Women and Networking: A Systematic Literature Review (1985-2021)

This report analyses literature on women and networking between 1985 and 2021, as published in women and gender studies journals. Authors analysed a total of 78 articles published in European Journal of Women’s Studies, Feminist Review, Women’s Studies International Forum, Feminist Theory, Gender & Society, Journal of Gender Studies, Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Signs, Women Studies Quarterly, Feminist Economics, Gender in Management: An International Journal (previously called Women in Management Review,), Gender, Work & Organization, Feminist Studies, Hypatia and International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. Thematic analysis and three-tier coding have been used in analysing available articles. Findings reveal that organisational cultures did not change during the four decades of research as boys clubs still exist and take men ahead much more than women’s networks take women ahead. Old boys clubs remain persistent and more powerful than women’s networks and women do not report benefits from networking even when they engage with this, often seen, masculine practice. Women also report exclusion from important professional networks and this is a theme that consistently runs through research, and additionally, many women cannot join networks due to the social expectation that women will look after families. Networking thus presents a structural barrier and this is visible throughout decades of analysed research, with recurring and repeating themes of networking as a structural barrier, exclusion of women and persistent power and influence of old boys clubs.