Beyond tokenism: Breaking the men's circle for gender equality at male-dominated jobs

In Türkiye, various efforts are being undertaken by public, private sector, and civil society initiatives to ensure gender equality in the workplace. However, significant steps remain to achieve full equality between women and men. This study aims to understand the impacts of organizational gender equality efforts on employees. To achieve this, it examines a project implemented to increase women's employment in male-dominated professions and evaluates the outcomes generated by this initiative. In the study, participants were selected using a purposive sampling method, comprising women working in male-dominated occupations and operating heavy machinery, and focus group interviews were conducted. The data were subjected to constant comparative and content analysis. In the study, 133 expressions were grouped under 13 different codes, and these codes were evaluated under the themes of gender equalities, conflicts and organizational issues, and women's specific struggles. According to the research findings, the current situation of women employed to increase the proportion of women in male-dominated jobs within the scope of the organization's gender equality policies is explained by the phenomenon of tokenism. Furthermore, it was observed that participants experienced gender inequalities shaped by the traditional gender roles and attitudes of managers and male colleagues. These inequalities arise from insufficient regulation of key processes like training, promotion, and resource allocation, exacerbating women's workplace struggles. These organizational deficiencies are reinforced by sexist attitudes and manifest as a solidarity pattern among men, which we conceptualize in this study as the “men's circle,” exhibiting a high tendency towards normalization. In the conclusion, individual, organizational, and socio-cultural ways of breaking the men's circle that fosters tokenism are discussed.