Self-group distancing and the burden on senior women: intellectual property practice in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract This article discusses the results of interviews with 107 women practising in intellectual property in Australia and New Zealand, and their reflections on senior women in their professions. We analyse the participants’ reflections in the context of psychology and organizational behaviour literature, and highlight that these show solidarity, as the vast majority who spoke about women who self-group distance did not believe that women are inherently competitive with one another. Instead, the vast majority of our participants who spoke about self-group distance saw the phenomenon as a result of sexist organizational cultures and gendered expectations.