Organizations are shaped by processes, structures, norms, symbolic practices and daily routines which are strongly patterned through the distinction between male and female and masculinity and femininity and are therefore inherently gendered (Joan Acker, 1990). As a consequence, we still observe today – despite anti-discrimination laws and gender mainstreaming efforts – (i) a strong gendered work segregation in professions, with e.g. only a few women in high prestigious Science, Engineering and Technology professions, (ii) class ceiling effects, with only a few women in top management positions, and (iii) a severe gender pay gap with women being paid significantly less for the same jobs and performance.

In this research area we are interested in unveiling the different dimensions of gendered organization that result in explicit and implicit barriers to equality between men and women in organizations. Furthermore, with an increasingly diverse workforce, accordingly comes the consideration for the effects of intertwined social categories beyond gender, like class and ethnic background. These effects become visible in complex, multi-layered social practices and relationships within everyday organizational life. Our research contributes to a better understanding of how these practices and unconscious biases disadvantage females and minorities in their career and how organizations can respond effectively.

Reference Projects

  • Prof. Sabine Köszegi is Visiting Fellow at the think tank Bruegel AISBL in Brussels, Belgium. Analysis of gender issues as part of the "Future of Work and Inclusive Growth" project.
  • Prof. Sabine Köszegi is Visiting Professor for Gender Studies at the University of Bielefeld, Germany
  • Female Biography Analysis: Identity Constructions in Male-dominated vs. Female-dominated Professions (2013-2017). Herta Firnberg position, funded by the Austrian Research Fund FWF (Proj. No. T556-G17)
  • RIDDLES – Research Intersectional Dynamics while Doing Engineering and Sciences (2012-1015): Dissertation Project.
  • Leaky Pipeline (2010-2013): A study on the horizontal and vertical gender segregation at the TU Wien. Commissioned by the Rectorate of TU Wien.