21E00012 - Gender and Diversity at Work, Lecture, 1.3.2022-13.4.2022

The course exam retake is available on Friday the 27th, between 2 pm and 4 pm Finnish time. We recommend saving your answers as word-files to your computer, and then just copying your answers to Turnitin in the end / submitting the word-files, to avoid possible problems, e.g. related to interruptions in your internet connection. Please notice that each question has its own tab, and that you are expected to submit your answers to the correct place. You can find instructions to this from the forum post of April 13th. 

In the exam, there are four questions. Question 1 and 2 are compulsory, which means that you need to answer both of them. For your third answer, you choose between questions 3 and 4. In total, you need to give three answers. The maximum amount of points from the exam is 30, as all three answers grant maximum 10 points each.

In your answers, make sure that you clearly define the concepts you use and give empirical examples of the phenomenon discussed. You are being evaluated on your ability to account for the course readings, and how you put the material to use.

Exam Questions: 

Question 1

a) Explain the ‘doing’ perspective and how it can help us understand how organizations, and organizational practices, are gendered. Elaborate on how this relates to power and privilege (6 points)

b) Can gender be ‘undone’? Make sure to argue for your stance using examples (4 points)

Question 2

a) Explain the concept of diversity management (DM). Reflect on why it does not always contribute to increased organizational inclusion from a critical perspective. Use examples to illustrate your points.  (6 points)

b) You work in an organization that struggles with attracting and retaining diverse talent. Give four suggestions for how they can work with DM to promote inclusion and diversity. Make sure to motivate why these suggestions would be important. (4 points)

Question 3

a) What is the difference between race and ethnicity? And how does this difference matter in organizations? (6 points)

b) What is white privilege and how does it possibly manifest in organizations? What kind of actions could you suggest to those with white privilege working to promote inclusion and diversity in organizations? (4 points)

Question 4

Below you can read about 4 different workplace incidents. You task is 1) to make use of the conceptual tools of the course (1-2) to analyze why something happens. Then discuss 2) why it matters to an organization and 3) what you could do if you were in the situation.

a) You are in a strategy meeting with your team. The team leader, who has just returned from his parental leave, ends his presentation by asking the other members for feedback on the new strategic plan. The first question he is asked, jokingly, is if he is still equipped of dealing with these types of ‘tough’ decisions. (2,5 points)

b) You are at your office Christmas party and the CEO is handing out the annual gifts to the employees. You realize that all employees have been given a set of ‘His & Hers’ bathrobes with a note wishing them and their ‘special someone’ a Merry Christmas. (2,5 points)

c) You are having a Zoom meeting with representatives from European, North American and South East Asian company divisions. Several times, your South East Asian colleagues are being interrupted or neglected when trying to make a point. After the meeting, a colleague from the European office sends you an email complaining that ‘they’ always are ‘so passive’ and never contribute to the meetings. (2,5 points)

d) You are asked to help develop two job advertisements for recruiting new consultants to your team, one on the junior level and one on the senior level. You notice the advertisement on the junior level emphasize good listening skills, attentiveness and being a ‘team play’, while the advertisement for the senior position emphasize endurance, physically fitness and competitiveness (2,5 points)