Our MA Students Ayşenur Ergin and Gamze Kapar Presented Their Research at the 16th Annual Gender, Work & Organization Conference

Ayşenur Ergin and Gamze Kapar, MA students in the Department of Sociology at our University, presented their research paper, “Invisibility, Resistance, and 'Masculinization': Negotiating Female Identity and Labor in the Case of Kayseri, Turkey”, online via Zoom, at the 16th Gender, Work & Organization (GWO) Conference held on 8th June 2026, one of the world's leading conferences on gender, work, and organizations. The paper was co-authored with Research Assistant Yunus Yeşil and Assist. Prof. Nursem Keskin Aksay from Marmara University.

Conducted as part of the “Women's Labor in the Private and Public Spheres in Türkiye” project organized by KADEM, this qualitative study is based on interviews with 58 women in Kayseri. The research examines the strategies women develop to navigate and negotiate the challenges posed by neoliberal policies and prevailing gender norms in both their working lives and everyday existence. At the center of the analysis is the concept of “Mahmutlaşma” (Masculinization), which describes how women in male-dominated sectors adopt masculine forms of language, behavior, and social codes to gain recognition and establish themselves in the workplace. 

The research also explores why domestic production continues to be categorized as “supplementary income” rather than recognized as legitimate work, and how women strategically employ this framing to expand their participation in public and economic life.

Offering significant insights into the invisibility of women's labor, forms of resistance, and gender norms, the authors are currently preparing the paper for publication in an international peer-reviewed academic journal.