“You can be the kind of woman that you are”: the discursive management of intersecting identities in leadership talk
Published:
Jul 3, 2023
Keywords:
discursive psychology intersectionality identity leadership gender race
Abstract
The present study investigates how culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women mobilize intersecting identities through speeches delivered during women in leadership forums. As more women aspire to positions of leadership, the discursive analysis of identity management for understanding how identities are made relevant is critical. Using a discursive psychological approach, this research examines intersectionality as a social action, as it is played out in practice rather than as a theoretical concept. Here it is being anchored to empirical data to explore how it operates in the broader context of leadership talk, in particular, how diverse women represent themselves as leaders and what key identities emerge. The analysis demonstrates that in accounting for how these women achieved leadership positions, the speakers used their multiple identities as strategic resources. These identities included the categories of race, culture, gender, and parenthood. The insights from this study are significant as they shed light on the persisting barriers for women in achieving equal opportunity.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Corpuz, E., Augoustinos, M., & Due, C. (2023). “You can be the kind of woman that you are”: the discursive management of intersecting identities in leadership talk . Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 28(1), 8–23. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.31495
- Section
- SPECIAL SECTION
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The journal PSYCHOLOGY adopts a Platinum open-access policy. Submission, processing or publication costs are waived by the Hellenic Psychological Society. Papers published in the journal PSYCHOLOGY are licensed under a 'Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International' licence. The authors reserve the copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of its first publication. Third-party licensees are allowed to use the published paper immediately after publication as they wish, provided they retain the defined by the license copyright formalities, regarding the reference to its author(s) and its initial publication in the journal PSYCHOLOGY. Moreover, any adjusted work should be shared under the same reuse rights, so with the same CC license.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Alston, J. A. (2012). Standing on the promises: a new generation of Black women scholars in educational leadership and beyond. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25(1), 127-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2011.647725
Augoustinos, M. (2017). Discourse Analysis. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 205-223). Palgrave Macmillan.
Ayman, R., & Korabik, K. (2010). Why gender and culture matter. American Psychologist, 65(3), 157-170.
Berdahl, J. L., & Moore, C. (2006). Workplace harassment: double jeopardy for minority women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2), 426-436. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.2.426
Bowleg, L. (2017). Intersectionality: An Underutilized but Essential Theoretical Framework for Social Psychology. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 507-529). Palgrave Macmillan.
Brah, A., & Phoenix, A. (2004). Ain't I a woman? Revisiting intersectionality. Journal of International Women's Studies, 5, 75.
Budds, K., Locke, A., & Burr, V. (2016). “For some people it isn’t a choice, it’s just how it happens”: Accounts of “delayed” motherhood among middle-class women in the UK. Feminism & Psychology, 26(2), 170-187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353516639615
Burr, V., & Dick, P. (2017). Social Constructionism. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 59-80). Palgrave Macmillan.
Clifton, J., & Dai, W. (2020). A discursive analysis of the in situ construction of (Japanese) leadership and leader identity in a research interview. Implications for leadership research. Leadership, 16(2), 180-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715019856159
Cook, A., & glass, C. (2014). Above the glass ceiling.
Corpuz, E., Due, C., & Augoustinos, M. (2020). Caught in two worlds: A critical review of culture and gender in the leadership literature. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12571
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241-1299.
Deason, G., Greenlee, J. S., & Langner, C. A. (2015). Mothers on the campaign trail: implications of Politicized Motherhood for women in politics. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 3(1), 133-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2014.992792
DeTurk, S. (2021). Migrant Advocacy, Representation, and Intersectional Identities. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 50(1), 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2020.1830298
Dovidio, J., Gaertner, S., Schnabel, N., Saguy, T., & Johnson, J. R. (2010). Re-categorization and prosocial behaviour. In S. Sturmer & M. Snyder (Eds.), The psychology of prosocial behaviour: Group processes, intergroup relations, and helping (pp. 289-309). Blackwell.
Duranti, A. (2006). Narrating the political self. Language in Society, 35, 467-497.
Edwards, D. (2012). Discursive and scientific psychology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51(3), 425-435. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2012.02103.x
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1992). Discursive psychology. Sage Publications.
Elvin-Nowak, Y., & Thomsson, H. (2001). Motherhood as idea and practice: A Discursive Understanding of Employed Mothers in Sweden. Gender & Society, 15(3), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124301015003005
Fitzgerald, T. (2006). Walking between Two Worlds: Indigenous Women and Educational Leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 34(2), 201-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143206062494
Flusberg, S. J., Matlock, T., & Thibodeau, P. H. (2018). War metaphors in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 33(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2018.1407992
Gipson, A. N., Pfaff, D. L., Mendelsohn, D. B., Catenacci, L. T., & Burke, W. W. (2017). Women and Leadership:Selection, Development, Leadership Style, and Performance. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 53(1), 32-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886316687247
Goodman, S. (2017). How to conduct a psychological discourse analysis. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines, 9(2), 142-153.
Goodman, S., & Burke, S. (2011). Discursive deracialization in talk about asylum seeking. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 21(2), 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.1065
Haslam, S. A., & Ryan, M. K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 530-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.011
Hogg, M. A., van Knippenberg, D., & Rast, D. E. (2012). The social identity theory of leadership: Theoretical origins, research findings, and conceptual developments. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 258-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2012.741134
Kerrick, M. R., & Henry, R. L. (2017). “Totally in Love”: Evidence of a Master Narrative for How New Mothers Should Feel About Their Babies. Sex Roles, 76(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0666-2
Key, S., Popkin, S., Munchus, G., Wech, B., Hill, V., & Tanner, J. (2012). An exploration of leadership experiences among white women and women of color. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25(3), 392-404.
Lee, S. (2015). Disrupting the Discourse of Motherhood and Leadership: The Experiences of Women with Children in Senior-Level Higher Education Administration. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Liang, J. G., Sottile, J., & Peters, A. L. (2018). Understanding Asian American women's pathways to school leadership. Gender and Education, 30(5), 623-641. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1265645
Loder, T. L. (2005). On deferred dreams, callings, and revolving doors of opportunity: African-American womens reflections on becoming principals. Urban Review, 37(3), 243-265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-005-0010-6
Maclaran, P. (2015). Feminism’s fourth wave: a research agenda for marketing and consumer research. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(15-16), 1732-1738. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2015.1076497
Maddox, J. (2021). “Be a badass with a good ass”: race, freakery, and postfeminism in the #StrongIsTheNewSkinny beauty myth. Feminist Media Studies, 21(2), 211-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2019.1682025
Magnusson, E., & Marecek, J. (2017). Feminisms, Psychologies, and the Study of Social Life. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 17-35). Palgrave Macmillan.
McDowell, J., & Carter-Francique, A. (2017). An Intersectional Analysis of the Workplace Experiences of African American Female Athletic Directors. Sex Roles, 77(5-6), 393-408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0730-y
McGannon, K. R., & Schinke, R. J. (2013). “My first choice is to work out at work; then i don't feel bad about my kids”: A discursive psychological analysis of motherhood and physical activity participation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(2), 179-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.10.001
McGee, K. (2018). The influence of gender, and race/ethnicity on advancement in information technology (IT). Information and Organization, 28(1), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2017.12.001
Moorosi, P., Fuller, K., & Reilly, E. (2018). Leadership and intersectionality: constructions of successful leadership among Black women school principals in three different contexts. Management in Education, 32(4), 152-159.
Nixon, M. L. (2017). Experiences of Women of Color University Chief Diversity Officers. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 10(4), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000043
Ospina, S., & Foldy, E. (2009). A critical review of race and ethnicity in the leadership literature: Surfacing context, power and the collective dimensions of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 20(6), 876-896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.09.005
Potter, J. (2012). Discourse analysis and discursive psychology Washington. American Psychological Association.
Purdie-Vaughns, V., & Eibach, R. P. (2008). Intersectional Invisibility: The Distinctive Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiple Subordinate-Group Identities. Sex Roles, 59(5-6), 377-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9424-4
Reed, L. C. (2012). The intersection of race and gender in school leadership for three Black female principals. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25(1), 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2011.647723
Rosette, A. S., & Livingston, R. W. (2012). Failure is not an option for Black women: Effects of organizational performance on leaders with single versus dual-subordinate identities. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 1162-1167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.05.002
Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2005). The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions. British Journal of Management, 16(2), 81-90. https://doi.org/doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x
Salter, P. S., & Haugen, A. D. (2017). Critical Race Studies in Psychology. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 123-145). Palgrave Macmillan.
Sanchez-Hucles, J. V., & Davis, D. D. (2010). Women and women of color in leadership: complexity, identity, and intersectionality. Am Psychol, 65(3), 171-181. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017459
Sheeran, N., Jones, L., & Perolini, J. (2019). Intersecting identities: How race and age influence perceptions of mothers. Australian Journal of Psychology, 71(3), 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12243
Sorrentino, J., & Augoustinos, M. (2016). ‘I don't view myself as a woman politician, I view myself as a politician who's a woman’: The discursive management of gender identity in political leadership. British Journal of Social Psychology, 55(3), 385-406. https://doi.org/doi:10.1111/bjso.12138
Sorrentino, J., Augoustinos, M., & Le Couteur, A. (2019). “[It] does not explain everything … , nor does it explain nothing … it explains some things”: Australia's first female Prime Minister and the dilemma of gender. Feminism & Psychology, 29(1), 19-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353518790595
Stuart, A., & Donaghue, N. (2012). Choosing to conform: The discursive complexities of choice in relation to feminine beauty practices. Feminism & Psychology, 22(1), 98-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353511424362
ten Have, P. (1999). Doing conversation analysis : a practical guide. Sage Publications.
Turner, P. K., & Norwood, K. (2013). Unbounded Motherhood:Embodying a Good Working Mother Identity. Management Communication Quarterly, 27(3), 396-424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318913491461
Utoft, E. H. (2021). Maneuvering within postfeminism: A study of gender equality practitioners in Danish academia. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(1), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12556
West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1, 125-151.
Wetherell, M. (1998). Positioning and interpretative repertoires: conversation analysis and post-structuralism in dialogue. Discourse & Society, 9(3), 387-412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926598009003005
Wetherell, M. (2007). A step too far: Discursive psychology, linguistic ethnography and questions of identity. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 11(5), 661-681. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2007.00345.x
Wetherell, M., & Edley, N. (2014). A Discursive Psychological Framework for Analyzing Men and Masculinities. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15, 355-364. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037148
Wetherell, M., Taylor, S., & Yates, S. J. (2001). Discourse as data: a guide for analysis. Sage Publications Ltd.
Whiley, L. A., Sayer, H., & Juanchich, M. (2021). Motherhood and guilt in a pandemic: Negotiating the “new” normal with a feminist identity. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(S2), 612-619. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12613
Willig, C. (2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology. McGraw Hill/Open University Press.
World Economic Forum. (2021). Global Gender Gap Report 2021. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021/digest
Young, T. (2018). Invisibility and power in the digital age: issues for feminist and queer narratology. Textual Practice, 32(6), 991-1006. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236X.2018.1486546
Zhao, J., & Jones, K. (2017). Women and Leadership in Higher Education in China: Discourse and the Discursive Construction of Identity. Administrative Sciences, 7(3), 21.
Zou, L., & Cheryan, S. (2015). When Whites' attempts to be multicultural backfire in intergroup interactions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 581-592.
