ISSN:
0964-9425
Source:
Emerald Fulltext Archive Database 1994-2005
Topics:
Sociology
,
Economics
Notes:
A number of articles have appeared in the Harvard Business Review(HBR) in recent years in which reference is made to the traditional viewthat male = manager, and how this has worked against women makinginroads into senior management positions. The HBR often interspersescartoons among the articles - cartoons which appear to perpetuate themale-as-manager norm. The results of a content analysis of the cartoonsappearing in the HBR over the five-year period, 1988-1992 are presented.The content analysis suggests women appear as marginal players in thecartoon images of the organizational world. Not only do women appear insubstantially fewer cartoons than men, there is also a wide divergencein how men and women are portrayed. The most common representations ofwomen are as wife or secretary, although there is the occasional nurse,air hostess and fortune-teller! The images of men, however, areoverwhelmingly associated with paid work. The images of women and menportrayed in the HBR perpetuate and reinforce the expectation that"male = manager". It may be that such cartoons can be considered trivialon their own, but cumulatively they can play a powerful role in definingthe "appropriate" person for the manager's job.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09649429410062239
