Women in Management Worldwide: Facts, Figures and Analysis

Citation

Walker, R. (2005), "Women in Management Worldwide: Facts, Figures and Analysis", Women in Management Review, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 78-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420510579595

Notwithstanding a popular belief that the field of women in management is under‐researched, there is clearly a lot of information out there. Women in Management Worldwide: Facts, Figures and Analysis is testimony to that.

This book offers you, as the title suggests, a “facts and figures” glimpse of how women feature in management in 20 countries across the globe. That is in itself a contribution. When brought together in one book, the statistics are impressive and intriguing (if somewhat disheartening). We know that “hard”, numerical data can talk to people who might not be receptive to more subtle and pervasive aspects of gender politics. However, it is the “soft” dimension of Davidson and Burke's collection that ultimately impresses. Authors from various countries provide, even through their scholarly analysis, a personal engagement that helps to bring the content to life.

So what can the reader expect? The book's stated objectives are to:

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  Understand […] more about the status of women at work and women in management in a number of countries throughout the world;

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  Begin a process of collecting common information in a variety of countries to capture both trend over time and support comparisons across countries [sic];

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  Collect baseline information to provide benchmark data indicating the current status of women in management;

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  Facilitate more cross‐cultural research in [women in management];

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  Encourage the exchange of research findings as well as company “best practice” efforts;

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  Shed light on the role of country culture on women's career advancement and international career assignments;

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  Encourage more research in this area, and more collaborative research across countries;

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  Raise the issues in utilising the best talents available (pp. 4‐5).

Seven sections span a number of European Union countries (Greece, Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK), “other” European countries (Norway, Poland, Russia), North and Central America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Australasia (New Zealand and Australia), Asia (China, Malaysia, Turkey and Israel), South America (Argentina), and Africa (South Africa). Each chapter paints a picture of the status of women in management for that country. A degree of uniformity between chapters is achieved through the chapter titles (“Women in management in  … ”), and through consistent subheadings. Chapter sections comprise a brief introduction followed by an overview of labour force characteristics, women pursuing education, women in management, women entrepreneurs, country legislation supporting women in the workforce, initiatives supporting women in the workforce, and the chapter closes with a speculative look to the future. Thus individual authors contribute to an evolving picture of women in management.

Delving into the first couple of chapters, I wondered if the framework of “common topic subheadings” was sufficient to provide a basis for meaningful comparison across countries. After reading the book, and upon reflection, I believe the framework succeeds. It simultaneously provides the constraint needed to achieve consistency and the freedom necessary to enable authors from a range of traditions to briefly appraise key aspects of women in management in a particular country. Some patterns begin to emerge for the reader, but there is much in the individual stories that serves to challenge assumptions that we can easily generalise across borders. The dominant patterns become apparent alongside nuanced and fascinating reminders of the array of political, historical and social conditions that circumscribe women's lives in various parts of the world.

Editors Marilyn Davidson and Ronald Burke draw on established networks and, no doubt, their own considerable reputations in the field of women in management, to gain access to some respected contributing authors: Leonie Still provides the Australian chapter and Dafna Izraeli (to whose memory the book is dedicated) the chapter on Israel. Also to the editors' credit, the book provides a forum for the first overview of the status of women in management in Malaysia, a chapter Davidson co‐authors with Azura Omar.

Yet, despite its global reach, and sections spanning all continents, the book remains fairly Euro‐centric. And the editors openly acknowledge limitations in scope, citing among the reasons for one country's exclusion an invitation extended but declined as “her country did not systematically collect information of the kind we wanted to include” (p. 5). Besides, with such an undertaking, where would one stop? Certainly the book successfully encompasses countries of differing degrees of international influence, different phases of economic development and different political systems.

Although promoted as a “genuinely cross‐cultural assessment”, in fact any such comparative analysis is consigned to the introductory chapter where the editors highlight similarities and differences between countries. This does not, of course, limit any prospective assessment by the reader. But, be prepared to be thwarted when it comes to statistical comparisons. Chapter authors are dependent on what data are actually collected through government census operations and/or research projects. Thus, my (clearly unrealistic) expectation that I would find similar tables and figures across all chapters was not substantiated. Indeed the focus, structure and content of tables and figures vary from chapter to chapter – some chapters replete with tables and others with none. So don't expect a book of statistics nicely lined up for comparison. Do expect some fascinating facts and figures, nevertheless. Of course several statistical trends are depressingly clear. There is plenty of evidence to confirm that occupational gender segregation exists in most countries, and that gender diversity does not extend to the senior management ranks or the board room, even in countries such as the USA where 45 per cent of managers are women but where, “among the Fortune 1500, 95 to 97 per cent of jobs that are vice‐president level and above are held by men” (p. 199).

Interestingly, it is the qualitative dimension of the book that is likely to lend itself most to cross‐cultural comparisons. The patterns that emerge are sometimes surprising. For example, various chapters reveal both overt and relatively unobtrusive structural discrimination that inhibit progress for women into positions of influence in organisations. One case in point is the seemingly appealing lower retirement age (and associated pension) offered to women in countries as diverse as Russia, Poland, China and Greece. Contrary to the belief that this advantages women, authors point out that when women are encouraged to retire five years earlier than men they forgo both earnings and opportunities for high status positions. Authors conjecture that, because employers believe that they do not have the same longevity in the workforce as men, women are not regarded as attractive promotional investments.

Having established a sense of the aims and the content of Women in Management Worldwide, I now wish to share some aspects of the collection that bothered me. I appreciated the attempt to provide a combination of quantitative and qualitative data about the current positioning of women in management – dimensions best exploited when one serves to enhance the other. However, there are a number of cases in the book where the relationship between “facts and figures” and “analysis” was not apparent. Let me explain. Numerical data are easily absorbed when presented in a straightforward manner. To my mind, charts should summarise and simplify, while the associated text should explain, interpret, and analyse. While many tables in this anthology plainly convey information, some do not immediately communicate with the naïve reader. An example of the reader having to work too hard is Table 9.3 (Poland), where the reader is presented with some potentially interesting original research on perceptions of gender inequality. Unfortunately, the chart is opaque and the surrounding text does nothing to clarify the information. More editorial intervention here and at various other points might have considerably enhanced the final offering.

There are other technical and editorial distractions that weaken the authority of Women in Management Worldwide. These range from the merely irritating, such as trivial typos (e.g. “yo” instead of “to”), through to oversights that substantially change meaning. For example, if we are to believe Table 14.5, in New Zealand there was a drop in median male remuneration from a 1993 level of $51,000 to $7,000 in 2000 – the latter figure presumably meant to denote an increase to $70,000 (p. 216). Chapter 10, in drawing attention to different occupational trends in Russia to those in other countries, presents the word “male” rather than “female” (p. 145). One could argue, of course, that they are so glaringly at odds with logic that no one would fall into the trap of accepting these figures or words. Nonetheless, such errors do make one wary of accepting other information.

Shortcomings aside, Women in Management Worldwide makes considerable progress towards meeting its stated objectives. The book achieves much, the authors having contributed to an important collection for anyone interested in women's employment or career issues. No, it is not a comprehensive text (what could be?), but it is a wide‐ranging and often rich resource – a book of facts and figures from people on the ground. Women in Management Worldwide pulls together statistics and commentary from many sources and also presents some good original research. Insights detailed by the various authors serve to present a picture of greater diversity than some might expect. Yet, for all that different environments and histories might have contributed to varying occupational profiles, and for all the apparent diversity, some fundamental inequalities persist across national and cultural boundaries. There are no surprises here – all the evidence shows that men achieve higher status positions in the workforce, and they earn more money. Their dominance in management continues throughout the world in both the public and private sectors.

Overall, the editors and authors have collaborated to produce a text that is a valuable platform for future research – a significant step toward the “genuinely cross‐cultural analysis” this book never quite became.