The aim of this study is to examine how gender inequalities are reproduced in Scrum, a widely used agile method in contemporary organizations. Drawing on Acker’s (1990) theory of gendered organizations, we conducted fourteen semi-structured interviews with Scrum team members across various roles to examine how gender inequality operates within contemporary self-organizing work structures. Our analysis identifies four interconnected mechanisms through which gender inequalities are embedded in Scrum contexts: temporal intensification that privileges full-time working (‘gendered practices’); role descriptions for Product Owner and Scrum Master that systematically value technical skills over relational facilitation (‘gendered culture’); self-organized practices that reproduce gendered task allocation (‘gendered interactions’); and an impetus ingrained with emphasis on organizational effectiveness and performance orientation that leads to the neglect of gender inequality in Scrum teams (‘organizational logic’). This study contributes to the literature on gender inequality in contemporary work forms and agile work.
Selected contributions:
- Rybnikova, I., & Kornau, A. (2023, Juli). Gendered agility? An explorative study of (in)equalities in Scrum teams. European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Cagliari, Italien.
- Rybnikova, I., & Kornau, A. (under review). Gendered agility? An explorative study of (in)equalities in Scrum teams.
Letzte Änderung: 13. Mai 2026