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Abstract. In this article, we explore the discursive possibilities available to men and women when they construct their professional self as 'knowledge workers' in multinational management consultancies. We argue that this professional identity construction is embedded in a normalizing, gendered discourse of what it means to be an 'ideal' consultant. However, representations of an alternative discourse, which constructs different spheres in an individual's life, can also be traced in the consultants' talk. Through a comparison of British and Finnish consultants' talk, we show the relevance of placing micro-discourses in context. In the UK, discourse on 'work/life balance' may be understood as a form of resistance at the level of subjectivity. In Finland, discourse on the 'balanced individual' can be seen to be an articulation of a societally bound normalizing discourse. The cultural context can thus be said to have an effect on forms of resistance in knowledge work. Key words, discourse; gender; identity; management consultants; resistance
Of all the businesses, by far
Consultancy's the most bizarre.
For to the penetrating eye,
There's no apparent reason why,
With no more assets than a pen,
This group of personable men
Can sell to clients more than twice
The same ridiculous advice,
Or find, in such a rich profusion,
Problems to fit their own solution.
(Bernie Ramsbottom, Financial Times, 11 April 1981; quoted in Canback, 1998)
Yes, personable men. Management consulting is a timely and revealing organizational field for explicating and understanding gendered discourses and identities. On the one hand, the worldwide volume of consultancy business has grown exponentially over the past two decades (Canback, 1998; FEACO, 1999), although the market has slackened somewhat since 2001. Management consultancies and consultants continue to extend their influence, actively generating and spreading 'modern management knowledge' (Clark and Fincham, 2002; Kipping and Engwall, 2002). Consulting is a prime example of knowledge work (see Alvesson, 2001; Legge, 2002). For a number of years, major multinational consultancies have also topped the list of first choice employers by business and engineering students. It seems that consulting is considered by bright and ambitious graduates to be an appealing and professionally rewarding job choice. On the other hand, these appealing and rewarding jobs have traditionally been the privilege of men. Although the number of women recruited...