01 223 Essig&Soparnot 2019 M@n@gement 2019, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective Elena Essig ! Richard Soparnot Accepted by co-editor in chief Thomas Roulet Abstract. Gender inequality is one of the most extensively investigated subjects across different disciplines and plays an important role in public and government policy debates. Because, historically, women have been fighting for their rights in society, gender inequality issues have been studied predominately from their point of view. There are a few studies that investigate gender inequality from the male perspective, but little empirical research has examined the male issues in the professional world. Furthermore, the literature on male difficulties is dispersed and lacks an integrative conceptual framework as it has been studied in different fields such as sociology, psychology and management studies. In this article, we propose an additional and complementary perspective, which observes the difficulties that the male working population can experience in the workplace. Based on a literature review, we present a first-level typology of male struggles in the professional world. We use it for the analysis of 33 semi-structured interviews conducted with male subjects who were perceiving or experiencing gender-related difficulties in the workplace. Finally, as a result of our empirical data, we revisit the typology and propose a final framework of existing male difficulties as well as new ones that are based on two dimensions: the nature of the occupation (traditionally female, male and gender-neutral) and the potential sources of difficulties (social circles, colleagues, superiors, clients). This study advocates for more awareness of existing gender inequality to help fight occupational segregation and promote flexible working arrangements for all genders. Keywords: gender inequality, male difficulties, male struggles, work–life balance, flexible working arrangements INTRODUCTION For decades, women have been fighting for their rights and equal treatment in society. While today they make up almost half of the workforce and comprise the statistical majority in terms of higher education degrees, they continue to earn considerably less (Burke, 2000; Evans, Carney & Wilson, 2013). For instance, the average European gender pay gap amounted to 16.3% in 2015 and reached its highest point of 26.9% in Estonia (Eurostat, 2017). To add to the stereotypical gender roles which women have been trying to dismantle for years, they are much more likely than men to work in emotional labor service occupations –doing domestic and child-care work (Scambor et al., 2014). Because of public debate and official policies, gender issues have often focused on the female perspective (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Women’s disadvantages and discrimination issues at work have been studied in depth by scholars �373 Elena Essig ESSCA School of Management France elena.essig@essca.fr Richard Soparnot Groupe ESC Clermont France richard.soparnot@esc-clermont.fr M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot and government bodies (Burke, 2000; Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Evans et al., 2013). According to Kimmel (2009), despite considerable progress, these advancements only represent a partial victory for women because of the remaining obstacle to gender equality – the behaviors and attitudes of men. The author states that “changes among men represent the next phase of the movement for women’s equality – that change among men is vital if women are to achieve full equality. Men must come to see that gender equality is in their interests – as men” (Kimmel, 2009: 360). Indeed, in many cases men do not recognize gender inequality simply because they do not see their own gender as privileged or distinctive (Acker, 2006). A complementary exploration of male experience can help further the question of gender inequality: “Men are both talked about and ignored, rendered simultaneously explicit and implicit. They are frequently the center of discourse but they are rarely the focus of interrogation” (Collinson & Hearn, 1994: 3). Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) trace the origins of the public debate about men to the early 1990s. Subjects such as “new fatherhood”, societal disadvantages concerning child custody – which is mostly granted to women after divorce – false imprisonment and accusations, compulsory military service, etc., have been discussed (Messner, 1998). Men also show higher suicide rates than women as a result of the interaction of several factors such as unemployment and economic hardship, lack of close social and family relationships, the influence of a historical culture of masculinity, personal crises such as divorce, as well as overall decreased well-being (ONS, 2014; Samaritans, 2012). In scientific studies, we find a small but growing body of work on male issues in sociology (Dulac, 2001; Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Vandello, Hettinger, Bosson & Siddiqi, 2013; Welzer-Lang, 2011), in psychology (Evans et al., 2013; Michel, Hall, Hays & Runyan, 2013; Spoor & Schmitt, 2011) and in organizational studies (Hearn & Collinson, 2009; Kimmel, 2009; Lupton, 2006; Nixon, 2009; Stenger & Roulet, 2018). However, this kind of research has several limitations. Firstly, as described by Welzer-Lang (2011: 45): “A counterproductive method, widely used by certain individuals opposed to critical studies on the masculine gender, consists in saying ‘there are not many of them: they do not exist’, or ‘this phenomenon concerns a minority, it does not exist, or is not worthy of interest’” . This statement partially explains the small number of articles 1 published in the past. Secondly, it is important to point out that little research has examined male issues in the professional world and when it has, in many cases, it has been based on Butler’s (1988) “(un)doing gender” framework and has delivered a better understanding of gender complexity that is especially interesting from psychological and sociological perspectives. Thirdly, the literature on male issues in the workplace seems scattered and lacks an integrative conceptual framework. If some authors summarize male problems, their writings are based on observations in consulting activities (Kimmel, 2009), lack empirical data (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007) or depart from the professional domain through the inclusion of societal issues such as violence (Scambor et al., 2014). Moreover, even if we were able to find some similarities in these works, they do not always focus on the same issues or examine them through the same perspective. Lastly, in 2006, the Council of the European Union (2006: 38–39) recognized “that issues related to men and gender equality have not yet �374 1. Original citation in French: “Une m é t h o d e c o n t r e - p r o d u c t i v e , largement utilisée par certaines personnes opposées aux études critiques sur le masculin, consiste à dire : ‘ils sont peu : ils n’existent pas’, ou ‘ce phénomène étant minoritaire, il n’existe pas, ou n’est pas digne d’intérêt’” (Welzer-Lang (2011: 45). Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 been looked at as an entirety, and that the question of men and gender equality should go beyond the reconciliation of professional and private life [...] and encourage[d] the Member States to pay attention to the promotion of gender equality, as well as how men relate to it [...]”. To summarize the research gaps, we can state that the literature on male issues in the workplace is scarce and dispersed; there is a lack of empirical research on the nature and the origins of difficulties, especially from the managerial perspective; and there is a need for more in-depth understanding of male difficulties for policy development related to gender equality. This paper aims to address these gaps by contributing to the growth of the research from a managerial perspective on male difficulties in the workplace. We carry out an empirical study of male struggles and investigate how men perceive and experience them in the professional world (how are the difficulties expressed?). Another objective of this paper is to understand the nature (what are the types of difficulties?) and the origins of the difficulties (how can we explain the existence of difficulties?). Thus, we offer a structured perspective of gender inequality as it is presented in the current scattered literature using an integrative framework of different forms of difficulties (discrimination, social judgment, lack of support, etc.) related to the male gender. As our results show, these issues can be related to the nature of the occupation (traditionally female, male, and gender-neutral) and to potential sources of difficulties (social circles, colleagues, superiors, clients). Thus, the purpose of this work lies in the clarification and re-organization of the current literature by proposing a new framework that can engender and guide future research on gender equality. To meet these objectives, we start with a brief section on terminology and offer a first typology of male difficulties compiled from a literature review. This literature review is based on four identified types of conflict zones where difficulties in the professional world can arise: (1) occupational choice conflict – men in traditionally female professions; (2) men’s work and family conflicts – men’s search for greater balance; (3) inter-gender conflict – men’s competition with women; and (4) intrapersonal conflict – men’s emotions and voice. Each category describes the several difficulties men face in the workplace. In order to empirically investigate these difficulties, the second section sets out our research design, the interview guide and our qualitative analysis method. We conducted 33 semi-structured interviews with men of different ages and from different professions; fifty hours of recordings were transcribed and analyzed. The third section sets out the results and proposes a final two-dimensional framework of male struggles in the workplace. We conclude the article with a theoretical discussion and practical implications that are of relevance at the political, organizational and individual levels. LITERATURE REVIEW This section presents the terminology and main literature references used for the construction of a typology of potential difficulties men perceive or face in the workplace. The purpose of this first-level typology is to offer a holistic perspective of the current scattered literature from different research fields such as psychology, sociology and management. � 375 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS During the literature review of gender inequality, we found some inconsistencies in terminology. Namely, there is sometimes confusion between four terms: stereotypes, inequality, discrimination and difficulties. We want to clarify these terms and simultaneously set a framework for this study. In the literature, gender stereotypes are sometimes presented as inequalities (see Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007). A stereotype can be defined as “the set of attributes that subjects agreed on as typical of the group” (Judd & Park, 1993: 109). The notion of inequality represents a discrepancy in the treatment of two or more comparable groups: i.e. men and women. For example, women earn lower wages than men. Although we agree that stereotypes lie at the root of gender inequality and discriminatory practice (Berry & Bell, 2012), they are not the main focus of our study. Furthermore, discrimination is “any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation” (ILO, 1958 cited in ILO, 2011). In other words, it is a process whereby a dominant group tries to maintain its advantages at the expense of another group. Discrimination can be conscious or unconscious based on interiorized social stereotypes such as masculinity and femininity (Belle & Doucet, 2003; ILO, 2011). Finally, in this study, “difficulties” is a broad term that encompasses inequality and discrimination practices that men might witness or experience in the workplace. In this section, we have defined the key terms that are important for understanding the typology and the final framework of male difficulties. These difficulties are presented in the next section. DIFFICULTIES MEN FACE IN THE WORKPLACE Our research was inspired by three papers on male gender inequality, The first paper is a book chapter (Kimmel, 2009) that brings together four separate issues. The first part of the chapter, under the title “Making Gender Visible”, outlines the need to deconstruct masculine stereotypes in order to help men speak up in difficult situations. The second issue concerns “The Workplace” and, more precisely, the feminization of the workplace and the new challenges that this development, according to the author, poses to the male gender. The third issue is entitled “Balancing Work and Family”, which gives an overview of the problems that men face when wanting to combine their private and professional spheres of life. Finally, the fourth issue, “Sexual Equality”, discusses the roots of male violence towards women outside the context of the workplace. However, it puts forward an important argument about men’s loss of power through the “breakdown of a patriarchy” and accentuates the need to fight for gender equality to prevent aggressive male behavior. The second paper is a short chapter in a book on gender inequality at work by Ghiulamila & Levet (2007). It highlights four main types of gender inequality from the male perspective. Firstly, in the section “Hearing the Men”, the authors argue that men have difficulty in expressing their emotions. Secondly, the perceived “Obligation of the ‘Manly Man’ Role” is presented as an obstacle to paternity leave because men fear that this act will damage their masculine image. In the third part of the chapter, the �376 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 authors present their “Atlas Syndrome”, which outlines the stereotype of the main “breadwinner” and presents the associated responsibilities as burdens. Finally, “Discomfort around noncompliant women” describes the attitudes and behaviors that men have towards “tough women” 2 (Ghiulamila & Levet 2007: 89) in the workplace. The third paper (Scambor et al., 2014) that inspired our typology provides a summary of the European research project “The Role of Men in Gender Equality (2011–2012)”. It has five sections covering education, care, health, work and violence. We do not consider the sections on education or violence in our article since they do not touch directly upon the professional environment. In the “Men, Gender Inequality and Health” section, the authors highlight the ignorance of male mental health issues by men themselves and by professional structures. Furthermore, in the section “Men, Gender Inequality and Care”, the authors emphasize that apart from in East European countries, there is a rising tendency to take parental leave and do more housework. Finally, the “Men, Gender Inequality and Work” section considers a variety of subjects such as occupational segregation, work and family reconciliation, the gender pay gap and part-time work. In analyzing these three papers (Appendix 1), which are the foundation for this research, we found them to have some limitations: the writings of Kimmel (2009) are based on observations in consulting activities, those of Ghiulamila and Levet (2007) lack empirical data and the conclusions of Scambor et al. (2014) go beyond the boundaries of the professional world through the inclusion of societal issues such as domestic violence. However, by going further and extending our secondary source analysis by adding 32 specialized research references (details in the research method section), we found similarities relating to four main types of conflict zones. These four zones describe spheres in which men may encounter difficulties, which represents our first-level typology (Table 1). The first of these is a conflict in occupational choice that relates to the difficulties men face in traditionally female professions. The second relates to work and family conflicts and describes difficulties encountered by men in their search for a more balanced lifestyle. The third type represents inter- gender conflict whereby men find themselves in competition with women. Finally, intrapersonal conflict is related to men’s difficulties in expressing their emotions. The four types of conflict zones are presented in detail in the following sections. Occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions Despite significant efforts to curb this phenomenon, the segregation of “male” and “female” work remains deeply embedded in labor markets. While women’s integration and roles in traditionally male professions, such as engineering (Marry, 2004), truck driving (Rodrigues, 2010) or construction site working (Gallioz, 2006; Scotto, Sappe & Boyer, 2008), have been thoroughly studied, only “a small but growing body of work has in recent years explored the experience of men who have moved into feminized work” (Pullen & Simpson, 2009: 78). Male difficulties in this conflict zone are multiple and not necessarily related, as the “occupational choice conflict” category shows. This category can be divided into four sub- categories: (1) social judgement; (2) difficulties with female peers; (3) discrimination by clients; and (4) sexual prejudice. � 377 2. We think that the expression “tough women” is a judgement based on n o n - m a t c h i n g s t e r e o t y p e s , a p r o t e c t i v e r e a c t i o n a n d / o r a n explanation for certain attitudes, looks or behaviors of women. Gender issues are unfortunately based on stereotypes and their resulting judgement. However, we find it inappropriate to censor the works of others. For instance Ghiulamila and Levet (2007) propose the title “Malaise vis-à-vis des femmes non commodes” and talk about “femmes d u r e s ” . F u r t h e r m o r e , i n o u r interviews, men use the expressions “tough women” or “endogenous women” in order to express their perception of a category of people they might feel uncomfortable around. We have tried to be as politically c o r r e c t a s p o s s i b l e w i t h t h i s expression and also consulted a l i n g u i s t . H e p r o p o s e d t h r e e alternatives for “tough” without the context – ill-tempered, callous and strong-natured. However, when we explained the context and gave him the French version of the chapter of Ghiulamila and Levet (2007), the linguist suggested that “tough” was the most appropriate solution. M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Social judgment Several studies (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; Gosse, Parr & Allison, 2008; Heikes, 1991; Lupton, 2006; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Simpson, 2005) have found that one of the difficulties men face in traditionally female professions is that of social judgement. They are more likely to be perceived as “not a real man” (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002: 214) and “weak” (Pullen & Simpson, 2009: 17), and to be criticized for this professional choice by friends, family members and peers. A study on counseling students shows that if the male students become integrated with their classmates, they will suffer constant “teasing and mocking” (Michel et al. 2013: 478) from their family and friends, creating more distance within these social circles. Difficulties with female peers According to several authors (Allan, 1993; Heikes, 1991; Jacques & Purgues, 2012; Michel et al., 2013; Mott & Lee, 2017; Tucker, 2015), the integration and acceptance of men by their female colleagues in traditionally female professions is complex for several reasons. As demonstrated in a study on midwives, female midwives exclude male doctors through gendered labor division between technical and emotional occupations. Midwives establish this atmosphere by reprimanding or mocking doctors for being too emotional with female patients. This makes it difficult for them to speak up, despite their hierarchical position (Jacques & Purgues, 2012). Similarly, two other studies (Michel et al., 2013; Mott & Lee, 2017) demonstrate that men have difficulty in speaking up when outnumbered by women. Finally, Heikes (1991) talks about discrimination and calls it the “he-man role trap” which is linked to the male gender and its associated strength, which puts men in positions involving heavy physical effort that are often asked of by women. Discrimination by clients In specific traditionally female professions, some researchers (Mott & Lee, 2017; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson 2009; Simpson, 2005) have been able to observe discriminatory practices by clients. For instance, when men choose child-care jobs, they become suspects of their social environment and seem to face discrimination, in part due to the assumption of their sexual orientation (more details in the next section). Parents are either hesitant to accept or categorically refuse male personnel. In order to deal with these concerns, child-care centers impose official and unofficial restrictions on men’s access to children at work (being alone with the children in a room, touching, cuddling and changing diapers). Through these policies, as well as unwritten rules, men experience feelings of dissonance or discrimination. Sexual prejudice “Sexual prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward an individual because of her or his [supposed] sexual orientation” (Herek, 2000). When men choose a non-traditional occupation, their personal and professional circles may question their sexual orientation (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Sargent, 2001; Tilcsik, Anteby & Knight, 2015). Generally speaking, in traditionally female professions, males’ sexuality is more alienated and questioned than that of their female �378 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 colleagues and they are subject to greater sexual prejudice (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Cross & Baglihole, 2002; Murray, 1996; Simpson, 2005). In this section, we have described the difficulties men face in the conflict zone of female-dominated occupations. These obstacles can create a certain resistance among the male population to choose and stay in these professions. WORK AND FAMILY CONFLICT: MEN’S SEARCH FOR BALANCE Despite “the increasing flexibility apparent in the labor market, women continue to dominate the ranks of part-time workers and men are still more likely to work full-time than part-time” (Sheridan, 2004: 208). Moreover, Benito-Osorio, Muñoz-Aguado and Villar (2014: 232) find that companies “employing more women also are more concerned with offering better work–life balance policies”. It may be for these reasons that the Families and Work Institute’s report states that men experience more work–family conflict than women and want to be more involved in family life (Aumann et al., 2011). Many men, especially fathers, publicly reacted to this study claiming their right to a more balanced life. Work–life balance is no longer a private problem – today, it is an organizational issue, since it has an impact on productivity (Benito-Osorio et al., 2014; Galinsky Matos & Sakai-O’Neil, 2013). The “men’s work and family conflict zone” is divided into two sub-categories: (1) heavy workload and (2) part-time work and parental leave. Heavy workload According to several authors (Ellingsæter, 1995; Halford, Savage & Witz, 1997; Hochschild, 2001) there are two types of employees: female workers and universal workers – “zero drag” employees or “ideal workers” . 3 These groups of “ideal” employees describe men without (m)any responsibilities such as a household or family, giving them the ability to fully devote their time and energy to the company. As a consequence, organizations prefer to hire and promote male workers (Collinson & Hearn, 1994; Kerfoot & Knights, 1993). Men generally seek to comply with these expectations and “[…] are willing to work longer hours, meet tight deadlines, travel extensively [and] participate in residential training courses” (Collinson & Hearn, 1994: 15). In addition to disrupted work–life balance, the working population also suffers from workaholism or “heavy work investment” (Snir & Harpaz, 2012), which particularly affects men (Burke, 1999; OECD, 2006; Smith, 2011). It leads to increased stress, burnout, reduced well-being and job satisfaction, and can result in divorce (Collinson & Hearn, 1994; Gascoigne, Parry & Buchanan, 2015). Part-time work and parental leave Here, we can observe several difficulties from the male perspective. Firstly, judgement and questioning from social circles can arise when men want to work part-time or take parental leave (Ladge, Humberd, Harrington & Watkins, 2015; Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Vandello et al., 2013). Secondly, Allard et al. (2007) and Kimmel (2009) found that many organizational cultures are far from supportive of paternity and parental leave and, therefore, men are judged by their co-workers. Kimmel (cited in � 379 3. This is exclusively based on existing literature and does not necessarily reflect the authors’ o p i n i o n s a b o u t t h e d i ff e r e n c e s between male and female workers. M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Paquette, 2015), for instance, quotes what working men who want to take parental leave hear from their colleagues: “I guess you’re not committed to your career, are you?”, or superiors: “Okay, you can take leave. You won’t make partner. We’ll put you on the ‘daddy track’”. Several studies (Ladge et al., 2015; Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Vandello et al., 2013) find that men who ask for family leave are perceived as “poor workers and ineligible for rewards” (Rudman & Mescher, 2013: 322), and face career penalties such as loss of promotion or job (Ladge et al., 2015; Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Vandello et al., 2013). In this section, we have demonstrated the difficulties that men may encounter when seeking to improve their work–life balance. INTER-GENDER CONFLICT: MEN’S COMPETITION WITH WOMEN Even if several studies (McKinsey, 2013; Netchaeva, Kouchaki & Sheppard 2015; Willsher, 2016) show that integrating women into top management positions is beneficial for reducing the gender pay gap and creating more family-friendly organizational policies, women are still under- represented at top management levels (McKinsey, 2013; Zarya, 2016). Moreover, according to some research (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Netchaeva et al., 2015) some men can claim to have negative experiences with female supervisors and/or so-called “tough women”, and express discomfort with positive discrimination measures. The “inter-gender conflict zone” thus includes two sub-categories: (1) difficulties with female supervisors and (2) positive discrimination. Difficulties with female supervisors Because “organizations have traditionally been established and managed by men” (Devine & Markiewicz, 1990: 36), women who seek to access managerial positions might display what are perceived as masculine and virile values, neglecting qualities such as empathy that are more often associated with women (Nelton, 1991). According to Ghiulamila and Levet (2007: 90), this organizational and political evolution tends to “produce tough women”, meaning that women may over- demonstrate values that are perceived as virile to impose themselves because of perceived or enacted gender dynamics in their work environment. This may partly explain why female supervision of male subordinates can result in lower satisfaction rates than for reversed gender dyads (Munson, 1979). Moreover, according to Netchaeva et al. (2015), men may feel inferior or threatened when working for a female superior. Positive discrimination Men may see themselves as being unfairly overlooked in favor of women because of positive discrimination practices. “The perception that women can now be placed on the ‘fast track’ leaves many men feeling passed over, ignored or excluded” (Burke & Black, 1997: 98). Men seem to lose their masculine identity through occasionally fierce competition with women. They also perceive the advantages that women have due to company employment equity and gender diversity policies. This can lead to some forms of misplaced resistance to gender inequality (Burke & Black, 1997: 934) in this context. For example, the authors mention male backlash reactions that “can be defined as any form of resistance men exhibit towards policies, programs and initiatives undertaken by �380 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 organizations to promote the hiring and advancement of marginalized [female] employees”. This section demonstrated the difficulties that men may encounter when working with the opposite gender. At times, female supervisors and positive discrimination practices might lead to a potential male backlash, where men “may rebel against and undermine organizational efforts to support women’s career advancement” (Burke, 2000: 168). INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT: MEN’S EMOTIONS AND VOICE The results of a large study on quality of life in Quebec showed that men have less social support, consult fewer health professionals, work irregular hours and overtime (workaholism), and have a considerably higher suicide rate compared to women (Rondeau et al., 2004). These statistical discrepancies are largely due to the difficulties that men face in expressing their negative or depressive thoughts (Devault, 2011; Dulac, 2001; Real, 2003), in asking for help (Bizot, 2007) or in speaking up as a minority in occupations that are numerically dominated by women (Michel et al., 2013; Mott & Lee, 2017). This section on the “intrapersonal conflict of men’s emotions and voice” has two sub-categories: (1) management of emotions and asking for help; and (2) difficulties in speaking up. Management of emotions and asking for help Real (2003) explains that men were raised to suppress and not express their emotions. Men often have difficulty in recognizing and bringing their feelings to the surface because of the repression of vulnerability that is influenced in early childhood when boys are encouraged to develop their “assertive public self” (Real, 2003:2 3). In adult life, the expression of pain, suffering or unhappiness is perceived as weak, as a failure (by men themselves and others) and can even lead to being socially punished (Dulac, 2001), creating an intrapersonal conflict. The quasi absence of male midwives (DREES, 2014) is due to the lack of an emotional bond, which most men seem to be incapable of creating with the female patient (Jacques & Purgues, 2012). Furthermore, the lack of men in traditionally female occupations is caused by men rejecting service jobs such as hairdressing, child-care, nursing, etc., considering them to be “female” activities that demand “social or people skills”. These men struggle to “manage their emotions” and to acquire “people skills” Nixon (2009: 317). Men who self-report as having mental issues, such as depression or anxiety, consult mental health professionals much less frequently than women (Devault, 2011). According to the author, 70% of men who have the courage to contact a health professional do not receive satisfactory support. Moreover, Bizot (2007) observes that associations which have been created to help single fathers balance parenting and work, face several problems such as lack of commitment caused by fear of social judgment. These fears can be reinforced by personal and/or professional environments that penalize men who seek help and show ethical attitudes and behaviors. According to Rosette, Meuller and Lebel (2015), male leaders who seek help are perceived as weak and incompetent, and those who practice ethical leadership suffer more from extra-role sex scandals than unethical leaders (Grover & Hasel, 2018). � 381 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Difficulty in speaking up As mentioned above, few men consult health specialists and ask for help. According to Michel et al. (2013), one of the reasons for this is the lack of male counselors. The potential matching of client and counselor genders could not only help men to express themselves more freely but also attract more male patients. Although this objective seems useful, its realization is more difficult to achieve because males receiving counseling seem to struggle with “being heard” as a minority in a predominantly female environment. This can lead to non-expression of feelings, exclusion and isolation. Mott and Lee (2017) found similar results in a study of male nurses. Gender-related communication differences and the fact of being under-represented force men to “watch themselves” (2017: 3), i.e. to constantly pay attention to their speech. In this section, we have presented male struggles linked to management of emotions and self-expression. Table 1 provides a typology organized according to four different types of difficulty faced by the male population at work and serves as a foundation for our field study. Table 1 - First-level typology of male difficulties in the workplace Occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions Men who choose a traditionally female profession can face several difficulties. Work and family conflict: men’s search for balance Men who (wish to) dedicate time to their children through part- time work or parental leave can encounter several difficulties. Inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women Men are facing new forms and sources of competition across genders. Intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice Society expects a man to be manly, strong and protective of others, and does not expect him to complain or show weakness. Social judgment for professional choice (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; Gosse et al., 2008, Heikes, 1991; Lupton, 2006; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Simpson, 2005) Men are exposed to “ideal worker” syndrome & heavy organizational workload (Allard et al., 2007; Collinson & Hearn, 1994; Gascoigne et al., 2015; Halrynjo, 2009; Kerfoot & Knights, 1993) Men with female supervisors feel “threatened” (Netc haeva et al., 2015), experience lower satisfaction (Munson, 1979) Men have difficulty in managing their emotions (Devault, 2011; Dulac, 2001; Michel et al., 2013; Nixon, 2009; Real, 2003) and in asking for help (Bizot, 2007; Rosette et al., 2015) Difficulties with female peers -Difficulty in speaking up as a minority (Jacques & Purgues, 2012; Michel et al., 2013; Mott & Lee, 2017) -“He-man role trap” means placing men in positions involving heavy physical effort (Heikes, 1991) Men face difficulties when (wanting to) work part-time or take a paternal leave: -judgment from social circles (Ladge et al., 2015; Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Vandello et al., 2013) -loss of promotion opportunities (Rudman& Mescher, 2013; Vandello et al., 2013) and/or danger of being laid off (Ladge et al., 2015) Discrimination by clients (Mott & Lee, 2017; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson 2009; Simpson, 2005) Men may feel uncomfortable with positive discrimination recruitment procedures (Burke & Black, 1997) Difficulty in speaking up (Jacques & Purgues, 2012; Michel et al., 2013; Mott & Lee, 2017) Sexual prejudice (Allan, 1993; Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; DeCorse & Vogtle, 1997; Gosse et al., 2008; Heikes, 1991; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Sargent, 2001; Simpson, 2005; Tucker, 2015) �382 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 This first-level typology, derived from the current literature on male difficulties, represents a basis for our empirical investigation. This investigation aims to compare our primary data to the struggles men can face in the workplace which are found in the scattered literature and to answer the three questions: (1) what are the types of difficulties men perceive and experience? (2) how are those difficulties expressed? (3) how can we explain the existence of these difficulties? RESEARCH METHOD This section presents our methodology for collecting secondary and primary data. SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION The starting point of our secondary data collection was the three papers (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Kimmel, 2009; Scambor et al., 2014) summarized in Appendix 1. Before proceeding with our primary data collection, several steps were undertaken in order to obtain a comprehensive secondary data overview and to create the first-level typology. Firstly, we conducted a manual search in the bibliographies of the aforementioned works. Secondly, we conducted computer-based searches of published empirical studies. The databases searched included ABI/ Inform, Emerald, Business Source Premier, PsycINFO, ProQuest Psychology, JUSTOR and CAIRN. The searches were conducted based on the pre-established typology of conflict zones. The following keyword examples were used: “gender in/equality (at work)”, “men female/non- traditional professions/occupations”, “men work–life balance”, etc. Three inclusion criteria were used to select studies. Firstly, we focused on studies that examined the difficulties the male population has in the working world. Secondly, we excluded studies with theoretical development and philosophical discussions. Thirdly, we excluded studies that explicitly included racial criteria (e.g. black male workers). The search process yielded 32 works representing 27 research articles and six books or book chapters that met the stated criteria. The first category – “occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions” – comprised 13 references; the second category – “work and family conflict: men’s search for balance” – comprised eight studies; the third category – “inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women” – comprised four references; and lastly, the “intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice” category comprised eight studies. This literature review served as the foundation for our empirical study. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION We chose a qualitative method to collect the primary data for our exploratory research in order to allow men to express the types of difficulties they perceive and experience in the workplace. We opted for in- depth, semi-structured interviews. This method allows the interviewees to express themselves and makes it possible for the interviewer to structure the conversation (Seidman, 2006). In this study, we used the purposive non-random sampling technique. This technique does not aim to produce a statistically representative sample but requires only one appearance of a phenomenon in the sample (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2016). The selection criteria related to male subjects with working experience, different age ranges and a variety of professions. This allowed us to obtain multiple � 383 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot viewpoints on the different kinds of difficulties men can experience in the workplace. We used a professional social network where we published a short description of the study. A pattern of male difficulties emerged after 20 interviews. We noticed three clusters – male, female and gender-neutral professions. Whereas the discourse in traditionally male and gender-neutral occupations has reached theoretical saturation (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), the sample size of men working in traditionally female professions had to be broadened. To meet this objective, we created a sampling strategy (Miles, Huberman & Saldaña, 2014) that included a description of the study on the same social network where we focused on recruiting men in traditionally female professions. It is important to note that these posts received a surprising amount of positive responses, and that one woman wanted to comment about this issue. She was not included in the main sample, but her statement was integrated into the concluding remarks. A total of 33 interviews, lasting between 30 and 133 minutes, were conducted. In total, 50 hours of interviews were recorded and transcribed with the permission of the interviewees. Observations of the participants’ body language and facial expression were made in order to enrich the analysis. Our interview protocol consisted of three main parts (1. work–life balance; 2. social relations and emotion management and 3. men in traditionally female professions), which contained open questions to invite discussion. Supplementary in-depth questions were asked to clarify and/or develop the information shared by the interviewees. It is important to point out that some questions were adapted to different populations. For instance, we differentiated between fathers and non-fathers and we made a distinction between men who worked in traditionally male and female professions. For this last category, hypothetical questions were asked. An example is illustrated in Table 2. Table 2 - Extract of the interview guide The interview guide was subject to a pre-interview test, and since no modifications were made, it was integrated into the main data set. DATA CODING AND ANALYSIS We used a thematic analysis approach to code and analyze the interviews (Miles & Huberman, 1994), in which we divided the data into meaningful groups. In order to do so, the fully transcribed interviews were imported into NVivo10 software, which allowed the researchers to code phrases or paragraphs into themes, nodes and child nodes. The interviews were pre-coded using the researcher triangulation method (Denzin, 1978), which enabled a different perspective on the subject to be provided by a second researcher. The two researchers agreed on a mix of deductive and inductive coding (Miles et al., 2014). Deductive coding represents a priori themes from theoretical framework (Table 1 in our study). Inductive coding allows the inclusion of emerging themes or nodes. Table 3 shows the percentages as well as Cohen’s kappa, which indicates the degree of agreement of both coders per general theme. According to Fleiss (1981), Traditionally male or gender-neutral professions Traditionally female professions In your opinion, what kind of difficulties or challenges can men face when working in traditionally female professions? What kind of difficulties or challenges have you encountered at work? �384 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 significant agreement between researchers is reached when the kappa value exceeds 0.75. In our research, Cohen’s kappa ranges from κ = 0.77 to 0.95 per coding theme. The lowest kappa in the coding theme, which related to “men’s work and family conflict”, was probably lower because of the higher number of verbatim transcripts in this category. Table 3 - Cohen’s kappa and coding agreement It is important to point out that many nodes were double-coded because they belonged to more than one theme. The coding results were then mutualized and the relevant nodes selected. Furthermore, because of the diverse sample, our findings present analysis of experiences and opinions about male difficulties at work (e.g. answers to the questions presented in Table 3). Difficulties experienced provide factual descriptions, whereas opinions provide the perceptions of the issues. Although we are aware that these discourses do not have the same demonstrative faculties, both types exist in the minds of the respondents and reveal the difficulties men may encounter in the workplace. Tables with verbatim excerpts from interview transcripts for each theme were created in order to visualize the importance of a theme or node. All tables are presented in the findings section. FINDINGS In this section, we present the results of our study. Although, there were many positive accounts, our analysis is mainly focused on the difficult aspects of men’s working lives. Our sample consisted of 33 male subjects from different age groups, with a mean age of 39 years, 24 different professions (Table 4), seven liberal professions (independent professions) (in italics). Three men stated that they had a homosexual orientation. Fourteen men worked in traditionally male professions, 13 in traditionally female occupations, and 6 worked in gender-neutral professions. It is important to note that for subjects aged 52 years and over, the question about parental leave was not applicable (N/A), since this policy did not exist at the time their children were born. Coding theme Kappa Agreement (%) Disagreement (%) Men in traditionally female professions 0.9455 97.89 2.11 Men’s work and family conflict 0.7718 92.15 7.85 Inter-gender conflict 0.9547 98.42 1.58 Men’s emotions and voice 0.9548 98.43 1.57 � 385 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Table 4 - Sample characteristics A total of 1079 speech references were coded. Four main themes were analyzed: (1) occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions; (2) work and family conflict: men’s search for balance; (3) inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women; and (4) intrapersonal �386 Sample characteristics Profession Age Marital Status Children/ want children Want parental leave Want part-time work Area manager1 28 Single None/Yes Yes No Area manager2 28 In relat. None/Yes Yes No Assistant professor 32 In relat. None/Yes Yes Yes Auditor 28 In relat. None/Yes No No Auxiliary nurse 40 Married 1 No No Auxiliary nurse 38 In relat. None/Yes Yes Yes Beautician 55 Married 2 N/A No Construction contractor 35 In relat. None/Yes Yes Yes Consultant 33 Separated 2 No No Controller 26 In relat. 1 Yes Yes Engineer 56 In relat. 2 N/A No Engineer 36 Single None/Yes No No Engineer 34 Single None/yes No No Financial director 39 Single None/Yes No No Gynecologist 58 In relat. 3 N/A Does Gynecologist 31 In relat. None/Unsure No No Hairdresser 60 Married 2 N/A No HR consultant 37 Single None/Yes Yes Yes IT manager 52 Married 2 N/A No Journalist 61 Married 4 N/A No Kindergarten teacher 26 In relat. None/Yes Yes Yes Laboratory technician 32 In relat. None/Yes Yes Does Lawyer 36 Married 1 Yes No Lawyer 33 Married 2 Yes No Nurse 42 In relat. None/No No No Nurse 31 Single None/Yes Yes No Nurse 25 Single None/Yes Yes No Nutritionist 23 Single None/Unsure No No Sales manager (IT) 59 Married 3 N/A No Sales representative 59 Married 1 N/A No Sales representative (IT) 28 Married 2 No No Service Administrator 35 In relat. None/No No No Works supervisor 24 In relat. None/Yes No No Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 conflict: men’s emotions and voice. Although the “occupational choice conflict” theme contained fewer verbatim elements (309) than the “work and family conflict” theme (379), it embodied more relevant accounts of difficulties and, thus, longer coded paragraphs. The “work and family conflict” theme presented the highest number of references (379) due to its structure, which contained two large sub-categories – paternity/parental leave (201) and part-time work (136). The “inter-gender conflict” theme had the third-highest number of references and many double-coded items related to the “occupational choice conflict” theme. Twenty-six out of 33 men gave their opinion on this subject. The “intrapersonal conflict” theme contained double-coded verbatim interview excerpts that were present in the other three main themes. Table 5 presents the number and percentage of coded references per theme and the number of sources. Table 5 - Coding table per theme Each of the following sections presents detailed tables with coding nodes and the number of respondents. Coding marked in bold and italics represents emerging categories. Examples of verbatim excerpts are integrated into the analysis. More examples of coded verbatim can be found in Appendix 2. We conclude this section with a final framework of male difficulties in the workplace based on an amalgamation of the secondary and primary data. OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE CONFLICT: MEN IN TRADITIONALLY FEMALE PROFESSIONS This section analyzes two types of discourse related to men who choose to work in traditionally female occupations. The first is based on the opinions of all interviewees about other men who choose traditionally female jobs. The second concerns the experiences of men in professions that are numerically dominated by women. Table 6 illustrates the nodes, sorted by descending number and the percentage of respondents and references coded. Table 6 - Coding table – occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions � 387 Theme No. of references % No. of respondents 1. Occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions 309 28.64 33 2. Work and family conflict: men’s search for balance 379 35.13 33 3. Inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women 245 22.71 26 4. Intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice 146 13.53 33 Total 1079 100 33 Theme - Node No. of references % No. of respondents % 1. Occupational choice conflict; men in traditionally female professions 309 100 33 100 1.1. Discrimination by clients 79 25.56 25 76 1.2. Difficulties with female peers 58 18.77 10 30 1.3. Social judgement 55 17.80 25 76 1.4. Sexual prejudice 54 17.48 17 51 1.5. Discrimination by female superiors 36 11.65 9 27 1.6. Discrimination by male peers 27 8.74 6 18 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Discrimination by clients The majority of our respondents (76%) stated that there was a high risk of rejection or “discrimination by clients” for men working in traditionally female occupations. Thus, this coding node contained the highest number of verbatim excerpts based on both types of discourse. For instance, one engineer (34 years old) stated: “I would not accept that my girlfriend or my wife sees a male gynecologist, […] it’s a question of principle”. This confirms the accounts of eight out of 13 men working in traditionally female occupations who have experienced discrimination by female and male clients due to their gender . This relates particularly to the medical care 4 occupations (nurses, auxiliary nurses, gynecologists) whereby clients refuse treatment by a male professional, even in urgent cases. As stated by the gynecologist (31 years old): “I worked for one year in the XY emergency room […] where I, several times, ran into patients who refused treatment for one and only one reason – because I am a man”. Men working in the esthetic sector (beautician) and the child-care sector (kindergarten teacher) are also affected by negative client reactions and discrimination: “There are some initial reactions of parents that are negative. Fathers, in particular, are very mistrustful” (Kindergarten teacher, 26 years old). Difficulties with female peers According to our respondents, a man who chooses to follow a career path in a traditionally female occupation could face several “difficulties with female peers” (58 references). He would most likely face integration problems and have to make a great deal of effort to carve out a space for himself and be heard by the female majority. Such a career choice could lead to “mocking”, “social exclusion”, “discrimination” and “harassment”, as stated by our respondents. Almost all men working in female-dominated professions confirm these answers to different extents based on their experience. A gynecologist (58 years old) in our study states that he had “similar ideas to my female colleagues – they were afraid that I would take their place. So, I had conflictual relations with women”. Others expressed difficulties linked to discriminatory practices. For instance, in the medical sector, midwives deliberately refused to train male medical students because they did not think the young men had honest intentions. We also found that male nurses in our study fell into the “he-man role trap” because they felt that they had to take on night shifts as “the female nurses aren’t interested in working overnight” (nurse, 25 years old) and have to drag heavy things around because they are men. Social judgement Although the majority of the 55 references in “social judgement” were related to sexual prejudice, the coding also revealed the questioning of masculinity and the potential perception of men as “weak”. Indeed, one of our respondents claimed that “[t]he image that other people have about these [female] professions can be constraining or annoying because they will question one’s masculinity” (sales representative IT, 28 years old). With regard to men working in traditionally female professions, only four out of 13 people confirmed that those in their social environment questioned their professional choices and “sometimes they [friends] are still mocking me for �388 4. Although other discrimination factors such as skin color, sexual orientation, religious reasons were stated, in our study, we focused mostly on discrimination linked to the male gender. Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 my profession” (kindergarten teacher, 26 years old). Moreover, even if most of the men declared having had sufficient support from their close social circles when choosing their occupation, they could only speculate about the social judgement they would face. Sexual prejudice The topic of “sexual prejudice” contained 54 references and, according to some men’s body language, made them feel uncomfortable. As mentioned before, according to several men in our study, social judgement can occur based on sexual prejudice that can be related to traditionally female professions. Men who worked in traditionally male professions supposed men working such professions would not “[…] have a good reputation. For example, someone who works as a hairdresser… the automatic reaction of people will be: he is homosexual” (construction contractor, 35 years old). Four men out of 13 working in jobs that were numerically dominated by women claimed that they did not have any issues with sexual prejudice because of their manly appearance (tall, muscular, bearded). Furthermore, two homosexual men in our sample did not talk about their sexual orientation at work because of fear of judgement. Another homosexual man, who was not trying to hide his sexual orientation, had experienced discrimination and judgement on this basis. Discrimination by female superiors Competitive attitudes are also found in relation to women in managerial positions. This node represents an emerging subcategory and is based on 26 references. In our sample, nine out of 13 men working in traditionally female occupations experienced situations in which they felt that a female superior was afraid that men would “take her place”. “It’s a power game” said one nurse (42 years old) who had been fired after a conflict with his female superior. Similarly, the gynecologist (31 years old) had had many difficulties with his superiors during his career: “I had big arguments with two [female] heads of service in the hospital. […] I was kept under surveillance because I was a guy” (gynecologist, 31 years old). Discrimination by male peers We created a node with 17 references that shows that six men out of 13 in traditionally female occupations have difficulties with their male colleagues performing the same or different professions. One male nurse (42 years old) stated that “at the beginning the guys are mistrusting or even rejecting”. But some keep this distance from men throughout their career: “They have a slightly contemptuous or even arrogant attitude, with a pseudo humor, you know, that kind of humor where they actually are mocking you” (gynecologist, 58 years old). The reasons for these tensions are a lack of understanding, not being taken seriously, sexual prejudice or competition. This section has shown that traditionally female professions can be a challenging sphere to work in. Here, men can be subject to social judgement, discrimination and sexual prejudices. � 389 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot WORK AND FAMILY CONFLICT: MEN’S SEARCH FOR BALANCE The “work and family conflict” category is dedicated to potential issues arising from men wanting to create a better work–life balance due to flexible working arrangements such as part-time work or parental leave. As illustrated in Table 7, this category collected a total of 379 verbatim interview excerpts and consists of three main nodes: heavy workload, parental leave and part-time work. We decided to replace the consequences of the last two nodes (loss of promotion opportunities and potential lay-off) described earlier in our typology by “male superiors” because this child node more accurately describes the issues encountered. Table 7 - Coding table – men’s work and family conflict: men’s search for balance Heavy workload The “heavy workload” node, which can result from tight deadlines and longer hours, consisted of 42 references. Twenty-seven out of 33 men in our study can be categorized as workaholics, since they work more than 40 hours per week. The reasons for this heavy workload are either liberal professions or expectations from superiors and/or from society. Five subjects admitted feeling “a recrimination, suffering about the idea of not having a choice” other than to live up to these expectations. As the following verbatim excerpt shows, the older generation, in particular, stated that their career progress was due to their long working hours, which gave them a clear advantage over their female colleagues: “We started at 8:30am and finished at 10:00pm. Yeah, because newspapers are printed at night. […] It was a job where I was working on weekends. When I started there were no women, but even now it is difficult for women to have a career and children at the same time. Cause once you are away for a while your contacts forget about you” (journalist, 61 years old). Other statements show that there are other penalties from a heavy workload: being single due to the lack of time for dating; not seeing children growing up; painful separation and divorce with major financial burdens. Parental leave Opinions about “parental leave” vary in our study. Men over 50 years of age did not have the opportunity to take paternity/parental leave �390 Theme - Node - Child Node No. of references % No. of respondents % 2. Work and family conflict: men’s search for balance 379 100 33 100 2.1. Heavy workload 42 11.09 27 82 2.2. Parental leave 201 53.03 33 100 2.2.2. Social judgement 21 5.54 27 82 2.2.3. Lack of support of male superiors 88 23.22 12 36 2.3. Part-time work 136 35.88 33 100 2.3.3. Social judgement 57 15.04 18 55 2.3.2. Lack of support of male superiors 59 15.57 10 30 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 because these policies did not exist when their children were born. They pointed out that they did not participate much in their children’s upbringing and they “did not see [their] children grow up when they were little”. Only one of them would have taken paternity leave if it had existed, but not parental leave. In our study, men who were directly concerned about paternity and parental leave, as well as some non-fathers, had taken or had thought about taking paternity leave, but not parental leave. However, nine out of 22 heterosexual men who had the possibility of taking advantage of such parental policies concluded that parental leave would have a “catastrophic impact” on their career and social image. “Maybe my family, friends, people who know me would accept it [parental leave]. But it’s true that knowing my character, they would ask me a lot of questions because I’m not someone who takes a lot of vacations. And then, especially as regards work, they would definitely question my motivation and commitment. Plus, it would completely ruin my career” (auditor, 28 years old). Indeed, the majority of these men work in traditionally male professions and have never even broached this subject at work. And for those who did bring it up, it was not acted upon because of the lack of support of their male superiors, as shown by the controller (26 years old) in our study. He paraphrased his male boss whom he asked for parental leave: “I hope that this [parental leave] is temporary and will not become similar to what all the women in accounting do. They took their Wednesdays off and now their children are 11 and they still have their Wednesdays off. It’s not normal”. In our study, this man is the only one who has a real intention of taking parental leave in order to be with his child and give his wife a career opportunity. He has prepared a communication strategy for his male bosses who are very critical towards his intent. However, he states that “I do not want to make a career for myself” (controller, 26 years old), and knows that he will not get a promotion due to his request. Part-time work The “part-time work” node has 136 references. The majority of the subjects had never considered working part-time, firstly, because their occupations do not allow it, and secondly, because of the associated low income. Men who do not want to work part-time claimed that they would miss the social interaction in their job and could not imagine working half- time. The problems of integration, exclusion and fear of social judgement represented other important factors related to their gender: “I think, it’s [part-time work] just much less accepted socially when you are a man” (area manager1, 28 years old). Some men admitted that they themselves would have more trouble accepting a male colleague working part-time: “If a colleague was working part-time on the same job… where I work like crazy, I would maybe judge him, yes. […] I might judge a woman less […] because it’s more common” (work supervisor, 24 years old). Lack of support at work also appears to be a big issue: “People would say that there is a lack of motivation, especially my [male] hierarchy. They might also think that I am not committed enough” (auditor, 28 years old). According to our respondents, male bosses, in particular, lack understanding when men ask for flexible working arrangements. Indeed, four men working in traditionally male occupations with recruitment responsibilities had often refused the request for part-time work or other flexible arrangements made by men on grounds of additional costs. Because these demands were made by male co-workers, they admitted it � 391 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot was easier to reject them. When asked how men would perceive the decision of a male colleague or friend to work part-time, most of the respondents would not judge him if it did not have an impact on their own workload. However, they would expect a significant reason for doing so, such as serious illness, lack of enthusiasm for the job, higher earnings of the spouse, a lottery win or preparation for retirement. Finally, in our study, the eight men out of 33 who either already do or would consider working part-time, do so in order to take on another part- time job or prepare for their retirement. Two subjects were considering it for the sake of their child. This section has presented the difficulties that men encounter when searching for better work–life balance. Firstly, it can be observed that the majority of the men in our study carry a heavy workload and, secondly, the stated reasons represent a barrier for men to take parental leave or part- time jobs when they wish to do so. Therefore, men are still considerably outnumbered by women in these two areas. INTER-GENDER CONFLICT: MEN’S COMPETITION WITH WOMEN “Inter-gender conflict” deals with the perceived competition between men and women. This category contained a total of 245 verbatim excerpts, presented in Table 8. Not all the male subjects were able to express themselves on this topic because some interviewees did not have any negative experience with the female gender at work. The fewest contributions to this node were made by men in gender-neutral professions. Nevertheless, we added “female colleagues” (97 references) and “tough women” (38 references) to the theoretical framework, which contained only two sub-categories. The latter was initially integrated into the category “female supervisors”, but, according to our results, “tough women” are also represented among colleagues. Table 8 - Coding table – inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women Difficulties with female colleagues The “female colleagues” node was added a fortiori and presented the highest number of references – 97 from 29 sources. Men seem to be well aware that they may be affected by the competitive pressure caused by a female presence in the workplace. The competition becomes keen if an “attractive” woman is the opponent in a male-dominated environment. One respondent claimed that “it is more difficult to appeal to one’s audience when you are male. [...] A female salesperson in my domain definitely has more opportunities and more advantages. Especially if she is pretty” (sales representative IT, 28 years old). Female attractiveness is not the only area in which men may feel competitively threatened. Six subjects �392 Theme - Node No. of references % No. of respondents % 3. Inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women 245 100 33 100 3.1. Difficulties with female colleagues 97 39.59 29 88 3.2. Discrimination by female supervisors 79 32.24 13 39 3.3. Difficulties with tough women 38 15.51 5 15 3.4. Positive discrimination 31 12.65 5 15 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 gave similar statements about male superiors promoting and surrounding themselves with female subordinates because “they can manipulate them” (professor, 32 years old). Consequently, men might feel that women are favored for certain positions by male superiors. Discrimination by female supervisors The “discrimination by female supervisors” node presented 79 verbatim excerpts. The tense relationships with female supervisors are not only present in the occupations in which women outnumber men, as seen earlier, but also in male-dominated professions: “My former female boss with a tough personality was in competition with everyone. She put me in difficulty several times” (sales manager IT, 59 years old). Another respondent also encountered severe difficulty with his female supervisor: “I did not realize it at the beginning, but actually she [female boss] was harassing me because I was a man. […] Later I learnt that she wanted to hire a woman and was pushed by her boss to hire me” (area manager1, 28 years old). This type of difficulty seems to be predominantly present in traditionally female and male professions, since none of the subjects working in gender-neutral occupations gave their opinion about this issue. Difficulties with “tough women” The “tough women” node was added and contained 38 verbatim excerpts. Although some female superiors were characterized as “tough”, in this node, men from our study described their co-workers as “tough women”. They said that they did not “correspond” to traditional societal prejudice with regards to the female gender, as they appeared “strong and competitive” and “tend to think that they have to behave like men to be accepted” (hairdresser, 60 years old) due to their profession or because of their position in the hierarchy. Whereas the older population seemed to be more confident with “tough” women and handled this subject with humor, the younger respondents did not always know how to act in their presence, showing insecurity and withdrawal behavior. These difficulties were present in all types of professions. Positive discrimination Finally, 13 subjects mentioned “positive discrimination” (31 references). “Politically speaking, there are inequalities that are caused by efforts to increase female representation in certain positions. Consequently, some women will be privileged” (sales manager IT, 59 years old). An engineer (36 years old) witnessed positive discrimination measures but did not give them a second thought: “In my department, there has been positive discrimination during recruitment, where female engineers were given preference”. Only one subject experienced positive discrimination and was replaced by a woman after a period of conflict with his female boss: “She told me she preferred working with women, because there are not many of them in our profession” (auditor, 28 years old). This section has presented the difficulties that men encounter when working with the opposite gender. Indeed, these negative experiences can occur in different situations e.g. when men face tough women personalities or positive discrimination measures. � 393 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT: MEN’S EMOTIONS AND VOICE The “intrapersonal conflict” category is based on the premise that society expects a man to be manly and does not expect him to show weakness. This theme collected a total of 146 verbatim excerpts, shown in Table 9. Our study contained questions about the expression of men’s feelings and emotions. Based on the reactions of some men – silence, stuttering, playing with their hands, avoiding eye contact – merely raising the subject seemed to create discomfort. Table 9 - Coding table – intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice Managing emotions and asking for help The “managing emotions and asking for help” node contained self- evaluation responses concerning the two subjects and collected 68 references. It was mostly older men who stated that they had no issues with expressing their emotions either in private or professional contexts, and no issues with asking for help. The younger cluster of our sample displayed more difficulty in expressing their feelings: “I have the tendency to keep them [problems] to myself” (construction contractor, 35 years old) or asking for help: “I’d rather take more time, but figure it out myself than ask for help” (area manager2, 28 years old). They preferred to restrain their emotions and to deal with their issues by themselves. Difficulties in speaking up The “difficulties in speaking up” node touched upon all categories considered earlier in the results section. Although we found other responses to male difficulties, such as denial and humor, self-censorship seemed to be omnipresent in our study. We found that men draw a clear boundary between their private and working lives due to negative experiences with male colleagues and/or supervisors, predominantly in female- and male-dominated occupations. Some claim that it is a difficult burden to carry, because they are not able to be their authentic self at work, not able to speak up and feel obliged to refuse invitations to extra- professional activities. One man in a traditionally female profession had difficulty in speaking up: “I can tell you that as a man, when you find yourself in an unfair situation, you feel discriminated against. It is difficult because we know that in the majority of cases women are discriminated against and not men. Consequently, we do not dare to speak up, and it’s very difficult because we feel helpless” (gynecologist, 31 years old). With regard to the “work–family conflict”, it is mostly men in male-dominated professions who are not acting upon their wishes: “When I mentioned paternity leave to my boss, I very quickly understood that it is absolutely not an option. Not worth a discussion. I know if I take it, I will never make partner” (lawyer, 36 years old). Finally, the “inter-gender conflict” zone also showed male difficulties in �394 Theme - Node No. of references % No. of respondent s % 4. Intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice 146 100 33 100 4.1. Managing emotions and asking for help 68 46.58 33 100 4.2. Difficulties in speaking up 78 53.42 16 48 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 speaking up. For instance, after a negative experience with a female boss, a sales manager IT (58 years old) felt the need to adapt his communication strategy: “At one point I was able to detach myself emotionally and pay very close attention to what I said and how I talked to her”. In this section, we have shown that in the majority of cases younger men have difficulty in expressing their emotions. But more importantly, it can be observed that men in all types of occupations experience difficulty in speaking up or taking action. In our study, these difficulties relate to: men who are under-represented in female-dominated occupations; men who want to take parental leave or work part-time; men who experience harassment at work and men who feel injustice due to positive discrimination. If men do not dare to speak up or act upon their wishes (e.g. for parental leave), then their situation will not change. In the next section we present our final framework, which gives a global overview of the difficulties that men face in the workplace. SECOND-ORDER ANALYSIS: FINAL FRAMEWORK Our first-order results were presented in the previous section. Their objective was to cross-examine the exhaustiveness of the current literature by providing a detailed analysis of collected narratives about each category of male difficulties in the workplace. However, these findings do not necessarily deliver a clear framework for understanding male difficulties at work and subsequent investigation of those difficulties. Therefore, in this section we reconsider the qualitative data collected in our study in order to give a more structured theoretical perspective. By going beyond the collected data and its analysis, we can state from our observation that male difficulties in the workplace reveal an underlying pattern that can be divided into two main dimensions. The first dimension relates to the nature of the profession men exercise, i.e. traditionally male, traditionally female and gender-neutral occupations. The second dimension is the social environment men interact with, i.e. their social circle (friends and family), peers, superiors, clients and, finally, men themselves. The environment represents a potential source of difficulty. Figure 1 presents our second-order results in the form of a new framework of male struggles at work. � 395 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Figure 1. New framework of male difficulties in the workplace In what follows, we offer an analysis of the roles that the four sources – social circles, peers, superiors and clients – may have in impacting the difficulties in each type of profession that men occupy. Social circles represent the friends and family of men. By interiorizing certain expectations, whether they are expressed by the social circle or not, men face or perceive certain difficulties at work. The nature of these often depends on the type of occupation the men perform. For instance, in the case of traditionally female professions, men express difficulties related to the judgement by others that they experience in relation to their choice of profession and their sexual orientation. With regard to the male working population in male-dominant professions, the interiorization of expectations of their social circles shows itself in a heavy workload (with the stereotype being: “men are supposed to work more than women”) and in the judgement of men taking or wanting to take advantage of parental leave or part-time work (with the stereotype being: “it’s a woman’s job”). Finally, men in gender-neutral professions can equally face difficulties related to work overload and judgement from their close social circle about part-time work. Peers are the male and female colleagues that men work with. Men who occupy traditionally female professions seem to face various difficulties related to the expectations of their peers, as well as of their own stereotypical thinking. For instance, difficulties with female peers arise from the “competitive” male role stereotype, and the “he-men role trap” is related to the “stronger” male gender stereotype. Furthermore, male colleagues may exclude men in female occupations because of the assumption that they do not belong to the same professional group based on its reputation. Finally, men themselves, when facing what they perceive or consider to be “tough women” at work, might feel discomfort with the dissonance created by their prejudicial thinking based on gender role stereotypes. This observation is also true for men in traditionally male professions. In addition, they find themselves struggling with new forms of competition across genders and may perceive positive discrimination in favor of the opposite gender as an injustice. Men in gender-neutral professions may sometimes face the same challenge from competition with women. For men working in male-dominant occupations, discrimination measures and lack of support arise mostly from their male bosses. Indeed, �396 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 both are related to flexible working arrangements such as parental leave and part-time work. One might assume that male superiors have less of an understanding than female superiors of the male population’s desire for a better work–life balance . The clients of men working in traditionally female occupations can be of any gender. When their expectations in terms of gender roles are not met, they can be expressed by discriminative acts such as refusing medical treatment or by sexual prejudice related to certain professions such as child-care. Overall, this new framework allows for a better understanding of the circumstances and sources that can lead to negative experiences encountered by the male working population and can help to further advance gender equality by ensuring support from both genders. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Our research extends and structures the knowledge of different circumstances to contribute to a small but growing body of work on male struggles in the workplace. In this section, we discuss our theoretical contributions and propose several practical and political implications. THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS This work has aimed to offer a structured perspective of gender inequalities that men perceive and experience in their professional environment and to propose an additional and complementary perspective of the existing literature. Even if male struggles have been studied in existing research in sociology or psychology, such research lacks scientific empirical data and a structured perspective. In this study, we proposed a first-level typology based on three main works (Kimmel, 2009; Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Scambor et al., 2014), and completed it with a literature review along with our empirical data. Our contributions are on two different levels. The first concerns the identification of new male struggles compared to those found in the literature. Our second contribution is the proposition of a new framework of these difficulties in the workplace. Existence of male struggles While we were able to observe the male difficulties identified in the literature, we also found new obstacles that the male population might face in the workplace. Two of the three works (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Kimmel, 2009) that formed the basis for our initial typology lacked empirical data, and the third study (Scambor et al., 2014) provided a summary of a broad governmental statistical investigation that touched upon certain professional areas, personal life and the educational field. Our research is the first empirical work that focuses on the difficulties men might face in their professional environment. Indeed, this study leads to the identification of new difficulties, which makes it possible to enrich the works of several authors (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Kimmel, 2009; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Sargent, 2001; Scambor et al., 2014; Simpson, 2005; Tucker, 2015). In the first conflict zone of “men in traditionally female professions”, we were able to add two new sub-categories. These sub-categories concerned difficulties with female supervisors and with male peers. With regard to “work and family conflict”, we found that male superiors put more barriers in the path of men looking for a better work–life balance. Finally, in the � 397 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot “inter-gender conflict” category, two sub-categories – difficulties with (attractive) female colleagues and “tough women” – were added. The identification of these new difficulties makes it possible to underline the diversity of the difficulties that men face in different professional situations and enriches our understanding, contributing to the robustness of the knowledge about male struggles (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Kimmel, 2009; Scambor et al., 2014). In addition, while most of the literature focuses on gender inequalities from the feminine perspective (Gallioz, 2006; Marry, 2004; Rodrigues, 2010; Scotto et al., 2008), this study highlights the importance of investigating the male point of view, supporting articles (Allan, 1993; Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; DeCorse & Vogtle, 1997; Gosse et al., 2008; Heikes, 1991; Murray, 1996; Sargent, 2001; Netchaeva et al., 2015; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Simpson, 2005; Tucker, 2015) and broadening this viewpoint. Our data presents an overview of male struggles such as “social judgement” about their choice of profession and the “discrimination” and “sexual” prejudices of clients and peers, which were also identified in the aforementioned literature. This perspective of male difficulties in the workplace gives new insights, offers a more comprehensive understanding of gender inequality and opens up a debate on the importance of the awareness of gender inequality from a male perspective. However, we do not deny the fact that it is women who still predominantly face gender inequality in the workplace. Finally, we contribute to the discussion on sexuality stigma (Stenger & Roulet, 2018). Firstly, we show that men in male-dominant professions are still prejudiced against homosexual men and their choice of female- dominant professions. Secondly, although only three subjects were homosexual in our study, two of them practiced self-censorship and decided to “stay in the closet”. The difficulty for this category of male employees lies in the fear that their sexual orientation will damage their career and their social relations at work. New framework of male difficulties in the workplace The three main papers (Ghiulamila & Levet, 2007; Kimmel, 2009; Scambor et al., 2014), which inspired our research, present the difficulties that men face in various domains by providing a broad listing of difficulties and placing them on the same level. However, most of the studies (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002; Devault, 2011; Dulac, 2001; Gosse et al., 2008, Heikes, 1991; Lupton, 2006; Murray, 1996; Pullen & Simpson, 2009; Real, 2003; Simpson, 2005) which we used for elaboration of our first-level typology, have little research scope focusing on specific male issues. In this study, we propose a new framework of male difficulties which links these together by providing a clear structure based on two dimensions. The first dimension relates to three professional domains (traditionally male, female and gender-neutral professions), and the second dimension concerns the social environment (social circles, peers, superiors and clients). Our study reveals that professional environments are not homogeneous in terms of the issues that men might face because the difficulties are not expressed in the same way and vary depending on the context. Indeed, men are more prone to facing difficulties in certain professional domains and situations, contributing to various gender inequalities in the workplace. In addition, our investigation shows that male struggles are expressed in the context of interactions with different social entities that have a direct impact on the type of difficulty. Finally, this typology supports the importance of previous works (Ghiulamila & Levet, �398 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 2007; Kimmel, 2009; Scambor et al., 2014) in different professional contexts, and highlights the singularity of gender inequality in each professional domain as well as the need to focus on the context in order to gain a deeper understanding of these phenomena. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS As shown in our study, men can equally be subject to difficult situations and have trouble dealing with them (difficulty in speaking up). However, the lack of awareness about male struggles is a barrier to their prevention and management. And, even if women still outnumber men in terms of gender inequality, men’s struggles should not be ignored. Indeed, through their prevention and management, a more equal (working) society can be created. In the next section, we present policy-making implications and suggest actions for practitioners. Implications for policy By showing that difficulties can also be experienced by men in the workplace, our study advocates the implementation of practices that take account of the male working population to advance the broader question of gender equality. Several men in our study proposed conducting awareness campaigns in schools and/or in public places (e.g. through posters, online and TV advertisements) to help deconstruct certain representations of masculinity and femininity. According to our respondents, this should involve the medical and child-care professions, in particular, since they present the most difficulties in the workplace for the male workforce. Moreover, we suggest that gender is included in political debate and governmental policies on fatherhood and flexible working arrangements. Finally, although the idea of female quotas or the diversity policies of private companies are criticized for not being a solution in the long run, these mechanisms do increase female presence in organizations, contributing to positive outcomes. In turn, we suggest that consideration is given to the idea of introducing male quotas and/or diversity rates in occupations that are numerically dominated by women. Organizational level implications Masculinity and femininity are social representations that are constructed at work through a company’s policies and social relations. They both become functioning mechanisms of organizational culture and have to be taken into account. Since the first step towards improvement is educating people and raising awareness, individuals have to recognize the existence of difficulties that men might face in the workplace, for example by tactfully integrating information on male struggles (workaholism, work and family conflict, etc.) at work into companies’ communication plans. At the same organizational policy level, it can be observed that many companies implement efficient flexible working policies. However, in many cases, they target only the female population. In this context, our suggestion relates to the adaptation of companies’ flexible working arrangement policies and culture: these policies should target men and women equally. Indeed, organizations should take fatherhood more seriously by adjusting their human resources policies to create positive work-related outcomes. To address the difficulties faced by men, organizations can design training programs to enable men and women managers to become aware � 399 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot of the consequences of their management style and help men take stock of their self-censorship behaviors. Furthermore, in traditionally female professions (e.g. the medical and child-care professions), awareness campaigns for clients should be integrated into the company’s external communication plan in order to fight gender stereotypes. Managerial diagnostic tool Our final framework can be used as a diagnostic tool for managers who wish to identify the status quo of existing difficulties and inequalities. When male employees express difficulties at work (like some men in our study) or when their peers notice them, the framework tool we have developed can give their managers more clarity, helping them to understand the root of the issue and find an efficient way to resolve it. In this sense, it can also be used as a team management tool, making it easier to create efficient constellations of team members. This new framework can also help with the prevention of conflictual situations and stress. It can improve retention rates and employee commitment and create a better working atmosphere. It also allows the workforce’s perceptions of equality to be monitored, providing scope for advancement in existing gender inequality issues. Implications for women and men The men in our study showed different reactions to this topic. Some were unaware of the fact that gender inequalities could affect the male population. Nevertheless, they contributed to our research by reflecting on their personal experience or on those of their social circle. However, men who had experienced discrimination and/or unequal treatment were glad to finally share these experiences. The following real-life example shows how men and women in an organization promote professional equality and voice behavior. The association “Happy Men” offers support for male employees at BNP Paribas and is managed by employees. The main objective of the association is to promote professional equality of men and women by creating a better work–life balance (BNP Paribas, 2018). It also provides safe spaces (meetings, lunches, round tables, etc.) that help men to express themselves, without being judged, about sensitive topics such as burnout, parental and sabbatical leave, part-time work, etc., and thereby helps to fight self-censorship. In addition, it offers informational and practical support about company and governmental policies and their application. “Mixcity” and “Pride France” are the equivalent associations for female employees and the LGBT community respectively. However, the objectives of these associations are not to create gender segregation, but, on the contrary, to promote a better understanding of various issues, as well as to provide mutual support and cooperation. CONCLUSION In gender studies, both perspectives – male and female – play an important role. The male viewpoint should therefore be taken into account more often when fighting for gender equality, since there is limited available research on male issues. Most of the research has been conducted by researchers in sociology, psychology and anthropology or by governments and private associations. Our study develops new perspectives and insights into social relationships and interactions between people and organizations by extending and structuring existing perspectives on male �400 Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 struggles and gender inequalities. We show that these inequalities can impact both women and men. It is important to note that this research in no way intends to negate the existence of gender inequality encountered by the female population or to support any kind of gender-related movement. In fact, the objective is to offer a balanced perspective from the point of view of both genders to build broader consensus around gender equality and more comprehensive solutions. Having categorized the interdisciplinary literature and carried out an empirical qualitative study, based on 33 male subjects, we were able to develop a typology of male difficulties in the workplace. We then restructured this into a framework, which was divided into three categories – professions that are traditionally female, traditionally male and gender- neutral. Each of these categories was then subdivided into sources of external difficulties such as social circles, peers, superiors and clients. Despite our two main contributions –identification of new male struggles as compared to those found in the literature and the proposition of a new framework of male difficulties in the workplace – our study also has some limitations. Firstly, the number of respondents, their ages and their professions are heterogeneous. Although we were able to subdivide them into three main clusters (traditionally male and female occupations and gender-neutral professions), it could be of great interest to focus on only one type of occupation in future studies. Based on these limitations, we propose that the perspective could be broadened by conducting research into a specific male sample e.g. future fathers, men with female supervisors, etc. Secondly, the richness of qualitative research is also its disadvantage: because the results have to be generalizable, the researchers are unable to tell the individual stories of all the men who contributed to this work. Thus, similar qualitative data collection could serve as a foundation for case studies in social sciences. Moreover, as mentioned in the methodology section, we interviewed a woman who shared her experience of male discrimination. She admitted that she had discriminated against a male candidate while she was looking for a nanny for her child. Today, according to her statement, she would have given him a chance. It would therefore be interesting to interview female subjects to obtain their opinions about the potential struggles faced by men in the professional world. Finally, creating awareness of the potential difficulties men can face in the workplace can be beneficial for the female working population because it can make men aware of the inequality women can face at work. Furthermore, giving men opportunities related to child-care and flexible working arrangements can also create advantages for women who might want to focus on their careers. Also, the inclusion of men in the gender equality debate in a productive and open-minded way is a crucial step towards making progress on these sensitive issues. The aim of this article was to broaden and to structure the current literature on male struggles in the workplace by proposing a framework that can guide future scientific and managerial debate and contribute to progress in gender equality issues. Future research could benefit from using this two-dimensional framework based on our data as a foundation for research design. Finally, it could also serve educational purposes for schools, universities and companies that wish to create a more equal society. � 401 M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Three research papers *Inequalities experienced by men - Original French title: Inégalités vécues par les hommes *Book chapter in Men, Women and Companies: Towards What Equality? - Original French title: Les hommes, les femmes et les entreprises: vers quelle égalité? �402 Kimmel (2009) Making gender visible The workplace Balancing work and family Sexual equality “Gender Equality not for women only” Book chapter in Handbook of Studies on Men & Masculinities Men have to be seen and heard as a gender in order to: -lift up their privileged status in society and -give them a voice. -The growing presence of women in the workplace makes men question their breadwinner role -Sexual harassment. - Difficulty in combining fatherhood and long working hours. -Male violence due to a “breakdown of patriarchy” -Create gender equality: more financial independence for women, more child-care for men. Ghiulamila and Levet (2007) Hearing men Obligation of the manly man role The Atlas Syndrome Discomfort around noncompliant women “Inequalities experienced by men”* Book chapter in Men, Women and Companies: Towards What Equality?* -Men have difficulty in expressing their emotions. -Men are afraid of taking paternal leave because of judgement by their social circles and loss of job opportunities. -Men feel obliged to be the main “breadwinner” in the family. -Men feel uncomfortable when dealing with women with “male” behavior. Scambor et al. (2014) Men, gender inequality and education Men, gender inequality and work Men, gender inequality and care Men, gender inequality and violence Men, gender inequality and health Article (summary of a European Commission report): “Men and Gender Equality: European Insights” -Boys underperfor m compared to girls in school -Boys are more disengaged -Men have fewer higher education degrees than women. -Men are exposed to more professional risk -Occupational segregation -Work and family reconciliation -Gender pay gap -Part-time work. -Few men take parental leave, but it is culture dependent. -Men represent the majority of perpetrators when it comes to assault, rape, violent acts in public. -Men’s mental health problems are ignored -Men have difficulties asking for help -Men’s suicide rates are higher -Men have lower life expectancy. Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Appendix 2 – Verbatim examples � 403 Occupational choice conflict: men in traditionally female professions Discrimination by clients – verbatim “For example, having a man in a certain place… I have a [female] friend in a nursery, and having a man who works with children, in the end, maybe some colleagues, they will trust a guy less because he may have less legitimacy in terms of caring for children than a woman” (consultant, 33 years old). “I had several confrontations with female patients when I was working in the gynecological emergency department in M. […] Several times I ran into female patients who refused to have me examine them only because I am a man” (gynecologist, 31 years old). “There were women who had the impression that I was going to take their place. I did not come as an ally, but I was an intruder... they are used to ... powerful men, winners... so when I arrived with ideas that were close to theirs, they were afraid that I would take their place. So, I had conflict with women who had bad habits, we will say, towards male behavior and put me in the same category as others” (gynecologist, 58 years old). Difficulties with female peers – verbatim “Often, I felt, not in competition with women, but discriminated against and disadvantaged compared to women. Because I had the same training and the same skills, in some cases I was even more competent than women with whom I worked” (gynecologist, 31 years old). “Um ... I was a ... in a department where there were four women who were in marketing and uh ... it’s true that I did not feel particularly integrated into the group. […] it is more difficult; it’s like for women who are doing a man’s job. Uh... It is obviously more difficult because it is the opposite sex and we are not the same and we have to fight for their acceptance” (sales representative, 28 years old). “Yes, I had difficulties with my former boss and later co-owner of a salon. I had the impression that she wanted me to invest but did not give up any power. It did not go well.” “I work with young female trainees, who are adolescents, like 15-16 years old, so I have to be careful and also respectful of theirdeveloping sexuality. […] For sure it is not always easy” (beautician, 55 years old). Social judgment – verbatim “The image that other people have about the profession can be constraining or annoying because they will judge him” (sales person, 28 years old). “It would make me very uncomfortable to perform a purely female job, it would annoy me. […] Because integration would be difficult and I […] would have to adapt myself to a context where my masculinity would be questioned” (engineer, 56 years old). Sexual prejudice – verbatim “I think that there can be some mocking, well, if we go beyond mocking, he would be judged…he can be judged maybe about his sexual orientation […]. It is true that it is always very strange if you have a male midwife or nurse” (area manager, 28 years old). “Men in traditionally female professions can suffer from prejudice, disrepute ... the fact of being ... compared to women […], traditionally female professions are getting masculinized, but society is still treating men who want to do a feminine profession as homosexuals, or weak, or sensitive, or fragile, or I do not know what…” (gynecologist, 58 years old). Difficulties with male peers – verbatim “With my male colleagues, I have the impression that we do the same job but we do not have the same gender”. “The doctors, my colleagues – male gynecologists, I have the impression that we are not in the same category, either professionally, or in terms of our state of mind [...] Because ... because they do not value the psychological work, for them, it is only important during their training for gynecology, for 90% of the male gynecologists that I know, and not in practice” (gynecologist, 58 years old). “It brings caregivers closer together, it creates solidarity, but for me this fraternity with the guy caregivers, it has never worked. [...] the experiences I’ve had working with guys, I never liked it. Because there is still this thing about saying ‘I am better, I am stronger’, there is this primary instinct, competition, constant comparison... With women caregivers it’s much less the case” (nurse, 42 years old). “When I was in large salons, where we did the spring-summer fashions, trade shows, not salons where we do hair, but trade shows (salons). It is true that in the evening when I left the trade show (salons), I was not necessarily walking on the same sidewalk as my male colleagues. I did not necessarily want to mix with them, so it was a personal choice. But at least I was quietly in the crowd, I was ... I was not necessarily recognized and accepted as a hairdresser by them because I did not have 50 finger rings and ... As a guy I behaved like a ‘real dude’” (hairdresser, 60 years old). M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot �404 Work and family conflict: men’s search for balance Heavy workload – verbatim Would say to his hypothetical colleague who wants to work part-time that “it is a very bad choice. Because he would lose a lot of money financially speaking and he would still work the same hours as a journalist who works full-time” (journalist, 61 years old). “Professional life dominates the private life since I work more than 12 hours per day. I work for four departments so let’s say it’s from 7am to 8pm and on average a four to five hour drive per day” (sales manager, 28 years old). “I had a lot of work, with many business trips. My private life was limited to weekends” (sales representative, 59 years old). Parental leave (social judgement & lack of support from male supervisors) – verbatim “I don’t have any problem with it [parental leave] but it is obvious that it leads little by little to a sort of castration of the man in the sense of him losing his role of the father, of the patriarch. He does not have as much power as he used to because he…he is deprived of his role of the protector, breadwinner…” (construction contractor, 35 years old). “So… men taking paternity leave, uh ... I think it’s a choice, uh ... it’s a choice and often a necessity. Personally, it does not bother me. But I don’t think that a man wouldn’t do it for fun” (auditor, 28 years old). “I need to answer this question from two perspectives. When it’s a colleague…eh…I think he has the right to do so. But it would be a bit different if it was one of my subordinates, cause it’s very difficult… and expensive to find a replacement” (sales representative, 59 years old). Part-time work (social judgement & lack of support from male supervisors) – verbatim “Normally uh ... in the traditional French family, uh ... it’s uh ... the woman who’s raising her kids ...is the housewife and it’s her role to educate the kids and the role of the father is to earn money. Uh ..., so uh, it’s true that part-time work for men is very confusing. […] Yes, for me as well” (service administrator, 25 years old). “Well, I think that a man ... we expect a man to be much more available [...] depending on the person you have in front of you, for example if it’s a guy… if you invoke reasons that are historically more specific to women, you can be judged, or badly perceived, or discredited ... so here, I feel that you risk ... yeah, I think you can be discredited and lose you legitimacy” (service administrator, 35 years old). “To tell the truth, it’s true that it’s a little different because ... uh ... I think ... uh ... I might judge the person depending on the position he has, if the person worked part-time in the same position as me, whereas I work my *** off, I would for sure judge him” (works supervisor, 24 years old). “It’s very rare indeed that a boss accepts 80%, especially for key positions and especially if it’s a male boss” (consultant, 33 years old). “Uh… actually I have colleagues who work part-time...but they are already at the end of their careers. Personally, I don’t care much about it, but there can be a problem with the organization and… if other colleagues depend on his function, this might not even be approved. […] Yes, it’s more acceptable for women in our company. Definitely easier, no one asks any questions” (engineer, 56 years old). Re-thinking gender inequality in the workplace – a framework from the male perspective M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 � 405 Inter-gender conflict: men’s competition with women Difficulties with female colleagues – verbatim “I try to be more implicit […], look for a deeper root of the problem and […] try to establish a connection when talking to a woman. Whereas many men are much more direct. You know exactly where the problem comes from” (area manager, 28 years old). “Well, it’s not the hierarchy because there are not many women except for HR but who are not very present in our field. Uh… it was more an assistant who was in charge of the management of the agency. And it was very difficult to work with her because she was a person with a strong masculine character and a strong personality and uh… she was looking for mistakes the guys made, trying to get us in trouble and uh… so it was harmful for the staff and for me too. She was competing with everyone. But then I managed to distance myself from her and also to pay attention to what I said and how I spoke to her, yes, absolutely it happened” (sales representative, 59 years old). “Today, women have more power than before. […] There are more inequalities or discrimination than before towards men. That creates psychological problems for men. They have trouble accepting, for example, a woman who earns more than they do” (construction contractor, 35 years old). Competition and discrimination by female supervisors – verbatim “I could see, for example, I’m thinking of a female security coordinator ... uh ... so ... uh ... her role is to ... to visit the construction sites. She has an outside eye and therefore she controls the safety of the building sites. For example, she examines if all the workers have a helmet, a shoulder belt, gloves, safety shoes etc. Finally, this sort of thing to examine if the guardrail or the building site itself with the fences are ... uh ... safe and so on. And it is true that compared to some male security coordinators who sometimes can be lax or at least just give advice for ... uh ... the methodology of ... setting up security on a construction site ... uh ... women they do not let anything pass by them…. Uh… They are a little more aggressive. They get quickly into a fight with the men in order to support their ideas ‘whatever it costs’ and even if they are wrong, I think” (works supervisor, 24 years old). “I still have problems with my boss. I know now that she was against hiring me, […] I guess it’s my gender. And now we are still not getting along. She sees me as a problem I think, uh… she does not value all the positive stuff I’m bringing to the kids” (kindergarten teacher, 26 years old). Difficulties facing “tough women” – verbatim “Then, there are women who are like men. […] who are tough, tougher than some guys” (hairdresser, 60 years old). “Of course, we will say: ‘Yes, they are more sensitive, they are more this, they are more that’ and those women, I mean, they are like real men. So, at the same time I contradict myself when I say that but ... they can even be manlier than a guy!” “Yes, especially at the ER. After, that’s what’s so funny, is that there are services where you see a certain type of personality. In emergencies, often, it’s cowboys, emergencies and resuscitation because it’s services where you need it ... it’s crisis services where you have to be strong ... like a man” (nurse, 42 years old). “Yes, there is a female director whom I have who ... who is tall, who is rather ... who is rather masculine, but how to say, in the stereotypes of ... the opposite of a midwife, but in any case, she is very direct and tough…” (auxiliary nurse, 40 years old). Positive discrimination – verbatim “I think there are women who have been in competition for example for a job and who have more than ... easy actually to access this position. Why?Tto help restore balance. That said, it is obviously something that will pass ... and from the moment when someone arrives for example in a department to… to reach the objectives of equality…” (engineer, 56 years old). “So we, in recent years, we have seen positive discrimination appear a little, it seems to be resorbed, for example […]. Yes, in my profession, in my ... well, overall, within my department and our company, there was discrimination during the recruitment process, where we favored the hiring of women, so I do not know not whether it is because there are group quotas, or if it is for the external image of the company, but there has been a period of positive discrimination vis-à-vis women and vis-à-vis other minorities. And after that, there was a stock market effect, there was also that effect in the salary increases, so in fact, women and minorities have 0.1 or 0.2 more systematic increases per year” (engineer, 36 years old). “It is because the managers and the organizations try to make the maximum effort to encourage the employment of women. More precisely, they try to establish more free time for women and at the same time, the women want same salaries as men… Uh…, I think that men can feel treated unfairly, uh… in a sense that they say that they work longer hours and paid the same salary, and they work harder on average and why suddenly women have more right than we do? And the justification is that women did not have the same rights as men before… so now they can be favored, uh... and have more advantages than men” (auditor, 28 years old). M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot �406 Intrapersonal conflict: men’s emotions and voice Managing emotions and asking for help – verbatim “I really don’t have a problem saying what I feel, […] but I prefer to avoid certain conversations [and] deal with my problems myself than to talk about them” (works supervisor, 24 years old). “It is true that I internalize my emotions a lot” (sales manager, 59 years old). “No, because the masculine nature influences the emotional incapacity of men, generally speaking, of course… they are incapable of speaking openly, I think. And also, you cannot talk about everything with your friends, only with your true friends” (kindergarten teacher, 26 years old). “With the expansion of feminization in the professional environment, men feel stuck... for example to express their emotions or to ask for free time from their superiors” (auditor, 28 years old). Difficulties in speaking up – verbatim “With women I will try to be more sensitive, to ask them more questions and talk about their families and pay more attention to what they are saying to me. On the contrary, when I am with men, I think that I’m more… I let myself go and I will be more open” (auditor, 28 years old). “When I was director of a restaurant, where I had problems with women who were always complaining, had backache and so took advantage of it. uh ... they left the work to others, to men of course, uh ... that sort of thing. And men do not have the right to complain, it’s frowned upon. They come to work even sick” (sales representative, 59 years old). “Yeah maybe ... jealousy, frustration, misunderstanding. Then, they may be afraid for their manhood ... I do not know ... it’s very difficult for them to talk about it” (gynecologist, 58 years old). 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Fortune.com Available at: fortune.com/2016/01/14/ france-woman-ceo-isabelle-kocher/ � 409 http://www.samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/Men%20Suicide%20and%20Society%20Research%20Report%20151112.pdf http://www.samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/Men%20Suicide%20and%20Society%20Research%20Report%20151112.pdf http://www.samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/Men%20Suicide%20and%20Society%20Research%20Report%20151112.pdf https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/french-women-walk-out-work-pay-disparity-gender-pay-gap-equality https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/french-women-walk-out-work-pay-disparity-gender-pay-gap-equality https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/french-women-walk-out-work-pay-disparity-gender-pay-gap-equality http://fortune.com/2016/01/14/france-woman-ceo-isabelle-kocher/ http://fortune.com/2016/01/14/france-woman-ceo-isabelle-kocher/ http://fortune.com/2016/01/14/france-woman-ceo-isabelle-kocher/ M@n@gement, vol. 22(3): 373-410 Elena Essig & Richard Soparnot Dr. Elena Essig is Assistant Professor in Human Resource and Intercultural Management at ESSCA School of Management. She holds a Doctorate in Management Science from the University of Tours. Her main research interests include organizational behavior and HR practices, including psychological ownership, organizational commitment, as well as gender diversity and equality in the workplace. Her research has been published through research articles, conferences at the national and international level, and book chapters. Dr. Richard Soparnot is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Business Strategy at Groupe ESC Clermont. He is also a member of the CLeRMa (Clermont Research in Management). He holds a Doctorate in Management Science and a post-doctorate HDR (Qualification to supervise doctoral students). His research and teaching focus on strategic and organizational change, innovation and learning in companies, and usefulness/relevance of management knowledge. He is the author of several scientific articles and books in these fields. He has also held faculty, research and campus management positions in different French Management Schools. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers as well as co-editor in chief, Thomas Roulet, for their valuable feedback, which helped to improve the quality of their paper. �410