Systemic displaced aggression: a conceptual framework for understanding intra-gender conflict in academia

Abstract

Purpose This paper develops the concept of systemic displaced aggression to explain why women in academia may undermine one another in ways that reflect institutional design rather than personal pathology. While existing frameworks such as Queen Bee Syndrome and scarcity mindset identify important dynamics, they often fail to capture how institutional structures redirect women's professional frustrations away from patriarchal systems and toward more proximate, interpersonal targets – often other women. This redirection contributes to intra-gender conflict that reinforces gender inequality within academic settings. Design/methodology/approach The paper offers a conceptual framework that extends the psychological notion of displaced aggression into organizational and feminist contexts. This theory-building is informed by the author's lived experience in a US business school and supported by illustrative reflections that shed light on how systemic conditions shape women's exclusionary behaviors toward one another. Findings Systemic displaced aggression occurs when institutionalized masculinities, tenure-based scarcity and internalized expectations of competition produce structural frustration that is redirected toward other women. These dynamics often obscure the role of institutions in perpetuating inequality by framing conflict as individual or relational rather than systemic. Originality/value By theorizing systemic displaced aggression, this paper contributes a novel lens to feminist organization studies and higher education research. It offers implications for institutional change, mentorship and the cultivation of feminist solidarities, particularly by addressing structural scarcity and challenging masculinist definitions of academic success.