Breaking patterns? How female scientists negotiate their token role in their life stories

• Autores: Marita Haas, Sabine T. Koeszegi, Eva Zedlacher
• Localización: Gender Work & Organization, ISSN-e 1468-0432, Vol. 23, Nº. 4, 2016, págs. 397-413
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Building upon token theory, this paper analyses coping behaviours of women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) through a professional identity perspective. It proposes that female scientists need to negotiate and balance conflicting aspects of their professional and gender identities throughout their career. A reconstructive biography analysis of Leitmotif and Gestalt of 15 life stories reveals that gender is the structuring element of the female scientists' self-presentation. The paper presents two key cases which exemplify two alternative coping strategies: the women either use a similarity strategy, relying on full assimilation to the masculine norms in SET, or a difference strategy, highlighting their otherness and their struggle for equality. The in-depth analysis reveals that both strategies cannot ‘break patterns', but instead leave the dominance of masculine norms in SET unchallenged. Implications of these findings are discussed.