Leadership and humour at work: Using interactional sociolinguistics to explore the role of gender

Mohd Omar, Dr. Nor Azikin (2021) Leadership and humour at work: Using interactional sociolinguistics to explore the role of gender. In: The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Taylor and Francis, pp. 197-211. ISBN 978-131551484-0

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Abstract

This chapter explores language and gender in the professional domain with a focus on leadership discourse. Leadership is a particularly relevant topic for language and gender research as the notion of leadership is gender biased, and globally prevailing gender stereotypes and expectations have real-life implications for women and men taking up leadership roles or aspiring to do so. In our analysis of leadership discourse and gender, we focus on humour, which is one of the discursive strategies frequently used by leaders to achieve their various objectives. Using interactional sociolinguistics to analyse instances of naturally occurring workplace interactions from different workplaces in New Zealand, Malaysia, and the UK, this chapter explores how humour is used by those in leadership positions, and critically asks whether gender is relevant. We discuss some of the advantages of using interactional sociolinguistics as an approach, and illustrate that in spite of general stereotypes, women and men in leadership positions frequently use humour to achieve similar aims, and differences in the type and frequency of humour reflect and respond to a range of contextual factors. Gender was (made) relevant primarily in those instances where humour was used to make fun of and send up gendered stereotypes. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Jo Angouri and Judith Baxter.

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