Gender. The interplay between the ‘local’ and the ‘global’

This chapter looks at the discussion about the role of culture₁ and culture₂ in the workplace context, and explores some of the ways in which this analytical distinction can be applied to an analysis of gender, and, more specifically, how it may enable people to better understand the interplay between local practices and global issues. It challenges some of the prevailing assumptions about the role of gender in Hong Kong workplaces. The chapter identifies and critically discusses some of the gendered assumptions and practices that characterise many workplaces in Hong Kong – many of which are typically associated and explained with reference to culture₁. Hong Kong provides an interesting site for investigating gender and culture in both its first- and second-order meanings. The chapter looks at several examples from two different workplaces in Hong Kong to explore the role of the local context and locally negotiated practices through which gender is enacted on the micro-level of an interaction.