Leadership in Hong Kong

Bibliographic Data

ID12898254
AuthorsStephanie Schnurr (0000-0001-5601-7491, University of Warwick, corresponding author), Bernie Chun Nam Mak (0000-0001-5779-8509, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Year2011
Volume5
Issue2
Pages343-371
Publication date2011-12-20
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGender and Language (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1747-6321 • E-ISSN: 1747-633X
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1558/genl.v5i2.343
OpenAlexW1984916792
LanguageEN
Citations received7

Although gender is an important issue in many Asian countries where women often face serious discriminatory practices, this topic is notoriously under-researched from a socio-linguistic perspective. We aim to address this issue by conducting an in-depth case study of leadership and gender in Hong Kong. Drawing on more than 30 hours of authentic workplace discourse and a sample of representative emails, we explore how a successful female leader does leadership and how she enacts her gender identity in ways that reflect and respond to the overall masculine culture of her workplace and the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong. Our findings illustrate that in addition to considering the socio-cultural context, workplace culture and the norms of communities of practice, the specific interactional context is also of crucial importance for an understanding of how leadership and gender are performed. We conclude that in contrast to general perceptions, gender is indeed an issue in the professional domain in Hong Kong, and is reflected not only in leadership discourse but also in the gendered and often discriminatory practices that are still prevalent in many workplaces

Context (archaeology · Face (sociological concept · Geography · Identity (music · Perception · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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