IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE

Tara Benoit – COMM303

Identity

How individuals place themselves in the world through language and actions

“Zone of indifference” – work-related side of individual, separate from real self

Identity

Authenticity – desire to combine work and real selves to be honest in how we live and work

Difference

Organizations aim to regulate and control diverse member identity

Feminist organizational communication scholars have attempted to enable women to participate more fully in organizations

Four Frames of Identity

1. Gender Differences at Work

2. Gender Identity as Organizational Performance

3. Gendered Organizations

4. Gendered Narratives in Pop Culture

Gender Difference at Work Gender identity is the product of

biological or socialized differences manifested in different communication styles

Gender Differences at Work Report talk – style of speaking men use

to gain status by emphasizing:Knowledge, skill, and abilityInstrumentalityConversational commandAbstract terms over personal experience

Gender Differences at Work

Women use rapport talk in conversations to build relationships

Gender Identity as Organizational Performance

Gender identities are ongoing accomplishments

Identity is accomplished through “doing” rather than “being”

Gender Identity asOrganizational Performance

Emotional labor – a type of work wherein employees are paid to create a “package” of emotions

Gendered Organizations

Organizations are gendered by structures, policies, and practices that produce and reproduce gendered scripts

Gendered Organizations

Organizations are also “raced” and “classed” in ways that reflect inequitable divisions in everyday organizational life

Gendered Narratives in Pop Culture

Shifts attention from communication in organizations to communication about organization

Gendered Narratives in Pop Culture

We are significantly influenced by films, books, TV shows, news reports, magazines, and fashion

In Relation to NWSF

The planning committees of the NWSF wanted to “shape participation and highlight particular issues and people who are not typically highlighted in open events.” 

In Relation to NWSF

By including people like small farmers, women, and homeless people, the NWSF did not discriminate against the differences these people had