This chapter reviews work that examines the potential causes of inequality for women in employment in the UK. Amongst developed economies and based on mean hourly earnings, the UK…
Abstract
This chapter reviews work that examines the potential causes of inequality for women in employment in the UK. Amongst developed economies and based on mean hourly earnings, the UK has one of the highest gender pay gaps (ILO, 2018). The UK, therefore, illustrates some of the key theoretical and practical issues associated with greater gender equality that affect other countries to varying degrees. This chapter sets out key theoretical perspectives on gender inequality, summarizes important research, identifies research gaps and provides an agenda for future research. It highlights how there is no simple explanation for the disparities in pay between men and women; these disparities persist in the UK and elsewhere. Theories and empirical analyses, therefore, need to expand to identify other potential causes of gender inequality, extending ‘upwards’ to examine how the nature of firms varies across countries and ‘downwards’ to assess how union representatives influence equal opportunity policies in organizations.
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– The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most important trends in work and employment over the past 50 years.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most important trends in work and employment over the past 50 years.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopted the 50-year perspective in line with the celebration of Manchester Industrial Relations Society’s 50th anniversary. The approach adopted was to include both observable changes in work and employment and changes in the perspectives found in published research.
Findings
The key trends identified were feminisation, flexibilisation, fragmentation and financialisation. These were the outcome of, on the one hand, global trends towards services, transnationalisation and transformative technologies and, on the other hand, of political choices to deregulate, decollectivise and depoliticise the employment relationship.
Originality/value
The value lies in exploring the key trends in the world of work over a significant period of time, identifying the drivers behind the changes and reflecting on the implications for future prospects in work and employment.
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Gretchen Spreitzer, Peter Bacevice, Hilary Hendricks and Lyndon Garrett
With increasingly precarious work contracts, more remote work, and additional flexibility in the timing of the workday, the new world of work is creating both relational…
Abstract
With increasingly precarious work contracts, more remote work, and additional flexibility in the timing of the workday, the new world of work is creating both relational opportunities and relational challenges for modern workers. In this chapter, we pair recent research on human thriving with trends we observe in organizations' efforts to create and maintain a sense of community. Key in these efforts is a new kind of built environment – the coworking space – which brings together remote and independent workers and, increasingly, traditional employees as well. We show that in curating community, or perhaps even the possibility of community, coworking spaces may support the interpersonal learning and vitality that help workers to thrive.
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The proliferation of homelessness and housing precariousness, along with a dramatic growth in food banks, are two signs that while parts of the UK economy may be recovering from…
Abstract
The proliferation of homelessness and housing precariousness, along with a dramatic growth in food banks, are two signs that while parts of the UK economy may be recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and recession, the same cannot be said for the living conditions of much of the poor and working class population. Much of the media discussion has centered on the ways in which these social ills have been caused by government policy, particularly cuts to social and welfare services introduced under the banner of “austerity.” I argue in this paper, however, that a narrow focus on austerity risks obscuring some of the longer-term structural transformations that have taken place under neoliberal capitalism, namely: (1) financialization and (2) the privatization of social reproduction. Situating these two trends within a longer history of capitalism, I argue, allows us to understand the contemporary housing and food crises as specific (and highly gendered) manifestations of a more fundamental contradiction between capital accumulation and progressive and sustainable forms of social reproduction. Doing so further helps to locate the dramatic proliferation of household debt, which has been supported by both processes, as both cause and consequence of the crisis in social reproduction faced by many UK households.
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Purpose –– This chapter examines theories and models that could be used to explain female expatriate participation with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses…
Abstract
Purpose –– This chapter examines theories and models that could be used to explain female expatriate participation with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses for future research. It takes as its basis, issues, evidence and explanations from both ‘women in management’ and ‘women expatriates’ literature to identify four main theoretical domains: family issues, assignee characteristics, host and home country norms, and institutional factors. Key theories and models within each of these four domains are highlighted and discussed and their potential contribution to understanding and explaining female expatriation evaluated.
Methodology/approach –– A Delphi study and advanced library database search were used to generate data for conceptual analysis.
Findings –– The most promising explanations of women's low expatriate participation are identified as being linked to occupational gender stereotyping and sex roles in employment, women's reduced social capital and patriarchal attitudes towards their identity and homemaker roles. These are reinforced by institutional isomorphic behaviour through which organisations mimic each other's human resource practices.
Research limitations/implications –– The research drew upon English language sources only in data collection and analysis.
Practical implications –– Scrutiny of organisational policies and practices applied to expatriate assignments is required to increase gender diversity in expatriation.
Social implications –– Further research using theoretical underpinning is required both to understand gender diversity within corporate international mobility and to prevent women's current low representation from continuing in future.
Originality/value of chapter –– There is little evidence to date of an accepted theoretical framework to test hypotheses relating to women's low expatriate participation. This chapter addresses this gap, identifying potentially helpful theoretical lenses for future female expatriate research.
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Laurence Romani, Lotte Holck, Charlotte Holgersson and Sara Louise Muhr
This chapter presents the principal interpretations that took place in Denmark and Sweden regarding the discourse on ‘Diversity Management’. We organise our presentation around…
Abstract
This chapter presents the principal interpretations that took place in Denmark and Sweden regarding the discourse on ‘Diversity Management’. We organise our presentation around three major themes that are central to the local Scandinavian context: gender equality, migration and moral grounds. This chapter shows the important role of gender equality work practices and how these practices now tend to be progressively incorporated in a broad Diversity Management construct, possibly leading to a less radical stance. Moreover, the comparison between Denmark and Sweden reveals the political associations with Diversity Management and migration in Denmark, but not in Sweden. Our third contribution unveils the tensions between the value of equality, which remains strong in the Scandinavian welfare state model, and the actual practices of Diversity Management.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the range of theoretical underpinning used to explain women's participation as expatriates with a view to identifying the most promising…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the range of theoretical underpinning used to explain women's participation as expatriates with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon theoretical explanations in the “women in management” and “women expatriates” literature, four main theoretical domains are identified that are used to understand and explain their continuing low representation as expatriates: women's choices, assignee characteristics, social and societal norms and institutional aspects. Key theories within each domain are evaluated to suggest a future theoretical research framework.
Findings
The most promising theoretical explanation of women's low participation as expatriates is identified as being linked to gender stereotyping reinforced within an isomorphic institutional framework.
Research limitations/implications
Research into women's inroads into management and into expatriation has generated considerable volumes of theorising in the literature. Thus, only representative examples have been selected here. In terms of future research, gender, identity and sex role theories potentially provide the most promising theoretical lenses set within the institutional framework of organisational policy and practice.
Practical implications
Organisational approaches to international assignment policy/practice supporting female corporate expatriation are mediated by how diversity and equal opportunities policies are embedded within policy implementation.
Originality/value
There is little evidence to date of an accepted theoretical framework to test hypotheses relating to women's participation as expatriates. This paper evaluates the options and presents those with the most promise for generating an agreed and accepted framework for future female expatriate research.
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Susan Shortland and Stephen J. Perkins
The purpose of this paper is to examine how female expatriates interpret the effectiveness of practical implementation of equality/diversity policies, trusting this to support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how female expatriates interpret the effectiveness of practical implementation of equality/diversity policies, trusting this to support their expatriate careers.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional, qualitative research approach draws upon in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 human resources equality/diversity policy implementers and 26 current female expatriates in two oil and gas firms.
Findings
Early-career stage female expatriates believe that equality/diversity policy implementation will support their international careers. At the most senior levels, women expatriates highlight unequal treatment breaching their trust in delivery of equality/diversity principles to support their expatriate career progression.
Research limitations/implications
Longitudinal research is needed to assess how early-career women expatriates' willingness to trust in organisational equality/diversity principles alters as their careers progress, and the effects of any changing trust relations on their contributions to organisational strategic objectives. Larger senior female expatriate samples are needed to research links between trust relations and turnover.
Practical implications
Organisations must weigh up benefits from using transparent expatriate selection processes versus less formal mechanisms, if informal processes are not to undermine espoused equality interventions. Unconscious bias training should form part of wide-ranging programmes to tackle discrimination. Senior managerial action with embedded accountability is needed.
Originality/value
Exploring the rhetoric and reality of equality/diversity policy implementation on women comprising a minority expatriate group, this research demonstrates women expatriates' early-career trust in gender equality falls away as they first recognise and then accept diminishing female expatriate senior grade representation and the implications for their expatriate careers. Should turnover result, this could detrimentally affect organisational expatriate gender diversity objectives.
Ji Li, Ying Zhang, Silu Chen, Wanxing Jiang, Shanshan Wen and Yanghong Hu
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between demographic diversity on boards and employer/employee relationship (EER) and to test the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between demographic diversity on boards and employer/employee relationship (EER) and to test the moderating effect of contextual factors such as a firm’s financial situation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes data from over 1,000 publicly listed US firms and uses hierarchical regression.
Findings
Demographic diversity on boards of a given firm, such as ethnic diversity and gender diversity, should have positive effects on EER, which can be considered as an important dimension of overall human resource management performance in a given firm. Contextual factors such as a firm’s financial situation should moderate the relationship between demographic diversity on boards and the EER.
Originality/value
First, this research contributes to the current literature by showing that EER can be influenced by demographic diversity on boards, which further helps to highlight the beneficial effect of demographic diversity in top management team. Second, this study uncovers the moderating role of some contextual factors such as a firm’ financial situation. Third, this study also contributes to the corporate governance literature by studying the link between demographic diversity on boards and EER.