Male dominated workplaces and the power of masculine privilege: a comparison of the Australian Political and Construction sectors

Increasing women's representation in male dominated work sectors remains a persistent problem. This paper reorientates the focus from women's underrepresentation to male overrepresentation and privilege, to identify and compare the causal mechanisms between the overrepresentation of men in two traditionally male dominated work places in Australia: politics and construction. By applying feminist institutionalism, masculinities and privilege, it argues the overrepresentation of men is linked to gendered rules that uphold hegemonic masculinities which produce masculine privilege and supports a gender hierarchy. Masculine privilege occurs via three mechanisms: 1. a culture of denial; 2. perceptions that rules are neutral, legitimate and applied objectively; 3. through backlash and resistance to keep the gender status quo in place. We argue the effects of privilege combine to act as a barrier to the attraction, retention and progression of women to both sectors and conclude that the masculine privilege provides a valuable lens to explore how male dominance operates within work sectors.