Neoliberal ideology : justification of gender inequalities and barrier to feminist collective action ; L'idéologie néolibérale : justification des inégalités de genre et frein à l'action collective féministe

Investigating the barriers to women's engagement in collective action on behalf of their group is essential to understanding the persistence of gender inequalities. This dissertation focuses on one of these obstacles, neoliberal ideology, which is considered a tool for preserving the status quo and thus gender inequalities. It is argued that neoliberal ideology diminishes the politicized identification of women as feminists and thus the engagement of women in collective action on behalf of their group. Specifically, it is proposed that this ideology hinders feminist identification in two ways: 1) by adapting women to the well-functioning of the neoliberal system and its patriarchal components, and 2) by providing arguments for the legitimization of gender inequalities. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is tested over three Chapters. Chapter 1 aims to develop an empirically grounded definition of neoliberal ideology. Chapter 2 focuses on the adaptive function of this ideology and tests the hypothesis that exposure to neoliberal ideology decreases women's engagement in collective action. Finally, Chapter 3 examines the legitimation function by testing the hypothesis that women temporarily motivated to justify the status quo would then endorse neoliberal ideology more strongly and therefore identify less as feminists. In the end, this dissertation leads, through the qualitative analysis of individual interviews, to the construction of a tool, the NOQ (Neoliberal Orientation Questionnaire), which highlights four dimensions of this ideology: competition, individual self-regulation, relational detachment and public divestment. Moreover, while exposure to the meritocratic dimension of neoliberal ideology does reduce feminist identification and collective action, more research is, to date, needed to conclude that it is also the case when all dimensions of the ideology are considered. It appears, however, that endorsement of neoliberal ideology is indeed associated to greater justification of gender ...