Gendering professionalism: role of dress, space and female relationships in the making of a "professional" woman

Uşar, Onar Ş. (2006) Gendering professionalism: role of dress, space and female relationships in the making of a "professional" woman. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study is based on a fieldwork research conducted in the head office of a local contracting company in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It examines various everyday work activities and organizational structures whereby a particular form of professional female employee identity is constructed and the dominant company discourse of professionalism is gendered. During 14 weeks of intensive fieldwork, physical appearance, spatial dynamics, and work relationships between female employees emerged as three interconnected processes through which the women in the company identify and present themselves as professional female workers. My analysis suggests that these processes are embedded in bodily dynamics and intersects with the prevailing discourse of professionalism in the creation of gendered and (hetero)sexualized identities of women in the company. In addition, I discuss the notions of agency and resistance during this creation process and raise critical questions for further consideration.

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