Perceiving gendered organizations: positions, power, and gender in geoscience

Abstract

This article explores inequality in European geoscience organizations through the perspective of geoscience women professionals and their perception of gendered positions in academia and industry. Male dominance in geoscience organizations has previously been demonstrated within US and Canadian organizations, often in relation to gender inequality in STEM subjects and rarely in relation to the specific ideals and practices that shape geoscience. The current study contributes a European context, as well as a comparative approach to gendered positions in the organizational contexts of academia and industry. Using participatory research methods and visualization techniques, the study collected 42 organizational maps of academic and industry organizations in 16 European countries. The results reveal perceptions of gender inequality in academic and industrial geoscience organizations through women’s limited access to positions of power, i.e. women geoscience professionals perceived underrepresentation in senior management positions in industry and in senior positions in academic organizations. Within the growing demand for geoscience expertise in the green transition, the results raise questions about what the perceived structures of gender inequality mean in relation to sustainable employment and good working conditions in European geoscience.