FATHERS IN STUDENT AFFAIRS: Navigating a Gendered Organization

This chapter focuses on how fathers working in student affairs are affected by ideal worker norms. It also focuses on J. Acker’s work on gendered organizations to make sense of the challenges that fathers face working in the field. Acker found organizations are also gendered through their utilization of symbols and their reproduction of cultural images, such as the archetypal student affairs professional as always working and fathers as solely breadwinners. Finally, Acker argued that gender is implicated in the creation and re-creation of social structures, including organizations and professional fields. Additionally, graduate students and new professionals who are parents are more likely to have younger children. Midcareer professionals, particularly men, may have children of any age, given men’s ability to father children throughout their lifespan. Supervisors can also encourage-rather than discourage-working fathers to take advantage of institutional policies and services that are targeted toward parents.