Fathers' Stories of Resistance and Hegemony in Organizational Cultures

Abstract

This article focuses on the practices of resistance and hegemony that oppose change in gender cultures in organizations. It suggests that analysis of the narratives produced by organizational actors is a fruitful method with which to deal with issues of this kind. In particular, the analysis concentrates on how resistance and hegemony practices may affect the implementation of changes promoted at a normative level — as in the case of the Italian law that has extended the right to take parental leave for childcare to men as well, in opposition to the dominant cultural models of gender. The analysis of the experiences reported by men belonging to different organizations, and having in common the use of parental leave to spend time with their children, allows us to reflect upon the fact that the symbolic orders of gender in organizations cannot be challenged at a normative level if the change does not affect the organizational culture, becoming embedded in everyday organizational practices.