The Language of Gendering: A Feminist Analysis of Gender Strategies Adopted by Women in Science Research Organisations in India

• In Event: Doing Science in Asia: Linkages and Tensions

Abstract

It is known and almost universally acknowledged that globally the presence of women in research fields in science is very low, especially at higher professional levels. It can be generalised that as one moves up the organisational hierarchy the number of women goes on diminishing. This bias, it appears transcends cultures, communities and economies -it is equally present in the US, Europe and even progressive Nordic nations. The purpose of this paper is to study how the perceived experiences of women in Indian science research organisations regarding barriers faced by them could be explained using the theories of gendered organisations (Acker, 1990) and gender strategies( Bird and Rhoton,2011) . Methodologically, the study is based on the life experiences of nine women respondents from different science institutions based in India. The study has used Lightfoot and Davis’ (1997) Portraiture methodology to construct in depth narratives based on life experiences of the respondents. Theories of gender organisations (Acker, 1990) and gender strategies (Bird and Rhoton, 2011) to analyse the language of the discourses. Analysis of the discourses produced in the narratives revealed subtle ways in which the respondents engaged in gender strategy practices under combined influence of the gendered organisation and patrifocal cultural context. It was found that gendered nature of discourses produced in the narratives could effectively be explained only by combining theories of gender strategies and gendered organisations, while taking into consideration the patrifocal cultural and social context.

Author

• Astha Jaiswal, Central University of Gujarat