Hearing, Policing, and Using Gender Diversity

The Role of Institutional Gatekeepers in Researching Youth and Gender

Bibliographic Data

ID2392227
AuthorsK Cuthbert (0000-0002-8810-8088, University of Glasgow, corresponding author), Joseph Hall (0000-0002-5821-7224, University of Hertfordshire), Sally Hine (0000-0003-2472-7602, University of Sheffield), Sally Hines (0009-0007-2183-4214, The University of Sheffield, UK), Kim Allen (0000-0002-5583-8519, University of Leeds), Sharon Elley (0000-0002-9047-7659, University of Leeds)
Year2022
Volume27
Issue3
Pages763-786
Publication date2022-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/13607804211065053
OpenAlexW4213314011
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited51

This article comprises a critical reflection on our experiences of recruiting participants and organising focus groups through institutional gatekeepers for research about young people and changing gendered landscapes. We show how reflections on the research process can give (inadvertent) substantive insight into how gender is interpreted by gatekeepers in institutions - that is, gender as only about or for certain young people; gender as something to be contained by the institutional logics of equality and diversity; and how 'right' and 'wrong' views of gender diversity were understood through the nationalisation and racialisation of the student body. Crucially, we also trace how these institutional interpretations of gender diversity had epistemological consequences for the kinds of knowledge we were able to generate in the focus groups with young people, as meanings were re-framed and contested, and we were funnelled down particular routes. Furthermore, the article discusses how the act of research itself was leveraged by some institutions as institutional diversity capital and/or as part of classed enrichment agendas, highlighting new dimensions to both the co-option of research and the 'doing' of diversity work by institutions. Overall, the article provides empirical insight on gender and gender diversity in education and youth settings, and also key methodological insight into the social constitution of 'Knowledge' through gatekeeping, recruitment, and access

Corporate governance · Doing gender · Gatekeeping · Gender diversity · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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