APOLOGIES - previous e-mail didn't come out right for some reason. Apologies for cross-posting - please find below a call for abstracts for Special stream at Gender Work and Organization conference 2016

Exploring the Rise of Moderate Feminisms in Contemporary Organizations

Stream Convenors:
Maria Adamson, Middlesex University, ENGLAND
Ingrid Biese, Hanken School of Economics, FINLAND
Elisabeth Kelan, Cranfield School of Management, ENGLAND
Patricia Lewis, University of Kent, ENGLAND
Ruth Simpson, Brunel University, ENGLAND

This stream will focus on the rise of moderate feminisms. Initial interpretations of postfeminism – both populist and academic – have highlighted the demise and obsolescence of feminism. Populist accounts have taken a number of forms including a version which highlights ‘progressive’ movement from a prefeminist era to a feminist era to a postfeminist era; an interpretation which aggressively blames feminism for disrupting women’s lives at great cost to their happiness; and a celebratory account of postfeminism which places emphasis on feminism’s success in providing choice and opportunity to today’s women.  According to Projansky (2001) underpinning these populist accounts is the assumption that feminism is no longer wanted or required.  Academic accounts (e.g. Gill, 2007; McRobbie, 2009; Tasker & Negra, 2007) while providing more considered and nuanced interpretations of postfeminism, also conceptualise this cultural phenomenon as signifying the simultaneous absorption and denunciation of feminism.  As McRobbie (2009) argues feminism has to be understood as having passed away for it to be taken into account.

More recently, the claim that feminism has been completely repudiated as archaic and unwarranted has been contested. Indeed, the emergence of high profile (moderate) feminists such as Sheryl Sandberg and Anne-Marie Slaughter in America and Theresa May and Karren Brady in Britain signals that feminism is experiencing a revival in the public sphere.  In addition, the United Nations Women #HeforShe campaign has generated much popular discussion about men’s role in gender equality generally and feminism more specifically. According to Dean (2010) the focus on the repudiation of feminism in interpretations of the postfeminist phenomenon, means that contemporary affirmations of feminism are downplayed or ignored. He argues that what appears to be a rejection of feminism does not mean complete renunciation of feminist thinking rather what is shunned is an excessive radical feminism in favour of a more moderate, conservative feminism. “Excessive” feminism is associated with the 1970s, characterised by an emphasis on shared struggle, common connection with other women and the pursuit and implementation of collective solutions to communal problems.  In contrast, central to emerging moderate feminisms - including neoliberal feminism (Rottenberg, 2013); choice feminism (Kirkpatrick, 2010); conservative feminism (Hinsliff, 2012) and empowerment feminism (Banet-Weiser, 2015) - is the individuated female subject who recognises the persistence of gender inequalities but perceives the solution to inequality as dependent on individual action ‘…transforming collective liberation based upon a commitment to the common good into a limited form of individuated self-care’ (Rottenberg, 2014: 433). In addition, there is a strong rejection of the idea that women are victims requiring ongoing, organized protection and the absence of a critique of systemic male dominance alongside an associated desire to avoid alienating men. 

This stream aims to investigate the complexities and complications attached to the emergence of moderate forms of feminism for feminist organization studies. What are the implications of moderate feminisms which conceptualise ‘true equality’ as ‘…predicated upon individuals moving up the professional ladder, one woman at a time (emphasis in original) (Rottenberg, 2014: 426)? Can moderate feminisms co-exist alongside more radical feminist perspectives within organization studies? What issues come into focus when we investigate gender in contemporary organizations against the backdrop of these developments? Indeed, are these so-called moderate feminisms really feminist? The following issues are indicative of the field of focus of this subtheme:
•	The emergence and manifestation of moderate feminisms in contemporary organizations
•	The relationship between moderate feminisms, postfeminism and neoliberalism in organizations
•	The impact of moderate feminisms on theorising and understanding experiences of work-based gender relations
•	The relationship between ‘women’s choices’, individualization and gender discrimination in the context of moderate feminisms
•	The rehabilitation of (moderate) feminism and the rise of the corporate feminist
•	The potential for progressive change and emancipation within a moderate feminist gender regime
•	Moderate feminisms and emerging femininities within contemporary organizations
•	Men’s involvement in moderate feminism and its potential for organizational change
•	The impact of moderate feminisms on men and masculinities
•	Can moderate feminisms be considered feminist?
•	Is there a place/role for feminisms underpinned by notions of solidarity and the wider social good in contemporary organizations?
•	Imagining new feminist futures in contemporary organizations

Abstracts of approximately 500 words (ONE page, Word document NOT PDF, single spaced, excluding references, no header, footers or track changes) are invited by 1st November 2015 with decisions on acceptance to be made by stream leaders within one month. All abstracts will be peer reviewed. New and young scholars with 'work in progress' papers are welcomed. Papers can be theoretical or theoretically informed empirical work. In the case of co-authored papers, ONE person should be identified as the corresponding author. Due to restrictions of space on the conference schedule, multiple submissions by the same author will not be timetabled. Abstracts should be emailed to:    [log in to unmask]     Abstracts should include FULL contact details, including your name, department, institutional affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail address. State the title of the stream to which you are submitting your abstract. *Note that no funding, fee waiver, travel or other bursaries are offered for attendance at GWO2016*.

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