Negotiating Gender and Bureaucracy: Female Managers in Indonesia's Ministry of Finance

Muljono, Paramita (2013) Negotiating Gender and Bureaucracy: Female Managers in Indonesia's Ministry of Finance. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

There is global recognition of the need for more women in decision-making positions within bureaucracies to ensure gender-equitable policies and outcomes. Article 7 of the Convention of the Elimination of the Discrimination against Women commits states to ensure equality between women and men in political and public life, including participation in formulating government policy. In Indonesian government agencies, women now are employed in almost equal numbers to men. This thesis considers whether these changes represent genuine empowerment for these women, focussing on the gendered processes within the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

There is a small but growing literature on female managers in developing country government agencies. However, no studies systematically combine an analysis of gendered processes within these organisations with an exploration of women’s work/family balance. This thesis develops such a combined approach. It draws on a range of data sources including interviews with 121 MOF employees, personal observation and documents. The analysis compares gendered practice within three different ministerial departments.

Drawing on Goetz’s concept of the “gendered archaeology of organisation”, this thesis reveals a high degree of gender inequality in the daily practices. This includes overt discrimination in recruitment, as well as more indirect forms of discrimination in promotion and training. The thesis considers how employment in the MOF shapes the identities of female managers, and how these women balance their domestic lives with their careers. Among other things, this considers the effects of corruption, Islamic conservatism, Javanese culture, a bureaucratic reform programme and a gender mainstreaming initiative. The thesis observes how these women exercise agency within and outside the MOF, and the extent to which their education and professional status empower them in their working lives. The thesis also examines how gendered processes within the MOF affect its external policies.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
Depositing User:	Users 5605 not found.
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2013 12:08
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2013 12:08
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/44845
DOI:

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