A historic perspective on gendered role expectations and processes of exclusion in communication studies and how female scholars cope with them

Abstract

Research on the field of communication studies suggests that unequal treatment of women can be found and that it is the result of gendered role expectations that have transcended generations. Their longevity implies that they are reproduced in the disciplinary habitus, which defines a mainstream from which certain content and agents are excluded (Bourdieu, 1984). The goal of this paper is to identify gender inequalities that are found in communication studies today and can be traced back to the very beginning of the discipline. They are analyzed in relation to role expectations and forms of exclusion as well as coping strategies connected to the disciplinary habitus. This work uses qualitative interviews with communication scholars as empirical data.
In the interviews gendered role expectations had strong effects in the area of teaching as well as networking at informal gatherings and choosing research topics, while forms of exclusion were found in connection to writing publications and women being talked over and ignored in face-to-face conversations. Coping strategies changed with generations, thus the field habitus changes as well.