asian women managers: participation, barriers and future prospects
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This article was downloaded by: [Dokuz Eylul University ]On: 04 November 2014, At: 23:27Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
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Asian Women Managers: Participation, Barriers andFuture ProspectsJohn Benson & Vimolwan Yukongdia Department of Management , University of Melbourne , AustraliaPublished online: 06 Oct 2011.
To cite this article: John Benson & Vimolwan Yukongdi (2005) Asian Women Managers: Participation, Barriers and FutureProspects, Asia Pacific Business Review, 11:2, 283-291, DOI: 10.1080/1360238042000291135
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Asian Women Managers: Participation,Barriers and Future Prospects
JOHN BENSON & VIMOLWAN YUKONGDIDepartment of Management, University of Melbourne, Australia
ABSTRACT The economies of Asia have undergone a significant transformation over the past fivedecades as they moved from being primarily agrarian societies to more modern industrial states.What have these changes meant for women and, in particular, their position and progress inmanagement? This contribution brings together the findings of the eight case studies presented inthis collection. Using an explanatory model that incorporates individual, organizational andsocietal level analysis, women were found to be under-represented in management and facedconsiderable barriers in gaining management positions. Organizational factors underpinned manyof these barriers but a range of cultural attributes contributed to this discrimination. Legislativechanges were seen as one avenue to improve women’s careers as were women’s increased educationlevels, the changing approaches to human resource management, and a growing awareness of theinefficiencies and sub-optimal levels of organizational performance created by genderdiscrimination. This contribution concludes, however, that until there are major shifts in the roleperceptions of women by individuals, organizations and society it is likely that change will occuronly gradually and women will remain disadvantaged and under-represented in management
KEY WORDS: Asia, women managers, labour markets, discriminate, culture, managementrepresentation, family roles
The economies of Asia have undergone a transformation over the past fivedecades as they moved from being primarily agrarian societies to more modernindustrial states. The development was, however, uneven in time and progress andthe region is now representative of a range of economic development. This is trueof the economies represented in this collection. Substantial economic growthcommenced in Japan in the 1950s, although it is important to recognize that theirindustrialization commenced with the Meiji restoration in 1868. In the 1960sSouth Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan began to industrialize and thiswas followed by Thailand and China in the late 1970s, and more recently India.
These economic changes have important implications for work and employ-ment. The demand for more highly skilled labour, the urbanization of the labourforce, the opening up of the economy to foreign direct investment and marketcompetition have meant that the composition of the workforce and the nature ofwomen’s employment would also change. One aspect of this change, that was thefocus of this collection, was the position and progress of women in management.
1360-2381 Print/1743-792X Online/05/020283–9 q 2005 Taylor & Francis LtdDOI: 10.1080/1360238042000291135
Correspondence Address. John Benson, Department of Management, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010,
Australia. Email: [email protected]
Asia Pacific Business ReviewVol. 11, No. 2, 283–291, June 2005
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In particular, we were interested in the factors affecting women’s access to thelabour market and managerial positions, the major barriers facing womenmanagers, and the opportunities and future prospects for women managers inAsia. These issues are important not just for equity reasons but becausethe underutilization of women workers and managers will lead to sub-optimallevels of efficiency and productivity (Kang & Rowley).1
In our introductory contribution we pointed out that women’s participation inthe labour force is increasing worldwide and that the demand for managers in Asiahas increased dramatically over the past decade (Yukongdi & Benson). Yet, muchof the research concerning women managers is drawn from developed countries(Omar & Davidson, 2001) and, in many cases, does not attempt to placethe findings in a wider social, historical and institutional context. Moreover, thelimited research available on Asian women has shown mixed results and issomewhat dated. That research demonstrated that more women have moved intomanagement positions, but they remained underrepresented and marginalized.Given the rapid changes taking place in Asia how far do these results reflect thepresent situation?
The individual contributions included in this collection have approached thesequestions from a variety of perspectives. In attempting to synthesize these findingswe use the gender–organization–system approach which we introduced in ourintroductory contribution (Yukongdi & Benson). This will allow the breadth ofissues and problems raised in the case studies to be classified at individual,organization and society level. While clearly some of these issues and problemsrepresent the unique situation in a particular country, we would contend that, inmost cases, they are more universal in nature. It is these issues and problems thatwe now consider.
Participation in the Labour Market
Women in the eight economies considered in this collection made up less than halfof the labour force and were often employed in low-level jobs with significantlypoorer promotional opportunities. In other words, men still dominated access to,and progress in, paid employment. This finding is, however, consistent with mostother developed and developing countries. Considerable variation, however,existed between the case study economies. At one extreme was India where only31 per cent of the paid workforce were women. This contrasted with South Koreawhere women constituted nearly half of the labour force. The stage of economicdevelopment could not, however, fully explain these variations as Japan and Chinawere around the 40 per cent mark, whilst Thailand was just under 45 per cent.In other words, two countries with the lowest female labour force participationrates, Japan and India, were at opposite ends of the development scale.
As pointed out by Ng and Chakrabarty, in their contribution on Hong Kong, thepercentage of women in the labour force also varied considerably betweenindustries. For example, in manufacturing, women accounted for 38 per cent ofthe workforce, while in the community, social and personal services sector womenmade up 64 per cent of the workforce. This suggested that a range of factors, suchas education and the type of work might be important in attracting women into the
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paid labour force. It may also be the case that wage rates in some sectors are notattractive to men. While such factors are associated with economic developmentthey are also related to culture, industry composition and the nature of individualbusiness enterprises. It also appeared from the figures presented in several ofthe case studies that the female share of the labour market has generally increased,notwithstanding the decline found in Thailand.
Acceptance of Women Managers
The figures on labour force participation rates of women did not, however,translate into similar figures for management representation. In all the case studyeconomies the percentages of women managers were substantially less than theirmale counterparts, even after allowing for their lower level of labour forceparticipation. In China, where gender equality has been promoted for over fivedecades, a survey conducted in 1995 found that while 19 per cent of men surveyedwere in managerial positions, only 2 per cent of women surveyed were in a similarposition (Cooke). Extremely low percentages of women managers were alsofound in India (Budhwar, Saini & Bhatnagar), Korea (Kang & Rowley) and Japan(Yuasa). On the other hand, women managers in Singapore (Lee) and Thailand(Yukongdi), fared better with in excess of 25 per cent of managers being women.
These findings again concealed industry variations. For Hong Kong, Ng andChakrabarty found that whilst the women made up 19 per cent of managers inmanufacturing, they made up 44 per cent of managers in the community, socialand personal services sector. A similar finding was made for Taiwan (Chou, Fosh& Foster). In an analysis of 16 industries, male workers were considerably morelikely to gain a management position than female workers in manufacturing,finance and insurance, mining, utilities, and agriculture. Surprisingly, women inconstruction were slightly overrepresented in management compared with theirmale counterparts. There was, however, some evidence that the representation ofwomen in management positions was improving along with the growing femalelabour force participation, improved education levels and the changing industrialstructure.
These results would suggest that there is a growing, albeit slow, acceptance ofwomen in the labour force, and increasingly in management in Asian business.Nevertheless, any progress made over the past two decades should not beoverstated. The decline in state-owned enterprises, the development ofmanufacturing, and the increasing growth of the service sector has resulted inmore entrepreneurial activities being undertaken and an increase in the numberof small enterprises entering the market. These developments have providedthe opportunity to women to enter the market as self-employed operators.These owner-operators are usually classified as managers and account for some ofthis growth in the numbers of women managers. Yet, these women, and womenmore generally, continue to face significant barriers to their labour marketparticipation.
Future for Asian Women Managers 285
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Barriers to Greater Participation and Acceptance
The case studies presented in this collection showed that women in Asia, like theircounterparts in the west, faced considerable barriers in their quest to becomemanagers and proceed to higher positions within organizations. While somebarriers were more important than others, a consistent picture has emerged. In linewith the theoretical approach outlined by Yukongdi and Benson, these barrierswill be presented under the headings of women and gender roles, human capitaland organizational practices, and culture and society. Designating these barriers inthis way is, however, artificial and care must be taken to recognize that they areclosely interrelated and serve to reinforce both the existence and the legitimacy ofthe other barriers.
Women and Gender Roles
A common theme running through the contributions to this collection was thatwomen undertake major domestic responsibilities in addition to theirorganizational roles. In many cases the gender-based division of domestic workleft women with few choices but ‘downshifting their career ambitions to fit withtheir family needs’ (Chou, Fosh & Foster). This is not a free choice as Asiansocieties continue to place the caretaker role (of spouse, children and the elderly)on women (Ng & Chakrabarty). This nurturing role has led women to be hired inservice industries and support roles within the organization (Lee). Anyopportunities to eradicate this discrimination may, as pointed out by Cooke, ‘beundermined by the deeply embedded Chinese social convention in which womenare widely expected to play a supporting role to men’.
How then do women respond to the dilemmas facing them concerning theirdomestic and work responsibilities? As Kang and Rowley postulated, the‘choices’ are limited: leave after childbirth, take on temporary or part-time jobs, orgive up on marriage or childbirth. In the first two cases management careers arelost, while the third imposes a different standard on women. As Budhwar, Sainiand Bhatnagar argued, the choice may well be between motherhood and a career.Women in China faced a similar set of limited choices; they are severelydiscriminated against in their applications for government jobs, their lack ofpostgraduate qualifications restricted their advancement in higher educationinstitutions, and the difficulty in acquiring financial support constrained theirentrepreneurial prospects (Cooke). As Yuasa pointed out, gender discrimination isunderpinned by the interlocking set of institutionalized practices in the Japanesecompany and any change would undermine the very basis of the Japaneseemployment system.
Human Capital and Organizational Practices
A common theme running through the studies reported in this collection was thatwomen, in general, had less developed levels of human capital. Education levelsand length of tenure were generally lower for women and this meant they wereless likely to have the required managerial skills or experience to compete equally
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for managerial positions. While at the macro-level this is undoubtedly the case andcan partially explain why there are fewer women in management positions, itshould not be assumed that such decisions depend on choices by womenthemselves. Education, and particularly higher levels of education, has beendenied to many women as families and society place more emphasis on women’srole as mother and homemaker. Even in cases where women have similar levels ofeducation to their male counterparts, childbirth and family responsibilities meantthat, for many women, gaining relevant and equivalent work experience wasimpossible.
In more developed economies, such as Japan and South Korea, women havegained considerable equality in access to education. Nevertheless, as pointed outby Kang and Rowley, and Yukongdi, education remains segmented by course. Forexample, considerably more men go into the natural sciences, while women aremore likely to go into the humanities and arts. This becomes a significant barrierin these countries where management positions are primarily accessed throughtechnical skills and training. Even women who have the requisite educationalskills will not be able to develop this human capital as the traditional views onwomen’s roles as wives, mothers and carers means that their working lives willface severe disruption. Clearly, as pointed out by Kang and Rowley, access toeducation and experience is not gender neutral or a decision made by womenalone.
A number of barriers were found to relate to the social mores and customs thathave developed within the organization, while others were more systemic andwere tied to the basic structure of the labour market and the organization of work.In Japan, as pointed out by Yuasa, the reliance on the internal labour market meantthat work became segmented and women were relegated to lower level jobs.Moreover, societal and organizational perceptions meant that job allocationbecame gender-based with women having little prospect to build up the necessarywork experience for promotion to management. Such an approach was alsorelevant to South Korea where Kang and Rowley found men were placed in corejobs and departments and this became the basis for ‘gender differences inpromotion, rewards and decision-making authority’. This becomes self-serving asit means that there exist, as Yuasa pointed out with respect to the Japaneseworkplace, few role models for young women aspiring to managerial positions.
In a similar way a range of organizational practices served to prevent womenfrom entering management. Both Yuasa, and Kang and Rowley pointed out theproblem of statistical discrimination where firms made decisions on employmentand promotion based on generalized data rather than on the actual experiences ofindividuals. For example, absenteeism data for all women in the organizationwould be used to assess the commitment of particular women applying forpromotion. Not all barriers were found to relate to formal organizational practices.A number of the case studies mentioned the problems that established networkspose for women who are not generally part of these networks, or the lack of formalmentoring schemes being available to women (Ng & Chakrabarty; Lee, Kang &Rowley).
A major problem mentioned by the authors of the individual country studieswas the perception of women managers by co-workers and subordinates.
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In particular, the role of women as homemakers and mothers permeates the viewsof male co-workers. Budhwar, Saini and Bhatnagar suggested that many malemanagers in India perceived women as less likely to be able to acquire thenecessary managerial skills. In a similar vein, Cooke suggested that malemanagers in China were more likely to perceive men as more capable in theirwork, and Kang and Rowley cited research that found that while Korean maleworkers were willing to accept women as colleagues, they do not accept them assupervisors. Yet, as argued by Yuasa, women’s lack of promotion to managerialpositions was not just related to these issues but was also a product of the waywomen’s attitudes and choices were constructed within the organization andwithin society.
If women are successful in gaining management positions, a number oforganizational barriers existed that will impact on their daily working lives. First,organizations provided little in the way of family friendly policies or childcare thatwould assist in resolving the role conflict women experience between theirdomestic and professional responsibilities (Lee). This can, as pointed out by Ngand Chakrabarty, cause women to feel they are neglecting their families and maylead women to reject further promotions. Second, Chou, Fosh and Foster foundwomen managers often felt isolated as one of the few women managers in theorganization with little support or networks. This was further reinforced bythe limited help women managers receive from co-workers and subordinates(Budhwar, Saini & Bhatnagar). Third, Ng and Chakrabarty suggested that womenoften felt that higher expectations are placed on them, while several contributorspointed out that many women are denied promotion within management ranks dueto their male superiors’ perceptions that men are more capable (Cooke; Kang andRowley; Lee). Fourth, women often experienced differential treatment such asbeing offered less challenging work (Budhwar, Saini & Bhatnagar; Yuasa) ormainstream jobs (Kang & Rowley). As Yuasa argued, this left women withfeelings of ‘boredom and emptiness without any autonomy in their work life’.
Culture and Society
The Asian societies considered in this collection are generally based, with theexception of India, on Confucianism where roles and positions are well definedand pre-determined. The hierarchical nature of society with an emphasis onobligation and harmony, and maintaining linkages between the past and present,all served to maintain a traditional role for women. This role included familyresponsibilities, passive behaviour and providing support to husbands, brothers orfathers. This was clearly articulated in the research presented on the Chinesesocieties (China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan) and permeated thecomments of the Hong Kong and the Taiwanese women managers interviewed(Ng & Chakrabarty; Chou, Fosh & Foster). Such perceptions also served asbarriers in India where Budhwar, Saini and Bhatnagar reported that traditionalstatus, gender stereotyping and role expectations led to very clear maleperceptions and differential treatment for women.
Such attitudes are confirmed and reproduced by others in society. Lee providedan interesting study of the way women managers were presented by the media in
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Singapore. While both male and female managers were presented as ‘successful’,women managers were seen as ‘passionate’, ‘aggressive’, and ‘confident’ whiletheir male counterparts were presented as ‘quiet’, ‘soft-spoken’ and ‘energetic’.The themes underpinning these stories also varied. While clearly ‘success’ was thereason for contributions on managers, for women managers it was often in thecontext of ‘family’, whilst for men the context was often one of ‘career paths’.Similarly, Yuasa argued that women’s positions in Japan are a result of the socialconstruction of women’s positions within the organization. Such forms ofdiscrimination were also found to exist in South Korea where social stereotypingwas clearly present (Kang & Rowley). Yet, as suggested by Yukongdi, thesituation may be confounded by other factors such as socio-economic status thatcould partially explain women’s lower level of managerial representation inThailand.
Opportunities and Future Prospects for Women Managers in Asia
What then are the future prospects for women managers in Asia? In this sectiontwo issues will be considered: women’s employment and the law, andopportunities and future prospects for women managers. While the contributionof these areas to improvement of the position of women in Asian management iscontestable they remain the most likely ways that gender discrimination can bediminished.
Women’s Employment and the Law
Legislative reform constitutes an important component of any strategy to achieveequality in employment. In all eight Asian economies considered in this collectionlegislative mechanisms have been implemented to protect and advance theposition of women in employment. In six of the case studies, aspects of thesearrangements were detailed. The approaches varied considerably between theconstitutional provisions in China, India and Thailand, and the introduction ofequal opportunity laws in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In some of these casesthis also involved the ratification of international treaties as seen in Hong Kongand Thailand.
Legislation can set a community standard and serves to illustrate what isacceptable behaviour. As such the educative value of such legislation should notbe undervalued. Nevertheless, legislation cannot provide a quick remedy, and canlead to numerous informal methods to circumvent the intent of such legislation.This weakness is well illustrated in the case of Japan. As Yuasa pointed out theenactment of the Equal Employment Opportunities Law in 1986 led employers todevelop a ‘double-track’ personnel management system where women were givena choice between a ‘career track’ with the possibility of promotion and companytransfers, and a ‘non-career track’ with limited chances for advancement but norequirement to move. In 2002, according to Debroux (2003), less than 4 per centof employees in the ‘career track’ in any industry were women. Moreover, asreported by Budhwar, Saini and Bhatnagar legislation designed to protect womencan often serve to discriminate against them in employment.
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Part of the problem in the case of Japan was the lack of any penalties forbreaches of the legislation. This was, at least in part, remedied in the 1999 revisedAct. Yet, as Yuasa reported, an increasing number of companies are adoptingthe ‘double track system’. Constitutional provisions do not appear to fare anybetter. China, after five decades of support for women employees, has not shownany significant gain on the other Asian economies considered in this collection(Cooke). In Hong Kong, as reported by Ng and Chakrabarty, the past ten yearshave seen significant legislative reform yet it is difficult to see how suchlegislation can overcome the entrenched gender roles identified. One ray of hopelies in legislation that provides opportunities to women to establish a balancebetween work and family. As Yuasa reported, the introduction of the ChildcareLaw in 1999 saw an increase from 36 per cent to 61 per cent of Japanesecompanies with a childcare facility over the period 1997 to 2003. Yet, suchprovisions usually only apply to large companies, and the limitations of such anapproach can be seen in the finding that over two-thirds of women still leave theirjobs after giving birth (Yuasa).
New Opportunities and Future Prospects
A number of opportunities were identified in the case study economies, whichmay serve to improve the future employment and managerial prospects for Asianwomen. The first of these is the increased access to education. Yukongdi pointedto the significant increase in women undertaking tertiary-level courses in Thailandover the past 30 years and that this parallels the increased number of womenoccupying managerial positions. Kang and Rowley also found that women’stertiary-level participation rate in Korea had increased eight-fold over the past 25years, although they still remained concentrated in particular courses. Thesecourses are, in many cases, not relevant to business and thus women remainrestricted in their entry into core industries and jobs. Moreover, as Yuasa pointedout with respect to Japan, the major form of skill acquisition in Japanesecompanies is on-the-job training which is only available to the small percentage ofwomen who opt for the ‘career track’.
A second development that was highlighted by Cooke was the increasedmarketization of childcare and domestic work. Although traditionally in Asiasome domestic help came from members of the family, and in some countries asystem of private domestic support is available (Ng & Chakrabarty; Yukongdi),many of the case studies, nevertheless, identified the problems concerning thedivision of domestic labour and the role expectations placed on women. Outsideassistance could not solve all these problems and, in many cases would imposeadditional costs on women. The increased range of governmental andorganizational support mechanisms, however, will go some way to assistingwomen to establish a more equitable balance between work and familyresponsibilities. Notwithstanding the above, the conflict women experiencebetween their domestic and professional responsibilities will only be alleviatedwhen more significant social and attitudinal change occurs within society (Lee).
Cooke also identified the introduction of modern human resource management(HRM) practices as providing opportunities for women managers. This was
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particularly the case in China as state-owned enterprises were downsized andorganizations increasingly based their employment policies on merit rather thanassignment. A similar theme is echoed by Budhwar, Saini and Bhatnagar wherethey pointed out that some Indian firms offered a range of support mechanisms towomen employees such as flexi-time, childcare and the option to work from home.Nevertheless, they made the point that diversity management practices are not thepreferred choice of Indian HRM departments.
Chou, Fosh and Foster found that in Taiwan female employees had substantiallydifferent chances of becoming managers depending on the industry in which theyworked. In particular, women employees were most likely to achieve managerialstatus in construction, health care and social welfare services, transport, storageand communications, and accommodation and eating places. A similar result wasfound in Hong Kong by Ng and Chakrabarty with respect to the community, socialand personal services sector. As these industries are, in the main, likely to grow inthe future then sectoral shifts may well lead to increased opportunities for womenmanagers. A similar argument was advanced by Kang and Rowley wherewomen managers have a higher presence in the growth industries such astelecommunications.
Conclusion
This collection explored the position of Asian women in management. Theparticular focus was on women’s access to management positions, the barriersthey faced and their future prospects. Women were found to be under-representedin management and faced considerable barriers in gaining management positions.Cultural factors underpinned many of these barriers but a range of organizationalattributes had contributed to this discrimination. Legislative changes may lead toan improved situation as will women’s increased education levels, sectoral shiftsin the economy, changing approaches to HRM, and a growing awareness of theinefficiencies and sub-optimal levels of organizational performance created bygender discrimination. Until, however, there are major shifts in the roleperceptions of women by individuals, organizations and society it is likely thatchange will occur only gradually and women will remain disadvantaged andunderrepresented in management.
Notes1 Unless otherwise stated and included in the reference section all citations refer to the case studies in this
collection
References
Debroux, P. (2003) Human Resource Management in Japan: Changes and Uncertainties (Aldershot: Ashgate).
Omar, A. & Davidson, M. (2001) Women in management: a comparative cross-cultural overview, Cross Cultural
Management, 8(3/4), pp. 35–97.
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