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Despite increasing interest internationally in remedying the underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples within education, this paper highlights how the concept of 'fit' undermines efforts to 'indigenise the academy'. Drawing from a national study with Indigenous (Maori) academics, we utilise Indigenous methodologies to explore the extent of career fit for Maori business academics, defined as the level of compatibility between career experiences and individual needs and interests. Our findings go beyond the examination of fit, to highlight how two career strategies, namely, 'strategic academic career navigation' and 'carving a meaningful career', are adopted in response to (mis)fit in the academy in attempts to construct meaningful careers. We conclude that international efforts to enhance Indigenous academic representation need to account for the ways in which Indigenous values and aspirations shape career decisions and enactment. Findings from this research have implications for recruitment, retention and development strategies for Indigenous peoples, who remain a priority group in higher education as staff and students within multiple international contexts.

This paper reports on findings of an interpretive study, which used the Kaleidoscope Career Model as lens through which to view the careers of professional women in education. The study used hermeneutic phenomenology, a methodology novel in management and career management to gain a subjective perspective on women's career experience and what career means to them at different career stages. Findings indicated that women did not "opt-out," or adopt a clear-cut gender beta career pattern. Rather, they mirrored an alpha pattern with challenge continuing into mid-career. The three Kaleidoscope Career Model parameters operated in an ongoing way in women's lives, and authenticity was a powerful theme throughout their careers. However, women in late career tended to "lean back"; their desire for authenticity became subjugated by their need for balance. These findings add to extant Kaleidoscope Career Model research and reveal factors, which contribute to women's ability to "opt-in" rather than out of their careers.

This exploratory study of female general staff across New Zealand universities examined career motivation, subjective discrimination and home and occupational salience. Career development and aspirations and multiple home and community commitments were examined through a self-administered online questionnaire. Skill recognition, a good relationship with management and confidence in one's abilities contributed towards a positive career attitude. A perception of limited career opportunities at the participants' universities reduced the importance placed on work. Respondents, particularly those with postgraduate qualifications, were found to possess high levels of career motivation and occupational salience. Of research interest was whether the female general staff perceived additional barriers compared with female academic staff or their male general staff colleagues. Participants perceived role-based subjective discrimination when they compared themselves with female academic staff. A number of implications are discussed directed towards increasing positive career experiences.

Boundaryless career theory has been criticised for its ambiguity and lack of attention to the range of boundaries that influence careers. However, career scholars have also indicated there is hope for the theory through calls to understand a broader range of boundaries, and a continued interest in exploring boundaries, their properties, and career behaviours as people respond to these boundaries. In this article, we examine career boundaries specific to Indigenous (Māori) business academics. Consequently, we seek to extend boundaryless career theory by explicating how cultural boundaries act as key organising mechanisms in the careers of Māori academics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on 27 interviews with three participant groups, findings from this national study demonstrate how cultural boundaries, specifically cultural responsibility and cultural conduct, guide individual and collective career behaviour, priorities and aspirations. Further, from the perspective of non-Māori business school decision makers, cultural boundaries serve to challenge the legitimacy of Māori academics as knowledge producers, limiting career opportunities for Māori in the academic context. Our findings contribute to the advancement of boundaryless career theorising and underscore not only the important role culture plays in career enactment and decision making, but also the need for a shared understanding from managers and human resource professionals to facilitate career opportunities for Indigenous Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commonly recommended success strategies of mentoring, networking and broader organizational change are discussed before considering whether the prominence of women in senior positions signifies success for the individual or whether it is an indicator of collective success for women. It is observed that the senior women managers have sought and achieved power as individuals while the power relations and the culture within organizations remain largely unchanged.

Law continues to be an attractive career path for women. Yet evidence shows that women's careers in law stagnate with proportionally small numbers of women progressing up the hierarchy from law graduate to partner. In this study we investigated how gendering and class processes impact on women's career progression. A major contribution is that we explored the heterogeneous views held by women below and above the partnership line, in Auckland's top law firms. Drawing on Acker's gendering processes (1990, 2006a) plus the accumulation of appropriate capitals needed to progress, we analysed 52 interview accounts. The women lawyers themselves were divided on how gendering and class processes impact on their career progression. Women partners accepted the hierarchical employment model of law and were confident in their role and place. Women below the partner line, while frustrated by the personal and professional requirements for success, did not demonstrate agency for change. In concluding, we reflect on the potential for change in the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short personal piece provides reflections on the contribution of Joan Acker's theorising and insights for gendered organization scholars working in New Zealand. We have positive recollections of Joan Acker the person, as well as her sharp and thoughtful analyses of gendered inequalities. Her contributions moved beyond gender as intersectionality influenced her later works. Her thoughts on positive organizational change are considered and finally, we offer quotes that will endure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2008.00576.x Byline: Judith K. Pringle ([dagger]) Abstract: Research on gendered identities in management has exploded over the past three decades. The focus on gender obscures the place of sexuality in gendered theory. In this article theories of gender as 'object', 'subject' and as social processes are used as interpretative frames to explore the ways in which gender and sexuality are enacted by lesbian managers. Their narratives demonstrate that managing gender was experienced primarily as managing heterosexuality. Disjunctions in identity positions revealed that heterosexual assumptions provide the foundation of gender. Reframing gender as 'heterogender' foregrounds heterosexuality and gender as intertwined and provides another layer to understanding how gender is 'done' in management. Author Affiliation: ([dagger])School of Business, Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1010, New ZealandEmail:judith.pringle@aut.ac.nz

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to operationalize context in diversity management research. Design/methodology/approach – A case analysis provides an example of the influences of context at macro, meso and micro levels. Country context (macro) and professional and organization contexts (meso) are analysed in relation to the micro individual experiences of gender and indigeneity at work. Findings – Tensions and inconsistencies at macro and meso levels impact on diversity management at a micro level. The authors demonstrate how power and context are intertwined in the biopolitical positioning of subjects in terms of gender and indigeneity. The contested legacy of indigenous-colonial relations and societal gender dynamics are “played out” in a case from the accounting profession. Research limitations/implications – Within critical diversity studies context and power are linked in a reciprocal relationship; analysis of both is mandatory to strengthen theory and practice. The multi-level analytical framework provides a useful tool to understand advances and lack of progress for diversity groups within specific organizations. Originality/value – While many diversity scholars agree that the analysis of context is important, hitherto its application has been vague. The authors conduct a multi-level analysis of context, connecting the power dynamics between the levels. The authors draw out implications within one profession in a specific country socio-politics. Multi-level analyses of context and power have the potential to enhance the theory and practice of diversity management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the question of how gender inequalities are produced in the film industry. In the absence of industry or organizational interventions, these inequalities seem unmanageable. We present an exploration of the gendered working lives of below-the-line film workers in New Zealand, in the context of the western film industry. Repeatedly, women activists have pointed out that a perception of gender equity contradicts the statistics, which demonstrate traditional as well as 'new' forms of sexism. In this post-feminist context inequality is typically invisible and unspoken, and there is a thriving narrative of meritocracy based on talent and determination, where 'you're only as good as your last job'. Below-the-line 'crew' are distinguished from creatives in a hierarchy of creativity. In the New Zealand film industry, they are not unionized, and there are no policies addressing gender. From their perspective, their powerlessness in terms of employment rights is taken as a given, a price they pay for doing their dream job. In spite of beliefs about merit, talent and the 'good idea', women's 'good ideas' and their work capabilities across a range of roles are less likely to be recognized and rewarded than those of men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing gender equality in the labour market continues to be a policy objective in many OECD countries. Wide national variations are evident in strategies and accomplishments towards improving gender equality at all levels of the labour market, including senior management and corporate governance roles. This article compares policy strategies in Norway and New Zealand directed towards achieving gender equality in the governance of corporate institutions. A principal feature of the New Zealand strategy has been a soft regulation approach in the form of advocacy and encouragement of equal employment opportunity policies, awareness-raising and benchmarking. For Norway the use of legislation in the form of quotas and affirmative action programmes has been the predominant strategy. Using empirical data collected in 2004-2005 on women's perceptions and experiences of corporate governance participation, this article critically examines these different policy strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boundaryless career, which challenges the assumptions of the traditional hierarchical career, has proved to be a remarkably popular and influential concept. However, we argue that it remains theoretically and empirically undeveloped, which limits its explanatory potential. We draw on some New Zealand empirical research highlighting the issue of who gets studied. Focusing on women's career experience, local ethnic groups and collective cultures we argue that these experiences represent a challenge to boundaryless career theory. Some of the theoretical assumptions on which boundaryless careers have been built are also interrogated: freedom from boundaries, individual volition and minimal influences from societal structures. We conclude that the boundaryless career story/odyssey is in danger of becoming a narrow career theory applicable only to the minority, if there is no engagement with theoretical and empirical critiques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study conducted to explore comparative patterns of promotion for women and men managers and to identify factors affecting their promotion. Objectives of the study; Description of the sample selected for the study; Identification of factors helping promotion; Factors hindering promotion; Conclusions contrary to popular myths offered to emergent managers by self-help books, researchers and consultants.