Women in Management Worldwide

Progress and Prospects

Ronald J Burke, Astrid Richardsen, Ronald J Burke, Astrid Richardsen

• Publisher: Gower
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780566089169
• eBook ISBN: 9781134775347
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

'Excellent', 'Outstanding' and 'Inspirational' were words used to describe the highly acclaimed and award winning first edition of Women in Management Worldwide. Edited by two of the world's most eminent researchers into the role of women in work and management, their findings from around the world confirmed that the glass ceiling was still firmly in place, and there were few women directors or CEOs of large corporations, indeed few in any posts at the top level of private sector organizations. For the second edition of Women in Management Worldwide: Progress and Prospects, Professors Davidson and Burke have assembled over 30 experts replete with facts, figures and analysis, to ensure this expanded and updated edition provides a genuinely cross-cultural global assessment of women in management. This important book examines what has and has not changed, and provides evidence that an understanding of the values, norms and cultural issues bearing on the progress or otherwise of women in organizations is becoming ever more necessary. There is a looming crisis in organizational leadership, with demographic factors and globalization leading to an international talent war. Against that background, continuing bias against women seeking leadership responsibilities means organizations are failing to develop available talent, and when corporations experience economic difficulties the consequences bear disproportionately on women managers. With findings from a broader and more representative range of countries, the editors have arranged this second edition country by country to enable comparisons of the data both between countries and regions and between past, present, and likely futures. Researchers, policy makers, legislators and officials needing an understanding of women's status and progress, as well as those teaching or studying international, cross-cultural and human resources management will need to read this book.

1
Women in Management Worldwide: Progress and Prospects – An Overview

Marilyn J. Davidson and Ronald J. Burke

Women are the most underutilized natural resource in the world.

CARE, USA.

Introduction

Women continue to enter the workplace in increasing numbers in all developed countries. Several factors account for this trend. An increasing number of economies have become industrialized, the service sector has grown opening up positions for women, and growth in public and not-for profit sectors have created new opportunities for women. Finally, attitudes towards working women, particularly women with children, as well as political and legal initiatives, have supported this trend.

However, the pace of advancement for women mangers and professions continues to be slow and uneven in different countries and cultures (Barreto, Ryan and Schmitt, 2009; Burke, 2009; Burke and Mattis, 2007; Helfat, Harris and Wolfson, 2006; Tarr-Whelan, 2009). In many cases, these women have invested in preparation for careers by undertaking higher education, with the proportion of women in university now equal to or greater than that of men. Women tend to enter the workplace at levels similar to men, with similar credentials and expectations, but their career paths quickly begin to diverge (Burke and Mattis, 2005; Burke and Nelson, 2002). Furthermore, women are obtaining the necessary experience for advancement but still fall short, a finding observed in all developed countries (Adler and Izraeli, 1988; Davidson and Burke, 2004; Wirth, 2001).Women continue to be paid less than men doing similar types of work (Blau and Kahn, 2007). It should also be noted there are indications that the worldwide economic recession may be facilitating an increasing number of women’s employment into part-time jobs in some countries (for example, UK and USA), it may also be having a more determined impact on full-time female employment. In the UK for example, during the third quarter of 2009, women suffered a greater loss of full-time jobs (68,000) compared to men (12,000) (Office for National Statistics, 2009).

Why should organizations be interested in developing and using the talents of women? Schwartz (1992) offered several reasons why supporting the aspirations of talented women makes sound business sense. Organizations that do this get the best people for leadership positions, providing senior-level male executives experience in working with successful women. Supporting capable women signals to women employees, and both male and female clients and customers, that women will be treated similarly to men, and role models for junior women managers will be available. Finally, supporting qualified and talented women ensures that all managerial jobs will be filled with strong individuals. These benefits are particularly important given the acknowledged shortage of effective managerial talent (Burke and Cooper, 2006), the failure of at least half the current managerial incumbents in performing their jobs successfully (Hogan and Hogan, 2001), the self-acknowledged failures of organizations to develop managerial talent (Fulmer and Conger, 2004), and the current “war for talent” (Michaels, Handfield-Jones and Axelrod, 2001). It makes no sense to ignore the talents of half the population.

In Japan for example, only 0.8 percent of CEOs are women versus 10 percent in the UK. Less than 10 percent of Japanese managers are women versus 43 percent in the US and Japan is currently having a severe shortage of talent and does not encourage immigration (Catalyst, 2007). The only viable solution to this talent shortfall is for Japan to do a much better job of developing and advancing qualified women.

Shriver (2009), based on the fact that half the US workforce is now female, used the phrase “female nation” to highlight the fact that this body of employed women is going to bring about changes to men, women, families, organizations and society as a whole. More working women now have children. An increasing number of women are earning more salary than their husbands/partners do. These facts are changing the nature of families, and the roles that men and women play. Children want both their mothers and fathers to come home from work less tired and less stressed. More men are now shouldering home and family responsibilities. Dual earner families need to negotiate who is responsible for what and flexibly respond to changes as they arise. Both women and men are increasingly desirous of workplace flexibility and lower workloads and job demands (Shriver, 2009).

In addition, it is clear that women are becoming an increasing economic force in terms of their purchasing influence and power (Silverstein and Sayre, 2009a; 2009b). Silverstein and Sayre indicate that women in the USA control $20 trillion in consumer spending and this figure is expected to increase. In addition, women earn about $11 trillion in total yearly income and this figure will also rise. Women make the major purchasing decisions in several areas (for example, home furnishings, vacations, automobiles). Women represent the largest market opportunity in the world (Wittenberg-Cox and Maitland, 2008). Yet women get little help at home (Jones, Burke and Westman, 2006) and are too often ignored by manufacturers and service providers. Tapping into these women represents a unique organizational competitive advantage, more likely to be realized if more women influence organizational decision making.

Tarr-Whelan (2009) makes a strong case for increasing the numbers of women in senior executive and key decision-making roles in organizations. The key point is using the talents of half the population that previously have been ignored. She suggests that having 30 percent of these leadership positions filled by qualified women represents a “tipping point” that puts the influence on business issues and off gender. Konrad, Kramer and Erkut (2008) also suggest that having three or more women on a corporate board of directors serves as a similar critical mass or tipping point.

What do women bring to the table? Tarr-Whelan (2009) identifies five benefits organizations realize from having more women in senior jobs:

• Higher profits, more risk awareness, less hypercompetitive and a greater ability to survive financial downturns.

• Policies that contribute to individual and societal health - education, families, entrepreneurship.

• A stronger integration of work and family leading to higher productivity and quality of life.

• Increased commitment to both personal and corporate responsibility and broader and more long-term planning.

• Management that reflects the twenty-first century -teamwork, participative decision making.

But why are there still so few women in top management? Suggestions that address this question have been offered by Catalyst (2002; 2007). In 2002, Catalyst’s survey on 20 European countries and the USA, found stereotypes and preconceptions of women’s roles ranked the top barrier to women’s advancement (Catalyst, 2002). Indeed, these findings were once again replicated more recently when analyzing data from 110 US corporations’ Talent Management Systems and Catalyst (2007) found gender biases and stereotypes existed particularly in succession planning processes. Other career development barriers which particularly affected women and minorities included the lack of 360 degree performance appraisal.

Over a decade ago, Powell (1999) observed that men continued to dominate senior-level positions and it was difficult to eliminate bias and discrimination in the workplace. Men are likely to be more comfortable with other men - the “old boy network”. Hiring and promotion decisions are often unstructured and open to bias. More recently, the Harvard Business Review (Silverstein and Sayre, 2009a; 2009b), reported on a survey of 500 companies which found that candidates for senior executive positions typically went through only one to five interviews (32 percent) and half relied on the hiring manager’s “gut feeling” (a feeling that the candidate had what it takes to be successful in any job). So much for objective selection procedures and acknowledgement of “similarity-attraction” theories! Research continues to indicate that talented women at lower levels may not receive the necessary development opportunities compared to their male counterparts (Powell, 2010). Furthermore, some women may not go after higher-level jobs because of their family responsibilities and the lack of family-friendly and flexible working environments and/or an unwillingness to make the sacrifices necessary to succeed in them (Davidson and Fielden, 2003).

Morrison, White and Van Velsor (1987) reported that women had difficulties fitting into their organization’s culture, were seen by men as wanting too much for themselves or for other women, or had performance difficulties. Managerial women had to walk a fine line, they had to be tough but not too tough, they had to stand on their own two feet yet ask for help when needed, and they had to take career and job risks but still perform at a high level. More than 20 years later, male-defined views of work and career success still represent the norm (O’Neil, Hopkins and Bilimoria, 2008). One consequence of these barriers is a tendency for women to leave large organizations and pursue entrepreneurial and/or small business careers (Belkin, 2003; Fielden and Davidson, 2005; 2010; Mattis, 2004; Moore, 2000; Moore and Buttner, 1997)

Women in Management Worldwide (2004)

Women in management research and consultancy has been undertaken in several countries, over two decades or more. We decided in 2003 that it was time to take stock on initiatives being undertaken in various countries and develop some common metrics to determine the status of women at work and women in management in these countries. We (Davidson and Burke, 2004) asked authors from 21 countries to describe the status of women in management in each of their countries in common areas (for example, women in education, country legislation supporting women’s advancement). These data would permit an examination of changes over time, comparisons across countries and provide baseline information to benchmark changes in the status of women over time. These data might also shed light on the role of country culture on women’s work experiences and career progress.

We solicited chapters from countries in all major regions of the world, both developed and developing. It is interesting to note that some invited contributors declined as their countries did not systematically collect information of the kind we wanted to include. This resulted in our previous publication of the highly successful and award winning book Women in Management Worldwide (Davidson and Burke, 2004).

Women in Management Worldwide (2011)

Six years later in 2009, we decided to update our first book and asked some of the original contributing authors to update their chapters in describing the current status of women at work and in management and reflecting whatever had changed in the intervening six or seven years. In addition, we also invited a number of new cultures and included some new countries. Our objectives for this book were similar to those underlying the 2004 edition:

• Understand more about the status of women at work and women in management in a number of countries around the world.

• Continue the process of collecting common information to capture both trends over time and support comparisons across countries.

• Facilitate more cross-cultural research in these areas.

• Encourage more collaborative research across countries in these areas.

• Continue to raise the issue of utilizing the best talent available.

This book is divided into seven parts. These are: European Union countries (France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom); Europe (Norway and Russia); North and Central America (Canada, Mexico and the United States); Australasia (Australia and New Zealand); Asia (China, Israel, Lebanon and Turkey); South America (Argentina); and Africa (South Africa). Chapters consider labour force characteristics, numbers of women pursuing education, numbers of women in management, women entrepreneurs, legislation and initiatives supporting women in the workforce, and thoughts on what the future might hold. Below we summarize some of the similarities and differences which have emerged in this book in relation to the above objectives.

Similarities and Differences between Countries

LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS

The proportion of women in the paid workforces in all but two countries (China and Turkey) increased, particularly among married women with children; the proportion of women in the US workforce increased only marginally and has remained stable over the past few years.

WOMEN PURSUING EDUCATION

The proportion of women entering higher education, and education in business and the professions (law, accounting, management) continues to rise in most countries with women now also comprising a higher percentage of university students than men. Figures in both the US and New Zealand have remained stable, however, with women still comprising a higher percentage of university students than men. Considering university education in general, men and women still study different specializations. Men are more often found in engineering, mathematics and the sciences; women more often in the languages and social sciences. Countries differed in the percentages of women studying business with some having more women than men (for example, Australia, Canada. France, Greece and Norway) and others, considerably more men than women (for example, South Africa, although white women still dominate management positions).

WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT

Women have increased their participation rates in managerial and professional jobs in most countries; the rates were fairly stable in Argentina. Women generally made progress at lower-management positions but are still woefully under-represented at senior levels of management. Women in all countries still get paid less than men, often working in the same jobs. There is also continued gender segregation with more men working in engineering, construction, mining and manufacturing and more women working in human resources, marketing and public relations. There was also considerable country variation: China reported the lowest percentage of female managers and professionals (16 percent) with Australia, Canada, the UK and the US the highest, at over 30 percent.

However, it should be noted that there is still a dearth of statistics and research on certain minority groups within the female management populations in many of the 20 countries, for example, indigenous women managers, black and minority ethnic women managers, disabled women managers, lesbian and bisexual women managers, one parent women managers, women managers from different religious denominations and so on.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

There was an increasing proportion of women entrepreneurs and small business owners in almost all countries but in some countries the growth was slow (for example, Argentina) and in most countries these proportions were low (for example, Israel and Turkey). Women’s entrepreneurial and small business ventures were typically very small in dollar volume and employee size, and though often working long hours, offered them employment flexibility. As well, women’s entrepreneurial and small business ventures were also more likely to be in the service sector.

COUNTRY LEGISLATION

All countries had legislation in place supporting women at work, some countries more encompassing than others. There was a sense in some countries that more “teeth” needed to be in place to follow through on existing legislation (for example, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand). Moreover, there seemed to be great variability across countries in the interest and support of organizational employers in developing policies and programmes to support women’s career advancement. Organizations in Canada, the UK and the US seemed to be the most proactive whereas employers in Argentina, South Africa, and Turkey seemed to be the least proactive in support of their women managers and professionals. On the other hand, more countries had efforts by government units, non-governmental organizati...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Women in Management Worldwide: Progress and Prospects – An Overview
• PART I WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES
• PART II WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
• PART III WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA
• PART IV WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – AUSTRALASIA
• PART V WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – ASIA
• PART VI WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – SOUTH AMERICA
• PART VII WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT – AFRICA
• Index