Challenging and reinforcing gender boundaries at work

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse management and employee experiences of gender divisions at work and to reflect on gender boundaries using the method of democratic dialogue. It also considers the use of experiences in efforts supporting workplace democracy. Design/methodology/approach – Finnish action research project sought to promote both gender equality and democratic dialogue. Content analysis is applied on group discussions on promoting gender equality at work. Findings – Gender divisions in organizations were widely recognized. Challenges arose from the incompatibility of images of gender and gendered images of work. Participants’ perspectives varied depending on their hierarchical position. Research limitations/implications – Democratic dialogue provides tools to approach sensitive topics that need special attention in promoting gender equality. Practical implications – Work organizations need to use forums that bring together management and employee perspectives with a gender‐sensitive approach to support workplace democracy. Originality/value – The paper shows that, to enable change, the understandings of gender and gender equality have to be negotiated on the local level and in a way that connects to participants’ realities and experiences.