Developments in gender and management research in Central and Eastern European Europe (CEE)

Developments in gender and management research in Central and Eastern European Europe (CEE)

Beverly Dawn Metcalfe has Masters in Organisational Analysis and TQM from the University of Westminster and Sheffield and a PhD from Keele University. She is currently PhD Director at Hull University and has previously worked at Manchester University, Keele University and Staffordshire University. She is also a Research Associate in the Centre for Diversity and Work Psychology at MBS. Beverly's current research interests include: HR in the public sector, feminist theory, gender, management and organisation development in the international economy, especially in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She is especially interested in the issues of gender, empowerment and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and is involved in a research project funded by the Bahrain Management Society.

Marianne Afanassieva (BA and MA in Political Economy, Department of Economics, Moscow State University; MSc in Economics, University College London) is Lecturer in Organisational Analysis/Behaviour at the Business School of the University of Hull. Previously, she held a Research Fellow position at the University of Wolverhampton Local Economic Development in Transition Economies Unit. She is working on her PhD in Russian Economic Studies at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies of the University of Birmingham, focusing on the institutional aspects of Russian industrial restructuring. Other research interests include: managerial responses to economic transition and changing organisational behaviour in transition countries and gender and transition.

Developments in gender and management research in Central and Eastern European Europe (CEE)

There is limited scholarship that has considered gender, management and organisational analysis in CEE countries (exception Degtiar, 2000; Zhurzhenko, 2001). Within the well-established gender in management literature the bulk of studies examine primarily western accounts (e.g. Powell, 1999), although there have been recent advances which have attempted to provide global comparisons of gender and management (Davidson and Burke, 2004; Wirth, 2001). Embedded within western research is an assumption of a neo-liberal capitalist system as constituting work organisation and management. The restructuring of state socialism which began in 1980s with the introduction of perestroika under President Gorbachov, and the eventual collapse of the communist political and economic systems in the USSR in 1989, marked the start of industrial re-organisation across post-socialist states with large scale privatisation, worker layoffs and the development of managerial strategies away from centralised planning systems (Watson, 1993; Moghadam, 1993; Molyneux, 1995). The collapse of the Soviet system in 1989 did not liberate all Eastern European citizens, rather, privatisation and foreign investment provided an excellent opportunity, especially in Russia, Poland and Hungary for sections of the ruling parties to use their privilege and material resources to transform themselves into an emergent business elite (Funk and Mueller, 1993). In particular, managers in these state owned organisations have become new partners in reshaped enterprises (Aslanbeigui et al., 1994).

These political and economic developments combined with globalisation, the internationalisation of work practices, increased foreign investment and business development in Eastern Europe have stimulated much academic debate about national business systems and managerial restructuring during transition stages (Whitley, 1999). However, these debates have tended to ignore or underplay the importance of gender relations and transition processes, especially within the public sphere (Watson, 1993).

The failure to consider gender and managerial change processes within transition economies is surprising since commentators have reported that, worldwide, women's entry into managerial and professional employment is steadily increasing (Davidson and Burke, 2004). Significantly, Central and Eastern Europe has historically had the highest number of females participating in the labour force as well as the one of the highest number of women in technical, professional and political occupations (Wirth, 2001; Pollert, 2003). The high number of women in the professional sphere is attributed to the concept of the “working-mother” contract (Ashwin, 2001). Constitutionally, socialist and Marxist ideology regarded women as equal in the political, economic, cultural and social spheres (Watson, 1993). The plethora of social oriented employment and health care programmes including free and subsidised child-care services, flexible working systems and generous maternity leave entitlements in socialist societies, allowed women to manage work and family responsibilities, as well as take on political party duties. The reality of this equality is challenged in political and economic debates within socialist feminism (Funk and Mueller, 1993), nevertheless, women's equal status was strongly promoted in communist discourse. Gender work identity within socialist states in essence combined the contradictory roles of motherhood, worker and party activist (Zhurzhenko, 2001).

Marketisation and liberalisation, however, have greatly impacted the working lives of both men and women (Pollert, 1999). Transition has brought about the demise of the working mother contract. Here is mounting evidence amongst economists and sociologists that women have been disproportionately affected by transition since it is women who are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to have had their pay cut and are the ones who are bearing the consequences of new arrangements for state childcare (Watson, 1993, 1997; Domsch et al., 2003). While it is acknowledged that there has been a concerted effort to move women out of parliamentary and democratic systems (Pollert, 2003; Kay, 2001), little has been said of the women's position in senior and executive roles in state and private organisations. Examination of the gendered effects and implications of transition from a socialist to a market-based economy is therefore an important gap in the research literature. In particular, assessment of gender and professional employment is of special interest to feminist and management scholars in the west on account of the espoused political commitment to equality (Metcalfe and Afanassieva, 2005; Nagy, 2005).

Existing research on gender and management in Central and Eastern Europe is an emerging area of study (Stulhofer and Sandfort, 2005). Current research primarily explores the economic and social aspects of gender identities and inequalities, for example, critiques of women's health status and social well being (Dijkstra and Plantenga, 1997; Domsch et al., 2003). Accounts have reported on the disempowerment that women have experienced in the political sphere (Watson, 1993; Domsch et al., 2003), the gender segregation in labour market structures (Brainard, 2000), and gender pay differentials (Brainard, 2000; Molyneux, 1995; Aslanbeigui et al., 1994). The limited gender research that exists can be attributed to the silencing of gender issues in the socialist era since gender was not considered an important aspect of social analysis (Watson, 1993; Kay, 2001). This resulted in the late emergence of gender studies as a field of study in universities (Sperling, 1999). Further, women's groups and movements that were operational in the socialist era were often tied to ruling state party mechanisms and had limited independence and influence in the political realm, other than to reinforce the worker-mother philosophy.

Consequently, it is fair to say, that while gender and management research is an emerging area of research in Central and Eastern Europe, it is viewed amongst transition policy makers and advisors as an unimportant area of study (Sperling, 1999; Watson, 1993; Kay, 2001). This is a reflection of the neglect of gender relations and identities in the broader economic and social transition debates already mentioned, but also due to strong resistance to western feminist ideals by both men and women (Kay, 2001; Sperling, 1999).

This special double issue attempts to contribute to this neglected research area and brings together leading academics that share an interest in gender, management and organisation issues in transition contexts. Our aim was to provide a group of papers that represented researchers who are currently working in CEE states or have been involved in research projects in those regions. The scholars have multi-disciplinary backgrounds. The accounts reflect the growing interest in gender by female scholars in these regions and suggest that gender and management is now a serious topic of study. It is important to appreciate that for some of the contributors English is only their second or third language. In addition, it is important to acknowledge that in some university facilities there is no access, or limited access to internet research materials and recently published textbooks are also greatly limited in supply in university libraries as well. Further, translations of classic texts of feminist theory and gender and management are sparse. As an example Simone De Beauvior's The Second Sex first published in 1953 in English was not translated into Russian and Polish until 2000 (Kay, 2001). Due to the limited number of translations available, the developments in feminist theory, which trace sex and gender difference, social constructionist accounts of gender, and poststructuralist debates are only now beginning to be referenced in the literatures. Scholars have therefore had to unravel “all at once” different genres of feminist writings and perspectives. The limited availability of literature resources means that for many scholars in gender studies they are in essence beginning from a blank page and attempting to define gender and management classifications without prescribed knowledge or theory. For this reason we have also tried to maintain wherever possible exact translations of the work in order to highlight the language and cultural specifics of the discussion.

The first group of papers (issue 5) provides an overview of management experiences in order to capture the current working lifestyles and organisational policies prevalent in Central European contexts, which include Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. These regions although influenced by the Soviet ideology and the relations of production were based on the centralised appropriation and distribution of surplus through a stratum of planners empowered by the state apparatus. The second group of papers (issue 6) focuses on social and economic transition and highlights how broader political processes have gendered implications for managerial and organisational practices. In this grouping the influence of the Soviet ideology is specifically examined with gender and management case studies of Russia, Estonia and Belarus.

Summary of papers

The first paper in this volume, by Marie Valentova, provides an examination of the position of women in the labour market in Czechoslovakia and compares their position to the 15 EU member states. The analysis collates statistics from national and international data sources including EUROSTAT, ILO and OECD in order to provide descriptors of a model that explain the instance of women in the labour market. The authors identify three models, southern, Scandinavian and mixed of female labour market position. The southern (Italy, Greece, Spain) model tends to have lower levels of females employed and limited state apparatus to assist working careers. The Scandinavian (Denmark, Sweden, Finland) model has high levels of female labour participation which is supported by extensive state measures to assist women and families combine work responsibilities. The mixed (UK, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia) is somewhere between this two extremes. It is shown that the Czechoslovakia have an average female labour participation rate of 35 per cent and has growing numbers of women in managerial and professional employment. The key factor affecting women's progression in the Czech labour market is the way in which employment structures seemingly discriminate against working mothers. Work is conceptualised as full time and relatively few organisations, including the state and private sectors employ part time or permit flexible working practices. This results in a shorter working career for women as, if and when they choose to start a family, they simply do not re-enter the labour market. This, combined with the planned reduction in child care and maternity provisions at state level is placing restrictions on women's career choices. Valentova suggests that state and organisation policies should encourage part time and flexible work structures in order to increase women's career options.

Katja Loderstedt's paper on women managers in Eastern Germany focuses on the social and economic aspects of new work organisation structures in a united Germany. Unlike other post communist states East Germany has maintained some of the institutional support mechanisms that enable women to combine work and family commitments and consequently, it is suggested that professional and development opportunities are much better for women in East Germany than West Germany. Throughout 1980s and 1990s East German women entered university programmes in areas such as business and economics in higher numbers than ever before and subsequently took advantage of opportunities to move into the professional sphere of employment. Paradoxically, however, gender issues are not prevalent in restructuring debates because political and economic discourse is shaped by the market tensions and ambiguities between east and west, so that there is solidarity between men and women in Eastern Germany which obscures the gender dynamics of restructuring. This is reflected in the increasing tendency to position managerial skills as east (socialist) or west (capitalist) and these are the decisive factor in managerial selection, rather than gender characteristics.

Loderstedt also provides some insights into the nature of work-life conceptualisations in socialist states. While gender is not commonly referred to in public discourse, the theme of work-life balance has gained popularity on account of debates on EU employment policies (Walby, 2004). In the west work-life balance is constructed as a social policy goal that will support both men and women (Davidson and Burke, 2004). In Hungary, however, work-life balance is constituted as an individual woman's responsibility. This reflects the gender identity of the worker-mother contract. Loderstedt suggests that while market opportunities for women managers have been good this is likely to change in the future as state child care arrangements are beginning to be slowly withdrawn and employer organisations are expressing concern about the high cost of employing women. Loderstedt advises that women's organisations can play an important role in promoting equality agendas for employment reform.

Beáta Nagy's paper drew on extensive research analysing the position of women in management and the equal opportunity programmes in multinational corporations and politics in Hungary. The research findings demonstrate that there is commitment to the concept of biological determinism, namely, that men and women have different skills and capacities. The traditional gender order which positions women as suited to the private sphere and men the public is regarded as “natural” by respondents in her extensive studies. This perspective results in gendered interpretations of management competence and ability, with female and feminine skills perceived as less appropriate for managerial roles. Consequently, equal opportunity issues are constructed as an individual (woman's) responsibility rather than an organisational one. Nagy argues that this presents a major challenge for feminists and equal opportunity activists because women themselves support biological determinism and unconsciously reinforce gendered structures and gendered hierarchies that are embedded in organisation and state systems. Nagy advises that transition is slowly creating new work inequalities for women based on gendered categorisations of managerial skills and ability and will result in a declining number of women in professional and technical occupations. Like Loderstedt she fears the situation will worsen for women as state child-care provisions are eliminated and employer organisations will prefer to recruit men. She suggests new theoretical perspectives beyond biological determinism are required in order to grapple with the complexities of gender and social relations in a transition context.

Herta Toth's paper examines the gendered nature of work-life balance through a case study analysis of Unilever in Budapest. Like Loderstedt, Toth highlights how work-life initiatives and diversity discourses are not commonly accepted or understood terminologies in management and HR systems in Hungary. Thus, Unilever's attempt to devise polices to assist in the retention of women workers, by providing additional maternity benefits and flexible work scheme goes against the norm of the common business culture in Hungary. The scheme, however, is one that relies on individual negotiation with the line manager rather than represent a standardised approach to work-life balance management, and women were reluctant to ask for too many benefits. As a consequence, there is ambivalence about the success of the scheme and there is clear evidence from senior management that the combination of work and family life may have implications for organisation productivity and efficiency. Culturally, the mother-worker identity promoted is one that both men and women support suggesting that gender and work relations are unlikely to significantly change. Significantly, Toth highlights how any development of HR policies should be inclusive and target both men and women. Programmes that specifically label women or are linked with feminist agendas, she argues, would not be treated seriously, which reflects antifeminist culture in East European states (Watson, 1997). The way in which diversity and work-life balance is therefore conceptualised, is primarily through recourse to business benefits rather than arguments for social justice and equity, although the business case has yet to accepted within Hungarian business culture as a whole. This mirrors the policy development direction in the UK and the EU (Walby, 2004).

Moving forward debates on gender and management research in Central and Eastern Europe

The papers in this special issue provide unique insights into the prevailing research on gender and management within CEE and highlight the tensions and contradictions of “doing gender” and management in a transition context. The following points map out interconnections in the theoretical discussions presented and outline how future research and policy development areas could be fruitfully advanced.

Firstly, gender, management and organisation changes need to be assessed within the broader political economy debates of transition and the shift from communist to liberalised market economies. This is somewhat different from the dominant western literature which tends to assume a neo-liberal market structure of business organisation and consumption. Several authors highlight the significance of the worker mother and the institutional support structures that support this social contract. As childcare and social systems are being reduced there is a need to consider gender and management change within broader social policy and economic development advances. This suggests that gender scholarship in CEE is more likely to benefit from multidisciplinary approaches, threading together insights from sociologists, economists and political theorists in particular.

Secondly, existing debates are strongly rooted within the essentialist paradigm. By this we mean that there is tendency to describe and draw on stereotypical perceptions of men and women in management, as well as reaffirm a traditional gender order in work and social relations (Davidson and Burke, 2004; Walby, 1997). Unlike in the UK there is a complete absence of literature that considers gender and management relation from a more critical perspective, encompassing postmodernist and postructuralist accounts. Nagy highlighted that this theoretical position needed to be challenged and that future research that adopts different feminist standpoints would assist a greater understanding of gender structures and meanings within management discourse.

Thirdly, and which we feel is particular important for understanding conceptualisations of gender and equality within CEE states is that, all of the authors stress the absence of a feminist agenda or consciousness shaping gender and diversity issues. This leads one to wonder how, and where, the stimulus for social change and reform will come from. Within western societies feminist critiques have fuelled widespread social change (Walby, 1997). Feminism has been prevented from surfacing during the period of re-organisation because of economic crisis. As Watson (1993, p. 478) states: “one cannot assume that under state socialism gender interests are there in a way which is directly comparable to the situation under neo-capitalism, but there has simply been no way to articulate them”. Watson further argues that what is involved is often more than systematic silence, but rather vocal and determined reaction against “feminisms” and what is stands for. This is reflected by the failure of women's groups to emerge during 1980s despite women's involvement in dissident groups relating to human rights, peace and environment groups (Pollert, 1999; Sperling, 1999; Walby, 2004). Commentators such as Ashwin (2001) argue that the general social provision allowing women to combine work and home life obscured the underlying gender order and reinforced tradition gender dimensions of gender roles. Watson (1997) suggests that this situation was culturally embodied in a commitment to a “fatherly state” and so discouraged critiques of patriarchy, as to so would be a direct criticism of the communist political system itself.

Gender relations and the formation of managerial identities is undoubtedly part of the ongoing transition process and while the papers in this special issues provide important accounts of women doing management and the gendered processes inherent in managerial practices they do not explore in detail the political and economic changes and their gendered consequences. In the next volume we deal with gender and transition more explicitly and examine case data from Russia, Belarus and Estonia.

Beverly Dawn Metcalfe and Marianne AfanassievaGuest editors