Postfeminism, men, masculinities and work: a research agenda for gender and organization studies scholars

Mobilizing the concept of postfeminism as a sensibility, this article invites organization and gender scholars to examine how postfeminist masculinities are discursively constituted and performed by men within contemporary work contexts. Acknowledging that women are interpellated within postfeminist discourses as empowered and autonomous subjects whose lives are shaped by individual choice, this article explores the implications for men, in particular how men variously perform postfeminist masculinities and the implications for addressing gendered inequalities within the workplace. Developing a research agenda, this article outlines three research trajectories: 1) problematizing a gender binary in which women are depicted as empowered at work and men in a state of crisis; 2) interrogating signs of ‘new’ postfeminist masculinities coded as inclusive in the workplace and; 3) examining how different types of men perform postfeminist masculinities at work. This article concludes by providing examples of research questions to generate future organizational scholarship in these areas.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Rumens, N. (2017) Postfeminism, Men, Masculinities and Work: A Research Agenda for Gender and Organization Studies Scholars. Gender, Work & Organization, 24: 245–259. doi: 10.1111/gwao.12138., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12138. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.