Gender, Age and Inequality in the Professions: Exploring the Disordering, Disruptive and Chaotic Properties of Communication

The literature on gender and professions shows that professional careers continue to be impacted by gender – albeit with important differences among professions and countries. Much less researched is the issue of the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work.

Gender, Age and Inequality in the Professions explores men’s and women’s experiences of professional work and careers through an intersectional lens by focusing on the intersection of gender and age. The chapters explore different professions – including Medicine, Nursing, Law, Academia, Information Technology and Engineering – in different Western countries, in the present and over time. Through original research, and critical re-analysis of existing research, each of the chapters explores the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work, with particular attention to professionals just entering professional careers, those building professional careers, and comparisons of men and women in professions across generational cohorts.

The book contributes to literature on inequalities in the professions by demonstrating the ways in which gender and age converge to confer privilege and produce disadvantage, and the ways in which gender inequality is reproduced, and disrupted, through the activities of professionals on the job. The book constitutes a departure point for future research in terms of theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on how gendered and age-related processes are produced and reproduced in particular organisational, professional and socio-cultural contexts. To enhance generational understanding, relationships and collaboration in educational institutions, organisations and professions, the book ends with a section on policy recommendations for educators, professionals, professional organisations as well as policy- and decision-makers. This book will also appeal to students and researchers in the fields of Sociology, Gender Studies, Organisational and Management Studies, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology as well as related disciplines.

Marta Choroszewicz, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher in sociology at the University of Eastern Finland. She completed her PhD on career experiences of women in the legal profession in Finland and Poland. She is currently involved in two projects. The first project explores the links between mobile technologies, intersection of gender and age, work-family reconciliation and career progress in the legal profession. The second project, Data-Driven Society in the Making, focuses on the use of digital data and learning algorithms in healthcare and social welfare services in Finland.

Tracey L Adams is a sociologist at the University of Western Ontario, Canada who specializes in the sociology of work, occupations and professions. Within this broad area, she has two primary areas of research. The first explores work and social inequality, with a focus on gender, in intersection with class, race, and age. The second research area is professional work in Canada. This research pays particular attention to professional regulation, profession creation, professional change, and inter-professional relations.