Gender, Work and Well-Being

Content

How does gender shape our experience at work? Are workplaces themselves gender‑neutral? 

What are the links between workplace culture and well‑being? In this course we will explore the connections between gender, work and (emotional) well-being. Gender not only shapes our personal, including professional or work, identities but structures organisations and social institutions. As a result, people of different genders experience the workplace differently, for example in terms of self-confidence. Drawing on an interdisciplinary body of research, we will learn about and critically discuss a range of concepts such as ʹwork stressʹ, ʹdoing genderʹ or ʹfeeling rulesʹ. Applying a relational, socio-cultural lens to thinking about work-related well-being, we will investigate potentially harmful gendered, organisational norms and practices and analyse what they tell us about how we ʹshouldʹ feel, think and behave. Finally, we will discuss the practical implications of what we have learned: How can organisations ʹundoʹ gender? How can leaders create and role-model equitable and psychologically sustainable work practices? What alternative practices can we develop individually and collectively?

The aim of this course is for students to acquire a range of ʹthinking toolsʹ through various forms of experiential learning, group discussions, reflective exercises, and engagement with empirical material.