The dark side of gender equality schemes in management – a deep dive into a german auto manufacturer

Despite the wide array of corporate programmes and the increased attention to fight gender inequality issues, efforts have brought about only timid results, in particular in management (Catalyst, 2018). What reason account for the stalled progress and what can be done? By examining gender equality interventions in a masculine organisation; and mobilizing men’s and women’s perceptions related to gender equality in management, this article seeks to provide deeper insights on the mechanisms of gender equality change in organisation. A qualitative case study comprising document analysis and semi-structured interviews was conducted at an automotive company’s headquarter between 2012 and 2015 in Germany and relies on an innovative combination of two analytical frameworks elaborated by Ely and Meyerson (2000) and Rao and Kelleher (2005). The study shows the limits of formal and systemic gender policy in organisation for it leaves the deep ingrained informal values untouched. The interviewed female managers tend to not subscribe to these programmes. Male managers express resentment against not only the corporate actions but also against gender quota. Both male and female managers firmly believe in the meritocratic system and take for granted the gendered order of their organisation.