Situating gender in situated learning

This article discusses the situated learning approach to the study of organizational learning (based on Lave & Wenger) in the light of the ‘doing gender’ approach in the study of gender in organizations (based on West & Zimmerman). It claims that studies of situated learning have not taken sufficient account of gender aspects. Gender appears to be highly relevant to the situated learning approach whereby learning is perceived as socialization in the context of a community of practice, because, according to the doing gender approach, all socialization implies learning to ‘do gender’ in an appropriate way. The present article discusses how and why gender is neglected in studies of situated learning in organizations and exemplifies ways in which the inclusion of gender aspects could affect the basic assumptions and conclusions of the approach.