Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-18 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Australian Journal of Gender and Law |
| Volume | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
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Gendered meritocracy? Women senior counsels in Australia's legal profession. / Ragusa, Angela; Groves, Philip.
In: Australian Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. 1, 2012, p. 1-18.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Gendered meritocracy? Women senior counsels in Australia's legal profession
AU - Ragusa, Angela
AU - Groves, Philip
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Australian Journal of Gender and Law. ISSNs: 1836-9723;
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Workplace gender inequality is an ongoing and systemic social problem. Despite women's entry into professional occupations, the 'glass ceiling' effect persists. With Australia's legal profession traditionally exhibiting a masculine workplace culture, championing meritocratic values, Women Senior Counsels (SC) represent an elite social group which has apparently 'smashed the glass ceiling' by achieving career success. Informed by Marxist-feminist theory and Symbolic Interaction theory, this article uses qualitative email interviews and courtroom field observations to explore professional norms about meritocratic ideals and workplace stereotypes regarding success. The findings reveal that female Senior Counsels have, in keeping with broader social trends, rejected masculine 'successful barrister' stereotypes, and are substituting meritocracy for traditional 'masculine' competency measures. This substitution may illustrate semantic reallocation more than genuine social change. However, as our findings reveal, Australia's legal profession upholds standards of meritocratic competency grounded in masculinity, whereby barriers to true workplace gender equality remain largely invisible.
AB - Workplace gender inequality is an ongoing and systemic social problem. Despite women's entry into professional occupations, the 'glass ceiling' effect persists. With Australia's legal profession traditionally exhibiting a masculine workplace culture, championing meritocratic values, Women Senior Counsels (SC) represent an elite social group which has apparently 'smashed the glass ceiling' by achieving career success. Informed by Marxist-feminist theory and Symbolic Interaction theory, this article uses qualitative email interviews and courtroom field observations to explore professional norms about meritocratic ideals and workplace stereotypes regarding success. The findings reveal that female Senior Counsels have, in keeping with broader social trends, rejected masculine 'successful barrister' stereotypes, and are substituting meritocracy for traditional 'masculine' competency measures. This substitution may illustrate semantic reallocation more than genuine social change. However, as our findings reveal, Australia's legal profession upholds standards of meritocratic competency grounded in masculinity, whereby barriers to true workplace gender equality remain largely invisible.
KW - Open access version available
M3 - Article
VL - 1
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - Australian Journal of Gender and Law
JF - Australian Journal of Gender and Law
SN - 1836-9723
ER -