Session Summary

Session Number:225
Session ID:S87
Session Title:Beyond Armchair Feminism III: Moving from Gender to a Broader Diversity Lens in Organizational Diagnosis and Intervention
Short Title:Beyond Armchair Feminism III
Session Type:Division Joint Symposium
Hotel:Hyatt West
Floor:LL1
Room:Comiskey
Time:Monday, August 09, 1999 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Sponsors

GDO  (Audrey Murrell)amurrell@katz.business.pitt.edu (412) 648-1651 
ODC  (Rami Shani)ashani@calpoly.edu (805) 756-1756 

General People

Co-Chair Ely, Robin J. Columbia U. rely201244@aol.com 212-854-3239 
Co-Chair Meyerson, Debra Ellen Center for Gender in Organizations, Simmons GSM/Stanford U. debram@leland.stanford.edu 650-854-9667 
Presenter Holvino, Evangelina  Center for Gender in Organizations, Simmons/Chaos Management chaos@sover.net (802) 257-5218 
Presenter Katz, Judith  Kaleel Jamieson Company judithkatz@aol.com (202) 547-7154 
Presenter Thomas, David A. Harvard U. dthomas@hbs.edu (617)-495-6327 

Submissions

Abstract

This symposium will be the third Academy of Management symposium that explores various challenges encountered in translating feminist theories of organizations into change strategies that advance equity in organizations. The previous sessions focused on specific issues encountered as we and our colleagues worked with these theories in the course of action research projects in organizations. This symposium will explore another set of challenges and opportunities we have faced in efforts to take feminist theories out of the armchair and into organizations. We will broaden the dialogue to consider the challenges and opportunities one encounters when faced with the need or desire to address different identity group relations in diagnosis and change efforts, such as those based in social class, racial, or ethnic differences in the workforce. To facilitate our inquiry into the challenges and opportunities of explicitly broadening our focus "beyond gender", our symposium (and therefore the format of this proposal) will begin with an overview of the approach we have taken in our work on gender in organizations. We will then discuss, based on our own experiences, the value of moving beyond gender to include other aspects of diversity in organizational diagnosis and intervention.