Micro-political strategies in negotiating the role of women's networks in organizations

• Date: 11 October 2023
• Pages: 283-299
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2022-0326
• Published date: 11 October 2023
• Author: Ine Gremmen,Yvonne W.M. Benschop

Micro-political strategies

in negotiating the role of women’s

networks in organizations

Ine Gremmen and Yvonne W.M. Benschop

Nijmegen School of Management, Institute for Management Research,

Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Abstract

Purpose –The authors aim to contribute to current knowledge on women’s networks in organizations by

exploring the strategies employed by members of women’s networks, Human Resources (HR) management and

senior line management to negotiate the role of these networks in their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors employ the theoretical perspective of micro-politics to

analyze qualitative data they collected in an action research project using open-ended interviews and

participant observation. The interviews were conducted with network board and active members, and

members of their organizations’HR departments and senior management. Participant observation of the

interviewees’interactions took place during facilitated workshops.

Findings –Adding to the literature, the authors find that members of the different parties employ different micro-

political strategies. Many senior HR and management membersdemand that the networks’activities contribute to the

organizations’diversity aims and bottom line. They largely avoid strategic cooperation with the networks. Most

network members, in turn, resist the restricted role of the networksasaninstrumenttorealize their organizations’

business case. They claim some freedom to independently decide on the networks’strategies and activities. They

resist being attributed tasks and responsibilities that theyconsider to reside with their organizations. Moreover, they

try to sustain cooperative relationships with senior HR and managementin an advisory role.

Originality/value –The action research approach enabled the authors to contribute to existing knowledge

and extend the micro-politics theoretical perspective to include the collective agency of members of

organizational groups and cooperation between these groups.

Keywords Women’s networks, Diversity management, Micro-politics, Critical diversity studies

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Many organizations maintain women employee networks, but do not seriously support them

(Deyton, 2012;Dyrchs and Strack, 2012;Hucke and Kepinski, 2016;O’Neil et al., 2011;

Villes

eche and Josserand, 2017). This paper helps to clarify this paradox. Our aim is to

contribute to the knowledge on women’s networks in organizations by exploring how the role

of these networks is continually negotiated.

We define women’s networksin organizations as organized, mostly women-only, employee

groups that initiate meetings and other activities to connect women employees and improve their

positions (Friedman, 1996;Travers et al., 1997;Vinnicombe and Colwill, 1995). The role these

networksmay fulfillin their organizationsconsistsof three elements:(1) providingopportunities

for members to meet and exchange information and experiences (connection), (2) providing

opportunities for professional development (development) and (3) providing Human Resources

(HR) management and senior line management with information on women employees’

The role of

women’s

networks in

organizations

283

The authors received an external grant for their action research project from the Nederlandse Stichting voor

Psychotechniek, NSvP (https://www.innovatiefinwerk.nl) as well as a financial contribution for the workshops

from the networks/organizations that participated in the project. The authors sincerely thank the three

anonymous reviewers and the associate editors for their helpful comments on this paper. In addition, much

appreciated comments and help on earlier drafts were provided by Nusi Cornelissens, Carolin Ossenkop,

Margot Verleg, Dorian Woods, Nicolle Zeegers, Simone van Zolingen and, in particular, Claudia Groβ.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 25 November 2022

Revised 28 April 2023

16 August 2023

Accepted 24 August 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 2, 2024

pp. 283-299

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-11-2022-0326

experiences and with advice on the organizations’diversity strategies and policies (advice)

(Bleijenbergh et al., 2021a;Cross and Armstrong, 2008;Donnellon and Langowitz, 2009;cf.

Green, 2018). Network events include round table conversations, lunch meetings with invited

speakers, mentoring circles, skills workshops and yearly or bi-annual organization-wide

conferences. In addition, networks may monitor the progress concerning diversity, equality and

inclusion (DEI) in the organizations at large and discuss their findings with their organizations’

senior management (e.g. Vinnicombeet al .,2003;Dennissenet al., 2019). Network members who

organizethese activities arevolunteers who mostlydo the work for the networkon top of their

regular jobs. The networks may or may not be granted a budget by their organizations

(Vinnicombe et al., 2003,cf.Colgan and McKearney, 2012).

Through their activities, women’s networks may contribute to equality, diversity and inclusion

in their organizations. However, the formal decision-making power concerning equality, diversity

and inclusion resides with the organizations’top management (Hucke and Kepinski, 2016). As a

consequence, women’snetworkshavetonegotiatetheroleofthenetworksintheirorganizations

with their organizations’leadership. This paper highlights these negotiations. Our research

question is: How do members of women’s networks, HR management and senior line management

negotiate, at the micro-level, the role of the women’s networks in their organizations?

How these negotiations take place at a micro-level is hitherto understudied. The literature

suggests that women’s network members comply to the “patriarchal culture”of their

organizations, rather than engage in negotiations (Bierema, 2005,p.218;cf.Dennissen, 2020;

Dennissen et al., 2019;Villes

eche and Josserand, 2017). Networks members may b e “soi dentified

with and through the current set of power relations thatan autonomous space bringing them

together has limited value”(Foldy, 2002, p. 107). For organizations, maintaining a women’s

network may be a “fig leaf”to conceal low commitment to implementing DEI measures (Foldy,

2002;Huckeand Kepinski,2016). Or they expect the networks to provide a quick fix on diversity,

hoping “that havinga network might be sufficient to drivediversity and inclusion within their

organization”(Hucke and Kepinski, 2016,p.15).

Recent studies on women’s and diversity networks in organizations (Bleijenbergh et al.,

2021a;Dennissen, 2020) question network members’passive compliance to their

organizations’culture and practices. These studies show that the networks address the

structural character of diversity issues, lobby for their proposals and urge the organizations’

senior management to take responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion (Bleijenbergh

et al., 2021a;Dennissen, 2020).

This paper adds to these studies. It is based on an action-research project we undertook in 2011

and 2012 to contribute to optimal cooperation between women’s networks in Dutch organizations

and these organizations’senior management and Human Resource (HR) departments. Even

though our project goes back to 2011 and 2012, the findings still bear relevance today, as they

resonate with the above recent work on women’s and diversitynetworks (Bleijenbergh et al., 2021a;

Dennissen, 2020). On this assumption, our project enables us to contribute to the literaturebecause

it provides data on the negotiation strategies of both network members and HR and senior

management members, as well as data on theinteractionsbetweentheseparties.

To theorize the negotiations between the parties, we employ the perspective of micro-

politics (Morley, 1999,2006;Zanoni and Janssens, 2007). This perspective focuses on how

power works at the micro-level and recognizes control and conflict as essential and

contradictory bases of organizational life (Morley, 1999). The micro-politics perspective

enables us to identify the strategies used by members of the different parties to negotiate the

role of the women’s networks.

In the next section, we will further explain how we employ the theoretical perspective of

micro-politics. Consequently, we will describe the methodology of our action research project,

discuss our findings and provide suggestions for future research as well as practical

recommendations. Lastly, we will present our conclusions.

EDI

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