Transforming the Value of Gendered Service through Institutional Culture Change

Peitho Volume 21 Issue 2 Spring 2019

Author(s): Jennifer Heinert and Cassandra Phillips

Abstract: Using the lens of feminized labor, we argue that the ways in which the academy defines success are misaligned with the service that is required to fulfill the mission of our institutions and meet the learning needs of students. Those who perform feminized labor and service, particularly in Composition, are at a disadvantage in every way “success” is measured in the academy (teaching, professional development, and service). Transforming how feminized labor is valued involves reexamining institutional missions and then redefining service, research, workload, and expertise in a way that aligns labor with institutional values. This process includes a) redefining and assessing labor and workload in terms of how it supports the institutional mission; b) defining and assessing professional development as work that supports the institutional mission; and c) valuing, supporting, and developing the expertise that is required for sustaining the labor of institutions.

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Tags: 21-2, composition, Feminized labor, gender, Service