From Biological Clocks to Unspeakable Inequalities: The Intersectional Positioning of Young Professionals
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12062 |
| Published date | 01 October 2014 |
| Author | Elisabeth K. Kelan |
| Date | 01 October 2014 |
From Biological Clocks to Unspeakable
Inequalities: The Intersectional Positioning
of Young Professionals
Elisabeth K. Kelan
Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, England, UK
Email: elisabeth.kelan@cranfield.ac.uk
The article examines how gender and age influence the experience of being a professional
by drawing on intersectionality as an act of positioning for which different discursive
resources are employed. Through interviews with employees at two professional services
firms, it is shown how younger men and women make sense of professional experiences.
First, the biological clock is used to explain the divergence of career patterns of men and
women while ignoring that all women, regardless of actual maternal status, suffer a
maternity penalty. Second, individual strategies for overcoming being in a minority are
suggested that indicate that the individual rather than societal structures shape chances
of success. Finally, generational change is used to argue that gender inequality belongs
to a previous generation, which indicates that inequality is becoming unspeakable. The
article shows that young professionals position themselves in unique ways with regard to
age and gender, which entails emphasizing individual agency over systemic inequalities.
Introduction
The concept of intersectionality has refined a
static conception of gender (Cho, Crenshaw
and McCall, 2013; Davis, 2008; Kamenou, 2007;
Staunæs, 2003; Yuval-Davis, 2006). Intersection-
ality draws attention to the fact that women’s
experiences are not uniform but instead are poly-
morphous and asymmetric. Differentiators
such as race, class and age position women in
different ways in relation to their access to
power and resources and structure their experi-
ences (McCall, 2005; Walby, Armstrong and
Strid, 2012). Specific intersections between these
differentiators shape how inequality manifests
itself.
Professional organizations are central settings
where the intersectionality of differentiators leads
to a unique positioning. Black and ethnic minor-
ity women and women from lower social classes
often struggle to enter professional organizations
(Duffy, 2005; Essers and Benschop, 2007) while
white middle class women have the right cultural
and social capital to enter professional organiza-
tions but the masculine dominated structures of
those organizations make it difficult for them to
advance (Kumra and Vinnicombe, 2008). Schol-
arship in this area has contributed vivid analyses
of how women are positioned and disadvantaged
due to their differences (Acker, 2000, 2006;
Boogaard and Roggeband, 2010; Crenshaw,
1991; Duffy, 2005; Essers and Benschop, 2007,
2009; Hartmann, 1981; Harvey, 2005; Hill
The research was financially supported by the research
consortium on Generation Y convened by the Lehman
Brothers Centre for Women in Business at London Busi-
ness School. The consortium included the following
partner companies: Accenture (Founding Partner), Allen
& Overy, Barclaycard Business, Baxter International,
Cargill, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and KPMG. I would
like to thank Alice Mah for helping to conduct the inter-
views and Scarlett Brown for editing the article. Thanks
also to the associate editor, Stella Nkomo, and the
anonymous reviewers for their patient guidance.
bs_bs_banner
British Journal of Management, Vol. 25, 790–804 (2014)
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12062
© 2014 British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4
2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.
To continue reading
Request your trial