Communicating resilience in actual and imagined boundaries: narrative plots and meanings of retention in organizations

Abstract

The paper examines the narratives of STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) career pathways constructed by women scientists and engineers through the theoretical lens of resilience. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with 45 women who are currently employed in STEM organizations in Singapore, I explore the narrative actions women deploy to survive in largely masculine STEM organizations. Using narrative analysis, I explore the stories women craft as strategies of resilience when negotiating STEM career pathways. Given the critical role of storytelling in resilience, the study points to the role of communication in enabling networks, and in making available opportunities for circulating stories. Moreover, the cultural and structural challenges to women’s work in STEM suggest the key role for communication interventions that are directed at changing sociocultural attitudes toward women’s work in STEM.

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