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Gender and the achievement of skilled status in the workplace: the case of senior women in the UK Fire & Rescue Service
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posted on 2023-06-08, 08:46 authored by Ruth WoodfieldThis article presents a qualitative study of a hitherto un-researched group, women leaders within the UK Fire & Rescue Service (FRS). The process of modernising the FRS has increased expectations of workforce diversification and of women more easily entering and progressing within the organisation. Here, however, participants’ commentary testifies to the difficulties women faced in being recognised as skilled workers in this context; achieving recognition for both physical and non-physical skills remained a contested process, and one that was not eased by promotion. Participants identified the heightened visibility that accompanied leadership as especially problematic, following a period of gender dimming and assimilation that many had undergone as marginal workers, and had undergone to maximize the chances of being recognised as skilled workers. The findings suggest that some new elements of the modernising FRS culture are less successful than they might be at supporting senior women.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Submitted version
Journal
Work, Employment and SocietyISSN
0950-0170Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
30Page range
237-255Department affiliated with
- Sociology and Criminology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2013-09-30Usage metrics
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