María del Carmen González Menéndez

Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management

List of Tables List of Figures List of Boxes Series Preface Funding Reference Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction M.Gonzalez Menendez, C.Fagan and S.Gomez Anson Women on European Boards S.Gomez Anson The Women on Boards in Europe Project: Aims, Methodology and Limitations M.Gonzalez Menendez & L.Martinez Gonzalez Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards in Norway - Innovative Gender Equality Policy M.Teigen Surge Under Threat - The Rapid Increase in Women on Swedish Boards of Directors L.Bohman , M.Bygren & C.Edling Individual Competence and Official Support: Women on Boards in Finland P.Korvajarvi Womens Representation on the Boards of UK Listed Companies N.Teasdale , C.Fagan & C.Shepherd Women in Top Management in France: Still Waiting for Change M.Smith , P.Srinivasan & K.Zhuk Women on Boards of Spanish Listed Companies M.Gonzalez Menendez & L.Martinez Gonzalez New and Persisting Barriers for Younger Generations of Women in Management in Slovenia A.Mrcela , B.Luzar & S.Smuc Women in Management - The Hungarian Case B.Nagy Conclusions C.Fagan& M.Gonzalez Menendez Bibliography Index

Cross-national comparative human resource management and the ideational sphere: a critical review

This paper analyses how research in cross-national comparative human resource management deals with ideas, values and norms. On the basis of an analysis of the articles with that focus that were published in selected leading journals between 2001 and 2010, it first identifies the main approaches to comparative work, which are labelled as materialism, hard institutionalism, soft institutionalism, interlocking institutionalism and culturalism. How each of these broad approaches deals with ideational values is critically assessed. The paper then reviews attempts to deal with two specific problems: the shaping of national and actor identities, and the production of new ideas and cross-national learning. We conclude that the ideational sphere is under-operationalised and under-theorised in most cross-national research on human resource and industrial relations management, and suggest how this problem might be addressed.

Spain on the Norwegian Pathway: Towards a Gender-Balanced Presence of Women on Corporate Boards

The gender-based positive action introduced by the regulation off corporate board governance in recent years makes Spain a particularly interesting test case for studying the interactions between ‘market’ and ‘institutional’ forces; there are no clear penalties for non-compliance beyond a threat that the firms’ equality records will be taken into account when applications for public funds or contracts are evaluated. It may also be an instructive case when considering regulatory reform in other highly gender-segmented managerial labour markets.

Multinationals and regional economies: embedding the regime shoppers?

In a context in which multinational corporations are increasingly able to choose their locations of production, this article examines how social and political governance actors in host regional economies attempt to attract and retain foreign direct investment. Based on a comparative study of two regions in each of Canada, Ireland, Spain and the UK, it shows both national and in some cases sub-national variations in the nature of attempts to attract and retain foreign investment, as well as in the actors involved. The article also discusses how these differences in policy interact with the characteristics of specific foreign investors. Our findings support arguments that attempts to embed regime-shopping firms are facilitated by active governance from social as well as state actors.

Embedding multinational firms in regional business systems: neoliberal and social-democratic models in Spain

The paper analyses how regional actors have mobilised to attract and retain foreign direct investment in two Spanish regions with different political approaches to the management of economic issues, including industrial relations. These regions are Madrid, the main pole of attraction of foreign direct investment in Spain, and Asturias, with a large tradition of heavy industry and a greater dependence on a small number of large employers. It finds the regions have adapted to international competition in substantially different manners and considers the alternative reasons why this might be the case, highlighting the role of organised labour both in the inward investment regimes themselves, and in shaping the nature of the different compromises they involve.

The Women on Boards in Europe Project: Aims, Methodology and Implications

This book is the result of the collaborative research project Professional Progress of Women in Europe: Women on Boards & Executive Posts in the EU, undertaken within the European Network of Excellence Reconciling Work and Welfare (RECWOWE). Our project aim was to describe and analyse the evolution and current situation of women on boards and in top executive posts in strategically selected European countries. The project was stimulated by recent developments in Spain, and the team comprised scholars from eight countries (Finland, France, Hungary, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK). The choice of countries offers a meaningful variety of institutional frameworks, with respect both to models of provision of welfare and jobs for women (see Chapter 1) and to specific regulatory approaches towards women’s presence on corporate boards of firms in the private sector (see Chapter 2).

Multinational Corporations, Sub-national Governance and Human Resources: A Cross-national Comparison for Europe

In the context of the transnationalisation of productive systems and changing dynamics of competition to host foreign direct investment (FDI), it is commonly argued, both in economic geography and in discussions of the political economy of FDI, that relatively local, sub-national governance actors play an increasing role in attempting to connect regions to global production. This applies both to negotiating with current and potential investors, and to establishing wider business systems which will attract FDI and try to ‘embed’ it within the relevant geographical space.