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Through an examination of the everyday organisational and social practices, this paper aims to consider gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within front office investment management. At the core of this research is the need to understand the interactions between gender, power and patriarchy.

An interpretivist philosophical stance underpins the study. A theory-building approach using 19 semi-structured interviews with investment management employees based in Ireland was undertaken.

The findings highlight a sector in which gender is performed in line with sectoral expectations, which place men in positions of dominance with hegemonic masculinity inherent. The organisational structures and daily interactions are imbued with male norms, which dictate how gender is to be performed, and which places women firmly as “different” and “outsiders”. These mechanisms of inequality are further supported by men’s “blocked reflexivity”.

The findings of this study indicate clear evidence of a “patriarchal dividend”, which is underpinned by the maintenance of closure regimes and gender blindness particularly, among senior male gatekeepers. Such results call for policymakers to go beyond goals of numerical parity and ensure transparency and equality across all aspects of work. A holistic and multifaceted approach to addressing issues of gendered culture and the normalisation of men’s privileged relationship with power positions is needed.

This paper is situated within a relatively under-researched labour market space, that of investment management. The findings conceptualise gender as a social process, thus facilitating traditional assumptions about gender at work as a single entity to be challenged. The results also advance theoretical insights of misogynistic work cultures and hegemonic masculinity through the analysis of gendered behaviours within this traditionally male environment.

Much of the literature identifies the positive nature of role models in career progression. The purpose of this paper is to take the contrary perspective and explore whether role-modelling behaviour of senior female managers can be unintentionally interpreted as negative, with an associated negative impact on career progression decisions of female managers.

To address this issue the authors took a grounded theory approach and 30 in-depth interviews were conducted with female middle-level managers in a wide range of Irish organisations.

The results of the interviews illustrate that role-modelling behaviour has the potential to negatively, rather than positively affect female career progression choices.

The unintended consequences of role-modelling behaviour of senior female managers highlights both the concept of negative role-modelling behaviour and identifies its impact on female managerial career progression.

This paper offers new insights into the construction of the global role model by introducing two new elements – the realistic role model and the departed role model.

The increased internationalization of business in recent years has made the understanding of international human resource management problems more important for executives in multinational companies. In recent years researchers have paid considerable attention to the issues of adjustment to international assignments, while comparatively little research activity has been paid to the topic of repatriation, i.e. re‐entry and adjustment back to the home country. Despite the growth in the number of women in international management there are very few studies of the repatriation of female corporate executives. The focus of this paper is directed at understanding repatriation from the perspective of senior female expatriates whose voice has been silent for too long in international human resource management research.

The experience of women in international management – especially within a European context – has received little attention in the international human resource management literature. In particular, there is a dearth of empirical research which details the role and career moves of the senior female international manager. The particular focus of this paper is on the senior female international managerial career move in Europe. A total of 50 senior female expatriate managers were interviewed, representing a wide range of industry and service sectors. The article highlights a number of covert and overt barriers which the interviewees believed limit women’s international career opportunities. The findings indicate that it is timely for organisations to face and address the difficulties female managers encounter in their progression to senior managerial positions in order to ensure that future opportunities for progression to senior management is equal to that of their male counterparts.

The particular focus of this paper is female expatriates in Europe, which is a relatively under‐researched area. A total of 50 senior female expatriate managers were interviewed, representing a wide range of industry and service sectors. The aims of the paper are to highlight a number of critical factors which are necessary for successful female expatriate assignments. The results of the study show that female expatriates are disadvantaged in their careers because of the lack of organizational support which is readily available to their male counterparts. This lack of organizational support, together with the invisible barriers which constitute the glass ceiling, explain the relative scarcity of female expatriate managers.

From the extant research in international human resource management it is evident that women are not progressing to senior international management positions at comparable rates to their male counterparts. Previous research has estimated that only 3 percent of expatriate managers are women. This paper argues that female international managers have to overcome many additional overt and covert barriers before being developed for international assignments. Based on an extensive empirical research study conducted with senior female international managers in a European context, the paper highlights a number of the barriers which the interviewees believed limit women’s international career opportunities. The paper also highlights the implications of these barriers for international human resource management policies and practices.

This paper focuses on selecting, training and developing female executives for international assignments. The perspective explored is that of currently employed senior female executives in a wide range of organisations in a number of European countries, who have made at least one international career move. The findings of the research illustrate an organisational bias against females in the selection process for international assignments, a severe shortage of pre‐departure training and very little organisational attention given to female career development. This research is particularly relevant as European empirical research has not been conducted with senior female international executives, presumably because of their relative scarcity. Empirical work with senior female international managers in Europe is now necessary in order to explain why international management is still generally reserved for the male manager. Finally, some strategies for internationalising female managers are presented.

Focuses specifically on the experiences of women international managers in Europe. Surveys 50 women in senior positions. Shows how this group consistently reported more difficult lifestyle choices than those facing domestic women managers. Identifies a number of factors associated with increased success in these challenging careers and life pursuits.

This paper focuses on the repatriation of senior female international managers in western Europe and establishes that the repatriation phase of the international career move may be even more stressful than expatriation. It is argued that female international managers may experience more difficulties than their male counterparts because of their pioneering roles. Finally, the paper identifies that home‐based mentors and access to networks while abroad are important factors in contributing to the successful repatriation of international managers.

nvestigates the career progression of young female Certified Public Accountants in Ireland. Focuses on generation X accountants. A total of 12 male and 12 female accountants were interviewed. All were under the age of 30 and qualified as within the past five years. Aims to examine: whether the young generation of female accountants has encountered the “glass ceiling”; if there is a tendency for male dominance in professional accountancy practices or in industry; whether gender affects one’s ability to network socially; and the ability of the young accountants to balance their home and work lives. This study is particularly relevant, as previous research studies conducted with accountants have focused on older generations. The results of the study show that young female accountants encounter obstacles in their careers because of their gender. The female accountants in this study suggest that male dominance will persist in accountancy practices. Our findings also suggest that an important challenge for managers today is managing generation Xers, who work to live and do not live to work. Finally, the research findings from this study contribute primarily to the extant research on women in the accountancy profession. Also contributes to the corpus of knowledge on women in management, career development, and the development and management of generation X.