A Feminist Viewpoint of Organizatonal Theory in the 21st Century
Debra J. Boutiette
Capella University
OM8021 Management Theory Creation – Section 01
March 15, 2012

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review of the topic selected for this final project which is “The feminist viewpoint on organization theory and what historical factors determined the present state of affairs. As a woman over 50 and returning to the job market after many years, there has been a great deal of change in attitudes and philosophies in regard to the feminist attitude in business. Many feminists became aware of this topic many years ago. This author was surprised at how over the centuries the female image and worth has been shaped by man, society, and the world around them. This literature review will include a discussion on the seminal works pertaining to the subject, a critique of the current literature, a comparison of the seminal works with the more recent literature, the limitations involved with the reviewed works, the implications for the literature reviewed, recommendations, and personal reflections and insights.

Introduction
The Feminist theory and its approach to gender in organizations deals with the similarities and dissimilarities among the sexes as it pertains in the work environment, families, and societal discrimination. Also, feminists may be motivated by the beliefs that management and leaders in the organizations that are male-oriented are often tended to by women in the organization. In this respect feminist perspectives in organizations have goals to change the political environment that denigrate women such as allowing women to express their views, to overcome gender bias and discrimination in the workplace by changing the position of gender and subjects in writings that reflect a more universal viewpoint.
The following discussions relate to the feminist perspective in the past and present and refer to the implications for the future. The research embedded in this topic has been sparse. Most of the seminal works were dated before the 20th century while the more recent research is within the 21st century. In an endeavor to explore these two realms, I offer the following.
Discussion of the Seminal Theory and Research
In researching the earlier works that pertained to feminist theory, much time was spent contemplating the nature and issue of the problem in regard to the meager amount of information available. William H. Chafe is a professor known for his research and writings on gender and race equality. His seminal work, Women and Equality: Changing Patterns in American Culture (1978), is a book of essays on the viewpoint of history from a woman’s perspective. History has notoriously been written from one side of the sex continuum. This exploration into the other side (a woman’s point of view) is both historically relevant and insightful. Each essay focuses on a point in history taken from a feminine perspective that challenges previous written documentation in that era. This book also searches and tries to grasp the implications of the evolving 20th century and its effects on the American lifestyle and political systems. It is also a study in determining methods to identify factors that led to this evolutionary explosion and how the modern American man has had to cope with this inclusion. This seminal work assisted the researcher in developing a theory of how and why feminism developed and the changes and forces that helped define women in today’s critical economic climate.
In contrast, Isabella Bird wrote another seminal work on a Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1960). The author, a very progressive 19th century Englishwomen traverses the globe, going where no modern woman of that time would dare to travel, writing about her adventures and exploits. Isabella Bird not only gives the reader a glimpse of what the life of a women was like during the latter part of the