Navigating sexualised visibility: A study of British women engineers

Fernando, Dulini; Cohen, Laurie; Duberley, Joanne

Abstract

In this article we use the term 'sexualised visibility' to describe how in male dominated work settings such as engineering, women are inscribed with sexual attributes that overshadow and obscure other attributes and values. From a career point of view, sexualised visibility is deeply problematic. However, as yet we have only limited understanding of how women in such settings navigate sexualised visibility and what this means for their careers. Drawing on social identity based impression management (SIM) to examine the career experiences of 50 women in petroleum, mechanical and automotive engineering in the UK, we develop new insights into the relationship between perception, power and relations of visibility. Specifically we identify the interplay between career stage and power and show how the strategies that women adopt to navigate sexualised visibility in their work settings vary by career stage. Furthermore we argue that women’s collective efforts to ensure a favourable representation of their group leads to the reproduction of an implicit but powerful prescriptive gender stereotype which constrains their career progression.

Citation

Fernando, D., Cohen, L., & Duberley, J. (2019). Navigating sexualised visibility: A study of British women engineers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 113, 6-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.06.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 2, 2018
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 8, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 3, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Vocational Behavior
• Print ISSN: 0001-8791
• Electronic ISSN: 0001-8791
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 113
• Pages: 6-9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.06.001
• Keywords: Sexualised visibility; Career; Social identity based impression management; Gender; Engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/936247
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879118300666