Auxiliary women workers in the legal sector: traversing subjectivities and ‘self’ to learn through work

Abstract

This study is about female auxiliary workers in the Australian legal sector. The purpose is to explore the impact of subjectivities on women workers and how they negotiate their positionality to participate in meaningful work and learning. The study is grounded in theories of identity and socio-cultural perspectives of subjectivity, agentic action and reflexivity. The approach is a critical ethnography and procedures for data gathering were triangulated through interviews, observations and reflective diaries. Findings reveal that, in spite of impeding subjectivities and low workplace affordances, auxiliary women’s learning is mostly shaped by their agency and reflexivity. The women participants identified themselves as pragmatic learners and demonstrated how they navigate subjectivities, and find ‘self’ through agentic actions and reflexivity. Hence, it will only be through greater management awareness and more conducive educational pathways for auxiliary women workers that these workers will achieve their goals and realise their full potential.

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