Gender and the Professions

This book examines gender and professions in the 21st century. Historically the professions encompassed law, medicine and the church, all of which excluded women from participation. Industry and the 20th century introduced new professions such as engineering and latterly information technology skill and, whilst the increase in credentialism and accreditations open up further avenues for professions to develop, many of the 'newer' professions exhibit similar gendered characteristics, still based on a perceived masculine identity of the professional workers and the association of the professional with high level credentials based on university qualifications. In contrast, professions such as teaching and nursing, characterized as women's professions which reflected women's socially acceptable role of caring, developed as regulated occupations from the late 19th century. Since the 1970s and the women's movements, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation and policies have aimed to break down the gendered bastion of the professions and grant women entry. With growing numbers of women employed in a range of professions and the political importance of gender equality gaining prominence globally, Gender and the Professions also considers how women and men are faring in a diverse range of professional occupations. Aimed at researchers, academics and policy makers in the fields of Professions, Gender Studies, Organizational Studies and related disciplines. Gender and the Professions provides new insights of women's experiences in the professions in both developed and less developed countries and in professions less often explored.

Kaye Broadbent is Honorary Associate in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Glenda Strachan is Professor Emerita in the Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources at Griffith University, Australia. Geraldine Healy is Professor of Employment Relations and Director of the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity at Queen Mary University of London, UK.

1. Introduction: Inequality Regimes and the Gendered Professional Context Geraldine Healy, Kaye Broadbent, and Glenda Strachan 2. Does Gender Equality at Work Have an Age Dimension? A Study of the Queensland Public Service Linda Colley 3. Academic Staff on Insecure Contracts and the Interplay of Gender in Australian Universities Kaye Broadbent, Glenda Strachan and Robyn May 4.The Gendered Law Profession: The Perceptions and Experiences of Women Partners and Men Managing Partners Irene Ryan and Judith K. Pringle 5. Gender, Architecture and Recession in Spain Elena Navarro-Astor and Valerie Caven 6. Academics at the Intersection of Age and Gender: A Ghanaian Experience Cynthia Forson, Moira Calveley, Steven Shelley and Christeen George 7. Gender and Migration: The Experiences of Skilled Professional Women Susan Ressia, Glenda Strachan and Janis Bailey 8. Clergywomen in the UK: Implications of Professional Calling Anne-marie Greene 9. Women in Information Technology in Sri Lanka: Careers and Challenges Arosha Adikaram and Pavithra Kailasapathy 10. Multiplicity of "I's": STEM-professional Women in the Canadian Space Industry Stefanie Ruel 11.Will the Head of Engineering Please Stand Up? The Under-representation of Women in Engineering Susan Durbin and Ana Lopes 12. Gender Experiences in a Female-dominated Industry: The Case of Nurses in Thailand Uraiporn Kattiyapornpong and Anne Cox