Embodied women in the work context: The case of Portuguese businesswomen and their female subordinates

Drawing on a feminist poststructuralist approach, this exploratory research studies the embodied construction of female workers produced in two focus groups of Portuguese businesswomen when they discuss their female subordinates. We sought to understand the positioning ascribed by the businesswomen to the female body in relation to an ideal professional body and its implications for the relations between the businesswomen and their subordinate female coworkers. An analysis of the group interactions shows that the embodied constructions of female workers entail two opposing interpretative repertoires through which the businesswomen participate in the discipline and/or resistance of the female employees' bodies to a professional masculine and heteronormative discourse. We also reflect upon the implications of the power relations between women in the conception and perceived adequacy of the female body in the work context.