MAKING SENSE OF GENDERED COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE SENIOR STUDENT AFFAIRS OFFICERS

Abstract

This research utilizes an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis design to investigate female senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) as they experience and implement gendered communication practices in the higher education workplace. Research regarding female SSAO interactions are absent from discourse on gendered communication and no comprehensive studies on the effect or use of gendered communication environments have been completed. This research addresses the following questions: How do female SSAOs make sense of their gendered communication practices and experiences? How do the perceptions of the female SSAO’s communication practices impact their experiences? Through completing a pre-interview reflection, personal and professional demographics survey, and open-ended interview, 18 female SSAO participants shared their experiences and implementation of gendered communication. Findings show that female SSAOs fluidly use both masculine and feminine communication attributes, are recipients of negative gendered communication and gender-based microaggressions, establish connections with their female identity through communication, and are highly reflective professionals regarding their personal and professional communication.