Identification of institutional genderedness through organizational operations: An analysis of community college working environments

Though the number of women employed in the workforce has increased, there continues to be an inequity in employment of women in the highest ranks of community colleges. Guided by gendered organizational theory, the study looked at both overt and covert knowledge of genderedness at community colleges. As one might infer, institutional genderedness may reveal itself inconspicuously through detailed analysis of the culture of an institution. The purpose of the study was to determine if community colleges are gendered institutions based on the perceptions of women in non-faculty professional staff positions at these institutions. A mixed methods design was used to analyze the data collected from 934 participants. Community colleges appear to be gender-neutral environments with equal opportunities for both sexes. However, the perceptions of the women in the study indicated a marked disagreement about the practice of gender neutrality in the workplace, indicating that genderedness exists in these institutions.