This article considers gender and managerial identities in organizational life, taking the recent change in higher education in Sweden and England with the coming of the new public management as the context in which to explore these issues. In reviewing the literature on gender identity and organization/management, which has moved from a pre-occupation with difference to an examination of the complex inter-relationship between gender and organization, an attempt is made to operationalize the concept of ositionality, using insights from the work of Alcoff and Melucci. It is argued that Academic Shape Shifting is developed by academics during their time in academia, as well as in defensive and proactive response to the recent managerial reforms. A number of indicative responses to the recent changes are identified. These are: the Stressed Professor, the Managerial Advocate, the Administrative Patrician, the Accidental Female, the Academic Chameleon and the Resolute Researcher. As Academic Shape Shifting is used by social individuals in interaction with others, at particular moments in time and in different circumstances, it is concluded that the implications suggest complexity in the changing character of university life, with female academics in middle range positions facing more difficult compromises than their male counterparts. Key words. academic positioning; gender; higher education; identity; new public management; Sweden and England

The public sector in Europe has been subject to much change in recent years, not least because of the pronounced but uneven impact of the New Public Management. But if change is prevalent, gender inequality, gender segregation and gender differences remain persistent - as much in the public sector as elsewhere. Papers in this track explore a number of these gender issues, including how public sector managerialism and leadership is ‘gendered', how managerialism is responded to (and sometimes resisted) by women and men, the patterns of gendered occupational segregation, and the continuing inequalities in opportunity despite decades of ‘equal opportunity' legislation and action. Papers also explore cross-cutting differences of ‘race' and ethnicity and ofsexualities. Generalisation across Europe and the public sector is, of course, problematic and the papers in this track understandably tend to focus on specific countries and specific parts of the public sector with studies of health, higher education and social care predominating. The track will thus provide an opportunity to discuss differences as well as similarities in the form gender relations and inequality take within the public sector in a range of European countries.

In this article, we consider the implications of managerial reforms and performativity in higher education in Sweden and England, following the introduction of new public management and the development of neoliberalism. The article examines some gendered implications by drawing on the experiences of eight experienced female academics. The data are drawn from a dataset of interviews. The first interviews we present were conducted at the beginning of 2001 with two long-serving academics from each country. The rest of the interviews we present were conducted 10 years later, with academics who were, like the previous interviewees, long serving. The same interview questions were used for all the interviews. We found differences between the two countries, in terms of social democratic and liberal traditions, as well as similarities. In the earlier interviews, we found the reforms to be viewed negatively, while the later interviews suggested some accommodation in respect of research and management. Yet, despite this, the female academics in both countries had become increasingly subjected to performativity and were experiencing difficulties in undertaking research as they took on more teaching and administration.

Reports on findings from a research project, which has been examining the development of the New Public Management (NPM), a managerial reform movement for change in public sectors worldwide, and reports on a series of semi-structured interviews with academics in Sweden and England as elements of NPM are introduced into the daily routines of university work. The findings suggest that, despite evidence of common elements of the NPM appearing in Higher Education in the two countries in question, as well as many similarities of experience and response among those subjected to change, there are differences - with academics in England reporting longer hours and increased monitoring of their work than their Swedish counterparts. The article explores the nature of these similarities and differences.

This essay seeks to develop a theoretical framework for public-sector managerial change that draws on social movement theory, an approach located within the domain of political sociology. The essay opens with a brief examination of the literature on the New Public Management and governance which, it is argued, draws on a neo-liberal agenda, displays a tendency to de-centre or marginalize considerations of democracy and politics and offers abstract, top – down, descriptions of change. Approaches to social movement theory are considered, with particular attention paid to two dominant schools: the political process approach and new social movement theory which account for ‘how’ and ‘why’ change occurs. By operating through grass-roots networks, and offering symbolic challenges to the dominant neo-liberal order, social movements help us to see more clearly the limitations of conventional wisdom on public-sector managerial change, and consider resistances, accommodations and messy compromises. The essay seeks to use such insights to re-conceptualize public-sector managerial change.

In this article we consider organisation, gender and higher education, and what we term the routinisation of inequality, drawing on an empirical research investigation in Sweden and England. We understand the idea of as historically contingent human creations that reflect an imagined past as well as the interests, values, hopes and intentions of present members as they converge and diverge on specific issues at different times and in different places. We argue that the reproduction of inequality is an assumptive process, largely unchanging and not seen as exceptional or out of the ordinary in universities and that this is connected in the present period with increasing neo-liberalism in conjunction with the new managerialism. The main conclusion is that whilst inequality is experienced negatively by those it affects adversely and who would wish otherwise, it has become ingrained in everyday life as a part of our present taken for granted assumptive world. Consideration is given to future prospects.

Social work is now an organised occupation on all continents of the world (Barnes and Hugman 2002). Despite sharing a common basis however, the specific organisation and practice of social work is likely to vary between countries. In a general sense, local discourses concerning citizenship and the provision of welfare might contribute to the shaping of national configurations. If the typology offered by Esping-Anderson (1990) is relied upon, social work within the social democratic context of Sweden may well contrast with social work in the United Kingdom, which has evolved within the context of a liberal welfare regime. At the beginning of the twenty-first century however, the idea that nation states can retain their individual difference has been contested: globalisation is said to erode national borders and impact upon economic policies, social life, the construction of social problems and the welfare policies and practices that are pursued (Wilding 1997). One global trend is for neo-liberalism to modify or possibly even replace social democratic and liberal welfare regimes.According to Powell (2001), the implications of the neo-liberal discourse for the welfare state are ‘catastrophic' in that the fundamental commitment to distributive justice and social citizenship has gone. Policy theorists such as Clarke and Newman (1997) argue that neo-liberalism constructs welfare professionals such as social workers as expensive resources, pursuing their own interests and patronising the clients with whom they work. Whilst welfare services and some associated professionals may be required, this discursive framework dictates that these should be limited in number and remit and provided by the private and voluntary sector rather than the state. Importantly, market conditions should apply: the market in welfare would reduce cost and introduce ‘choice' for welfare ‘consumers' (Harris 2003). In consequence, the social work relationship is transformed as clients become ‘service users', ‘stakeholders' or customers in a service transaction. This paper considers the various ways in which neo-liberalism is impacting upon the provision of welfare in Sweden and the UK, but most specifically the way in which social work is currently being constructed and re-constructed. This has the potential to implicate the organisation, management and practice of social work. Commonalities and differences between social work in Sweden and the UK are identified in the light of the contrasting welfare histories, but also the way in which neo-liberalism is embraced and resisted

Purpose - The paper seeks to offer a consideration of the adequacy of the concept of abeyance in accounting for women's movement processes in non-social movement organisations in periods characterised by quiescence rather than insurgence.

Design/methodology/approach - The article is primarily conceptual.

Findings - By extending the political process school of social movement theory, which relies heavily on visible activism to explain movement success, to include the new social movement approach, it is contended that underlying processes of change, associated with the values and affiliations of those involved in non-social movement organisations, become clearer. Less visible processes are identified through the variable rhythms and multiple, discontinuous experiences of women's movement supporters characterised as concealed adherents, informal networkers, and fellow travellers who can include male supporters.

Research limitations/implications - Limitations: as the paper is primarily conceptual, there is a need to develop the practical implications beyond those mentioned below. Implications: there is a need to reorient research into organisational change to take fuller account of social movement processes.

Practical implications - It is recognised that the literature on organisational and managerial change in non-social movement organisations needs to take account of the differing experiences and potential strategies of those likely to be affected.

Originality/value - Originality of the paper lies in the use of insights drawn from the field of political sociology to enrich understanding of gender and organisational change.

This article considers change in academe in Sweden and England, focusing on gender equity and the new public management reforms. In drawing on social movement theory, it is argued that public sector agendas in these countries have been affected by the influences of their respective women's movements as well as by the new public management. The article explores these developments through the experiences of a group of employees whose voices are heard infrequently in the literature, those in middle-level academic positions in universities who are responsible for delivering change. It is argued that the rational, hierarchical, masculine discourses of the new public management offer challenges to women's movement supporters, whose influences and responses are examined. It is contended that the use of social movement theory, as a vehicle through which to conceptualize change, offers a number of insights. These are: the contribution made to gender equity by women who are not self-defined feminists or strongly committed to equal opportunities, known as femocrats; the contribution made by some supportive men to gender equity; and the potential for future collective opposition to the new public management from women's movements.

This paper considers the impact of managerialism and the reactions it has engendered in university life. It examines the degree to which institutions of higher education in the UK have in recent years been subjected to what some commentators have seen as a managerial assault, alongside economic pressures to restructure and reform, and explores the reactions of academic and administrative staff in middle and junior levels through a case study of two universities. Consideration is given to attempts to introduce managerial controls, including the setting of targets, appraisals and peer review, as well as to the resistances which followed. It is argued that the notion of resistance to domination and control has been underplayed in the literature of organization and management. In exploring its various manifestations it is shown that managerialism is not fully embedded in university life and that matters are far from settled. It is contended that those engaged in academe in middle and junior levels of the organizational hierarchy are actively seeking to keep alive the craft of scholarship by mediating and moderating the harsher effects of the changes through supportive or transformational styles of working.

Considers how women & men manage & organize the processes of urban governance in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, & London, UK, reporting findings from in-depth interviews & discussions with both female & male politicians & administrators (Ns not specified). Results suggest, contrary to the prevailing view, that women & men operate in both different & similar ways. (1) Women & men are both capable of operating in caring & aggressive ways & both display a concern for the duties of office. (2) However, it is argued that women generally enact the processes of office in different ways than men, balancing responsibilities of home, paid work, & office with no real demarcation between public & private realms, while men tend to compartmentalize their lives, dealing with different aspects of home, paid work, & office in turn, with little or no overlap between them. (3) It is shown that there is a tendency for men to objectify relationships & act more abstractly in their dealings with others, while women treat relationships as social situations to be (re)negotiated over time using a range of styles that can be characterized as both tender & tough, with women seen as flexible, competent, approachable, & highly respected by all concerned. Implications are considered for women's increasing presence in local governance. 61 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article reports on a research investigation into gender and local government in Mumbai in India and London in England. In both these cities female representation at the political level stands at around one third, achieved in London slowly in recent years and in Mumbai more rapidly through the adoption of a quota, or seat reservation system, implemented in 1992. In considering the experience of the women concerned it is argued that their presence and aspirations have been influenced through the networks of their respective women's movements, operating through civil society and the local state. In considering the ways in which they organize and manage the duties of office and their gendered identities, as well as in their focus on the most disadvantaged in their communities and in their dealings with others, the part played by social movements in influencing change is examined.

Reports a research project examining the 30% seat reservation or quota system for local female politicians in the Indian megacity of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), focusing on how women & men manage & organize their daily lives while contributing to public governance, with particular attention given to the cultural specificities of the Indian context in the period of postcolonial rule. Women politicians & public officials are held in high regard as valued & respected holders of public office. It is argued that their values & attitudes are more closely aligned to the public service ethos than are those of men, & their role in the processes of change affecting India at present may prove to be significant.

The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which leadership at middle management level in the public realm is gendered. This is attempted largely through a consideration of academic literature, supported by some empirical findings from a research investigation into higher education and social work in Sweden and England and a review of literature that reveals varying types of leadership characterized as masculinist. Taking the position that context shapes social relationships and subject positions, and provides opportunities as well as constraints, we consider leadership in the public sector under the sway of newpublic management, framed by neo-liberalism and the valorization of competition, selfinterested instrumentality, uncertainty and risk, operationalized in public sector organizations through performative regimes. It is argued that while some women and men are willing participants in the new regimes, others are antagonistic or ambivalent, finding themselves mired in neo-bureaucratic processes of surveillance and control, often stuck in occupational cul-de-sacs. It is contended that neo-liberalism and new public management are associated with masculinist forms of rationality that elevate individual winners and losers and divert attention from collective issues of gender. Rather than focus on gendered styles of leadership it is suggested that it is more important to look at their gendered performance and effects.