Resignation by the eds of Gender, Work and Organization | Google Docs

Resignation by the eds of Gender, Work and Organization.

Dear incoming editors and publishers of GWO,

We, the undersigned, are writing to tender our immediate resignations as Associate Editors, members of the Distinguished Advisory Board, members of the Editorial Review Board, reviewers and authors for Gender, Work and Organization.

We note with profound sorrow how events have unfolded over the last few months at GWO. While there have been longstanding concerns over the limited resourcing of the journal and lowering of quality of standards, Wiley’s new and unannounced strategy of mainstreaming this world-class interdisciplinary journal during its 30th anniversary year has left us with no choice but to walk away from it to secure the quality and impact of gender scholarship. 

We no longer identify with the aims, scope or undemocratic practices and processes underpinning the journal, and we have no trust that the current governance is aligned with the values of our inclusive, feminist community. Furthermore, the process for recruiting the new editors in chief (all business academics with expertise in marketing and entrepreneurship, not reflecting the breadth of gender and feminist research of the journal) was not appropriate, consistent, transparent or inclusive, as it excluded those who provide their free labour to ensure the success of the journal either wholly or in part (e.g. members of the DAB among many others). We are not confident that Wiley’s new strategy and autocratic management of the journal will be beneficial for the journal itself and its international readership. 

In particular, one outcome of this process was the arbitrary creation of the role of the conference lead, which was never advertised and is entirely inappropriate since Wiley does not have proprietary rights over the conference. We were also dismayed that several shortlisted candidates were never contacted afterwards about the decision. Please note that this is not an ad hominem attack on the new editors, which we gather has been one of the interpretations presented in your meetings with the Associate Editors (AEs). Instead, it is a deep concern that the process was flawed in the extreme and excluded the community that sustains the journal with its free labour. We also wanted to note that we will be giving our full support to the GWO conference in Canada this summer, given that this is not owned by Wiley.

The meetings that were held with the AEs on the 29th of February were very problematic in their own right with some AEs leaving early in protest. There, unfounded accusations were levelled at AEs, and considerable misinformation was presented – for example, that the board lacks expertise in masculinities, technology and Indigenous knowledge as well as representation from the Global South. As you are aware, three members of the board have already resigned, all experts in Southern theories. Our request for the Wiley publishers to meet with the Distinguished Advisory Board (DAB), as well as the Associate Editor Board (AEB) and the Editorial Review Board (ERB), only received a response after several weeks which we take as a delaying tactic to ensure the top-down recruitment process was completed. After the meetings with the AEB we conclude that neither the new editors nor Wiley are interested in the work we do as a scholarly community as demonstrated by your inability to listen to our expertise and experience. 

It is clear to us that the journal is moving away from its long-established critical gender and feminist roots – the AEs amongst us have been receiving papers to process that do not fit the aims and scope of the journal, and papers rooted in our critical heritage are being routinely desk rejected. It is evident that the journal is now interested in high-volume, low-quality and mainstream management papers.

Moreover, we will no longer be submitting papers to the journal or accepting invitations to review for it; and we will be sharing this letter with our wider scholarly communities so that they are well informed of these changes, as well as to encourage them to think about supporting our concerns which may include withdrawing papers that they currently have under consideration with the journal.

We will not continue to provide free labour and feminist scholarship to this journal in these very problematic circumstances. Since the journal’s founding in 1994, it has grown to become the home for academics engaged in a wide range of gender and diversity research, especially by established and emerging scholars examining social and organizational problems from critical, feminist, and Global South perspectives. Wiley’s recent actions are sabotaging 30 years of world class scholarship and the collective work of a community which has stood against oppression, injustice and discrimination for just as long. As the number 1 Women’s Studies journal, Wiley’s directive is a violent attack on the community. 

To continue our scholarship and our struggle