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Degendering organizations?
The emergence of postfeminist
networks1
Degenerificando as organizações? A emergência das
redes pós-feministas
Pedro J. Coelho Júnior1, Edvalter B. Holz2, Raquel C. Sajonc3, and Audrey S. Hein4
1 FEI University Center (Centro Universitário FEI) and Higher School of Advertising and Market-
ing (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing – ESPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
2 Insper Institute of Education and Research (Insper Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa),
São Paulo, SP, Brazil
3 DOT Digital Group, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
4 FEI University Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Author notes
Pedro J. Coelho Júnior is now a professor at the Postgraduate Program in Administration and the
Department of Administration of FEI University and professor of Undergraduate courses in Social
Communication of the Higher School of Advertising and Marketing (ESPM); Edvalter B. Holz is now
an assistant professor II at the Department of Administration of Insper Institute of Education and
Research; Raquel C. Sajonc is now a senior tutor of long distance education at DOT Digital Group;
Audrey S. Hein is now a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Postgraduate Program in Administra-
tion of FEI University Center.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Pedro J. Coelho Júnior, Rua Tamandaré,
688, Liberdade, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, ZIP Code 01525-000. Email: pedrojaime@fei.edu.br
1 This study was financed in part by the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education
Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Capes) – finance code 001.
ISSN 1678-6971 (electronic version) • RAM, São Paulo, 23(3), eRAMG220022, 2022
Human and Social Management, https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eRAMG220022.en
Submitted: Feb. 25, 2020 | Approved: June 18, 2021
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Abstract
Purpose: This article aims to present an initial analysis of a new form of
collective action related to gender issues emerging in the Brazilian cor-
porate world. It is based on an empirical investigation through two net-
works of women executives that aim to encourage gender equity in
organizations. The analysis was structured based on the following
research question: What is the potential of these networks related to
gender equity led by executive women to degender organizations? The
findings help to understand the complexity of this phenomenon, with
its ambiguities and contradictions.
Originality/value: The originality of the article resides in the proposition
of the concept of postfeminist networks to understand this new form of
collective action for gender equity in the corporate environment. This
concept helps researchers in Organizations Studies better understand
moderate corporate feminism, reflecting and deflecting feminism.
Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research of exploratory
nature, whose investigation strategy was a multiple case study. Data col-
lection occurred in two stages: documentary, and interviews. The inter-
views were with ten executives who lead and act directly in the manage-
ment of two networks, both located in São Paulo, and aimed at increasing
the representation of women in leadership positions in business.
Findings: The results show crucial limitations of these networks. They
are related to a claimed distance from feminism and even a disdain for
the feminist movement. They also do not consider the intersections
between gender and other social markers of difference, such as race,
class, and sexuality. Despite these limitations, this experience cannot be
neglected. They represent a significant advance in individual strategies
that women undertake to occupy spaces in the corporate world and
those concerning affinity groups created by executive women within
each company. These advances are even more critical in a business envi-
ronment. There are typically very few women in upper management
positions, and where male leaders have done very little in encouraging
their presence in upper management.
Keywords: gender equity, degendering, executive women, post-
feminist, networks
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Resumo
Objetivo: Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma análise inicial de
uma nova forma de ação coletiva relacionada às questões de gênero que
surge no mundo empresarial brasileiro. É baseado em uma investigação
empírica em duas redes de mulheres executivas que atuam para incenti-
var a equidade de gênero nas organizações. A investigação foi estruturada
a partir da seguinte questão de pesquisa: Qual é o potencial dessas redes
relacionadas à equidade de gênero e lideradas por mulheres executivas
para degenerificar as organizações? Os resultados ajudam a compreender
a complexidade desse fenômeno, com suas ambiguidades e contradições.
Originalidade/valor: A originalidade do artigo reside na proposição do
conceito de redes pós-feministas para a compreensão dessa nova forma
de ação coletiva pela equidade de gênero no ambiente corporativo. Esse
conceito ajuda os pesquisadores em Estudos Organizacionais a aprofun-
darem a compreensão desse tipo de feminismo corporativo moderado,
que reflete e refrata o feminismo.
Design/metodologia/abordagem: Pesquisa exploratória de natureza qua-
litativa, cuja estratégia de investigação foi o estudo de casos múltiplos.
A coleta de dados ocorreu em duas etapas: documental e entrevistas
com dez executivas que lideram e atuam diretamente na gestão de duas
redes, ambas localizadas em São Paulo, e têm o objetivo de aumentar a
representatividade de mulheres em cargos de liderança nas empresas.
Resultados: Os resultados mostram limites importantes dessas redes.
Eles estão especialmente relacionados a um distanciamento reivindica-
do com o feminismo e até mesmo um desdém pelo movimento feminista
e também o fato de não considerarem as intersecções entre gênero e
outros marcadores sociais de diferença, como raça, classe e sexualidade.
Apesar desses limites, essa experiência não pode ser negligenciada, pois
representa um avanço importante em relação às estratégias individuais
que as mulheres empreendem para ocupar espaços no mundo corpora-
tivo, inclusive em relação aos grupos de afinidade criados por mulheres
executivas dentro de cada empresa. Esses avanços são ainda mais impor-
tantes em um ambiente de negócios, como o brasileiro, em que há pou-
cas mulheres em cargos de alta gestão no mundo corporativo e quase
nada tem sido feito por lideranças masculinas para estimular a presença
delas nessas posições.
Palavras-chave: equidade de gênero, degenerificando, mulheres
executivas, pós-feminismo, redes
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INTRODUCTION
Research on gender, and more specifically, on genderizing organizations
in the field of Organizational Studies, gained strength in the early 1990’s. It
can be characterized by two complementary approaches: 1. genderizing of
management and organizational knowledge; and 2. gendered organizations.
Calás and Smircich (1991), state that the authorial preponderance of men
has resulted in a predominance of masculine thinking in organizational
theories, including managerial functions. Furthermore, scholars of gendered
organizations have argued that the organizational structure is not neutral on
gender but constructed from masculinized assumptions.
Acker (1990) and Martin (1990), demonstrate that job description and
hierarchical positions are masculinized, which causes a woman’s ascension
to become difficult. From this perspective, genderizing organization occurs
from 1. behaviors allowed in certain types and levels of work; 2. symbols and
images that reinforce masculine predominance in language, dress codes,
press releases, etc. (Acker, 1990). It also occurs through male taboos, con-
cerning the female body, especially during pregnancy when a false dichoto-
my between the demands of private life and those of labor is reified through
discourses of “support” to pregnant women in organizations (Martin, 1990),
sometimes endorsed by women themselves, as pointed out by Brunstein and
Jaime (2009).
The Brazilian academic production on the subject can be characterized
mainly by the concern about constraints of the ascension in women’s careers
and the creation of pragmatic strategies for confronting this challenge. The
debate has focused on the proportional absence of women in top manage-
ment positions and/or collective actions made to reduce this inequality
(Andrade et al., 2014; Brunstein & Jaime, 2009; Jaime, 2011; Tonelli &
Andreassi, 2013). Among these strategies, women’s networks have arisen
as an essential way of articulation (Pinto, 2003; Brunstein & Jaime, 2009).
Although it has already been noted as an emerging strategy, little is written
about it in academic literature. Given the developing nature of these expe-
riences and their research, we led a case study through two networks located
in São Paulo that intend to encourage gender equity in organizations. The
focus of this study was to analyze the emergence of a new form of collective
action related to emerging gender issues in the Brazilian corporate world.
The study was built upon the question:
• What is the potential of these networks related to gender equity, led by
women executives, to degender organizations?
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The following sections look deeper into meaningful academic dialogues
about gender, degender, and feminism. Following that, we attempt to con-
textualize how collective action aimed at gender equity has become an area
of interest in the field of Organizational Studies. The methodological strategy
adopted in the research is explained, and the data collection and analysis are
examined. The findings are then presented and discussed. Subsequently, we
propose the concept of postfeminist network (PFN) as an emerging strategy
to promote gender equity in organizations. We argue that this strategy,
although ambiguous and contradictory, has the potential to degender organi-
zations. Finally, we consider this phenomenon to understand it better, inviting
researchers to examine its potential for degendering organizations.
GENDER, GENDERED, DEGENDERING, AND FEMINISM
The analysis of collective action aiming to promote gender equity in the
corporate world presented in this article starts with an initial understanding
of gender and other concepts derived from it, such as the terms: gendered and
degendering.
We started with some of the classical authors of gender theory, which
emerged in the 1980’s, in the wake of women’s studies that marked the
social sciences in the 1970’s (Casares, 2006). It can be said that there are
two primary efforts in this theory: 1. to denaturalize the behaviors considered
as masculine and as feminine, proving that they are socially constructed;
2. to emphasize the relational and structural character of gender, high-
lighting that it is not only a question of investigating how relationships
between men and women take place, but also to understand how they are
structured in terms of power dynamics.
Gaylin Rubin (2017) defines the sex/gender system as a set of concepts
by which biological sex is shaped by human social intervention. In turn,
Joan Scott (1986) highlighted that the idea of gender needs to be under-
stood as a constitutive element of social relations based on the differences
that distinguish the sexes and, simultaneously, as a form of power relations
between the sexes. Some explanations about this power relationship sug-
gest its universal character. Sherry Ortner (1979) and Michelle Rosaldo
(1979), denounced male domination, associating it with patriarchy and, in
most societies, being responsible for the greatest value associated with male
activities, which resulted in the establishment of barriers, and the exclusion
of women on decisive activities.
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However, this perspective was opposed to approaches, such as Moore’s
(1999, 2005), which, without denying the importance of analyzing gender
inequalities, emphasized the need to give up an “a priori” that can diminish
the understanding of how these inequalities are structured in specific sce-
narios. She warned that social research must account for the enormous
variability in local gender understandings. By this, she meant that human
cultures have multiple discourses of gender, contradictory and conflicting,
operating in specific contexts. Furthermore, although hierarchically ordered,
such discourses are subject to historical change. It is necessary to keep in
mind, as Rubin (2017) does, that even if the sex/gender system is not immu-
tably oppressive, it will not disappear without opposition.
This makes way for two more terms associated with gender: gendered
and degendering. As for the first term, we believe it has already been made
clear. It is a question of understanding that societies, as organizations, are
often structured based on gender. In other words, they are marked by cul-
tural conceptions associated with the sexes, something very different from
an implicit biological determinism (Casares, 2006). A concrete example of
this is the lower symbolic value attributed to a job performed by women.
The second term is associated with distinct and possibly contradictory
efforts to overcome gender as a structuring category of social relations. Such
a program can be summed up in a statement made by Marilym Strathern
(1979, p. 148): “The revolution is not about winning the privilege of males,
but rather in eliminating the distinction”. The word revolution here refers
to another remark, made by Rubin (2017, p. 55): “The sex/gender system
must be reorganized through political action”. With this, we enter the issue
of feminism.
Evans (2006) points out that feminism can be considered a social move-
ment that emerged in post-Enlightenment Europe, having significant con-
tributions to changes in women’s social situation and perception of them-
selves. The author suggests that the history of feminism is usually divided
into two major waves. The first wave extends from the middle of the 19th
century to the beginning of the 20th century, while the second wave began
in the 1970’s. The struggle marked these two phases for the right to control
one’s own body, voting, education, work, and equal remuneration. In addi-
tion to these two waves, Evans (2006) adds a third wave: which began in the
21st century. At this moment, in addition to the continuity of many of the
previous struggles, new agendas are brought that question the idea of a uni-
fied feminist movement.
Along these lines, Calás and Smircich (1999) and Giddens (2012) argue
that feminism has manifested itself from differentiated approaches, with
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agendas that preach from the restructuring of societies and organizations to
the total deconstruction of capitalism and patriarchy. The main theoretical
feminist approaches that have emerged over time were the liberal, radical,
psychoanalytic, Marxist, socialist, poststructuralist, and post-colonialist,
summarized in Table 1. It is worth mentioning that the emergence of each
approach occurred as a response to the constraints of the others. Although
they appear to be independent and differentiated, their boundaries are
unclear (Calás & Smircich, 1999, p. 277).
Table 1
Main feminist theoretical approaches
Theoretical
approaches Synthesis
Liberal Shaped by the liberal political ideal that emerged in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, it argues that individuals are considered autonomous
beings, endowed with rationality; conceives the idea of gender from the notion
of “sexual class”, that is, relative to the condition of women as an oppressed
class (Calás & Smircich, 1999).
Radical It arises from the dissatisfaction of feminists with the subordination of women
to men and with the domination widely supported by right-wing policies of the
1960s, and it does not see evidence that women can be liberated from sexual
oppression through reforms or gradual changes (Giddens, 2012).
Psychoanalytic It denies biological determinism through Freudian interpretations of gender and
sexuality (Flax, 1990).
Marxist It observes the construction of identities through social and labor practices,
relating power and sexuality, which are intertwined in the relations between
capital and labor, and argues that men, as a group, dominate and control women
as another group (Calás & Smircich, 1999).
Socialist The traditional Marxist approach gives rise to Socialist Feminist Theory, which
was consequently influenced by radical and psychoanalytic theories; in this
approach, the patriarchal system remains the basis of inequalities (Scott, 1986).
Poststructuralist It rejects the notions used to explain gender inequality (patriarchy, race, or
class) as something essentialist (Beasley, 1999).
Third world/(post)
colonialist
It challenges gender relations and Western feminist approaches; and argues
that heterosexual white feminists from middle and high class developed
countries and is not accessible to all women (Rabay, 2008).
Source: Elaborated by the authors.
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In Brazil, at least three moments played a prominent role in the history
of feminism (Alvarez, 1998; Pinto, 2003). The first moment was mainly
focused on winning the right to vote. That struggle occurred through collec-
tive actions carried out at the turn of the twentieth century, lasting until
around 1932. Pinto (2003) points out two major currents during this
period. The first current is named “well behaved”, including women from
the middle class and higher education. Bertha Lutz was one of the promi-
nent leaders responsible for creating the Brazilian Federation for Female
Progress and the Female University Union. The second current can be asso-
ciated with radical or Marxist feminism (Calás & Smircich, 1999; Giddens,
2012). It was formed by anarchists, workers, and unionist women.
The second wave began in the 1960s and focused on resisting military
dictatorship. During this time, Brazilian women encountered international
feminism through travel or literature, or, in the case of some, while in exile.
This second period extended until the country’s re-democratization, began
in 1985, and was formed by intellectuals, professors, and liberal professionals,
mostly engaged in human and social sciences. They led various studies
focused on violence against women and women’s health (Pinto, 2003).
The third movement of Brazilian feminist history emerged in the late
twentieth century, in the 1990s, and was characterized by a much more mul-
tifaceted context. Alvarez (1998) points out that Latin American feminism
is configured in this period as a heterogeneous, polycentric field in which
different discourses around the meanings of feminism and its political strate-
gies coexist and compete. Both Alvarez (1998) and Pinto (2003) stress that
Brazilian feminist movements have extended beyond the groups and organi-
zations that constituted their original locus. The spaces in which women who
claim to be feminists act have multiplied. The streets, self-reflection collec-
tives, and popular education workshops were expanded to non-governmen-
tal organization (NGOs), political parties, parliaments, international organi-
zations, the media, and social networks.
It is interesting to note that, in highlighting this expansion, they do not
include the corporate world as another space in which women have carried
out feminist action. Perhaps this is due to the recent nature of this phe-
nomenon.
COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR GENDER EQUITY IN THE
CORPORATE WORLD
Even though the promotion of gender equity became a global social
concern and was included in the Millennium Development Goals (Agenda
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2000-2015) and the Sustainable Development Objectives (Agenda 2016-2030)
for 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN), gender inequalities in
the corporate world are an indisputable reality in Brazil. According to a sur-
vey by the Ethos Institute (2016), women represented only 31.3% of middle
management, 13.6% of top management, and 11% of the corporate board in
the 500 largest companies operating in the country. The representation of
black women is even less. They occupy only 1.6% of middle management. In
top management, their presence is reduced to 0.4%, totaling only two pro-
fessional black women out of every 548 directors, black and non-black, of
both sexes. Depending on the efforts of the men who occupy leadership
positions in these companies, this situation will not change rapidly. Only
12% of these corporations declared to the Ethos survey that they have policies
with goals and actions planned to encourage women in top management
positions. Most of them (68.4%) admitted that they do not have measures
for this purpose, while 19.6% acknowledged having only punctual actions.
As those data are accessed, the scientific production about gender ine-
qualities progresses in the field of Organizational Studies in Brazil. The
debate has occurred with the following scope: management skills and styles;
the relation between manager and subordinate; careers and barriers to pro-
fessional growth; salary differences between men and women; work and
family balance; and generational differences (Cappelle et al., 2007; Fleury,
2013). It has also been emphasized that gender concepts and meanings are
associated with economic and professional activities, with consequences for
the careers of men and women (Jaime, 2011). The most commonly used
indicators have been the salary difference between men and women and
women in leadership positions compared to men (Bruschini & Puppin,
2004; Fontenele-Mourão, 2006; Kanan, 2010; Jaime, 2011). The most com-
monly cited causes for gender inequalities are: 1. lack of experience and
opportunities; 2. career inadequacies; 3. stereotypes; 4. obstacles in the
workplace; 5. women’s lack of interest, who prefer to dedicate their time to
other activities (Reszecki, 2001). In this context, the search for better quali-
fications of women has been understood as an important way to face disad-
vantages in hiring compared to men (Kanan, 2010). However, in addition to
this type of individual effort, the emergence of collective actions through the
creation of affinity groups is currently observed as a strategy for coping with
the gender inequalities in the corporate world.
Brunstein and Jaime (2009) defined this phenomenon as collective
actions in which minority groups and/or people historically discriminated
against and excluded from power positions, prestige, and remuneration in
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organizations seek to offer emotional support and promote their members’
careers. It is an agency capacity that arises when a common purpose engages
and gathers different people. It results in a structure composed of people or
organizations interconnected by one or more types of relations and sharing
common values and goals. Such a structure can provide access to important
social, political, and professional resources (Giddens, 2012).
In the corporate world, these networks have mainly arisen due to the
difficulty of women ascending to higher positions in the hierarchy of com-
panies. The mobilization of professionals for the exercise of collective actions
has been increasingly realized and is established to overcome barriers reducing
gender inequalities while conditions of equity in the business increase
(Brunstein & Jaime, 2009; Tonelli & Andreassi, 2013). This does not mean
that the existence of this arrangement leads to a profound transformation of
gender relations in the corporate world. However, it is an undeniable fact
that women have been engaged in collective actions to open possibilities
of their career development in a context characterized by asymmetries
(Brunstein & Jaime, 2009).
The ambiguous character of collective action for gender equity in the
corporate world undertaken by executive women has been pointed out by
the Organizational Studies literature. According to Lewis (2014), instead of
exploring women’s organizational experiences solely in terms of exclusion
connected to a dominant masculine norm, researchers should make efforts
to assess how women are now being included in contemporary workplaces.
Billing (2011) also challenges the definition of women primarily as victims
of male’s norm. She argues that it is necessary to interpret women’s organi-
zational experience as variable, complex, and contradictory.
For Lewis (2014), the concept of postfeminism allows us to understand
the complexity and contradictions of this phenomenon. This is because this
notion incorporates a sense of fracture and fragmentation in the project of
feminism, moving away from the vision that women share a standard set
of experiences. She emphasizes that understanding postfeminism in such
“post” terms means emphasizing its pluralistic and anti-foundational ten-
dencies. In her literature review, she argues that postfeminism cannot simply
be equated with a denunciation of, or a non-identity with, feminist politics.
There may be a repudiation of “excessive” feminism while accepting and
promoting, in such spaces as work organizations, more moderate feminism.
In summary, from her perspective, postfeminism is not against femi-
nism but about feminism that reconsiders and makes a clear shift in its cate-
gories and questions. To phrase it another way, it does not seek to supersede
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feminism but rather to re-work it. However, she warns of the risks in this
effort to re-work feminism, that postfeminism ends up domesticating it,
rendering it more docile and less threatening.
This ambivalent character of the collective actions to promote gender
equity at work carried out by executive women is also underlined by Mavin
and Grandy (2019). They use the notion of moderate corporate feminism.
According to them, women leaders at the top of organizations are critiqued
in Gender and Organizations Studies for diluting feminism, ignoring gender
inequalities, discrimination, and male domination. So, moderate corporate
feminism is seen as a gender “trumping class” in which women talk with
others in management about their obstacles such as sexual harassment and
unequal incentives. Nevertheless, the persistent rarity of women who hold
senior positions in companies illustrates why their experiences are impera-
tive for feminist futures. They argue that these executive women act in a
contradictory space. On the one hand, they are privileged to occupy posi-
tions of significant organizational power and high salaries. While on the
other hand, they are still a minority, and their privilege is fragile and unstable.
According to Mavin and Grandy (2019), women leaders in the corporate
world acknowledge and challenge the pervasive power dynamics embedded
in various organizational structures. Moderate corporate feminism can be
seen as a kind of resistance. However, it can also be understood as a con-
servative effort attached to individualism, merit, and choice. Furthermore,
these individualized, mainly white middle-class women can stay away from
solidarity and common goals towards their personal initiative to improve
their career prospects in the corporate world. They also may render other
women (black, lesbian, transgender) voiceless. This does not mean that they
should be vilified by the feminist movement. Instead, their experiences need
to be understood in their complexity and ambiguity. Their paths reveal post-
feminist double entanglements. They both acknowledge, often implicitly,
feminism while simultaneously rejecting it. Briefly, moderate corporate femi-
nism reflects and deflects feminism. Those remarks guided our analysis of a
new form of collective action related to gender issues that emerge in the
Brazilian corporate world.
METHOD
This study, which aimed to analyze the emergence of a new form of col-
lective action related to gender issues in the Brazilian business world, started
from the following research question:
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• What is the potential of these networks related to gender equity led by
executive women to degender organizations?
To answer this question, we surveyed two networks that operate to
increase the representativeness of women in leadership positions in busi-
ness. The criteria to select these two experiences were: 1. to have objectives
in compliance with the interest of the study; 2. to be based in the city of São
Paulo; 3. to enable their access to data collection.
Because it focused on two units of analysis, the research strategy used
was the multiple case study (Yin, 2003; Berg, 2007). We divided the research
into two steps: 1. data collection and analysis through two networks out of
printed and digital documents (websites, newsletters, newspapers, maga-
zines, and folders); and 2. data collection and analysis through semi-struc-
tured interviews with members of those networks. This type of interview is
recommended to focus on a particular subject. We used a script with the
primary questions, which could be complemented with other questions
based on the progress of the interview. Thus, the interviewees could speak
freely without being conditioned to the standardization of alternatives
(Quivy & Campenhoudt, 2013). The studies were conducted separately in
each of the networks through reports generated individually, and the ana-
lytical data were cross-referenced. The design of this multiple case study
used the logic of replication, in which the procedures adopted were the same
for each case (Yin, 2003; Berg, 2007).
Table 2 presents the characterization of the networks studied.
Table 2
Characterization of networks A and B
Net A Net B
Purpose Promote female leadership to achieve
gender balance in leadership positions.
Promote the excellence of Latin
American professionals, improve the
economic condition of women in Latin
America, promote women’s leadership
in the corporate environment, and
contribute to women’s empowerment.
Starting date Between 2013 and 2014.
Head office The city of São Paulo and connections in Brazil and abroad.
Members About 100 women in Brazil (30% foreign
and 10% participate on its board).
About 100 members (women and men)
in Brazil and abroad.
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Net A Net B
Technologies Both networks make heavy use of information and communication technologies
(ICTs)
To join the
network
It is necessary to have:
Complete undergraduate course,
approximately seven years of
professional experience, fluent English,
and fill out the registration on the global
network website.
Through invitations. It is necessary to
be in a position of power and decision
in some organizations and to have
international experience.
Partnerships Higher education institution; global
consulting and research firm; other
organizations in Brazil and abroad.
Higher education institutions;
communication vehicles; male business
leaders.
Main actions Events focused on skills development
and networking, mentoring and
entrepreneurship programs, and the
dissemination of good practices by
companies focused on gender equality.
Events to mobilize male leadership;
dissemination of studies and research
and support to companies in the
development of programs and policies
for gender equality.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on the documents from networks A and B.
For the definition of the interviewees, our criterion was strategic; that
is, we interviewed executive women who lead and operate directly in the
management of the networks. In most cases, we conducted the interviews in
person in the companies where the executive women work. Five executives
from network A and five from network B were interviewed, and the conver-
sations lasted an average of 40 minutes. Due to work commitments, there
were difficulties in reconciling the executives’ agendas with the scheduling
of the interviews. In addition, the time horizon of analysis was short (about
one year), limiting the number of interviewees.
All participants occupy top management positions (as directors or vice-
presidents) in companies. They have higher education and post-graduate
level, and one has a master’s degree. All speak fluent English, and more
than half have international experience. The university education of the
interviewed group is quite varied and goes through typically feminine areas
such as Language and Literature, Human Resources, and Social Communica-
tion, but includes others such as Law, Business Administration, Accounting,
Economics, and Engineering. Eight are Brazilian, and two are European,
with a length of stay in Brazil between three and six years. Their ages range
Table 2 (conclusion)
Characterization of networks A and B
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from 35 to 54 years. Most are married, and only two said they had no chil-
dren. They all identify as white women.
We analyzed the data through content analysis to favor the search for
the information contained in the interviews (Bardin, 2004). Therefore, we
prioritize categories related to the research question, that is, those that help
to understand how the networks led by executive women who work in Brazil
are configured to promote gender equity in the corporate world; and how
they have acted to reduce inequalities between men and women in business,
especially concerning disparities in leadership positions. Briefly, their poten-
tial to degender organizations. The next section established the categories
and subcategories presented in Table 3, including the interview content as
empirical evidence.
EMERGENCY OF NETWORKS LED BY EXECUTIVE WOMEN
AND FOCUSED ON GENDER EQUITY
In Table 3, we describe, exemplify, and explain our findings. Each cate-
gory helps to understand an important aspect of the phenomenon analyzed.
Table 3
Results
Analytical
category Subcategories Empirical evidence
Motivations The relevance of
the issue for
organizations
“An organization that does not have women in decision-making
positions does not reflect society, does not understand society
and leaves companies poorer in many ways” (E3, Net A).
Influence of
experiences
abroad
“Ten years later, when I came back to Brazil [after working in a
bank in Switzerland], it was somewhat mind-blowing to know
that these very intelligent and professionally ambitious women,
with whom I had contact, were not working in any companies.
They had little children and had a hard time reconciling work and
family. Yet men were all vice presidents in large corporations”
(E3, Net A).
Personal purpose
and legacy
“My greatest wish is to make my contribution. That’s because of
the professional level I reached – I became a CEO – with all my
career and my life experience, with my struggles and my battles,
I believe that I should try to help other women to get there too”
(E8, Net B).
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Analytical
category Subcategories Empirical evidence
Motivations Career
development
and professional
networking
“Participation in the network brought me recognition in the
company I work, and it also improved my articulation in the
organization” (E1, Net A).
Focus of
action
Gender parity
at the highest
hierarchical levels
As a first objective, the networks analyzed have gender parity in
the positions of power and decision-making in companies. This
goal works as a guiding force for their actions, which are carried
out at two levels: 1. individual level that aims to promote the
development of new skills for women who are already active in
the market, training them to work in middle and top
management positions; 2. organizational level that cares for
the promotion of events and instructive projects on relations
between gender equity and financial results (DOCUMENTATION
OF THE A AND B NETWORKS).
Partnerships with
strategic
stakeholders
The most strategic stakeholders of the networks are Business
Schools, international organizations, such as UN Women, other
national and international networks, and the government.
Partnership agreements focus mainly on enabling an expansion
of the action scope for the network. More specifically, it seeks
to contact young professionals at their career start to assist
them in getting to leadership positions. To do so, the networks
have been developing forms of integration and support, either
through the mentoring program or through the support of a
business school (DOCUMENTATION OF A AND B NETWORKS).
Challenges Diagnosis of
causes
“We focus on identifying the causes of gender disparity in
positions of power, which is very difficult” (E5, Net A).
Intersectionality “We do not talk much about diversity [race, sexual orientation,
etc.]. There are other entities or organizations that deal with
that. In fact, our goal is to help women, at managerial positions,
reach the top level of companies” (E8, Net B).
Barriers Sexism “Brazil has a sexist culture that replicates itself in the business
world. This culture is embodied by women, and most of them do
not realize gender inequality in high-ranking posts” (E1, Net A).
Abandonment
of career
“Some women, at a certain career level, leave the job market,
which contributes to this imbalance in the top management
positions” (E1, Net A).
Table 3 (continuacion)
Results
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Analytical
category Subcategories Empirical evidence
Barriers Biases “The network holds many networking meetings for women early
in the morning. For me, it is a good time because my children
leave for school. So, I take advantage of the children’s school
time, and I also take part of my work time, and I attend the
meetings. At night, for me, it’s awful because I get back home,
then I have to wash my children, have dinner, help them with
their homework” (E7, Net B).
Absence of
organizational
policies
“In Brazil, few companies are involved in gender equality, and
most of them are multinational corporations” (E2, Net A).
Lack of resources “This is voluntary work. In order to expand our activities and rely
on structured projects and programs, we would need a fixed
team, remunerated properly” (E3, Net A).
View on
feminism
Recognition and
rejection
“I do not sympathize with the feminist movement at all. It does
not drive me. Of course, I’m not throwing away the feminist
movement background. But I would not be a person who would
go burn bras on the streets. It is not my way. I would not
participate, you know...” (E4, Net A).
“Oh, I do not see myself as a feminist. All that extreme. I think
that’s the last straw. I’ve seen a lot of demonstrations, women
with breasts out, protesting. I think that’s damn silly. This is my
view: I am against everything that is extreme, exaggerated, and
that causes segregation. I do not think we have to start a war
between men and women, and there are a lot of people heading
that way. We take the risk of getting the feminist movements
to sabotage merit initiatives, don’t we?” (E6, Net B).
Source: Elaborated by authors.
The category motivations helps understand why this phenomenon has
arisen. It was divided into four subcategories. In the relevance of the matter to
organizations subcategory, we can see that the executive woman focus pri-
marily on the absence of women in leadership positions and the conse-
quences for companies. We found that many senior managers women are
disinterested in ascending to first-ranking hierarchical positions due to the
difficulty with work-life balance (Reszecki, 2001). These executives men-
tion that, with few women in leadership positions, men predominantly
Table 3 (conclusion)
Results
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make decisions, which is negative for both society and companies. In the
influence of experiences abroad subcategory, the participants discuss their back-
ground in multinational corporations where they had contact with women’s
committees and/or were exposed to accounts on obstacles to ascension. As
for the formation of committees within organizations, although they may be
influenced by senior management, this can be a viable way to achieve the
purpose of gender equity (Brunstein & Jaime, 2009).
Regarding the barriers, members of the two networks point out that this
is structural and that prejudice and gender discrimination have been present
since the time of education. In the personal purpose and legacy subcategory, the
important aspect is that these women find that their personal life and career
paths generate motivation to play a leadership role in the networks. All the
executives reported that it is a life mission linked to the desire to contribute
to gender equity in the corporate world and leave a legacy. In the career develop-
ment and professional networking subcategory, the goal is to change the image
of Latin American professional women worldwide, along with interest
in meeting people, exchanging experiences, and broadening the vision of
the global professional environment. We realized that integrating these
networks has provided participants with access to social, political, and pro-
fessional resources (Giddens, 2012), thus helping develop their careers
(Brunstein & Jaime, 2009). In addition, the ability to cooperate with other
people in search of mutual benefits is enhanced and promotes a sense of
belonging and trust (Giddens, 2012).
The focus of action category helps understand the current internal logic of
the phenomenon, shown in two subcategories: gender parity at the highest
hierarchical levels and partnerships with strategic stakeholders. The first works as
a guideline for the actions of the networks by aiming at developing new
skills for women already in the job market, training them to take top posi-
tions, promoting events and instructional projects on relations between
gender equity and financial results. The latter aims to establish connections
with business schools, international organizations, such as UN Women,
other national and international networks, and the Government to help
young professional women at their career start on the way to leadership”.
The category challenges helps to understand the complexities of this phe-
nomenon. It is also divided into two subcategories. The diagnosis of causes
subcategory enhances that latent/hidden nature of power relations, estab-
lished from the differences between genders, makes it difficult to precisely
analyze the lack of women in top management positions. The intersec tionality
subcategory focuses on overlapping gender differences with other social markers
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such as race, class, sexuality, and age. The participants’ profile of both net-
works consists of white women between 35 and 54 years old, with higher
education, fluency in English and other languages, experience in the national
and international corporate environment, and occupying leadership positions.
The diversity of network A is associated only with the presence of women of
other nationalities. In network B, it is related to the presence of men and
some younger women, who are even part of the board. When asked about
intersectionality in the board’s composition, the interviewees’ statements
presented hesitations and divergences, suggesting that this is not a topic
discussed in depth in the networks.
The category barriers helps understand the limiting factors of the phe-
nomenon. It is divided into five subcategories. The sexism subcategory high-
lights the sexism incorporated by women, who do not realize the presence
of gender inequality in higher hierarchical levels. The interviewees point out
that this is something concerning Brazilian culture represented in the corpo-
rate world. The career abandonment subcategory shows that some women give
up their careers due to business standards, such as the absence of manage-
ment practices for professional women and labor legislation that recognizes
and protects women’s rights. In this regard, motherhood appears as one of
the biggest obstacles to the professional advancement of women in the
interviewees’ statements. The biases subcategory enhances the associations
commonly made between house chores and the role of women. We observe
that they see housework as the exclusive responsibility of women. In some
moments, the women interviewed end up blaming those who do not reach
managerial positions, being much more condescending to men who are
silent about sexism in the corporate world and do nothing to struggle against
gender inequalities. The absence of organizational policies subcategory reveals
that few companies are involved in gender equity in Brazil, and most of
them are multinational corporations. Finally, in the absence of resources sub-
category, we can realize that the need for fixed teams, remunerated properly
and required to expand the networks’ activities, does not happen due to
scarce resources.
The view of feminism category helps set the phenomenon in the historical
course on the gender issue in Brazil. Most respondents intentionally reject
to consider themselves feminists and even emphasize that the network they
belong to has no relation with feminism. However, they recognize the rele-
vance of this movement as a historical predecessor. Even though the reports
show the contempt for feminism and the ignorance of its claims, including
in the workplace (Kanan, 2010; Fontenele-Mourão, 2006; Pinto, 2003), an
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approximation of the networks with postfeminism can be observed in the
interviewees’ statements (Lewis, 2014), and those with moderate corporate
feminism (Mavin & Grandy, 2019).
Based on the results, we contribute to the gender debate in Organiza-
tional Studies. We propose and conceptualize the notion of PFN and discuss
its distinctive traits and its relation of rupture and continuity vis-à-vis femi-
nism. The main implication for the advance in the theory is the new possi-
bility of delimitation: from ‘“gender issue” to “‘postfeminist network”’ as an
emerging strategy for degender organizations. We summarize our proposi-
tions in Table 4 at the end of the next section to make them clear.
TOWARDS THE NOTION OF THE POSTFEMINIST NETWORK
As we have stated, research on gender in the fields of Organizational
Studies in Brazil has been characterized by a focus on the barriers of women’s
career development in organizations and the strategies to cope with them.
Special attention has been given to collective actions through networks to
increase gender equity (Andrade et al., 2014; Brunstein & Jaime, 2009; Jaime,
2011; Tonelli & Andreassi, 2013). It is an emerging strategy that has been
little debated in the literature until recently. Therefore, to advance the debate
based on our findings, we introduced the notion of the PFN. We suggest and
discuss a definition and point out the paradoxical character of continuity
and rupture of these networks concerning feminism and their potential to
degender organizations. We propose the notion of PFN to conceptualize the
phenomenon of networks led by executive women and focus on gender
equity in companies. We use the adjective postfeminist in reference to Lewis’s
(2014) argument about postfeminism as a repudiation of “excessive” femi-
nism while accepting and promoting, in such spaces as work organizations,
more moderate feminism. We also have in mind Mavin and Grandy’s (2019)
suggestion that moderate corporate feminism reflects and deflects feminism.
• Postfeminist network: collective action organized to promote gender
equity that is not based on, or does not share, a feminist lato sensu socio-
political-ideological struggle, but rather a feminine professional prag-
matism, that is, in the search for hierarchy ascension of women in com-
panies through actions focused on stricto sensu professional development;
and, paradoxically, that maintains a relation of continuity and rupture
with feminism.
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The main distinguishing feature that we seek to provide with this defi-
nition is that, while feminism has been characterized by the intention to
change male domination in the various social arrangements (Flax, 1990),
which carries a broad socio-political-ideological sense, the networks
we studied are marked by the pragmatic intention of women’s ascension in
the organizational hierarchy to reach gender equality in power positions. The
notion of PFN and the definition we suggest seem to be relevant mainly for
two reasons. The first reason is the evident emergence of executive women-
led networks as a new phenomenon, or at least a new moment in the his-
tory of collective action for gender equity in Brazil, which characterizes a
split from feminism. The second reason is that, paradoxically, they maintain
a relationship of continuity with feminism.
Feminism is marked by questioning the role of women in the family, in
the workplace, in society, etc., and also for claiming changes in gender rela-
tions (Fontenele-Mourão, 2006; Kanan, 2010; Moore, 1999, 2005; Pinto,
2003). Additionally, it is possible to state that these questionings and claims
refer to categories of great breadth. They are subject to social reconstruc-
tion, regardless of the gender issue. The motivation for collective feminist
action has been broad and fragmented, focused on different social spheres
and various courses of action. That is manifested mainly in the emergence
of several currents of feminism (liberal, radical, psychoanalytic, Marxist,
socialist, post-colonialist). The PFNs, in turn, are marked by the strict con-
cern with gender parity in positions of power in the corporate world. Their
motivation has been restricted in pursuing ascension in the organizational
structure. This was evident in the networks researched, mainly due to the
centrality of the professional/organizational question in the category motiva-
tions (which helps to understand why this phenomenon has emerged). The
content of its subcategories (relevance of the matter to organizations, influence of
experiences abroad, personal purpose and legacy, career development, and professional
networking) proves this difference concerning feminism, driven predominantly
by broad issues and coming from different social spheres (family, values,
work, politics, etc.). However, despite this break, we argue that, paradoxi-
cally, these networks maintain a continuous relationship with feminism.
This continuity can be accounted for by the permanence of latency and
idiosyncrasy that marked the raison d’être of feminism itself.
We refer to the predominantly occult character of power relations struc-
tured from the difference between genders by latency. The characteristic of
latency has always been present in what the different feminist currents have
fought (e.g., the “oppression” of the sexual class concerning what the liberal
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current has been against; the “subordination” reified by the right-wing poli-
cies against which it has fought the radical current; the biological “deter-
minism” on the sexual identification denounced by the psychoanalytic cur-
rent; the “capitalist control” attacked by the Marxist current; the “patriarchy”
objected to by the socialist current; the “epistemological colonization” con-
fronted by the post-colonialist current (Calás & Smircich, 1999). This laten-
cy of the struggling target remains a remarkable trait in the networks stud-
ied. This is evident in the categories of challenges and barriers. Even more
specifically in the subcategories: 1. diagnosis of causes that reveals the charac-
ter of ‘invisibility’ of the subjacent reasons for the current gender disparity
in leadership positions; 2. sexism, which proves the cultural/symbolic aspect
of prejudice and discrimination incorporated even by women; and 3. biases,
which show implicit associations, also made by women, between house
chores and the role of women, as well as a kind of mea culpa among success-
ful executive women with other women who have dropped out of their
careers due to the absence of support.
By idiosyncrasy, we refer to the peculiar, often contradictory, character
of the various feminist currents that preceded black and postcolonial femi-
nism, which were the main reason for their emergence. Here, we are referring
to intersectionality. Black and postcolonial feminists have criticized western
feminist currents for representing “the woman” as white, middle-class, and
heterosexual, which does not effectively represent all women (Rabay, 2008;
Buttler, 2003). This type of idiosyncrasy – for example, the fight against the
repression of women by the man concomitant with the complacency and
the repression of black women by white women, lesbians by heterosexuals,
etc. – was evident in the networks analyzed in the subcategory intersectionality,
within the category challenges. The absence of interest of the networks in
seeking contact with black and/or lesbian women who have managerial
positions or the potential to take them was clear.
Another important aspect for understanding the emergence of postfemi-
nist networks concerns its greater potential for organizational degendering.
We argue that these networks have more significant potential in the process
of degendering organizations in relation to feminism. Since their main moti-
vation is to build executive women’s careers, their operations aim at the
corporate world, unlikely feminism, whose agenda is broad and varied. This
distinction is relevant to understanding the phenomenon because, in daily
organizational routines, gendering occurs mainly from administrative and
hierarchical aspects, such as permissible behaviors in certain types and levels
of work, as well as symbols and images that reinforce the masculine pre-
dominance in language, dress codes, press releases, etc. (Acker, 1990).
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While feminism moves away from these aspects, the networks approach
them. In the networks researched, that distinctive feature was especially
evident in the category focus of action, which reveals the core of the escalation
of power to the operation of the networks (see subcategories: gender parity at
the highest hierarchical levels; partnerships with strategic stakeholders).
In addition, it is worth emphasizing that participating in a network pro-
vides access to crucial social, political, and professional resources, enables
interaction with others for mutual benefits, and fosters a sense of belonging
and trust (Giddens, 2012). These aspects can leverage career development
(Brunstein & Jaime, 2009), mainly due to the environment of exchange,
learning and trust, typically of the networks (Giddens, 2012). Another
important aspect is the networks’ capability to promote collaborative intelli-
gence, as there is room to discuss relevant issues (Brunstein & Jaime, 2009).
Regarding the possibility of non-realizing the potential for organizational
degendering of PFNs, it is important to highlight the absence of organiza-
tional policies and the lack of resources. On the one hand, the formation of
support groups needs to envisage more inclusive, egalitarian, and participa-
tive management practices and, consequently, the emancipation of women
in the corporate world (Brunstein & Jaime, 2009). At the same time, the
networks studied still must deal with the lack of interest and/or effective
involvement of companies operating in Brazil concerning gender equity.
That is clear when we look at the Ethos Institute’s survey results, which we
referred to earlier.
Table 4
Toward the notion of postfeminist network
Feminism Postfeminist network
Distinctive
feature
The social-political-ideological intention
of broad sense: change of men’s
domination in the various social
arrangements (Flax, 1990).
The pragmatic intention in the strict
sense: the ascension of the woman
in the organizational hierarchy until
gender equalization in positions of
power.
Rupture Motivation is broad (several social
spheres) and collective action is
fragmented (different courses/currents)
(Calás & Smircich, 1999; Giddens, 2012;
Flax, 1990; Scott, 1986; Beasley, 1999;
Rabay, 2008; Pinto, 2003).
Motivation is strict (ascension in the
organizational structure), and collective
action is cohesive (only one way: career
recognition).
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Feminism Postfeminist network
Continuity Latency (hidden character of the collective action focus) (Calás & Smircich, 1999).
Idiosyncrasy (peculiar or contradictory character of its collective action) (Rabay,
2008; Buttler, 2003).
Potential to
degender
organizations
Low: struggle does not focus on specific
causes of organizational genderization.
High: actions strategically aimed
at ending the genderization of
organizations.
Source: Elaborated by authors.
CONCLUSION
This article aimed to analyze the emergence of a new form of collective
action related to gender issues in the Brazilian corporate world. It is based
on a case study of two executive women networks in São Paulo that aim to
encourage gender equity in organizations. However, it should be noted that
the analysis timeline was short, which may have hindered the deepening of
the research on the network phenomena.
The investigation was structured based on the following research ques-
tion: What is the potential of these networks related to gender equity led by
executive women to degender organizations?
The results showed that the motivation for the involvement of the
women interviewed in these networks is related to a life purpose, the desire
to contribute positively to other women, and the possibility of leaving a
legacy. However, there was also an interest in developing one’s career with
the expansion of social capital: networking establishment, broadening hori-
zons, and recognizing the company they work within.
It was possible to recognize an effort to reduce gender inequalities in
the corporate world, especially concerning women in command positions
in companies. However, the limits of these experiences are also not negligi-
ble. Their action strategies are guided by a liberal feminist idea (Calás &
Smircich, 1999), even if most representatives reject any identification with
feminism and even disdain for the feminist movement. Moreover, by dis-
tancing themselves from any link with the feminist movement, women
sometimes blame themselves for not achieving their career goals while being
condescending to some men who benefit from the sexist culture and make
no effort to change the current reality of gender inequalities.
Table 4 (conclusion)
Toward the notion of postfeminist network
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It is also important to point out that no proactive stance of its founders
or current managers was found in any of the networks, aiming at an approxi-
mation of women with different profiles from their own. So, they intend to
act on behalf of women who wish to build executive careers but do not con-
sider the intersections between gender and other social markers of difference,
such as race, class, and sexuality. We consider these aspects as substantial
limits of these networks.
However, we also consider that this experience of collective action to
promote gender equity led by executive women cannot be neglected. They
represent a significant advance in individual strategies that many women
undertake to occupy spaces in the corporate world (Jaime, 2011), and even
concerning affinity groups created by executive women within each compa-
ny (Brunstein & Jaime, 2009).The creation of networks that cross organiza-
tional boundaries is even more critical in a business environment such as in
Brazil, where few women are in top management positions in the corporate
world, and male leaders have done little to encourage the presence of women
in top management positions, as the Ethos’s survey has demonstrated.
Therefore, we argue that the collective actions led by executive women,
which we have conceptualized as postfeminist networks, can degender
organizations. These executive women remembered the “well behaved”
women from the middle class and higher education that marked the first
wave of the feminist movement in Brazil in the early 20th century (Pinto,
2003). But it is necessary to recognize that they take the feminist move-
ment to other fronts and are marked by contradictions, in the same way
as the activism undertaken through NGOs, which started in the 1990s
(Alvarez, 1998).
We consider that these networks are an expression of a postfeminist
agenda for all these reasons. They reject “excessive” feminism (Lewis, 2014)
while seeking to promote moderate corporate feminism (Mavin & Grandy,
2019). We agree with Lewis (2014) and Mavin and Grandy (2019) when
they state that, instead of discarding or simply criticizing the choices that
some executive women have made because they are not the ones that we
would like them to do, it can be more beneficial for researchers in Organiza-
tional Studies to seek to understand these choices and their ambiguities and
contradictions. Whether we appreciate them or not, these postfeminist net-
works led by executive women are a reality. It will still take time until we can
understand all of their complexities. We believe we have taken steps in this
direction through this research.
Degendering organizations? The emergence of postfeminist networks
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