Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives
This paper places respectable femininity at the very centre of career enactment. In the accounts of 24 Sri Lankan women, notions of being a ‘respectable’ woman recurred as respondents described how important it was to adhere to the powerful behavioural norms for women in their organizations and soci...
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2013
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2816/ |
| _version_ | 1848790883123593216 |
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| author | Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda Cohen, Laurie |
| author_facet | Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda Cohen, Laurie |
| author_sort | Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper places respectable femininity at the very centre of career enactment. In the accounts of 24 Sri Lankan women, notions of being a ‘respectable’ woman recurred as respondents described how important it was to adhere to the powerful behavioural norms for women in their organizations and society. However while such respectability was vital for women's career progression, it ultimately restricted their agency and conflicted with other requirements for advancement. Based on our empirical findings, we propose that being a respectable woman was experienced as paradox, where at times it was seen as impossible to be both a good woman and a successful careerist. We highlight the implications of our findings for women's careers in South Asia and more widely. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-2816 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:41Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-28162020-05-04T16:36:59Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2816/ Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda Cohen, Laurie This paper places respectable femininity at the very centre of career enactment. In the accounts of 24 Sri Lankan women, notions of being a ‘respectable’ woman recurred as respondents described how important it was to adhere to the powerful behavioural norms for women in their organizations and society. However while such respectability was vital for women's career progression, it ultimately restricted their agency and conflicted with other requirements for advancement. Based on our empirical findings, we propose that being a respectable woman was experienced as paradox, where at times it was seen as impossible to be both a good woman and a successful careerist. We highlight the implications of our findings for women's careers in South Asia and more widely. Wiley 2013-05-14 Article PeerReviewed Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda and Cohen, Laurie (2013) Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives. Gender, Work & Organization, 21 (2). pp. 149-164. ISSN 0968-6673 Respectable femininity Gender Career Gendered organization Paradox http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12027/abstract doi:10.1111/gwao.12027 doi:10.1111/gwao.12027 |
| spellingShingle | Respectable femininity Gender Career Gendered organization Paradox Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda Cohen, Laurie Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title | Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title_full | Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title_fullStr | Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title_short | Respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| title_sort | respectable femininity and career agency: exploring paradoxical imperatives |
| topic | Respectable femininity Gender Career Gendered organization Paradox |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2816/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2816/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2816/ |