F716 - Race, ethnicity and diversity in organisations

« Examining Managers’ Careers at the Crossing of Gender and Age»

F. Grodent - PhD student HEC-ULg

I. Peere - Associate professor HEC-ULg

13th annual conference of EURAM (2013)

francoise.grodent@ulg.ac.be

Introduction (1/2) Objectives :

State of the art relating to the careers of male and female managers with regard to the generation they belong to

Theoretical frame of reference (qualitative propositions)

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-ULg) 2

Career Career

Gender : Differences between men’s and women’s

career

Gender : Differences between men’s and women’s

career

Age : Career stages and

generations

Age : Career stages and

generations

IV IV

Introduction (2/2)

Intersectionality :

« Intersectionality is the study of intersections between groups of minorities; specifically, the study of the interactions of multiple systems of oppression or discrimination »

« Intersectionality is a methodology of studying the relationships among multiple dimensions (here gender and age) and modalities of social relationships and subject formations »  

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-ULg) 3

1. Careers (1/2)

Françoise Grodent – PhD Srudent (HEC-ULg) 4

« Classic » careers : Long term and dependent relation Large and organized promotion Human Resources

« Boundaryless » careers : Voluntary company changes Work mobility, outside the company walls Individuals

1. Careers (2/2)

Career success : Salary and/or rank progression Internal satisfaction Diversity of professional experience Formal and informal closeness with senior management Involvement in strategic decisions The ability to reconcile private and professional life Etc.

Work-life balance : “Inter-role conflict wherein the demands of work and family roles

can be mutually incompatible”.

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-Ulg) 5

2. Careers and Gender

Differences between men’s and women’s careers (all professional categories).

Gender theory : the social construction of male and female roles in a given society.

Male and female social dynamics shape men’s and women’s personal and professional path.

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg) 6

3. Careers and Generations 3 age categories :

Under 35 ( « Y » generation, young people, after 78) Between 35 and 50 (« X » generation, mediors, between 62

and 78) Above 50 (Baby-boomers, seniors, between 45 or 47 and 62)

Generations : Age categories vary among authors by about 5 years. Individuals who were born over the same period and share

social and historical events / Cohort characterized by common cultural, economic, social, technological and historical transformations.

The generation conflict is more fictive than real!

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-ULg)7

Theoretical frame (1/4)

1. Success :

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg)8

Y Generation X Generation Baby-boomers

M P1.1 Feeling of work enjoyment

P1.3 High salary securing a comfortable standard of living

P1.5 Linear career progression through vertical mobility

W P1.2 Self-realization at work

P1.4 Achieving economic independence from their partner through work

P1.6 Emancipation through work

Theoretical frame (2/4)

2. Stages/Changes :

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg)9

Y Generation X Generation Baby-boomers

M P2.1 Voluntary changes induced by better opportunities

P2.3 Internal or external changes by force of circumstances linked to social contract termination

P2.5 Internal changes within the social contract with the company

W P2.2. Getting on professionally before starting a family

P2.4 Temporary or partial withdrawals from the labour market for family reasons are negociated within the couple

P2.6 Disadvantages by their withdrawals from the labour market at childbearing age (= the norm) + glass ceiling

Theoretical frame (3/4)

3. Work-life balance :

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-ULg)10

Y Generation X Generation Baby-boomers

M P3.1 Voluntary and greater involvement in parenting and significance of private life (friends, leisure, etc.)

P3.3 Forced involvement in housework and parenting tasks is linked to the « double career » couple

P3.5 Career gets priority, possibly induced by traditional family model (spouse’s availability)

W P3.2 External help to enhance this balance and demand for the partner’s greater involvement

P3.4 Considered superwomen trying to reconcile work and private life (difficulty)

P3.6 Housework chores and parenting duties come before career

Theoretical frame (4/4)

4. Career :

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg)11

Y Generation X Generation Baby-boomers

M P4.1 Boundaryless P4.3 Classic by choice and boundaryless by necessity

P4.5 Classic

W P4.2 Classic by choice

P4.4 Willing to adjust to the male career model

P4.6 Often interrupted

Conclusion

To verify how relevant such a categorization by age and generations is to understand the positioning of male and female managers on the labour market >< lifecycles, career stages, etc.

Fresh insights into Human Resources Management policies.

Empirical research : qualitative technique based on semi-directive interviews with 50 male and 50 female managers belonging to the three age categories concerned.

Françoise Grodent – PhD Student (HEC-ULg) 12

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg) 13

Thank you for your attention !

Françoise Grodent – PhD student (HEC-ULg) 14

New version

Definition of managers socio-professional category : own identity.

New structure : Subjective elements : job satisfaction, success career and

anchors career Objective elements : career stages, position changes, vertical

and horizontal mobility and work-life balance strategies « La carrière des cadres : regard croisé du genre et de

l’âge. Proposition d’une grille d’analyse théorique ».