charts social and economic changes and their impact on the family, and more

The suffering caused by violence is senseless, persistent and demoralizing (Gordimer, 2003). For perpetrators there is the hollowness of holding power over others, a power that illustrates the fragility of their situation (Card, 2002; Mason, 2002). Yet despite the obvious relevance to sociology, violence in everyday and intimate practices has not been a central concern for sociological theory (Hearn, 1998; Ray, 2000). This may reflect the 'taken for grantedness of violence', the hierarchical and gendered nature of sociological work, especially on theory, combined with an earlier marginalization of gender, ethnicity and age. In this paper I draw upon the work of Midgley (2003) and her definition of 'myths' to offer an over-arching analysis of the images and ideas that surround and imbue sociological work on violence. Highlighting the barriers evident in, and recreated through, the sociological analysis of violence, the paper explores the challenges for sociology. A review of the tendency to atomistic approaches in sociological analysis and explanation reaffirms the need for theoretical pluralism in social sciences on the topic of violence (Eagleton, 2003).

In this article I adopt the concept of `rhetorical spaces' as a tool for exploring the creation of dialogues between stakeholders that can enhance realistic participation by communities. It is argued that evaluation research can be imbued with a `code of presentation' that renders input from community participants to be unspoken, unheard or dismissed. Without an understanding and appreciation of the myriad processes of participation by communities, evaluation research cannot adequately reflect the heterogeneity of experiences for communities, researchers and funders. To develop these arguments I draw upon a case study of the development and dissemination of an evaluation resource for community groups. In conclusion, I reflect upon the potential for a realistic pragmatism to inform and support the development of participation in the evaluation of community work.

In this article, we present an analysis of data from four focus groups conducted in Finland and Scotland with women in managerial roles from a range of employment sectors. Increasing longevity has led to burgeoning care needs while necessitating more years in the workplace given financial challenges and career aspirations. We conclude that gendered presumptions about caring, and flexible working, remain prevalent and impact on the life and career courses of women managers. The article contributes to the literature and debates on the ebbs and flows of caring and working across women's lives.

Exploring scholarship in reciprocity, gift and gendered social capital, and drawing upon research and analysis across 15 years (2003–2018), this article offers fresh theoretical insights into everyday practices of low-paid women with care responsibilities. Framing women's pragmatic mutuality in confronting precarity in their care arrangements, we propose the concept of 'Care Accounts', articulating a practice of collaborative workplace problem solving. Women lodge and generate good will with colleagues by swapping or extending their shifts to cover for each other; generating capacity and continuity of care across unexpected family events or crises. Systems of reciprocal workplace mutuality – care/work micro-networks – build as women pool their capacity to respond. We highlight, however, an ensnarement effect of Care Accounts, as they further lock women into low paid jobs. We suggest priority attention must be given to the prevalence and urgency of 'care-precarity' and the dereliction in care planning that Care Accounts reveal.

This chapter considers the impact of age together with gender in the working life and career development of early to mid-career women managers. The authors' analysis of interview data with women managers in Finland and Scotland/United Kingdom found that direct and indirect discrimination intersected across women's ages and employment sectors, with similar experiences in both countries. Although many organisations profess to be working towards diversity in the workforce, women were regularly dealing with discrimination, based upon their age and gender. Issues included being a woman supervising men, to potentially becoming pregnant, taking maternity leave, becoming a career, and reconciling domestic, family and working life. The day-to-day and longer-term experiences of early to mid-career women are often ignored, taken for granted or considered to be addressed through human resources policies. Thus, in addition to existing legislation and national and organisational policies, there is a need for transparency in pay and in terms of the issues presenting challenges for women's careers. ; Peer reviewed

Purpose
The authors report on research with women managers, documenting their strategies in response to gendered and sexualised working life. The paper aims to offer a conceptual framework and suggest ways in which employing organisations and workers might recognise and address the myriad forms of discrimination.


Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design was pursued with 15 one-to-one interviews and two focus groups involving 12 women managers aged from their 30s to 60s. Data were collected in Finland. Women were recruited through business networks. Participants worked in a range of private sector and voluntary sector organisations.


Findings
Finland is a country which enjoys an international reputation for gender equality, but across the data, women recounted numerous examples of how they navigate working life to manage sexualised and discriminatory encounters and comments. Women reported feeling under constant surveillance for their looks, dress and behaviours in and outside the workplace. Further, ageing brought with it challenges to remain energetic and youthful and enhance the image of the organisation.


Originality/value
Although a considerable body of research exists on (gendered) aesthetic labour at work in service and hospitality work, there are limited data on this in business and middle management. With an ageing workforce, and women continuing to encounter pressures with their physical appearance, behaviours and dress, they continually develop ways to negotiate their careers. The authors propose the concept of "MyManagement" as a self-technology to denote the ways how women manage workplace relationships, working life and career development as organisational practices remain gendered.

This is the first e-special issue for the journal Sociology and its chosen focus is the article 'The coming crisis of empirical sociology' by Savage and Burrows (2007). This article challenged sociologists with a variety of questions about the role, relevance and methodological opportunities for sociological research in the 21st century. On publication it stoked the already charged debates on a public sociology (Burawoy, 2004), the role of publicly funded research (ESRC, 2009) and relevance of sociological research in an age of burgeoning social media (Brewer and Hunter, 2006). This e-special provides a reprise of these debates and explores relevant papers in Sociology, as well as alerting readers to recurring themes and new directions on the topic of methods and social research.

This article explores the intersectionality of gender and age in work and careers of women managers. Interviews were conducted with women senior managers in two EU countries, namely Finland and Scotland. These countries have demographic and economic similarities, but there are differences in welfare regimes, economies and employment policies. Using the approach of biographical matching the article compares how women managers in these countries encounter gendered ageism in the different stages of their careers. Data illustrate the myriad ways in which women experience ageism and lookism. The conclusion reflects upon these processes of gendering management which persist across these two labour markets.

In this research note we critically consider the concept of 'care' both inside and around the workplace. Care, we assert, is ever-present in the workplace and evident in friendships and wider social relations. Moreover, many organisational policies and practices provide a framework within which caring may take place or be denied. 'Organisation carescapes' is introduced as a conceptual framework, which we argue can aid the identification and analysis of 'care' in employing organisations. Drawing on exploratory interviews, we discuss the implications these had on future stages of the research project in terms of our use of language and ways of conceptualising care at work. We explain how we operationalised the concept of care at work through the development of a questionnaire, which sought to map the care policies and services offered by a range of employing organisations. Furthermore, we discuss the appropriateness of the critical incident interview technique in uncovering the cultures and practices of care both in and around the workplace. Hence, through our conceptual and empirical research, we seek to bridge the sociologies of work and care.