Confronting the ideal worker myth to better support efforts towards gender equity: recommendations for a post-pandemic workforce

References

• Acker, J. (1990). Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society, 4(2), 139–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124390004002002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Acker, J. (2006). Inequality regimes: Gender, class, and race in organizations. Gender & Society, 20(4), 441–464. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243206289499
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Acker, J. (2012). Gendered organizations and intersectionality: Problems and possibilities. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 31(3), 214–224. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610151211209072
   Google Scholar
• Adisa, T. A., Aiyenitaju, O., & Adekoya, O. D. (2021). The work-family balance of British working women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 13(2), 241–260. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-07-2020-0036
   Google Scholar
• Al-Asfahani, L., Hebson, G., & Bresnen, M. (2024). Reinforced or disrupted ideal worker norms in the pandemic? Analyzing the gendered impact of the pandemic on professional specialisms in a Professional Services Firm in Kuwait. Gender, Work & Organization, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12932
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Alon, T., Doepke, M., Olmstead-Rumsey, J., & Tertilt, M. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on gender equality (No. w26947). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26947/w26947.pdf
   Google Scholar
• Amis, J., Brickson, S., Haack, P., & Hernandez, M. (2021). Taking inequality seriously. Academy of Management Review, 46(3), 431–439. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2021.0222
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• April, K., Dreyer, S., & Blass, E. (2007). Gender impediments to the South African executive boardroom. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 31(2), 51–67. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC59609.
   Google Scholar
• Arnold, K. A., & Loughlin, C. (2019). Continuing the conversation: Questioning the who, what, and when of leaning in. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(1), 94–109. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2016.0153
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ashforth, B. E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. The Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 20–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/258189
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bapuji, H., Patel, C., Ertug, G., & Allen, D. G. (2020). Corona crisis and inequality: Why management research needs a societal turn. Journal of Management, 46(7), 1205–1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320925881
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Berkhout, S. G., & Richardson, L. (2020). Identity, politics, and the pandemic: Why is COVID-19 a disaster for feminism(s)? History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 42(4), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-020-00346-7
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Blell, M., Liu, S. J. S., & Verma, A. (2023). Working in unprecedented times: Intersectionality and women of color in UK higher education in and beyond the pandemic. Gender, Work & Organization, 30(2), 353–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12907
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bobbitt-Zeher, D. (2011). Gender discrimination at work: Connecting gender stereotypes, institutional policies, and gender composition of workplace. Gender & Society, 25(6), 764–786. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211424741
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Borrescio-Higa, F., & Valenzuela, P. (2021). Gender inequality and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Public Health, 66, 1604220. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2021.1604220
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brown, S., Herr, J., Roy, R., & Klerman, J. A. (2020). Employee and worksite perspectives of the FMLA: Who is eligible? Produced for the U.S. Department of labor, chief evaluation office. Abt Associates Inc. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/WHD_FMLA2018PB1WhoIsEligible_StudyBrief_Aug2020.pdf.
   Google Scholar
• Brumley, K. M. (2014). The gendered ideal worker narrative: Professional women’s and men’s work experiences in the new economy at a Mexican company. Gender and Society, 28, 799–823. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243214546935
   Google Scholar
• Cai, Y., & Appelbaum, E. (2021, February 4). It is time for the FMLA to fulfill the promise of inclusive and paid leave. Center for Economic and Policy Research. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://www.cepr.net/report/it-is-time-for-the-fmla-to-fulfill-the-promise-of-inclusive-and-paid-leave/.
   Google Scholar
• Cameron, K. S. (2008). A process for changing organization culture. In T. Cummings (Ed.), Handbook of Organization Development (pp. 429–445). SAGE Publications.
   Google Scholar
• Çoban, S. (2022). Gender and telework: Work and family experiences of teleworking professional, middle-class, married women with children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(1), 241–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12684
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Combahee River Collective. (1995). Combahee river collective statement. In B. GuySheftall (Ed.), Words of fire: An anthology of African American feminist thought (pp. 232–240). New Press. (Original work published 1977).
   Google Scholar
• Coron, C., & Garbe, E. (2023). Deviation from the ideal worker norm and lower career success expectations: A “men's issue” too? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 144, 103892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103892
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1279. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
   Google Scholar
• Dang, H. A. H., & Nguyen, C. V. (2021). Gender inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Income, expenditure, savings, and job loss. World Development, 140, 105296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105296
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Duffy, R. D., Blustein, D. L., Diemer, M. A., & Autin, K. L. (2016). The psychology of working theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000140
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Edwards, K. A. (2020, November 24). Women are leaving the labor force in record numbers. RAND Corporation. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.rand.org/blog/2020/11/women-are-leaving-the-labor-force-in-record-numbers.html.
   Google Scholar
• Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2020). Getting serious about diversity. Harvard Business Review, 98(6), 114–122.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• England, P. (2010). The gender revolution: Uneven and stalled. Gender & Society, 24(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210361475
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fisher, A. N., & Ryan, M. K. (2021). Gender inequalities during COVID-19. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(2), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220984248
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Foley, M., & Cooper, R. (2021). Workplace gender equality in the post-pandemic era: Where to next? Journal of Industrial Relations, 63(4), 463–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856211035173
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Foster, D., & Wass, V. (2013). Disability in the labour market: An exploration of concepts of the ideal worker and organisational fit that disadvantage employees with impairments. Sociology, 47(4), 705–721. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038512454245
   Google Scholar
• Gabriel, A. S., Volpone, S. D., MacGowan, R. L., Butts, M. M., & Moran, C. M. (2020). When work and family blend together: Examining the daily experiences of breastfeeding mothers at work. Academy of Management Journal, 63(5), 1337–1369. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2017.1241
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gloor, J. L., Okimoto, T. G., & King, E. B. (2021). Maybe baby?” The employment risk of potential parenthood. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12799
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Goldin, C. (2021). Assessing Five Statements About the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Women [White paper]. Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN). https://www.nber.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/GOLDIN_SEANWhitePaper.pdf.
   Google Scholar
• Grandey, A. A., Gabriel, A. S., & King, E. B. (2020). Tackling taboo topics: A review of the three M’s in working women’s lives. Journal of Management, 46(1), 7–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206319857144
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guerrina, R., Borisch, B., Callahan, L. F., Howick, J., Reginster, J. Y., & Mobasheri, A. (2021). Health and gender inequalities of the COVID-19 pandemic: adverse impacts on women's health, wealth and social welfare. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2, 670310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2021.670310
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Heggeness, M. L., Fields, J., Garcia Trejo, Y. A., & Schulzetenberg, A. (2021, March 3). Moms, work and the pandemic: Tackling job losses for mothers of school-age children during a health crisis. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/moms-work-and-the-pandemic.html.
   Google Scholar
• Hing, L. S. S., Sakr, N., Sorenson, J. B., Stamarski, C. S., Caniera, K., & Colaco, C. (2023). Gender inequities in the workplace: A holistic review of organizational processes and practices. Human Resource Management Review, 33, 100968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100968
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hochschild, A., & Machung, A. (2012). The second shift: Working families and the revolution at home (Revised Edition). Penguin Books.
   Google Scholar
• Holvino, E. (2010). Intersections: The simultaneity of race, gender and class in organization studies. Gender, Work & Organization, 17(3), 248–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00400.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• hooks, b. (2000a). Feminist theory: From margin to center. Pluto Press.
   Google Scholar
• hooks, b. (2000b). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. South End Press.
   Google Scholar
• hooks, b. (2004). We real cool: Black men and masculinity. Psychology Press.
   Google Scholar
• Jefferson, L., Golder, S., Heathcote, C., Avila, A. C., Dale, V., Essex, H., van der Feltz Cornelis, C., McHugh, E., Moe-Byrne, T., & Bloor, K. (2022). GP wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. British Journal of General Practice, 72(718), e325–e333. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0680
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jones, J. (2021, March 19). 5 facts about the state of the gender pay gap. U.S. Department of Labor Blog. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://blog.dol.gov/2021/03/19/5-facts-about-the-state-of-the-gender-pay-gap.
   Google Scholar
• Kantamneni, N. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations in the United States: A research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103439
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kaplan, S. (2020). Beyond the business case for social responsibility. Academy of Management Discoveries, 6(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2018.0220
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kaufmann, L., & Derry, R. (2023). On valuing women: Advancing an intersectional theory of gender diversity in organizations. Academy of Management Review, https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2021.0382
   Google Scholar
• Kelly, E. L., Ammons, S. K., Chermack, K., & Moen, P. (2010). Gendered challenge, gendered response: Confronting the ideal worker norm in a white-collar organization. Gender & Society, 24(3), 281–303. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210372073
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kelly, E. L., Kossek, E. E., Hammer, L. B., Durham, M., Bray, J., Chermack, K., Murphy, L. A., & Kaskubar, D. (2008). 7 Getting there from here: Research on the effects of work–family initiatives on work–family conflict and business outcomes. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 305–349. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520802211610
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kossek, E. E., Perrigino, M., & Lautsch, B. A. (2023). Work-life flexibility policies from a boundary control and implementation perspective: A review and research framework. Journal of Management, 49(6), 2062–2108. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221140354
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kossek, E. E., Perrigino, M., & Rock, A. G. (2020). From ideal workers to ideal work for all: A 50-year review integrating careers and work-family research with a future research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103504, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103504
   Google Scholar
• Laster Pirtle, W. N., & Wright, T. (2021). Structural gendered racism revealed in pandemic times: Intersectional approaches to understanding race and gender health inequities in COVID-19. Gender & Society, 35(2), 168–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432211001302
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ledgerwood, A., Hudson, S. T. J., Lewis, N. A., Maddox, K. B., Pickett, C. L., Remedios, J. D., Cheryan, S., Diekman, A. B., Dutra, N. B., Goh, J. X., Goodwin, S. A., Munakata, Y., Navarro, D. J., Onyeador, I. N., Srivastava, S., & Wilkins, C. L. (2022). The pandemic as a portal: Reimagining psychological science as truly open and inclusive. Perspectives on Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211036654
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mauthner, N. S., & Edwards, R. (2010). Feminist research management in higher education in Britain: Possibilities and practices. Gender, Work & Organization, 17(5), 481–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00522.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• O’Hagan, C. (2018). Broadening the intersectional path: Revealing organizational practices through ‘working mothers’ narratives about time. Gender, Work & Organization, 25(5), 443–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12056
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Okechukwu, C. A., Souza, K., Davis, K. D., & De Castro, A. B. (2014). Discrimination, harassment, abuse, and bullying in the workplace: Contribution of workplace injustice to occupational health disparities. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 57(5), 573–586. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22221
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• O’Reilly, A. (2021). Matricentric feminism: Theory, activism, practice. Demeter Press.
   Google Scholar
• Padavic, I., Ely, R. J., & Reid, E. M. (2020). Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The work-family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), 61–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219832310
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Peters, P., & Blomme, R. J. (2019). Forget about ‘the ideal worker’: A theoretical contribution to the debate on flexible workplace designs, work/life conflict, and opportunities for gender equality. Business Horizons, 62(5), 603–613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.04.003
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Powell, G. N. (2020). Work–family lockdown: implications for a post-pandemic research agenda. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 35(7/8), 639–646. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-05-2020-0148
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Power, K. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the care burden of women and families. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 16(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Putnam, L. L., Myers, K. K., & Gailliard, B. M. (2014). Examining the tensions in workplace flexibility and exploring options for new directions. Human Relations, 67(4), 413–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726713495704
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ramarajan, L. (2014). Past, present and future research on multiple identities: Toward an intrapersonal network approach. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 589–659. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2014.912379
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rosette, A. S., de Leon, R. P., Koval, C. Z., & Harrison, D. A. (2018). Intersectionality: Connecting experiences of gender with race at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 38, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2018.12.002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rowley, S., Pineault, L., & Dickson, M. (2021). Crisis demands leadership, so does our research. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(1-2), 112–116. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2021.18
   Google Scholar
• Rudman, L. A., & Mescher, K. (2013). Penalizing men who request a family leave: Is flexibility stigma a femininity stigma? Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 322–340. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12017
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sang, K., & Glasgow, S. (2016). Apathy, excitement and resistance: Teaching feminism in business and management schools. Palgrave Communications, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2016.23
   Google Scholar
• Sawyer, K., Salter, N., & Thoroughgood, C. (2013). Studying individual identities is good, but examining intersectionality is better. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(1), 80–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/iops.12012
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF). (2014). Race equity and inclusion action guide. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF_EmbracingEquity7Steps-2014.pdf.
   Google Scholar
• Thier, J. (2022, February 3). 95% of knowledge workers want flexible hours more than hybrid work, and managers should pay attention. Fortune. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://fortune.com/2022/02/03/knowledge-workers-say-they-want-flexible-hours-more-than-hybrid-work.
   Google Scholar
• Verniers, C., & Vala, J. (2018). Justifying gender discrimination in the workplace: The mediating role of motherhood myths. PLoS One, 13(1), e0190657. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190657
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walsh, R. J. (2015). XI. ‘Objectivity’ and intersectionality: How intersectional feminism could utilise identity and experience as a dialectical weapon of liberation within academia. Feminism & Psychology, 25(1), 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353514562807
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wenham, C., Smith, J., & Morgan, R. (2020). COVID-19 is an opportunity for gender equality within the workplace and at home. Bmj, 369), https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1546
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Williams, J. C. (2020, May 11). The pandemic has exposed the fallacy of the “ideal worker”. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2020/05/the-pandemic-has-exposed-the-fallacy-of-the-ideal-worker.
   Google Scholar
• Williams, J. C., Berdahl, J. L., & Vandello, J. A. (2016). Beyond work-life “integration”. Annual Review of Psychology, 67(1), 515–539. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033710
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Williams, J. C., Blair-Loy, M., & Berdahl, J. L. (2013). Cultural schemas, social class, and the flexibility stigma. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 209–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12012
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Williams, K. S., & Mills, A. J. (2019). The problem with women: A feminist interrogation of management textbooks. Management & Organizational History, 14(2), 148–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449359.2019.1598436
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Williamson, S., Taylor, H., & Weeratunga, V. (2023). Working from home during COVID-19: What does this mean for the ideal worker norm? Gender, Work & Organization, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13081
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yavorsky, J. E., Qian, Y., & Sargent, A. C. (2021). The gendered pandemic: The implications of COVID-19 for work and family. Sociology Compass, 15(6), e12881. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12881
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yip, J., Trainor, L. L., Black, H., Soto-Torres, L., & Reichard, R. J. (2020). Coaching new leaders: A relational process of integrating multiple identities. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 19(4), 503–520. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2017.0449
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zanhour, M., & Sumpter, D. M. (2022). The entrenchment of the ideal worker norm during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from working mothers in the United States. Gender, Work & Organization, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12885
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar