‘The canary in the coalmine’: The nonaccommodation cycle in the gendered workplace

Abstract

In this paper, we look at workplace communication nonaccommodation between men and women coworkers and its role in the persistence of organizational gender inequality. We contend that the principles of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) explain the dynamics of intergroup psychological processes underlying gender‐based workplace communication breakdowns, which contribute to the development and maintenance of separate gender group workplace social identities. Drawing upon prior research and theory, especially Coupland, Wiemann & Giles’(1991) miscommunication model and Dubë‐Simard's model of intergroup communication breakdown, we develop a model of the workplace gender nonaccommodation cycle and its effects upon men's and women's workplace linguistic practices. We also suggest that recognition of the intergroup nature of gender‐based workplace conflicts can point the way to finding solutions that reduce the incidence of these communication breakdowns or, at the least, mitigate their worst effects.

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