Susan Durbin

Female part-time managers: networks and career mobility

The promotional prospects, career mobility and networking experiences of 16 female part-time managers are explored in this article. It attempts to explain the labour market position of female part-time managers, comparing their employment experiences, career progression and networking while working full and part-time. The majority had successful career histories while full-time but these careers stalled once a transition to part-time work was made. Many voiced frustration with their employment prospects in terms of mobility and promotion, which were limited given the perceived lack of quality jobs at managerial level in the external labour market. There was recognition that networking had made an important contribution to career progression but for most women, the transition into part-time employment meant that opportunities to network decreased due to time constraints.

Female part‐time managers: Work‐life balance, aspirations and career mobility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the employment trajectories, aspirations, work‐life balance and career mobility of women working as part‐time managers.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 16 female part‐time managers and four of their line managers in public and private‐sector organizations. Interviews explored womens career trajectories before and after the transition to part‐time work and focused on career mobility, aspirations and work‐life balance.Findings – The part‐time managers in this sample held varied careers while working full‐time but careers stalled once a transition to part‐time work was made. The majority were career focused, worked intensively and felt frustrated with their lack of mobility and career progression while working part‐time. The majority worked in excess of their contracted hours and did not experience an appropriate reallocation of work when they reduced hours.Practical implications – This paper is of value ...

Workplace partnership and professional workers: ‘about as useful as a chocolate teapot’?

The labour processes and employment relations that characterise the working conditions of many professional workers might be expected to generate the high-trust environment required for cooperative, partnership-style management–union relations. However, few studies have focused on partnership in ‘professional’ and ‘expert labour’ employment sectors. This paper assesses the efficacy of partnership through the lens of manager, union and employee attitudes at three cases studies notable for employing high numbers of staff in the professions and ‘marginal professions’. The analysis focuses on the nature of the cooperative relationship between union representatives and management (categorised as either ‘nurtured’ or ‘coerced partnership’), whether unions in these settings are able to expand the range and scope of their influence, and whether professional workers themselves display positive attitudes to cooperative union forms. The study finds that in all three cases the ‘partnership’ union is seen by its members as a weak, insubordinate entity in terms of collective influence over management policy though in the two ‘nurturing’ cases they see it to be more effective for individual member representation.

Gender inequality in employment: Editors' introduction

– The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the relationship between the causes of gender inequality in employment and policies designed to eliminate or ameliorate it. When this is brought into focus, some fundamental shortcomings in policy emerge from the shadows. It also provides a thumbnail sketch of the four other papers that make up this special issue., – The paper is a theoretical reflection, with lessons for practice., – The paper: establishes that gender inequality in employment exists; considers the main causes of gender inequality in employment; and evaluates the effectiveness of the main policies dealing with these causes., – Policy makers must reflect far more thoroughly on the causes of gender inequality in employment, and tailor their policies to address them., – It is one of only a few papers dealing with the relationship between the causes of gender inequality in employment and policies designed to eliminate or ameliorate it.

Diversities in an organisational context

The purpose of this paper is to report on a research day on the theme of diversity, held at the Centre for Employment Studies Research, University of the West of England. The report is based upon observations, notes and discussions of papers presented that represent work in progress on a range of diversity issues, specifically ethnicity, gender, age and disability. The presentations highlighted the mixed outcomes of anti-discrimination legislation in the context of organisational objectives and practices and individual worker attitudes.

Who Inspires Senior Women? Role Models

This chapter considers the importance of role models for senior women against a background of calls for organisations to raise the visibility of their senior women, to enable them to become role models to other women (Davies Report, 2011; 2014; ILM, 2011). Just over half of the women interviewed for this book across both sectors identified with male and female role models, drawing predominantly from within their own workplaces, although the reasons why they identified with these role models varied by sector.

Through the Glass Ceiling and Beyond: Getting In/Getting On

The under-representation of women in management and the persistence of senior management as a male domain have been explored in the previous chapter, the findings demonstrating that women continue to struggle to gain senior positions and face further challenges when they do. This is despite there being ample evidence that women make a real and positive contribution at senior levels, especially where they form good working relationships with their colleagues.

Who Supports Senior Women? The Role of Mentors

The relationship between women’s career progression and mentoring is well established. Mentors are often perceived as being linked to promotion opportunities (Durbin and Tomlinson, 2014; Groysberg, 2008; Vinnicombe and Singh, 2002) and to offer ‘reflected power’ to mentees (Kanter, 1977) usually through the mentor’s established networks. While mentoring relationships are a well-explored topic in the literature, a comparison of mentoring split between the public and private sectors is absent.

Who Connects with Senior Women? Networking

The previous chapters explored role models and mentors as key sources of support for senior women. The former was identified by half of both private and public sector women (albeit for different reasons), whereas the latter was a far more sustained activity, in particular, for private sector women. In discussing their mentoring activities, many of these women highlighted the importance of networking, especially in relation to career progression strategies. The focus of this final chapter is networking, which (like mentoring) has been referred to as a key social support activity generally, as well as a career progression imperative, in the private sector. Networking is a key way to build ‘social capital’ or implicit knowledge, making ‘who you know’ as important, if not potentially more important than ‘what you know’.

Strangers in Paradise? Women, Work and Management

The achievement of gender equality in paid work is an important issue for many women, especially feminists. Despite comprising almost half the paid UK workforce, women remain occupationally segregated; the gender pay gap may have reduced since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act (1975) but it persists; and notwithstanding a raft of family-friendly policies and legislation, combining work and caring/domestic responsibilities remains a problem for the majority of working women. Almost half of all employed women in the United Kingdom work on a part-time basis, where the quality of work and possibilities for promotion remain low (Durbin and Tomlinson, 2010; 2014). Reducing occupational segregation, abolishing the gender pay gap and making the combination of employment/unpaid care/domestic work acceptable to employers remain key issues for many feminists.