Abstract
Purpose: In reflecting on our experiences of bidding for, winning, completing and disseminating a government-funded report on the effects of menopause transition on women’s economic participation, we consider the impact on our work and on us. These experiences took place in a variety of work contexts.
Design/methodology/approach: Following the publication of the report, we undertook collective, autoethnographic memory work that forms the empirical body of our argument. This is presented in thirteen vignettes.
Findings: From the earliest days of the menopause transition project, we found ourselves continually traversing the supposed public-private divide in our work contexts. Our experiences speak to broader social issues around gendered ageism in these contexts.
Research implications: The paper analyses the challenges of researching what is a universal experience for women yet also a taboo subject. It discusses the relevant implications for and possible effects on researchers who investigate such topics in organisation and work studies and elsewhere.
Originality/value: Menopause experiences as they connect to work are under-researched per se. Our paper extends knowledge of how this research area is not only shaped by researchers but has an impact on those researchers.
Design/methodology/approach: Following the publication of the report, we undertook collective, autoethnographic memory work that forms the empirical body of our argument. This is presented in thirteen vignettes.
Findings: From the earliest days of the menopause transition project, we found ourselves continually traversing the supposed public-private divide in our work contexts. Our experiences speak to broader social issues around gendered ageism in these contexts.
Research implications: The paper analyses the challenges of researching what is a universal experience for women yet also a taboo subject. It discusses the relevant implications for and possible effects on researchers who investigate such topics in organisation and work studies and elsewhere.
Originality/value: Menopause experiences as they connect to work are under-researched per se. Our paper extends knowledge of how this research area is not only shaped by researchers but has an impact on those researchers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 247-262 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Journal of Organizational Ethnography |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 6 Sept 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2018 |
Keywords
- academia
- autoethnography
- contexts
- menopause
- research
- work