Social-Symbolic Work in the Construction of Social Problems: Constructing Gender Inequality in Turkish Social Partnerships

How social problems are constructed within social partnerships has significant effects on the management, impact, and survival of those partnerships. To explore how social problems are constructed, we adopt a social-symbolic work perspective, which highlights the variety of forms of work involved in this process, how they interact, and the impact of context on that process. Empirically, we focus on two social partnerships in Turkey that both addressed gender inequality but constructed that problem in very different terms. Our study suggests that the differences in how they came to construct the problem of gender inequality in Turkey was tied to the qualities of two forms of social-symbolic work-relational work and practice work-in which they engaged: the partnership that constructed gender inequality as an embedded problem engaged in extensive relational work and deep practice work; in contrast, the partnership that constructed the problem as disembedded engaged in efficient relational work and shallow practice work. Further, we observed that the construction of the problem of gender inequality was tied to different outcomes: an embedded social construction of the problem was associated with holistic outcomes on a more limited scale; a disembedded construction of the problem was associated with simpler outcomes on a greater scale. The paper contributes to the literature on social partnerships by showing how social problems are constructed through partners' work and how this affects their impact and sustainability. It also extends the literature on social-symbolic work by highlighting the interplay of different forms of work in constructing social problems. Finally, it contributes to research on gender inequality and organizations by showing how the work of social partnerships can shape conceptions of gender inequality at the meso level.

Automated summary

The way social problems are constructed within social partnerships has significant effects on their management, impact, and survival. This study explores the construction of social problems through a social-symbolic work perspective, highlighting the different forms of work involved and the contextual impact. Two social partnerships in Turkey that addressed gender inequality were examined, and it was found that the construction of the problem varied based on the types of social-symbolic work they engaged in. The study also revealed that different constructions of the problem led to different outcomes. This research contributes to the understanding of social partnerships, social-symbolic work, and gender inequality within organizations.