Beyond Gendered Universities? Implications for Research on Gender in Organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the extent to which Acker’s (1990) concept of gendered organizations frames extant scholarship and to explore the implications of using this framework to address gender inequities in organizational life, and particularly in academe. Through a systematic analysis of articles, we found that while Acker’s work is highly cited, few studies use Acker’s theory as it was originally intended. We also identified limitations of Acker’s theory as well as the ways in which scholars have applied it in their own work. We argue the need for scholars who are informed by Acker to engage with all aspects of her theory and push it in new directions. We also challenge scholars of gender and organizations to integrate multiple, and perhaps more complicated, frameworks in order to understand academe in more nuanced ways and to generate new ideas to enhance social justice.