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Part of
Identity Struggles: Evidence from workplaces around the world
Edited by Dorien Van De Mieroop and Stephanie Schnurr
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 69] 2017
► pp. 21–38

Chapter 2
Coping with uncertainty

Gender and leadership identities in UK corporate life

Within corporate contexts, senior leaders must construct credible leadership identities if they are to demonstrate effectiveness in achieving business goals. This is a particular challenge for women, who have struggled historically to gain senior leadership positions. This chapter explores the identity struggles experienced by Karen, a woman Human Resources director within a management meeting as she delivers bad news about ‘company restructuring’ to her colleagues. Using Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA), I show how this leader struggles to maintain a professionally competent identity as she negotiates the bad news. The analysis reveals that despite the demands of her role, Karen demonstrates extraordinary linguistic competence in managing her team within a turbulent business world that continues to remain inhospitable to female leaders.

Keywords: leadership, gender, feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis, subject positioning, discourses
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Women in leadership
  • A case study of Karen: A woman business leader
  • The analysis
    • Denotative analysis
    • Connotative analysis
  • Identity struggles in women’s leadership
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 26 April 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.69.02bax
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