Anne Laure Humbert

Discourse or reality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and particularly reduced hours working arrangements on a Dual Agenda of gender equity and workplace effectiveness, in a case study organization employing a relatively high proportion of women scientists.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews based on the initial stages of collaborative interactive action research (CIAR) are used within a case‐study approach. The interviews explored working practices, the assumptions underpinning them and their un/intended consequences.Findings – The main form of FWA used in the organization, four days a week, is double edged and complex in its effects. It supports mothers, but at a cost because of gendered assumptions. Despite a commitment to flexibility and “work‐life balance”, the gendered construction of the ideal worker and ideas of competence conflated with hegemonic masculinity, remain powerful. This, together with a prevalent “good mother” ideology, under...

Gender, entrepreneurship and motivational factors in an Irish context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically analyse the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial motivations theories in an Irish context. The paper examines potential differences in motivational factors for entering entrepreneurship between men and women, with a particular emphasis on the distinction between push and pull factors, but also with respect to other social factors such as being a parent, marital status or age.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon data obtained from a national survey of 832 entrepreneurs undertaken in Ireland in 2003/2004. This survey is based on a sample of 3,498 Irish entrepreneurs, which was predominantly constructed using the Kompass Directory 2001 and the majority of the city and county enterprise boards throughout Ireland. The analysis relies on ordinal logistic modelling to examine the impact of gender and other social factors on entrepreneurial motivations.Findings – The paper shows that there is a strong gender effect on some m...

‘Men have careers, women have babies’: unequal parental care among Irish entrepreneurs

This paper examines how entrepreneurial parents in Ireland negotiate their work and family roles, drawing upon a national survey of women and men entrepreneurs, to ascertain the degree to which entrepreneurship facilitates a more equitable sharing of domestic and caring tasks. Relatively few studies have examined familial and domestic task allocation in the context of entrepreneurship, as opposed to employment. The results suggest that mothers (and not fathers) adopted flexible working strategies; took on a disproportionate responsibility for caring and domestic labour; and experienced greater role conflict. Far from contradicting the prevailing findings of gender and employment issues, the study validates the gendered patterns of divergence between men and women and illustrates how they extend into entrepreneurship. Fathers worked significantly longer hours; their career trajectories were typically continuous, in full-time work, while mothers had more fragmented working patterns, reflecting absences for caring and adjustments such as part-time or working from home. It is still mothers, rather than fathers, who feel responsible for childcare arrangements and this imposes time constraints on their pursuit of entrepreneurship. The study points to the need for policy interventions to encourage entrepreneurship alongside co-parenting through childcare provision/subsidies and equal treatment in access to family-related leave.

The moderating effects of single vs multiple-grounds of perceived-discrimination on work-attitudes: Protean careers and self-efficacy roles in explaining intention-to-stay

Purpose – Moving from a focus on a single aspect of diversity to multiple-diversity characteristics, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model that examines whether self-efficacy (SE) and protean career (PC) measures relate to intention to stay (ITS), as a possible mediation of job satisfaction (JS). The authors then explored whether perceived discrimination – on single and multiple grounds – modify these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 316 US managers, of which 95 reported perceived discrimination: 51 perceived discrimination on a single ground and a further 44 on multiple grounds. Findings – SE and PC are associated with increased ITS where there is higher JS. Furthermore, multiple discrimination results in more negative outcomes compared to a single source of perceived discrimination. Research limitations/implications – Employees with multiple diversities might be more prone to feelings of discrimination, which in an organizational context that lacks ...

Who's Minding the Kids? Work and Family Issues among Owners of Small Business Enterprises in Ireland

This chapter addresses the largely under- researched theme of how entrepreneurs in Ireland manage their business lives in parallel with their family commitments, with specific reference to dependent children. Since the emergence of dual- earner couples as “typical”, there has been an expanding attention to the working lives of parents and the issue of work–family conflict in the context of employment. This strand of literature sought to explain patterns of working, for example, sector of employment, hours of work and flexibility, in terms of highly gendered preferences. The discourse has moved from woman/mother/family- friendly to more gender- neutral work–life balance (WLB), in tracking the responses of organizations to the needs of their employees, in the broader context of ability to provide family care. Some research examined both sides of the “reconciliation” divide by surveying the needs of employers and employees (Drew et al., 2003; O’Brien & Shemilt, 2003). These and subsequent studies noted that even in organizations with well- developed policies in place, take- up of WLB arrangements was highly gendered and associated with lower- level occupations (clerical/administrative). It has been further observed that, in an Irish context, managers fail to lead by example (Drew & Murtagh, 2005) and often adopt a gatekeeping role in the practice and availability of WLB arrangements for themselves and their staff (Drew & Daverth, 2009). With the growth of smaller enterprises a gap is evident in our knowledge of how entrepreneurs behave in their unique multi- functional roles (as owner employer/employee), particularly when they become parents. Managers in employment frequently propound their need for WLB in their own lives and those of their staff, however they rarely champion flexible working by working part- time or availing of family- related leave themselves. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that long hours, in

The moderating effects of single vs. multiple grounds of perceived discrimination on work attitudes: the role of protean careers and self-efficacy in explaining intention to stay?

Purpose – Moving from a focus on a single aspect of diversity to multiple-diversity characteristics, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model that examines whether self-efficacy (SE) and protean career (PC) measures relate to intention to stay (ITS), as a possible mediation of job satisfaction (JS). The authors then explored whether perceived discrimination – on single and multiple grounds – modify these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 316 US managers, of which 95 reported perceived discrimination: 51 perceived discrimination on a single ground and a further 44 on multiple grounds. Findings – SE and PC are associated with increased ITS where there is higher JS. Furthermore, multiple discrimination results in more negative outcomes compared to a single source of perceived discrimination. Research limitations/implications – Employees with multiple diversities might be more prone to feelings of discrimination, which in an organizational context that lacks ...

The moderating effects of single vs multiple-grounds of perceived-discrimination on work-attitudes

Purpose – Moving from a focus on a single aspect of diversity to multiple-diversity characteristics, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model that examines whether self-efficacy (SE) and protean career (PC) measures relate to intention to stay (ITS), as a possible mediation of job satisfaction (JS). The authors then explored whether perceived discrimination – on single and multiple grounds – modify these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 316 US managers, of which 95 reported perceived discrimination: 51 perceived discrimination on a single ground and a further 44 on multiple grounds. Findings – SE and PC are associated with increased ITS where there is higher JS. Furthermore, multiple discrimination results in more negative outcomes compared to a single source of perceived discrimination. Research limitations/implications – Employees with multiple diversities might be more prone to feelings of discrimination, which in an organizational context that lacks ...