Are workspaces gender neutral? A literature review and a research agenda

ABSTRACT

This study undertakes a systematic literature review (SLR) on how the workspace influences female workers and, more generally, gender equality. Within the broader context of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) matters, gender issues have attracted ample attention from scholars and policymakers. However, research on the specific topic of this SLR is sparse and fragmented, especially for what concerns the implications on workplace design and management. This paper systematizes the actual knowledge on the subject by reviewing 68 articles published in the last 10 years. Authors critically analyze these articles according to two vital spatial elements: workspace typologies and workspace interiors. The reviewed articles document a general convincement shared by different scientific fields that the workspace affects women and men differently. The results show that space is a crucial element for enhancing gender equality in the workplace. Although the reviewed articles cover multiple disciplines, an interdisciplinary approach is still missing. The concluding section proposes a future research agenda, novel theoretical approaches and methodological advancements, while highlighting practical implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Workspace
• office
• gender
• women
• equality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For further information see: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

2 With the term spatial turn scholars mean the raising interest that space is having in multiple disciplines, including organization and management sciences, economics, sociology, philosophy and anthropology.

3 Following Sinicropi and Cortese (2021), this SLR used the Scopus database because it is interdisciplinary and focuses on high quality research.

4 The authors run the queries in April 2021.

5 Human Development Index is developed by the United Nations. The complete ranking for 2019 is available at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi

6 The full ranking based on the Gender Inequality Index for 2019 is available at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii.

7 www.prisma-statement.org

8 According to Marxist theories, firms are loci of domination, exploitation and alienation of workers, thus, organizational spaces are materialized power relations (see Kornberger & Clegg, 2004).

9 WELL Certified buildings is a case in point (https://www.wellcertified.com/)

10 Formal WFH consists in a contract that specifies days and time when workers are allowed to WFH. Informal WFH is negotiated with supervisors or management based on workers’ daily needs.

11 For instance, in 2016 OECD data show that women count for only 15% of new entrants in engineering programmes. Source: OECD (2016), Education at a Glance 2016: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2016-en

12 For further information see: www.greatplacetowork.com

13 For further information: https://metoomvmt.org/

14 For further information see: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

15 The authors expect a peak in 2021 due to large debate on the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on women. However, queries were run in April 2021 and thus the graph does not show this peak.

16 The top-five countries are Switzerland (0.025), Denmark (0.038), Sweden (0.039), the Netherlands (0.043) and Belgium (0.043).

17 Accessible at: https://www.scimagojr.com