Beyond tokenism: Breaking the men's circle for gender equality at male-dominated jobs

Koçancı M., Aksoy B., Namal M. K.

WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL FORUM, cilt.110, sa.3, ss.1-10, 2025 (SSCI)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 110 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103097
  • Dergi Adı: WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL FORUM
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, American History and Life, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Gender Studies Database, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-10
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In Türkiye, various efforts are being undertaken by public, private sector, and civil society initiatives to ensure

gender equality in the workplace. However, significant steps remain to achieve full equality between women and

men. This study aims to understand the impacts of organizational gender equality efforts on employees. To

achieve this, it examines a project implemented to increase women’s employment in male-dominated professions

and evaluates the outcomes generated by this initiative. In the study, participants were selected using a purposive

sampling method, comprising women working in male-dominated occupations and operating heavy machinery,

and focus group interviews were conducted. The data were subjected to constant comparative and content

analysis. In the study, 133 expressions were grouped under 13 different codes, and these codes were evaluated

under the themes of gender equalities, conflicts and organizational issues, and women’s specific struggles. According

to the research findings, the current situation of women employed to increase the proportion of women

in male-dominated jobs within the scope of the organization’s gender equality policies is explained by the

phenomenon of tokenism. Furthermore, it was observed that participants experienced gender inequalities shaped

by the traditional gender roles and attitudes of managers and male colleagues. These inequalities arise from

insufficient regulation of key processes like training, promotion, and resource allocation, exacerbating women’s

workplace struggles. These organizational deficiencies are reinforced by sexist attitudes and manifest as a solidarity

pattern among men, which we conceptualize in this study as the “men’s circle,” exhibiting a high tendency

towards normalization. In the conclusion, individual, organizational, and socio-cultural ways of breaking the

men’s circle that fosters tokenism are discussed.