Gendering occupations

persistence and resistance of gender presumptions about members of particular healthcare professions

Authors

  • Katie Ekberg University of Queensland
  • Stuart Ekberg Queensland University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.24082

Keywords:

Conversation Analysis (CA), gender presumptions, person reference, categorisation, healthcare interactions

Abstract

In spite of increasing gender diversity in employment roles, presumptions persist about the gender of people employed in particular occupations. Focusing on healthcare data collected in Australia and the United Kingdom within the past decade, we use conversation analysis to identify how presumptions about gender are displayed within social interaction through the use of gender-specific pronouns. We show how gender-specific pronouns are asymmetrically selected on the basis of a referent’s occupations, with gender-unspecified members of traditionally male occupations (e.g. doctors) referred to with masculine pronouns and gender-unspecified members of traditionally female occupations (e.g. nurses) referred to with feminine pronouns. We also explore ways people avoid making such presumptions. Our analysis therefore reveals a state of flux in contemporary social life, with instances in which gender presumptions persist as well as attempts to employ person references that reflect contemporary social dynamics.

Author Biographies

  • Katie Ekberg, University of Queensland

    Katie Ekberg is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her interests involve conversation analysis and healthcare interactions. Her previous research has involved examining client-practitioner communication in cognitive behavioural therapy sessions for clients diagnosed with depression, calls with specialist nurses on a major UK cancer helpline, consultations with neurologists and patients suffering from seizure disorders, and most recently audiology and speech pathology appointments with adults and children with hearing impairment.

  • Stuart Ekberg, Queensland University of Technology

    Stuart Ekberg is a research fellow in the School of Psychology and Counselling at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He specialises in conversation analysis and conducts research investigating social interactions in everyday, educational, and clinical settings. In 2016 he was awarded a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award by the Australian Research Council, which will support a three-year study of psychotherapeutic interactions.

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Published

2017-03-28

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Ekberg, K., & Ekberg, S. (2017). Gendering occupations: persistence and resistance of gender presumptions about members of particular healthcare professions. Gender and Language, 11(1), 100-120. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.24082