Erika Zoeller Veras e-book Women in Management 978-3-659-61792-8

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To all the women of my life.
To my husband Daniel, for the inspiration and
constant exchange of ideas, for the incentive,
for the disposition in helping me, for the
readings, for the understanding, for the
patience and for the total support in this
journey, without which this work would not
have been realized. My eternal thankfulness.

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ABSTRACT
Around the world the growing presence of women in the labour market makes it
important to discuss the business impact of gender diversity. The increasing of
participation of women in the workplace is remarkable although one may not
overlook the fact that, in spite of the reaching of lower and middle levels of
management positions, the women seldom reach top management positions.
This research has been conducted to provide a better understanding on women in
management situation in Brazil and in China and, as a consequence, to stimulate the
awareness of the role of gender diversity may play in business. So far, in
management literature it is clear that the study of women in management is a very
new field of research.
The methodology consisted, firstly, of literature research on the impact of gender in
labor relations - and the relation between this reality and the companies. Then
women s advancements and barriers in the world, in Brazil and in China are
verified. Afterwards, there was a comparison between data from Brazil and China,
especially regarding the rates of gender gap in each country. Then there was the
practical part of this research, with information obtained through questionnaires
applied among seven Chinese and seven Brazilian female interviewees in
management positions, with subsequent data analysis and interpretation. Finally, in
the conclusions, we discuss the challenges for the gender relations and work in the

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21st century in the two countries in question. Besides the primary data collected by
the author, for the analysis data from the International Labour Organization,
All-China Women's Federation, Catalyst, World Bank, Ethos Institute and Ricardo
Hausmann, among others, were also used. The subject is discussed having the
works of F. Capra, R. Daft, X. Li, V. Schein, L. Wirth, and C. Bruschini, among
others, as the theoretical references. We also highlight that gender diversity in
corporate environment is really beneficial, with a strong relation with the
companie financial performance. However, Brazil and China still have much to
advance in this direction.
At the end of this research, some recommendations have been proposed and it is
presumed that the outcomes of this study will be able to give companies a different
perspective on gender issues and a better evaluation
corporation. The issues discussed in this thesis may arouse the attention in enterprises
for the importance of the subject.
awareness of the content of this research and what gender can represent in the
workplace. Thus, they will be able to better act in their professional life, and
achieve career advancement.
Key words: Women, Management, Gender, Diversity, Brazil and China.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT II
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Research Objectives 5
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Research Scope 8
1.6 Benefits and Significance of the Study 9
1.7 Research Methodology 11
1.8 Limitations of the Study 13
1.9 Structure of the Thesis 14
CHAPTER 2 THEORY REVIEW 17
2.1 Theory Review - Discussion on Related Theories and Concepts 17
2.2 Women in Management 20
2.3 Corporate Issues and Human Resources Management 26
2.4 Managing Diversity in the Workplace 32

VI
CHAPTER 3 THE LABOUR NCEMENTS 40
40
45
54
CHAPTER 4 THE LABOUR IERS 65
65
76
84
4.4 Brazil and China: Statistics on Gender Gap 93
CHAPTER 5 THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH 97
5.1 The Questionnaire: Data Analysis and Interpretation 97
5.2 Personal Data 98
100
5.4 The Questionnaire Analysis 110
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION AND CONSIDERATIONS 174
6.1 Research Creative Points 174
6.2 Challenges in the Further Development of Brazilian and Chinese
Women in the Labour Market 174

VII
6.3 Suggestions for Gender Relations in Companies 179
6.4 Research Questions: a Resuming 186
6.5 Final Considerations 191
REFERENCES 199
APPENDIX: INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE 210
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 214

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1 Management Levels in the Organizational Hierarchy .......................... 19
Figure 2-2 The Glass Ceiling in the Organizational Pyramid ................................ 22
Figure 3-1 Wage Gap / Average Yearly Income of Employees in Major Chinese
Cities (RMB) 2006-2007, China......................................................... 64
Figure 4-1 The Glass Ceiling and Glass Walls in the Organizational Pyramid....... 71
Figure 4-2 Female Participation in Big Companies (Brazil) .................................. 82
Figure 4-3 Comparison between Brazil and China Gender Gap Subindexes and
Gender Gap Index Female-to-Male Ratio (0.00 = Inequality and 1.00 =
Equality)............................................................................................. 95
Figure 4-4 Comparison between Brazil and China - Ability for Women to Rise to
Positions of Enterprise Leadership...................................................... 95
Figure 5-1 Gender and Hierarchical Level - Second Financial Institution - 2006
(Brazil) ..............................................................................................101
Figure 5-2 Evolution of Female Presence Along the Hierarchical Levels - Second
Financial Institution 2003-2006 (Brazil).........................................102
Figure 5-3 Gender and Hierarchical Level - The Stove factory - 2008 (Brazil) ....104
Figure 5-4 Gender and Hierarchical Level - The Language School - 2008 (China)
..........................................................................................................107
Figure 5-5 Gender and Hierarchical Level The Association of Women - 2008
(China) ..............................................................................................108
Figure 5-6 Gender and Hierarchical Level The Shoe Manufacturer - 2008 (China)
..........................................................................................................109

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1 Male Style versus Female Style.......................................................... 25
Table 2-2 Recruiting Practices that May Create Glass Ceiling............................ 30
Table 2-3 Advantages and Challenges of a Diverse Workforce........................... 36
Table 3-1 Functions and Proportion of Female Executives in %......................... 52
Table 4-1 Comparison between Brazil and China Ranking of Gender Gap Index
and Subindexes (Out of 128 Countries).............................................................. 94
Table 4-2 Comparison between Brazil and China Gender Gap Index and
Subindexes Female-to-Male Ratio (0.00 = Inequality and 1.00 = Equality) ....... 94
Table 5-1 In Brazil ............................................................. 99
Table 5- China ............................................................. 99
Table 5-3 Impact of the Presence of Women in the Company (China and Brazil -
2008).................................................................................................................120
Table 5-4 Sector with the Greatest Presence of Women (China and Brazil - 2008)
..........................................................................................................................124
Table 5-5 How Women Get Ahead (China and Brazil - 2008) ...........................130
Table 5-6 How Women Get Ahead (U.S and Europe)........................................131
Table 5-7 Top Barriers to Advancement (China and Brazil - 2008) ...................144
Table 5-8 Top Three Barriers to Advancement (U.S and Europe - 2002)...........145
Table 5-9 Top St cited by more than one
interviewee (Brazil / China - 2008) ...................................................................148
Table 5- cited just once (Brazil and China
- 2008) ..............................................................................................................149

X
Table 5- - 2002)150
Table 5-12 What is Holding Women Back (Brazil - 2008).................................158
Table 5-13 What is Holding Women Back (U.S - 2003) ....................................159
Table 5-14 Characteristics of the Feminine Gender considered Advantageous in
the Obtaining of Higher Financial Performance (Brazil and China- 2008) ........160
Table 5-15 Characteristics Ascribed to Women (Brazil and China- 2008) .........166

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ACWF
BPW Business Professional Women
CPC Communist Party of China
CPPCC Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
CNDM
EAP Economic Active Population
HR Human Resources
HRM Human Resources Management
ILO International Labour Organization
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NPC
NWCCW National Working Committee on Children and Women
PRC
SPM Special Secretariat for Policies for Women
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
In management literature it is clear that the study of women in management is a
very new field of research. A study of gender within business administration is
important because, until recently, gender inequality in companies has been ignored,
and companies do not explore, or recognize the potential of women professionals as
a key factor in leadership levels. This research has been conducted to provide a
better understanding of women in management positions both in Brazil and in
China and, as a consequence, to stimulate awareness of the role that gender
diversity may play in business.
The methodology consisted, firstly, of literature research on the impact of gender in
labour relations and the relation between this reality and the companies. Then
women s advancements and barriers in the world, and then more specifically in
Brazil and in China are verified. The practical part of this research, with
information obtained through questionnaires implemented among seven Chinese
and seven Brazilian female interviewees in management positions, was followed by
data analysis and interpretation. Data from the International Labour Organization,
All-China Women's Federation, Catalyst, World Bank, Ethos Institute and Ricardo
Hausmann, among others, were used concurrent with analysis. The subject is
discussed having the works of F. Capra, R. Daft, X. Li, V. Schein, L. Wirth, and C.

2
Bruschini, among others, as the theoretical references.
Some recommendations have been proposed, and it is presumed that the outcomes
of this study will provide companies with a different perspective on gender issues
and a better evaluation of The issues discussed
in this thesis may arouse attention in enterprises for the importance of the subject.
Women can gain awareness of the content of this research and of what gender can
represent in the workplace. Thus, they will be able to better act in their professional
lives and achieve career advancement.
1.2Problem Statement
ILO (2008) states that globalization and rapidly changing technical progress continue
to impact labour markets around the world. Moreover, to Schein (2001), the
globalization of management brings with it the need to examine the relationship
between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics in the
international arena. On Management characteristics, Peter Drucker (ACWF, 2006)
highly valued those found in females, for they are, according to him, more suitable for
management.
Around the world, the growing presence of women in the labour market makes it
important to discuss the business impact of gender diversity. The increase in
participation of women in the workplace is remarkable although one can not
overlook the fact that, in spite of reaching lower and middle level management

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posts, women seldom reach top management positions.
Catalyst Census (2007) statistics state that women occupy just 15.4 percent of
corporate officer positions and 14.8 percent of corporate board seats at Fortune 500
companies. Women seldom attain executive level positions. The Fortune 5001
(2007) list stresses that, in 2007, just 10 (out of 500) companies were led by women,
three more than in 2006. Currently, the same list (2008) stresses that 12 companies
were run by women in 2008.
Female labour is often believed to cost more than male, due to the expenses of
maternity leave and child care. However, a study by Catalyst (2008) points out a
strong correlation between corporate financial performance and gender diversity. The
study states, Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women
board directors attained significantly higher financial performance, on average, than
those with the lowest representation of wo
(2008) points out notably stronger-than-average performance at companies with
three or more women board directors.
Thus, it is important to acknowledge that gender may play an important part in
aspects of the business performance process. Throughout the world, the number of
women in management is increasing. However, women are still not reaching top
1
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500
U.S corporations as measured by their gross revenue. The list includes publicly and privately-held
companies for which revenues are publicly available.

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management levels and face a variety of pressures, both internal and external, from
the organizations in which they work (Limerick; Heywood 1993).
On a global scale, gender stereotyping continues to be a major barrier to women's
progress in management, and there is a notion of a masculine managerial model.
Therefore, opportunities for women to advance in the workplace are limited by
gender-based stereotypes in business. Far from giving a full contribution in
, women skills and potentials are left underdeveloped
instead of optimized.
managerial model remains and
males continue to perceive women as less qualified for managerial positions.
Internationally, the view of women as less likely than men to possess requisite
management characteristics is a common belief among male management students
in some countries, including China (Schein 2007). There is still job segregation
based on gender dividing occupations into those considered men's jobs and
women's jobs.
kind of segregation. It describes the discrimination that women and minorities often
experience when trying to advance into senior management levels. Normally, it is a
subtle, informal, and unacknowledged barrier (Davidson; Cary 1992).
Although women make up 51 percent of
two-thirds of all labour, yet, they own only about one percent of the world's assets

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, according to the Global Fund for Women
(2008). The status of women is a key marker for social progress. Maintaining
opportunity equality between men and women is necessary for the proliferation of
women working in companies, not only at lower and middle levels, but also in top
management positions. It is imperative to maintain and increase efforts made to
ensure that women advance to positions of leadership in organizations.
1.3Research Objectives
This item presents the research general and specific objectives, as well as the
research questions. For the development of this research, these items are
interconnected and have a complementary role. Research objectives and research
questions are described below.
(1) General Objectives
The core objective of this research is to analyze the presence and situation of
women in management in Brazilian and Chinese companies, mostly in the service
sector, and establish relations among them. This comparison aims at the
understanding of similarities and differences between the Brazilian and the Chinese
female interviewees in management positions.
Furthermore the research aims at analyzing corporate culture and Human Resources
Management in general from a gender-based perspective. Finally, it aims to propose,
both women

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professionals and enterprises.
(2) Specific Objectives
For the best attainment of the main objective of this work, the specific objectives
can be classified, taking into account the information provided by the interviewees.
These classifications are:
Initially, identifying within a given company how many employees are male and
how many are female and their proportion in the respective hierarchical levels.
Later, we can see that this specific objective could not be reached in all the studied
companies because these data were not provided.
Identifying the hiring process and career plan in order to evaluate the presence of a
gender-based discrimination;
Identifying in which area/sector highest presence of women are employed and why;
Identifying the impact of the presence of women in these companies;
Identifying the barriers faced by the women in these companies;
personal success;

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Identifying how women get ahead;
Identifying what is holding women back in general;
Analyzing and relating the results obtained from literature, when applicable.
The attainment of the core objective and specific objectives would provide
organizations as well as women with a meaningful understanding about women in
management in Brazil and in China.
1.4 Research Questions
There are some questions which are fundamental for the study. These investigation
questions are:
(1) From which hierarchical level is it more difficult to find the presence of women?
(2) Is increased participation of women in management positions a general trend in
both countries?
(3) Are there barriers that Brazilian and Chinese women face to advance in their
careers? If so, are they the same?
(4) Are there strategies that Chinese and Brazilian women use to succeed? If so, are

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they the same?
(5) Are gender stereotypes a kind of barrier in the advancement of Brazilian and
Chinese women in decision-making and top management positions?
(6) Are there wage differences between men and women in fulfilling the same
function?
(7) Must the Chinese and Brazilian women outperform men in order to achieve
recognition within the organization?
(8) Are Chinese and Brazilian women generally unaware of the role that gender
may represent and its impact on the labour market?
Based on the above mentioned investigative questions, the interview questionnaire
was structured.
1.5 Research Scope
The essence of this research is to study women in management at different
companies in both Brazil and China. The analysis will focus, at first, on the female
presence in management at organizations. It will also approach issues like equal
opportunities for women, wage gap, promotions, gender stereotypes, strategies for
success, and barriers advancements.

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This thesis also aims to verify the opinions of the female interviewees regarding
their professional activities and the labour market. These are perceptions of the
impact of the presence of women in companies what barriers they face, if they
have equal job opportunities, what strategies they believe are useful to get ahead,
which hierarchical level they are more concentrated in, how they feel about their
career plans, and what is holding women back, among others.
It is clear that this study is related to several other issues, such as human resources
management, corporate culture, government policies, culture, and societal beliefs,
societies. Even though the main perspective of this thesis is that of business
administration through a gender-based perspective, it will be necessary, in some
cases, to point out government and company policies.
1.6 Benefits and Significance of the Study
This subject is relevant because it is necessary to understand gender diversity and
its role in business. As a function of this role, it is also necessary to understand the
difficulties faced by female labour in the work environment and how to break
through boundaries for advancement. The theme is also relevant because
women have become a great force in many countries such as that of
Brazil and China, making both social and economic contributions.
In China, this study is concurrent with the need to educate people and companies

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about the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests. To the Vice Prime Minister Wu
Yi, educating the public about this law is an effective way to solve present problems.
It is fundamental to improve the laws and regulations protecting women and to make
greater efforts to find job opportunities for women. The subject is also relevant
because Chinese women have become a great force in the country's social
development, making major contributions to the economic development.
Since the last few decades of the twentieth century, Brazil, in turn, has experienced
significant demographic, cultural, and social changes that have had a great impact
on women's work. Changes in the cultural values relating to the social role of
women have changed the female identity, increasingly focusing on productive
employment. Moreover, the increased education level of women has made women's
access to new job opportunities possible. All these factors explain not only the
growth of female activity, but also the changes in the profile of Brazilian workforce
(Bruschini; Puppim 2004).
The ILO (2008:04) states that,
comes only when labour market barriers are lowered and women are given an equal
chance to attain decent work, remains both a necessity for economic development
and a worthy go
From the findings of this research, companies can have a different perspective on
work within a corporation. Thus, they will be able to gain competitive strategies by

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using the full contribution of gender balance. From a woman perspective, they can
gain awareness of the content of this research. Thus, they will be able to better act in
the labour market by readapting personal strategies in their professional life, which
can enable them to overcome barriers. Nevertheless, authors claim that hiring women,
whether in leadership posts or not, is a matter of doing what is best for the business.
The companies who realize that beforehand can have significant advantages. Thus,
the issues discussed in this research may arouse the attention in other enterprises for
the importance of the subject.
1.7 Research Methodology
The research follows a qualitative (primary data) and quantitative (secondary data)
methodology to analyze women in management. The qualitative part consists of the
application of a questionnaire (open questions) among 14 females interviewees:
seven in Brazil; seven in China.
(1) Data Collection
The questionnaire intends to verify the hypotheses considered in this study. It
consists of sixteen questions regarding the situation of women in the workplace
regarding: the hiring process, career plans, the impact of and the areas with the
greatest concentration of women in companies, the strategies and barriers for
women success, the wage gap, the outperformance of men, promotion, stereotypes,
what it is holding women back, and how they can get ahead, as well as a statement
concerning gender and financial performance and a trend for the 21st
century. A

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version of this questionnaire can be seen in the appendix. Later, in chapter 5,
sub-item 5.2, further information about the interviewees will be provided.
In order to get a wide and accurate vision of the current process, the quantitative
analysis includes books, internet, magazines, statistics from organizations such as
The UN (United Nations), ILO (International Labour Organization), ACWF (All
ian and Chinese
government documents, such as regulations and data about the topic.
(2) Universe
All the working women in management positions in Brazil and in China.
(3) Sample
The research includes a personal interview with seven outstanding Brazilian
females and seven outstanding Chinese women to evaluate and analyze the topics
presented above.
(4) Field Period
May 2008 China
August 2008 Brazil
It is important to mention that because of an agreement between the researcher and
names were changed.

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1.8 Limitations of the Study
One country varies from another, so it is important to understand the configurations
of social gender relations as they may vary as well. While more systematic efforts
are being made by the United Nations system and governments to value and
is a relatively new field and comparisons over time and across countries are limited
(Wirth, 2001:27).
These countries were dealt with separately because, although both of them are
considered emerging and developing countries, they are at different points in their
histories. On the one hand, Brazil is a country with a little more than 500 years of
history, marked by the recent history of military dictatorship (1964-1985) and the
reconstruction of the democratic system (1985-present). On the other hand, China
has a 5,000-year history, recently marked by communism (since 1949).
The language barrier, that is, problem of breaking through the Chinese language,
translation problems, and limitations in obtaining data in China (because there were
few documents on the subject already translated into English) were major difficulties.
Literature on Chinese women in general was found in English. This included material
on the impact of violence against women, rural women, labour contracts, and
maintaining the rights and interests of women and minors in labour and social
security. However, little was found about the role of Chinese women in organizations,
and there are insufficient information and data on Chinese women's contributions in

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management, even in Chinese. Such data gaps may lead to inappropriate comparisons
and analysis between the two countries; hence, caution is necessary.
Another limitation of the study was the fact that not all interviewees provided
complete information on the cadres, often providing only data about the
unit in which they worked, and not from the company as a whole. Sometimes the
numbers provided by the interviewees were not uniform; sometimes they provided
information in percentage, sometimes in absolute numbers. This resulted in the
impossibility of comparing some data among companies.
Finally, it is important to remark that Brazil is unusual among developing countries
as it has a long tradition of collecting labour market data through surveys
(Arabsheibani; Carneiro; Henley, 2003). There were no major difficulties in finding
data on the situation of Brazilian women in the labour market, their presence in
companies, and especially in management because research on the subject has been
carried out systematically.
1.9 Structure of the Thesis
This thesis has been divided into six chapters including this chapter. The overall
content of the chapters has been described below.
Chapter 1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes: Problem Statement, Research Objectives, Research

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Questions, Research Scope, Benefits and Significance of the Studies, Research
Methodology, Limitations of the Study, and Structure of the Thesis. Theoretical
references have been cited when necessary and applicable.
Chapter 2 Theory Review
All related and relevant concepts, theories and models have been introduced in this
chapter. The objectives of this theory review are to get an understanding of the
research from a theoretical point of view, addressing the concepts properly to help
explain the subject of this thesis.
Chapter 3
management around the world in general, in Brazil and China specifically.
Chapter 4
This chapter addresses barriers that women face in the labour market and in
management around the world in general, in Brazil and China specifically. It will
also include a topic concerning statistics on gender gap, comparing the Brazilian
and Chinese situation.
Chapter 5 The Results of the Research
This chapter presents the profile of the interviewees in this survey, some overall
information about their companies and their answers from the questionnaire by

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the area of the greatest concentration of women in the company, how women get
ahead, perception of fairness concerning wage gap, if they need to outperform men
for success, stereotypes, what is holding women back, the link between gender and
financial performance, and a statement concerning a new trend for the 21st century.
The answers are analyzed and when applicable, linked to the literature review.
Chapter 6 Conclusion and Considerations
The concluding chapter of this study presents the creative points of the research and
why it is unique. It also discusses the challenges in the further development of
Brazilian and Chinese women in the labour market and provides suggestions for
women and companies.

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CHAPTER 2
THEORY REVIEW
2.1 Theory Review - Discussion on Related Theories and Concepts
This chapter summarizes the concepts and notions that provide an understanding
about women in management, corporate issues and human resources management,
and diversity in the workplace. In addition, other relevant theories and frameworks
are also presented in order to identify and analyze related issues and research
findings. Data from the International Labour Organization, All-China Women's
Federation, Catalyst, World Bank, Ethos Institute and Ricardo Hausmann, among
others, were used. The subject is discussed having the works of F. Capra, R. Daft, X.
Li, V. Schein, L. Wirth, and C. Bruschini, among others, as the theoretical
references
According to Daft (2000) management is the attainment of organizational goals in
an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling of organizational resources. The formal study of management is
relatively recent and emerged during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
but the practice of management can be traced to 3000 B.C. The three major
perspectives on management that have evolved since the late 1800s are the classical
perspective - which emphasizes a rational and scientific approach -, the humanistic
perspective - which emphasized understanding human behavior, needs and attitudes
in the workplace -, and the management science perspective - which applied

18
mathematics, statistics, and other techniques to managerial problems.
Managers at different levels within the organization engage in different amounts of
time on the four managerial functions mentioned above. They are responsible for the
work performance of the other organizational members. In general, there are three
levels of management: top-level, middle-level, and first-level. In most organizations,
the number of managers at each level is such that the hierarchy resembles a pyramid.
Top managers or senior management are at the top ones in an organization, and hold
titles such as President, Vice president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief
Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO) or Corporate Head. They
set goals for the organization and direct the company to achieve them. Middle-level
managers are those in the levels below top managers and their job titles include:
General Manager, Plant Manager, Regional Manager, and Divisional Manager. They
are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management and can assist
first-line managers to achieve business objectives. First-level managers, or first-line
managers, are responsible for the daily management of line workers. These managers
have job titles such as Office Manager, Department Manager, or Crew leader, among
others.

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strong internal environment, which includes the corporate
culture as a major pattern, is fundamental and has significant impact on the business
performance. To have a successful corporate culture, employees might share
assumptions and the same set of values, a common behavior style, language, rites,
symbols, beliefs, and norms on how things are done within the corporation.
CEO
Business Unit Head:
General Manager / Administrator
Department Manager:
Product Line or Service Manager
Functional Head:
Production, Sales, R&D Supervisor, MIS, HRM,
Accounting Supervisor
Line Jobs, Staff Jobs
Top Management
Middle Management
First-Line
Management
Figure 2-1 Management Levels in the Organizational Hierarchy
Source: DAFT (2000).
Nonmanagerial

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2.2 Women in Management
The study of gender perspective within business administration is important.
According to Philipps (1998) gender consists of the learned roles and responsibilities
of men and women in society; different in different cultures; male and female
behavior and ways of being. And still for the same author, gender perspective does
not refer to women alone, but to the relationship between men and women. Yet,
gender analysis is the collection of information to study the impact of development
activities on men and women; and the analysis of the effect of gender roles on the
outcome of development efforts.
The gender context perspective is used to explain the position of women in
management. This theoretical perspective is based on the idea that the social status
of the group is important in determining the perception of others towards
individuals. Perceived masculine and/or higher status occupations are not related to
female roles. Thus women are associated with being homemakers. This perception
creates stereotypes and prevents women from entering occupational groups and
so-called masculine jobs on an equal footing with men (Falkenberg; Rychel, 1985;
Schnner, 1985). According to this theory, women have to work hard to be accepted,
and project an image of being assertive but not aggressive, in order to succeed.
A major barrier to women's progress in management continues to be the gender
stereotyping of the managerial position and there is a pre-existing belief of a
prototypical male manager. The stereotyping issue was already noted in the 1987
United Nations Training Manual on Policy Development for increasing the role of

21
Women in Management. To Walters and Mason (1994) stereotypical behavior is the
result of a learning through socialization processes; both men and women roles are
externally defined. Moreover, women's participation or nonparticipation in top
management and decision-making positions are determined by a number of variables,
including the socialization by their access to social resources such as education,
knowledge and their strength of purpose to achieve success.
k manager
remains and males continue seeing women as less qualified than men for managerial
positions.
Morrison (1992) to explain the few women in upper levels of management. They can
look up through the ceiling and see top management but invisible obstacles stop them.
It is a barrier beyond which women find it difficult to progress in decision-making
and managerial positions, as well as a reflection of social and economic gender
discrimination (ILO, 2003:86). To Reeves and Baden (2000:2) gender discrimination
is the systematic, unfavorable treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender,
which denies them rights, opportunities or resources.

23
doing business. They tend not include women and minorities in important decision
making processes or to enable them to go high in the corporate hierarchy. Many
because of this mismatch between the dominant culture and the growing employee
population of minorities and women. Historically the corporate culture has been
t on
the career development of women. A study by the International Labour
Organization (ILO, 2008) shows that globally, the promotion of women is not seen
as beneficial by the leaders of many organizations.
Men often misjudge women's abilities, what makes evident the impact that
socio-cultural and historical factors have over attitudes towards female workers,
especially those in top management. The ability of women to perform as well as their
male counterparts is discredited, both by men and women (Walters; Mason, 1994).
Women have been more and more career involved, what, on the one hand, represent
an opportunity to organizations, but, on the other hand, means that organizations must
deal with issues such as work-family conflicts, dual-career couples, and sexual
harassment. Higher turnover rates and absenteeism, lower job satisfaction, and

24
general frustration over career development for women and minorities, all indicate
how organizations have not been successful in managing these groups. Moreover,
women and minorities are not progressing as far as they might and are not developing
their full potential as they cluster at lower organization levels (Cox, 1991).
Traditionally women were seen as intellectually and physically inferior to men and
these perceptio
discrimination (Betz; Fitzgerald 1987). It is not difficult for women to gain
employment at the lower levels of organizations, because the criteria for selection
and promotion are more objective, but it is still difficult for them to reach upper
middle and senior management positions, where the criteria are more subjective.
related procedures for systematically understanding the work in an organization.
They aim to understand what people do, how they do it, and what skills they need to
do the work well. By conducting job analysis and documenting job requirements,
employers can tackle this and be more aware of the skills needed to perform a job.
A company should have written objective standards to prevent discrimination
practices in promotion decisions (Jackson; Schuler, 2004). These practices can help
2000) many
small business are opened by women who found limited opportunities for
advancement in large corporations. Different genders have different styles at work.
Women focus on connections with other human beings and the quality of

25
relationships while men are more concerned with abstract concepts, rules, and
hierarchy. The former tend to be better communicators and try to be more
supportive and inclusive. Men, on the other hand, have a more competitive and
result based communication style. While women often want to share and process,
n
communication.
Table 2-1 Male Style versus Female Style
Male Style Female Style
Emphasis is on: Emphasis is on:
Superiority or uniqueness Understanding
Work accomplishments Personal needs of self or
others
Content Process
Asking directly for needs Hinting about needs
Acting businesslike with
others at work
Making others feel
comfortable and included
Raising voice Speaking politely
Rules, procedures, and
techniques to solve
problems
Showing power with
position in organization
Relying on the strength of
relationships to resolve
issues
Showing power with
respect to others
Source: DAFT (2000).
New working methods and t
change in the gender profile of the functions believed to be masculine or feminine.

26
2.3 Corporate Issues and Human Resources Management
The company leadership, corporate and business strategies, organizational structure,
and organizational culture are all part of the organizational environment. They
provide an immediate context for managing human resources. All of the activities
that an organizations use to affect the behaviors of all the people who work for it are
defined as Human Resources Management - HRM (Jackson; Schuler, 2004).
Daft (2000) says that the human relations movement, which emphasized satisfaction
needs as the key to increased worker productivity, gave place to
a human resources perspective that considers that the jobs should be designed to
meet higher levels needs by allowing workers to use their full potential.
Since the increasing of global competition, behavioral approaches to management
gained more attention to treat new emerged matters in order to comprehend the
Nowadays, employees are
viewed as assets and give the company competitive advantages so the HRM has been
a vital player in corporate strategy. The business management theories provide an
understanding on the strategic role of HRM which refers to activities to attract,
develop, and maintain an effective workforce within an organization. Among other
tasks, the HRM has to act in accordance with the laws to ensure for example equal
employment opportunities, no sexual discrimination in employment, adopting the
principle of equal pay for equal work for both sexes, and guaranteeing special labour
protection for female employees.

27
To Jackson and Schuler (2004) maximizing the value that employees add is the
objective of effective human resource management by ensuring that the organization
has the right employees doing the right things at the right time and place, and under
the right conditions. Many investors prefer companies with good reputations for
enhance or diminish its profitability. Moreover, some cases signalize a greater
investment in companies with higher number of women on the board of directors.
mission, vision and goals) are included in the human resources. A good management
of the human resources is defined by how well they serve their stakeholders, who
have a claim on the resources, services, and products of the companies it is crucial to
the success. Gender, ethnicity, personality, religion, sexual orientation, marital and
family status, and age are issues the corporations are more and more sensitive about,
realizing the value of diversity.
While gender equality denotes women having the same opportunities in life as men,
including the ability to participate in the public sphere, gender equity denotes the
equivalence in life outcomes for women and men, recognizing their different needs
and interests, and requiring a redistribution of power and resources. It is an
acknowledgement that women and men have different needs, preferences, and
interests and that equality of outcomes may require different treatment of men and
women. Women tend to be in disadvantage in hierarchical relations of power with
men. Although they are socially and culturally determined, and subject to change

28
ove
labour and resources, and in ideas of acceptable behavior for women and men they
can be seen (Reeves; Baden, 2000:10-18).
Concerning job opportunities, affirmative action to some extent gave women more
chances to get into a company. However, despite the opportunities, women have not
succeeded in getting into top management positions. Moreover, Daft (2000) points
with affirmative action
hires. People who are hired this way are seen as less competent. Discrimination at
the workplace still persists in organizations. In order to prevent it, a variety of laws
and regulations were created. Wright and Noe (1996) define equal employment
opportunity as providing all individuals with an equal chance for employment,
regardless of their status in any of the protected categories, such as race, sex, and
religion. Affirmative action, on the other hand, actively attracts and retains minority
employees. Gender related concerns such as the glass ceiling and sexual harassment
are included in the diversity issues.
Although more women have entered the work force and an increasing proportion
have received promotions to first-level and middle management, they are poorly
represented in the top management of most organizations. For example, only 1
percent of executives in Fortune 500 companies were female in 1981, and by 1991
this number had increased to only 3 percent (Bateman; Snell, 2002). They are
believed to achieve lower positions than men (and earn less for the same work)

29
because they temporarily leave work to look after children, have leadership styles
more suited to lower-level management, and are less committed to their work.
Moreover, their male colleagues and superiors do not understand or value their
contribution well.
The glass ceiling phenomenon is an invisible barrier that separates women and
minorities from top management positions. At top level, corporate culture evolves
around males, who tend to hire and promote people who look and act like them, so
this reality does not change. Moreover, women who leave the corporate world to
care for children have a difficult time moving up the hierarchy when they return
what contributes to the glass ceiling (Daft, 2000).
Some recruiting practices may create a glass ceiling such as:

30
Table 2-2 Recruiting Practices that May Create Glass Ceiling
Reliance On
Networking
Word Of Mouth:
Reliance On
Networking
Employee
Referrals
Executive Search
Firms
Middle- and upper-level positions often are filled through word-of-mouth
referral. Corporate executives may learn of individuals, interview them
casually at luncheons or dinners, and make them as offer, without a formal
recruitment process. Diminished opportunity occurs for people not in the
executive network result
In some companies, elaborate employee referral systems are in place. If
employees in the company do not represent the full diversity of the labour
force, the pool of applicants created by their referrals also will not reflect this
diversity.
Employers are responsible for obtaining a diverse pool of applicants.
Companies may not make executive recruitment firms aware of their equal
employment and affirmative action obligations and objectives, or they may
not use success in this area in deciding which search firm to hire.
Job Postings
Recruiting Values
Some companies post job notices for lower-level jobs, but not for mid- to
upper-level jobs. At the higher levels, employees learn about openings only
through their informal networks. Informal communications tend to flow more
intensely among people who are demographically similar, which means that
members of many protected groups are less likely to hear about openings for
higher level positions.
Recruiting often occurs at conferences for trade and professional associations
and interviews are often scheduled to take place in a hotel room. This can be
intimidating for many women and reduces the possibility of finding qualified
women applicants.
Source: JACKSON; SCHULER (2004).
The relegation of women and minorities to less visible assignments, so that their
work fails to come to the attention of top executives is another reason for the
persistent glass ceiling. Th
with her work or that minorities lack competence is due to stereotyping by male
middle managers. In order to be noticed, recognized, and promoted, minorities in

31
general often believe they must work harder and outperform their male counterparts.
much effort they invest, they are never perceived as correct or suitable. Most of
white males are not intentionally racist and sexist, so this is difficult for them to
understand. Although many men feel extremely uncomfortable with the prevailing
attitudes and stereotypes, they do not know how to change them for these attitudes
are deeply rooted in the society and in organizations (Daft, 2000). In a survey, 96
percent of women who have managed to break through the glass ceiling said that
adapting to a predominantly white male culture was an important factor in their
success. (Ragins; Townsend; Mattis, 1998).
The successful advancement of diverse group members means that the
organizations must find ways to eliminate the glass ceiling. The involvement of the
top management is, hence, critical to breaking the ceiling and for the advancement
of women. Apart more women coming through the pipeline, recruiting practices,
and diversity trainings, one of the most successful structures to accomplish this is
the mentoring relationship.
duties of the mentor, who is a senior organizational member in a higher ranking
(Ragins, 1989; Ragins, Townsend; Mattis, 1998). The advantage of mentoring (Daft,
2000) is providing minorities with direct training and inside information on the
norms and expectations of the organization. Nevertheless, women do not seek

32
mentors because they feel job competency is enough, or they may fear that a
mentoring relationship could be misunderstood as a romantic one. Male mentors, in
turn, think of women more as mothers, wives, or sisters than as executives.
2.4 Managing Diversity in the Workplace
The workplace is changing and
Cultural diversity is welcome and valuable in companies because it helps them to
compete in the global market. To Daft (2000), workforce diversity means the hiring
and inclusion of people with different human qualities or who belong to various
cultural groups. From the perspective of individuals, diversity means including
people from themselves along dimensions such as age, ethnicity, gender, or race. For
many companies, diversity policies increase competitiveness, as they create
access to management and direction positions is a key factor in terms of internal
diversity.
At present, the growing trend of availability of technological resources associates a
people. Therefore, there are strong demands, not only for productiveness and
action. And such qualities are directly related to the issue of the inclusion or
exclusion of different social groups (Gonçalves; Gastaldi Filho et al., 2006).

33
The efficient use of human resources and diverse talents is improved by workers who
enjoy equal treatment and equal opportunities. This not only improves workforce
morale and motivation but also leads to better labour relations with positive
implications for productivity. A more equal distribution of job opportunities,
productive resources, assets, and education, among people of diverse background,
contributes to higher growth and political stability. Everyone has both a stake and a
role to play in achieving equality at work. Although discrimination in employment
takes many forms, and occurs in all kinds of work places, all these terms share a
common feature: people end up being treated differently because of certain
characteristics, such as race, color or sex. In other words, discrimination reinforces
inequalities (ILO, 2003).
To Noon and Ogbonna (2001:1-14), discrimination at work is direct when regulations,
laws and policies explicitly exclude or disadvantage workers on the basis of political
opinion, marital status or sex, for example. This kind of discrimination normally has
a stereotyping core. When people are assigned particular attitudes or lack of talent, by
virtue of their membership in a group, be it racial, sexual, religious or other,
irrespective of their skills and work experience, this is the stereotyping process that
results in prejudice
In order to eliminate race, ethnicity, and gender as wage determinants within job
categories and between job categories, pay equities were conceived. They examine
the existing pay policies that underpay women and activate steps to correct

34
discrimination. The existence and use of a seniority system, a merit system, a
system that measures earnings or quality of production, or a system based on any
additional characteristic other than gender are the four exceptions that can be used
to legally defend unequal pay for equal work (Jackson; Schuler, 2004).
Discrimination occurs, according to Daft (2000), when some applicants are hired or
promoted based on criteria that are not job relevant. If agreed, affirmatives actions
can be remedies, which require an employer to take positive steps to guarantee
equal employment opportunities for people within protected groups.
According to neoclassical economists (ILO, 2003:23-26), for being costly and
inefficient, discrimination at work should not last long. They support that employers
who discriminate against certain groups should disappear because they cannot
compete with the employers who do not. Fighting discrimination in the workplace is
strategic to combating discrimination elsewhere. The workplace can help stop
prejudices and stereotypes by bringing together and treating equally people with
different characteristics. Eliminating discrimination is important for a more efficient
functioning of labour markets and for a more competitive business. An employee
team that represents the diversity of society in terms of age, sex, religion or
abilities/disabilities is more likely to satisfy the needs of a customer base that is
becoming more and more heterogeneous as a result of the globalization.
Several dimensions of diversity are important and mean the including of people
from different ages, ethnicities, genders, races, religions, education levels,

35
disabilities, sexual orientations, and economic levels. And at companies in an
international arena, the cultural diversity can play a strategic role for
competitiveness. Robinson and Dechant (1997) point that many organizations
believe they can use diversity to create economic value, so they are striving to
manage diversity effectively. This can enable companies to develop products and
services for new markets and attract a broader range of customers.
According to Intituto Ethos (2000), gender issues refer to distinctions between male
and female applied through positive or negative attributes, determining roles,
functions and relations in the society. Gender-oriented programs should have a
critical regard on the tradition that considers certain occupations as characteristic of
one of the sexes, without objective justifying reasons. Moreover, they should seek a
better balance in the proportion of professionals of both sexes in the company
technology incorporation. New working methods may facilitate the change in the
gender profile on functions considered masculine or feminine. To Gonçalves,
Gastaldi Filho et al. (2006), diversity is more often associated to gender and race.
-economic condition, age, marital status, nationality,
sexual orientation, impairments, working style and world vision, among other
differences, are being considered by the companies, who, in turn, widen the concept
of diversity. Practicing and valuing diversity, fighting prejudice and discrimination
are principles of enterprise responsibility. The costumers are increasingly diverse and
demanding, and they can be better served by a diversified labour force, who has
better conditions to cater for their needs.

36
The companies are among the main promoters of work opportunities and professional
realization. However, they can either adopt conscious positioning by promoting
diversity, or omit themselves by overlooking prejudices and the inequalities existing
in the society, and reproducing them internally. Stimulating diversity enables the
company to evaluate and promote the employees based on their effective competence,
besides representing an effort towards the expression of talents and individual
potentialities (Instituto Ethos, 2000). Programs encouraging respect for diversity with
focus on gender and race require the commitment of all sectors in the company,
starting from its directors. To Veiga (2004), it is necessary to analyze the
organizational climate and draw up a strategy execution plan with well-defined goals,
procedures, programs, actions, and evaluation mechanisms for the promotion of
women in the workplace. In most cases, although companies are still reluctant in
defining goals for the promotion of women to management/senior positions, they
encourage equal opportunity awareness among their internal personnel. There are
many advantages and challenges to managing a diverse workforce such as:
Table 2-3 Advantages and Challenges of a Diverse Workforce
Advantages Challenges
Fulfills social responsibility
Helps attract, retain, and motivate employees
Gains greater knowledge of diversified marketplace
Promotes creativity, innovation, and problem solving
Enhances organizational flexibility
Lower cohesiveness
Communication problems
Mistrust and tension
Stereotyping
Source: BATEMAN; SNELL (2002).

37
According to Gonçalves; Gastaldi Filho et al. (2006), diversity can also bring to the
company: reduced turnover, enhanced productivity, higher satisfaction with work,
less legal vulnerability, valued corporate image, and more flexibility, improving its
capacity of adapting to new situations, as well as bringing adequate recognition. In
this way, the Human Resources Management plays an important role. Different
human resources management strategies are linked to the role, prestige and attitudes
of the HR function, to the attitude of the organization's CEO towards women's issues,
and to the institutionalization of the HRM strategy (Cattaneo; Reavley; Templer
1994).
Mondy, Sharplin, Premeaux, and Gordon (1990) show how the managers
particularly contribute to the powerlessness of a woman:
(1) By patronizingly overprotecting her not suggesting her for high visible
assignments, for example;
(2) By failing to provide managerial support possibly by listening to negative
comments about her and thus inv
(3) By assuming that she does not know the ropes;
(4) By ignoring women in informal social situations; and
(5) By failing to provide organizational support by not sharing power with her.
Daft (2000) stresses that valuing diversity is also beneficial for the opportunity to
develop employee and organizational potential, i.e. higher morale, as people feel

38
valued for what they bring to organization. It comes along better relationships at
work because people acquire the skills to recognize, understand, and accept cultural
differences. This has become a bottom-line business issue. In addition, companies
that treat minorities well will be able to recruit the best employees from other
organizations. The labour market is slowly tightening, and those organizations with
a healthy environment for women and minorities will be in the best competitive
position to attract and retain scarce talents. When women and minorities experience
nonacceptance, people do not feel valued and not willing to take risks for the
organization, so reduced individual and organizational productivity occurs. A
broader and deeper base of experience for problem solving, creativity, and
innovation is provided by diversity within the organization. For example,
heterogeneous teams produce more innovative solutions to problems than
homogeneous ones because people with diverse backgrounds bring different
perspectives to problem solving. Moreover, minority employees, when allowed an
active role, can help organizations grow by challenging basic assumptions about
how the organization works. To succeed, diversity programs need to obtain, top
management leadership and commitment. One way to raise awareness of the
employees and external environment about it is to incorporate the org
attitudes towards diversity into the corporate mission statement and into strategic
plans objectives. We can directly link managerial compensation to accomplishing
diversity objectives. Participating in diversity programs and making participation
mandatory for all managers can be a way of having top management set an example
for other organization members, too (Bateman; Snell, 2002). International studies

39
positively
influenced by diversity programs. They have also made a difference in the attracting
of new investors in many organizations.

40
CHAPTER 3
THE LABOUR MARKET S
chievements in the labour market and in
management around the world in general, in Brazil and China specifically. ILO
(2008a) data show that in 2007, 1.2 billion women around the world worked, almost
200 million or 18.4 per cent more than ten years before. Gender gaps indicators for
certain labour markets are decreasing in many regions and education levels for
women continue to increase.
Many more women had the opportunity to obtain paid work because of the reduction
of agriculture and growth in manufacturing in the 1950s and 1970s, particularly in
industrialized countries (Wirth, 2001:11). Trade and financial liberalization have
created new opportunities for women around the globe. The role of women continues
to develop and instead of staying home, women began to look for jobs outside.
Although they still tend to work in so-called female occupations, and in spite of their
being in certain specific areas, one of the significant changes over last decades was
the rise of women managers.
Women have been gradually moving up the hierarchical ladder of organizations and
represent over 40 per cent of the global workforce (Wirth, 2001:25). They are making

41
remarkable inroads in middle management, especially in banking (Walters; Mason,
1994).
International organizations pay increasing attention to the issues relating to the
strengthening of women. They are also gaining space in the institutional agendas and
in those of the organizations of the civil society. There has also been a deeper
understanding of the relation between the importance of strengthening women and of
eliminating their social drawbacks, as a strategy for social development. The
Women s World Conference, held in Mexico in 1975 with the theme Women and
Development, was the first major milestone of this process. The construction of the
first institutional spaces dedicated to the promotion of the female condition, such as
departments of government and councils related to the state, were initiated by the
recognition of women as a more vulnerable group. The World Conference of Nairobi,
Kenya, in 1985 with the theme Gender and Development, gave relevance to the
unequal conditions of women in the society, and their effects over the reproduction of
poverty, so one might say it advanced if compared to the previous one. The female
issue was present in at least four more international meetings promoted by the UN
(United Nations) between the conference in Nairobi in 1985 and the United Nations
Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995. Each of them brought a
specific contribution for the understanding of the importance of gender issues in
fighting poverty and promoting development (Instituto Ethos, 2004).

42
The importance of women's participation in the spaces of policy-making was
emphasized for the promotion of sustainable development at the UN Conference for
Environment and Development, also known as Rio 92. In 1993, the World
Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna, Austria, made clear that the women's
rights are human rights and that women should have full access to civilian, economic,
social and cultural life. In the following year, the Fourth World Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, not only highlighted the damage of a
differentiated education between boys and girls, but also emphasized female
participation in political processes, the importance of educating and training women
to work, and of ensuring their access to employment and social security. The
responsibility of men in family planning, childcare and household chores was also
stressed out by the conference. In 1995 women were highlighted as more vulnerable
to the effects of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation and war in the
Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The importance of
gender equity for sustainable development was emphasized and chosen as one of the
essential elements in development strategies. In the same year the United Nations
Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing, the largest meeting ever held between the
s and civil society organizations just consolidated these
advancements. The Conference was about Equality, Development and Peace, and at
last approved a platform of action for the empowerment of women. It also suggested
issues relating to the promotion of gender equity to be incorporated in all public
policies of the governments there present. Providing training for work, encouraging
political participation, social protection and measures against all forms of

43
discrimination were all initiatives to strengthen actions for the women's
empowerment, by the way pledged by all the participating countries, including Brazil
and China (Instituto Ethos, 2004). Great influence in promoting the progress of gender
equality and women's development around the world was achieved through the Beijing
Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth UN World Conference
on Women held in Beijing in 1995.
The following summit meetings and UN conferences reaffirmed the platform adopted
in Beijing: the Habitat II in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996, the Food Summit in Rome,
Italy, in 1997, the World Conference on Education for Adults in Hamburg, Germany,
in 1997, and the World Conference against Racism and All Forms of Intolerance in
Durban, South Africa in 2001. The latter emphasized the profound disadvantage
experienced by black women and girls around the world, also highlighting the
importance of affirmative policies for their inclusion on an equal footing, so it
brought a specific contribution to the construction of gender equity. Women have
only achieved gender equity in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, countries
that have offered them full rights of citizenship, according to the World Bank.
Enrollment in secondary education, parliamentary representation and the relation
with non-agricultural jobs are the indicators used for this assessment (Instituto Ethos,
2004).
In June 2004, a code of corporate conduct focused on promoting gender equity and
empowerment of women was launched by the Calvert Group in partnership with the

44
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It is known as the Calvert
Women's Principles. T women in all their
relationships as internal staff, suppliers, community, consumers, and in marketing
strategies are set by the Calvert Principles as selection criteria for their investments
around the world. The Calvert Principles not only offer conduct standards, but also
instruments for the evaluation of the performance of organizations in the construction
of gender equity, either internally or by their investors. The Calvert Group believes
that well administrated companies, which base their management practices on social
responsibility, have more advantages in dealing with risks and in generating profit for
shareholders over the long term. Therefore, the organization proposes principles that
have a direct relation with the indicators that are used in the selecting of its
investments in the long term. In companies where women are treated as equals, have
leadership positions, and participate fully in the decision-making, this is particularly
true (Instituto Ethos, 2004).
(Seager, 1997:14). Globally, 89 percent of countries have ratified the
Convention. Nevertheless, ratifying the Convention alone may be not enough, even
where it was fully ratified. The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, to
name a few European countries, have reservations, and the US has failed to ratify it at
all. Curiously, countries like South Africa
new constitutions and legislative systems - have adopted the Convention promptly.
Both China and Brazil ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

45
Discrimination Against Women CEDAW - with reservations (Wach; Reeves,
2000).
3
Brazil
Population: 169.6 million - female 51%, male 49% - (2000)
Composition: white 54%, mestizos 39.9%, black 5.4%, yellow 0.5%, indigenous
0.2% (1999)
Language: Portuguese (official)
Religion: Christianity (Catholic 71%, others 10%), Spiritualism, Judaism,
Afro-Brazilian cults
Density: 19.9 inhabitants/ km2 (2000)
Urban Population: 81% (2000)
Demographic growth: 1.6% per year (2000)
Fecundity: 2.3 children per woman (1999)
Life expectancy M/ F: 64.3/ 72.3 years (1999)
Child mortality: 33.6%0 (2000)
Illiteracy: 13.3% (1999)
GDP: US$ 595.3 billion (2000)
(Almanaque Abril, 2002:179).
A research on the Social, Racial and Gender profiles of the 500 largest companies in
Brazil, as well as on and their Affirmative Action, was held in Brazil by the Ethos

46
Institute. The discrepancy between women's participation in the labour market and
its representativeness in the society is made clear by the study. Nevertheless, there
is a progression in the increasing of the participation of women in the executive
board, from 6 percent in 2001 to 9 percent in 2003, and 10.6 percent in 2005, as
shown by the three surveys conducted by the institute. Although it may seem a very
slight variation, one might say it is significant (Gonçalves; Gastaldi Filho et al.,
2006). The research is done with information about the 500 largest Brazilian
companies, of which 119 responded the sent questionnaire. It is a very small
universe, especially if compared to the total number of Brazilian companies and the
total of women in them. One cannot precisely say the total number of Brazilian
companies, although, according to non-academic sources, this number is around 6
million in the whole national territory. Without a doubt this is a good start and
should be replicated in other companies.
Although women participate in all hierarchical levels considered in the study above,
they are under-represented, even where they are more present. The highest
percentage recorded in the staff board - 32.6 percent, - is much lower than the
percentage of female participation in the Brazilian population (51.3 percent) or in
the economically active population (42.7 percent). The hierarchical bottleneck
situation remains in the gender composition the higher the power positions, the
fewer women as found in the previous survey. With one difference, nevertheless:
there is increased female presence in the transition from the supervisory level to
management (from 27 to 31 percent), caused by a positive variation of 13

47
percentage points in management (from 18 percent in 2003 to 31, in 2005). But in
2005 the decrease in the transition from the managerial to the executive level is
sharply higher. And the under-representation of women, who make 42.7 percent of
the country's economically active population, is still seen at all levels (Gonçalves;
Gastaldi Filho et al., 2006). There are fewer women in higher positions of power, so
we can see how the situation of hierarchy bottleneck prevails.
According to the same research on the social, racial and gender profile of the 500
largest companies in Brazil, 52 percent of the sample (of 119 firms) have no women
in directorship positions and 1 percent could not provide information. Only 56
organizations out of the 119 claim to have women in the executive board, resulting
in approximately 3.5 women per company - the same average recorded in the 2003
survey. From 2003 to 2005 the previously registered tendency of growth of female
participation was, to some extent, reflected. There was an increase in the number of
company chairmen saying they have women in their executive boards - from 40 to
47 percent. Likewise, there was an increase in the total number of presidents to say
that women would earn equal or higher salaries than those of men at higher levels
of their companies: from 38 to 45 percent in executive level, and from 83 to 85
percent in management. While in supervision this rate was reduced by 1 percent, in
the staff the situation is the same in both surveys. The results may reflect a trend of
improvement in the situation of women in higher levels. The adoption of any policy
or affirmative action to compensate for the disadvantages of groups traditionally
discriminated against and to help promoting equity among its employees, was

48
mentioned by more than half of companies in the sample. Such advancements in
suggest the increased concern of the companies about the challenge of promoting
diversity and fighting social inequality in the labour market (Gonçalves; Gastaldi
Filho et al., 2006).
According to Instituto Ethos (2004), not all organizations maintain explicit policies to
promote gender equity or rely only on fair criteria of access and promotion, as
suggested by another study in Brazil about the commitment of the companies with
the valuing of women. Women experience disadvantages in the labour market, which
are expressed in their low participati
in their lower participation in training courses and slower pace in the evolution of
their careers. In many cases, overcoming these disadvantages is not enough. The
concern about ensuring the conditions for equality of opportunity begins to take
shape among the business organizations operating in Brazil nowadays. The making of
an internal census to map out diversity within the companies and the establishing of
new practices for selection and promotion, the setting of goals to increase women's
participation in directorship bodies, or the planning of actions for specific training
all of them are indicators that allow us to perceive this concern (Instituto Ethos,
2004).
Brazil experienced demographic, cultural and social changes that had great impact
on women's work in the last decades of the twentieth century. The entry of women

49
into the labour market has been facilitated by deep transformations in the values
related to the social role of women. Many factors triggered the entry of women into
the labour market, such as: the deterioration of the buying power of wage-earners,
compelling women to look for a complement to the family income; an increase in the
expectations of consumption; and, in special, the women's desire to have paid jobs
and economic independence. The decrease in fertility rate and the access to
universities have contributed to this process.
When it comes to education level, Santos (2006) points out a trend for Brazilian
women to increase their participation in a more qualified way. In 1996 women
accounted for 44 percent of people with Masters Degree and in 2003 the number
34 percent in 1996 to 38 percent in 2003. This trend is perceived by Bruschini and
Puppin (2004) as enabling women to access new job opportunities. Still according to
the same source, although women increased their presence and reached more than
61 percent in higher education, they still cluster in certain areas such as linguistics,
languages and arts (83 percent), humanities (82 percent), biological sciences (74
percent) and health sciences (67.6 percent), which prepare them to occupy the
so-called female "ghettos".
Concerning the Brazilian wome
highlight the increase of female participation among workers - from 39.6 percent in
1993 to 43.5 percent in 2005. Bruschini (2007) indentified this trend taking into

50
account that the female economically active population (EAP), which includes those
who are working and those looking for work, increased from 28 million to 41.7
million workers in the mentioned period. Furthermore, in 1993, 47 out of every 100
women worked. In 2005, in turn, of every 100 women, 53 worked. According to
historical trend, women are more likely to reach higher positions in their careers
within the public administration, if compared to the private sector. While in the
private sector, 21 percent of directorship positions are occupied by females, the same
occurs to 44.8 percent of the positions in the same level in the public sector (Bruschini;
Puppin 2004). This trend is also perceived by Wirth (2001) in developing countries,
where women likewise have greater chances of obtaining management positions in the
public service.
In the year 2000 in Brazil, about 9,977 (23.6 percent) out of 42.276 management
positions were occupied by women. And female directors prevail in bigger companies,
with 250 employees or more. The group of companies to render community services
and social services includes the clinical and hospital services (with 30.5 percent of
the directorship positions held by women), the social services companies (with 42.2
percent of the positions at that level occupied by women), cultural services
companies (47.3 percent) and other companies in the group, with 55.7 percent of
directorship positions occupied by women, according to the source. In other words, in
traditional female areas such as the social, culture and health, it can be said that
women are in high number, or even predominate, in directorship positions. The
presence of women in positions of management ranges from 11.5 to 17 percent in the

51
other sectors (Bruschini; Puppin 2004).
Bruschini (2007) shows that female workers concentrate in the service sector in 3
sub-sectors: domestic services (16.9 percent), education, health and social services
(16.1 percent) and other collective, social and personal services (5.3 percent). On the
other hand, male workers are distributed more homogenously in all sectors, with a
greater presence in the agriculture and industry: 24 percent and 16.4 percent,
respectively. Trade is the sector of activity in which the presence of employees by sex
is more balanced: 19 percent of men and 16 percent of women. Yet according to the
same source, in 2004 the female presence accounted for 31 percent of directorship
positions of companies in the formal sector. Women prevail in traditional female
sectors (from 46 percent to 53 percent in public administration, education, health and
social services). In other sectors, women occupy 10 percent to 15 percent of the
directorship positions.
The Catho group, a Brazilian company for placement in the labour market, makes a
series of studies. One of them, with 380 thousand executives and 62 thousand
companies, showed that the women increased their participation among the
high-level executives in the end of the 1990s, but they were still majority in lower
positions. Women were reaching higher positions from the second half of the 1990s
on, and at younger ages than those of their colleagues at the same level, according
to the same survey (Bruschini; Puppin 2004). Another non academic survey by the
same group (Diário Catarinense, 2008) includes 94,923 companies and 360,501

52
executives, and indicates a greater participation of women in higher hierarchical
levels (presidents and CEOs): 20.56%. In 1997, they represented only 10.39% of
the presidents and CEOs, so in 2008 this was the highest percentage recorded in 11
years, as follows:
Table 3-1 Functions and Proportion of Female Executives in %
Functions and Proportion of Female Executives in %
Position
1996 / 97 2007 / 08
President, CEO or Equivalent 10.39 20.56
Vice- President 10.82 16.04
Director 11.60 25.86
Manager 15.61 32.03
Supervisor 20.85 44.68
Chief 24.76 40.54
Charge person 36.78 53.49
Coordinator 36.95 53.89
Source: DIÁRIO CATARINENSE (2008).
The status of women in Brazil is improving despite persistent gender inequality.
Generally speaking, although there are as many females as males in schools, even at
the highest levels, and in professions that traditionally were dominated by males,
such as law, medicine, dentistry, and engineering, (what makes these professions
more balanced in terms of gender), there are still relatively few women in positions of
decision making.
To Bruschini and Puppin (2004), the leadership positions are concentrated in
traditional female areas such as the social, cultural and health, according to the

53
same data. The Brazilian female executives are present mostly in traditional female
ghettos, even at the highest levels of the career. They predominate in companies of
greater size and are younger than the male directors, besides having been in the
directorship for a shorter time. They receive lower revenues than their fellow male
, in spite of their higher education level and the high position held.
The Brazilian Constitution prohibits discrimination in the working world (although
this alone is not enough to guarantee access to decent work) - difference in wages,
duties and criteria for admission on grounds of sex, race, age or marital status. The
law also forbids the requirement and certificate of pregnancy or sterilization. In
collective labour agreements and in internal policies in many companies, the
expansion of maternity leave and paternity leave were achieved. Under the
constitution of 1988, Brazilian women became entirely equal to men for all legal
purposes. The legal achievements are important and necessary, although one might
say that the historical and cultural inequalities between male and female are not
acknowledged, even if they are reflected in different levels of social life.
According to UNCT (2005), the Brazilian government, by developing public policies,
has been willing to widen the focus on gender. Without doubt, many advances have
been made in promoting gender equity in Brazil, such as the creation of the National
Council on Women's Rights (CNDM), the ratification of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the creation
of a Special Secretariat for Policies for Women (SPM) in 2003, with ministerial status,

54
the Women s National Conference held in 2004 and the formulation of a national
plan.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the recent achievements of the Brazilian women: the
BPW - Business Professional Women (São Paulo) has launched the "Women's
Friend Company Seal". Promoting the respect for diversity and the development of
women in the Brazilian society, so that they can live and express themselves with
more dignity is the goal of this seal (Dearo, 2008). In order to reduce, in the
medium term, negative statistics regarding wome s development in the country,
the seal, which is actually a program, aims to increase activities and information,
always supporting and encouraging private companies to do so.
3.3 n China
Population: 1.285 billion female 49%, male 51% - (2001)
Composition: Han Chinese 92%, ethnic minorities 7.5% (Chuan, Manchu, Uigur,
Hui, Yi, Duyia, Tibetan, Mongol, Miao, Puyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, Bai, Hani,
Kazakh, Dai, Li), others 0.5%
Languages: Mandarin (official), regional dialects (main: Min, Vu, and Cantonese)
Religion: no religion 42.2%, traditional Chinese beliefs 28.5%, Buddhism 8.4%,
Atheism 8.1%, Christianity 7.1% (independent 6.4%, others 0.7%), traditional
beliefs 4.3%, Islam 1.5%, double affiliation 0.1% (2000).
Density: 134.75 inhabitants/ km2 (2001)

55
Urban Population: 32% (2000)
Demographic growth: 0.71% per year
Fecundity: 1.8 child per woman
Life expectancy M/ F: 69.1/ 73.5 years
Child mortality: 36.5%0 (2000-2005)
Illiteracy: 15% (2000)
GDP: US$ 989.5 billion (1999)
(Almanaque Abril, 2002: 205-206).
Women comprise between 32 and 46 per cent of the labour force in individual
economies in the Asia-
in the labour force has risen dramatically. Since the 1980s, women have provided a
large part of the new labour supply in industrialized and developing economies.
They have also provided as much as 80 per cent of the labour force in export
industries in some economies (UNIFEM, 1999).
Since 1978 Chinese economy has changed from an extremely closed to an
international trade kind; from a centrally planned system to a market-oriented one,
becoming a major player in the global economy. China is a developing country and
has the largest population in the world. Women account for half of its total population
of 1.3 billi - ACWF (2007) defends the
promotion of gender equality and the overall development of women as a special
effort towards the advancement of mankind. In China, it has always been a basic state

56
policy to promote equality between genders. Since 1949, and especially after the
adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, and with the
continuous growth of China's economy and the cultural changes in Chinese society,
women are being given more guarantees of enjoyment of equal rights and
opportunities with men. The development of women is, hence, being given
unprecedented opportunities. The Fourth UN World Conference on Women held in
Beijing in 1995, has, as a result, The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action.
was a complete legal system concerning the protection of women's rights and
interests, and the promotion of gender equality, based on the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China, and with the Law of the People's Republic of China on
the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women.
According to ACWF (2007), to carry out the 1995 Platform for Action and push
forward gender equality and women's development in a comprehensive way, the
Outline for the Development of Chinese Women was created as a national program of
action for the years 1995-2000. As the goals set in the first Outline were basically
realized, and to meet the demands of China's coordinated economic and social
development and the requirements of the UN Millennium Development Goals, in
2001 China promulgated its Outline for the Development of Chinese Women
(2001-2010). New 34 major goals and 100 policies and measures in six fields were
then outlined: women and the economy; women's participation in decision-making
and administration; women and education; women and health; women and the law;

57
and women and the environment. The National Working Committee on Children and
Women (NWCCW) under the State Council, the coordination and consultation organ
of the Chinese government in charge of women and children's work, is important in
the coordination and promotion of relevant government departments to do women
and children's work well.
The Chinese government also values the role of non-governmental organizations
-China Women's
Federation (ACWF) is the largest NGO dedicated to this matter. Its organizational
system covers women's federations and group members at various levels, counting on
federation, the ACWF plays a significant role in uniting and motivating women to
participate in the country's economic construction and social development, and
safeguarding the rights and interests of women as a whole.
To ACWF (2007), the state has prioritized the guarantee of equal employment
opportunities between women and men and the sharing of economic resources and
results of social development for the advancement of gender equality and the
preferential treatment when granting employment training subsidies and small-sum
guaranteed loans, as well as conducting tax reduction and exemption, have been the
Chinese government policies to support women. In the meantime, governments at all
levels have adopted the creation of public-welfare jobs, the opening of employment

58
service centers, the sponsoring of special recruitment activities and vocational
training courses, the monitoring of sex discrimination against women in employment,
and the helping of women in finding new jobs.
Yet according to the same source, since the 1990s, the number and ratio of women
employed have remained fairly high. By the end of 2004, the number of urban and
rural female workers reached 337 million nationwide, accounting for 44.8 percent of
the total employed; and the number of female workers in urban work units stood at
42.27 million, accounting for 38.1 percent of the national total. In the late 2000s, the
tertiary industry has become the main source of jobs to women, and more and more of
them are entering the computer, communications, finance and insurance and other
high- and new-tech industries. The principle of equality between genders in terms of
recruitment, training of professionals and technicians, as well as of promotion in
ranks and granting of professional titles to encourage women to display their abilities,
have been a goal to state organs, enterprises and public institutions. By the end of
2004, women accounted for 43.6 percent of the total number of professionals and
technicians in public enterprises and institutions in the country (up 6.3 percent over
the 37.3 percent of 1995) among whom the number of senior and intermediate-level
women professionals and technicians rose from 20.1 percent and 33.4 percent to 30.5
percent and 42.0 percent, respectively.
The Chinese government has begun to cooperate with the United Nations
Development Program, the International Labour Organization and other international

59
organizations, in order to promote gender equality in employment and raise women's
ability to find employment or start businesses. Women have strengthened their ability
in managing state, political and social affairs. The basic principle that men and
women have equal political rights is clearly stipulated by the Chinese Constitution.
The Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women was an important step
towards the ensuring of female participation in decision making and management.
Chinese women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as Chinese men to receive
education. China's Education Law, Compulsory Education Law and Vocational
Education Law clearly define these rights. Nine-year compulsory education and more
opportunities to receive secondary and higher education are some rights to be
guaranteed by state measures. Eliminating illiteracy among young and middle-aged
women, promoting lifelong education for women and extending their average years
of education are sought too. The enrollment of boys and girls was 98.97 percent and
98.93 percent, respectively in 2004. The difference in access to education between
boys and girls was reduced from 0.7 percent in 1995 to 0.04 percent (ACWF, 2007).
A narrowing in the gap in the education level reached by men and women can be
observed. In 2000, the average woman spends 6.1 years in school, an increase of 1.4
years if compared to 1990. The gap decreased from 1.9 years to 1.5 years. The
average urban woman spends 8.7 years at school, while the average urban man
spends 9.7 (ACWF, 2006e).

60
present challenges. Chinese women needs for subsistence, development and
protection of their rights and interests also vary because women themselves have
become more diversified in their social status. Due to the outmoded conventions and
customs of inequality between men and women originated in China's history and
culture, which have not yet been completely eradicated, there is an obvious
imbalance in female development in different regions, social status and groups.
interests, formulate and implement programs regarding their development, improve
relevant working organs, increase financial input and strengthen social awareness in
order to promote gender equality and the development of women. Traditionally, the
Chinese society was male-centered, but with time the position of women in modern
society began to change and nowadays requires a leap away from traditional Chinese
thinking. Some experts say many Chinese men want a not very well educated woman
to marry. There is a saying in China according to which there are three categories of
people: male, female, and female with a doctors degree. Women are even allowed to
hold a PhD. but they should be already married at this time. Besides that, the
husband should have a doctors degree, too, because if she is more qualified than the
husband, he may lose face.
One might say that China is confronted with new issues in its efforts to promote
women's development and gender equality. Currently, women account for 45 percent
of the national work force. According to ACWF (2006), in 2001 there were 730.25
million employees in the country. Women accounted for 37.4 percent in enterprises,

61
44.1 percent in institutions, 24.8 percent in state organs, party and government
departments and NGOs, 42.7 percent in service trades, and 57.5 percent in the sectors
of public health, physical culture and social welfare service. There are more than 15
million female leaders in China today, or 38 percent of all the leaders. The same
federation (2007a) shows that women's ability to be involved in the management of
state and social affairs has been strengthened, and their ability in handling political
affairs has gradually enhanced. Also, China's Constitution stipulates that men and
women have equal political rights and the Law on the Protection of Rights and
Interests of Women has made further stipulations to ensure that women can
participate in decision making and management.
The previously mentioned Program for the Development of Chinese Women
(2001-2010) is very important for the bjectives
such as: enhancing women's participation in the administration, management, and
decision-making on state and social affairs; making efforts to ensure that the
percentage of women in the management of the professions and sectors where they
predominate is in proportion to their percentage therein; improving the mechanism of
equal competition; seeking to create equal competition opportunities for women to
participate in decision-making and management; giving priority to women among the
candidates who have the same qualifications, in the selection of cadres; fostering and
identifying women for senior management positions and encouraging state-owned
enterprises to take active action to explore new forms of women's democratic
participation at the levels of decision-making and management.

62
-Tung and the CPC
(Communist Party of China) gained power in 1949. He formulated the official
position of equality between men and women in the PRC
China, and this became an official state policy as a representation of the success of
communism. In this period women believed to be equal members of society, as they
saw women in government positions in unprecedented numbers, and worked in
factories, fields, and chose their husbands more often than ever before, besides
participating in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1978) as Red Guards, receiving
reeducation in the countryside. Examining the relationship between women and the
Maoist state is fundamental to understand any matter related to women in modern
China. After Mao's death and the economic reform, women began to question this
notion of equality.
The Constitution and the actual conditions of the country provided the basis for the
Women, formulated to protect women's lawful rights and interests, promote the
equality between men and women and allow full play to women's role in socialist
modernization. Equal rights with men in all aspects of political, economic, cultural,
social and family life shall be enjoyed by women. Special rights and interests enjoyed
by women shall be protected by the state according to law, and its social security
system with respect to women should be gradually perfected. Discrimination,
maltreatment, or cruelty causing injury or even death of women shall be prohibited.
Equal political rights with men should be guaranteed by the State. Equal pay for equal

63
work shall be applied to men and women as well as equal rights to work (ACWF,
2006c).
To ACWF (2006d), 85.7 percent of female senior managers in private enterprises
were CPC members. There are no distinct differences between the numbers of male
and female CPC members in senior management positions. China has three female
vice-
woman vice-premier; 2 female vice-chairpersons of the CPPCC (Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference) National Committee; 1 woman state councilor,
according to ACWF (2006). Yet the same source points out the existence of 48
females in the ministry- or commission-level leading groups of departments under
omen in the leading groups
of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central
Government; 647 females in the leading groups of 396 municipalities, prefectures
and leagues; and 4,353 women in the leading groups of 2,813 counties, county-level
municipalities, districts and banners.
Many challenges to balance career and family are faced by Chinese working
women. As they climb up the career ladder in a company, they meet problems along
the way, while men can climb the ladder more easily. A 2006-2007 income survey
released by ChinaHR Corporation (Xu, 2008) shows the existence of a gender wage
gap, as below:

64
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
2006 2007
Male
Female
Figure 3-1 Wage Gap / Average Yearly Income of Employees in Major Chinese Cities (RMB2)
2006-2007, China
Source: ChinaHR apud XU, Weiwei (2008).
The figure above (ChinaHR apud Xu, 2008) presents the wage gap in 2006 and 2007.
It is possible to visualize a salary increase in both sexes in the two years presented.
Although the female income has risen in absolute and relative terms, there is still a
RMB
26,112 in 2006 to RMB 28,766 in 2007, what represents a 10 percent growth in their
nt from RMB 42,709 in 2006 to RMB
44,027 in 2007, representing a 3 percent rise. This change, although very slight,
means a narrowing in the wage gap. This also allows us to see that in 2006 the
roportion that rose
to 65% in 2007, also making the small narrowing of the wage gap evident.
2
Chinese currency, Renminbi.

65
CHAPTER 4
THE LABOUR MARKET
in labour market, already in the first half of 20th century. Men were engaged in
fighting at the front, so women entered the labour market in large numbers to tackle
shortages in the male labour supply. When the men returned from war, female
presence in the
and range of jobs available to men and, at the same time, condemn women to less
important occupations and, even exploitative conditions (ILO, 2003).
According to Tarrega and Miranda (no date), the social status of women in the
working world was tardily recognized and we can still see some remnants of that. The
y to men has not been completed yet.
This can be seen through their late insertion and unequal conditions today. One might
say that only the advent of machinery brought effective visibility to the women in the
working world. Therefore, although the presence of women in productive work was
only revealed by their inclusion in the great capitalist industry, their work has not
been recognized as work that produces wealth or which builds the history. Working at
home, partially or temporarily, being paid per assignment or informally - have
sharply grown as forms of female jobs. The expansion of this kind of precarious work

66
is also known as the feminization of labour market, a phenomenon of transformation
of the working world.
Throughout the globe, discrimination against women and the non-recognition of the
value of their contribution to society has been common. When laws reinforced
education, employment and decision-making positions and lower income (Walters;
Mason, 1994). In the business world, many are the obstacles women face seeking
management, less participation in training courses, a slower pace in
evolution, wage gap between men and women for the same job, glass ceiling and
glass walls phenomena, lack of mentoring, and stereotypes. It is noteworthy that the
barriers here mentioned are also applicable to the Chinese and Brazilian women.
Traditionally women were seen as intellectually and physically inferior to men and
development and led to discrimination (Betz; Fitzgerald, 1987). It is not difficult for
women to gain employment at the lower levels of organizations, because the criteria
for selection and promotion are more objective, but it is still difficult for them to
reach upper middle and senior management positions, where the criteria are more
subjective.

Erika Zoeller Veras e-book Women in Management 978-3-659-61792-8

Erika Zoeller Veras e-book Women in Management 978-3-659-61792-8

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