Gendered management in Hungary: perceptions and explanations

Abstract

Purpose

To display both the statistical data and the subjective evaluation on the situation of women in management in Hungary.

Design/methodology/approach

In the last ten years research activity on gender and work countries have concentrated on the investigation of the sociological issue of the extent to which equal opportunity programmes at the company level have been accomplished in Hungary. The investigations consist of two interrelated parts: questionnaires on women's situation in top management completed by HR departments, and in‐depth interviews with employees. This paper brings together these studies and reports on women's management position at senior levels in Hungarian organisations.

Findings

The results show that, although women's share in the elite pool of economic life increased, women are badly represented in higher managerial positions. Neither employers nor employees find this situation problematic, and continuously emphasised the liberal meaning of equality. There were various ideas about the explanation for the poor representation of women in the company boards, but none of them stressed the organisation as the hindrance of women's advancement.

Research limitations/implications

It is not based on a representative sample.

Originality/value

There have been minimal investigations on gender issues at companies in Hungary. These results display not only companies' official opinion but also the employees' perceptions on gender inequality. The paper contributes to the neglected area of gender and management research with the Hungarian and Eastern European context.

Citation

Nagy, B. (2005), "Gendered management in Hungary: perceptions and explanations", Women in Management Review, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 345-360. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420510609186