Temporary organizations such as projects are known to differ in various respects from more permanent organizational forms (e.g., line organizations). The organization of work into team structures that cut through organizational hierarchies and interorganizational boundaries is a salient feature of temporary organizations. Research suggests that gender issues such as (in)equality in terms of personal rewards and promotions for men and women may manifest differently in temporary organizations. Inspired by gender research in permanent organizations, we show that (in)congruency between gender and project roles evokes mechanisms analogous to those in permanent organizations. Using the example of cooperative behaviour, operationalized as project citizenship behaviour (PCB), we examine how temporary organizations acknowledge and reward such behaviour. A quantitative, crosssectional study was conducted, with 241 project managers and workers participating. The results of seven structural equation models reveal that though the enactment of PCB does not vary by gender, the relationship of PCB and its outcomes does. In the face of temporality, men and women were clearly rewarded differently depending on the gender congruency of their project role.

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gender congruence, inequality, OCB, organizational citizenship behaviour, projects, rewards