Dominated by Women: Managed by Men? The career development process of retail managers

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to explore some issues regarding the career development of men and women retail managers and provide an overview of the main issues these present for retailers in the future. Methodology/approach: The research utilised combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey with 286 male and female UK retail managers. Findings: Managers generally reported satisfaction with their current jobs and were highly ambitious to develop their careers. Factors managers particularly associated with facilitating their careers to date were attributed to own efforts and attitudes towards their work. Problems in their careers to date were associated with factors outside of their own control. The findings demonstrated that the culture of retailing is still perceived to be dominated by male norms and values and this has implications for the way in which men and women managers experience their jobs and career opportunities. Practical implications: Managerial recommendations include the provision of meaningful mentoring relationships, the creation of developmental opportunities not bounded by a linear structure and re-examination of organisational cultural attitudes and practices. The importance of reconsideration of working arrangements and the 1 provision of flexible working arrangements at all levels of the management hierarchy is emphasised. Originality/value: The paper contributes to current understanding of the career issues experienced by UK retail managers in the 21st Century

Window dressing? Women, careers and retail management

Via the submission of six published papers, this thesis draws together the body of work by Broadbridge on retail management and women’s careers. It reveals the factors that continue to be problematic for women’s careers and why in 2010 they continue to be under-represented in the retail management hierarchy. A contextual background to the selected papers is provided in three chapters which summarise some wider issues for the non specialist reader: an introduction to career development models, the gendered processes in management and a contemporary overview of retail employment in the UK. Of the six papers presented, each adopts a different theoretical perspective and so cumulatively a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for women’s continued under-representation in retail management positions is gained. The overall findings from the papers indicated that the main reasons for women’s and men’s differential experience in the retail management hierarchy can be located in issues of male control. Retail management is male dominated, male identified and male centred. This can present itself in a variety of different ways, and through overt or covert means of behaviour and underlying organisational cultures. Key theoretical contributions to the thesis are located in three sets of theory: the sexual division of labour and the organisation of retail work; the gendered retail career, and work-life balance and multiple role demands. Empirical and methodological contributions come from the corpus of data and the use and refinement of a mixed methods approach to understanding the subject area

Senior Careers in Retailing: an exploration of male and female executives' career facilitators and barriers

Purpose Retailing as a sector employs many women and serves a female dominated customer base. It also employs proportionately more women in management positions than in other occupational sectors. However, at senior levels, the proportion of women to men diminishes. This article examines the perceived facilitators and problems of senior retail managers’ career development in order to see if it offers any insights for others to achieve senior managerial positions. Design/methodology/approach The main research instrument was a quantitative questionnaire with 124 UK senior retail managers. Findings The findings revealed that apparently more similarities than differences were reported by the men and women senior retail managers. These findings need to be treated with some caution however given that retailing operates in a strong masculine culture. Therefore to assume that men and women encounter similar facilitators and problems ignores that they are being compared against a norm of male characteristics and values. Practical implications The senior women may have achieved their positions by ignoring their feminine characteristics and putting their career before their personal lives; they may have adopted the male cultural norms and developed a style top management are more comfortable with, else they may have more characteristics that are closer to the male norms than the average woman. Men further down the hierarchy may also suffer and may not achieve senior positions because they too are not prepared to conform to idealised and outdated male cultural norms. Originality/valu

Charity, Retail or Care? Gender and managerialism in the charity retail sector

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how gender identity is played out in a particular type of work setting, that of charity retail, and to explore the impacts of increased managerialism on this process of identity construction. Design/Methodology/approach - The paper is informed by interviews with 22 charity shop managers from three UK cities. The narratives of three of these managers are chosen for more in-depth analysis. The paper focuses primarily on understandings of identity as practised, exploring the enactment of a series of conflicting and overlapping ‘selves’ in the workplace. The practices and discourses surrounding the retail (or businesslike) self, the charitable self and the caring self in particular are discussed. Findings - We find that the process of creeping managerialism in the sector both values and promotes the discourses of ‘retail’ but marginalises those of ‘charity and of ‘care’. This presents serious dilemmas of identity for charity shop managers and is a source of considerable stress for them. However we also found that managers were using the discourses of charity and of care to resist this managerial process. Thus we focus on the ways in which gendered identities are constrained and enabled by and through the discourses circulating in organisational life. We also have a series of observations to PAGE 3 make concerning the future possibilities that retail work in particular might offer for identity construction. Research limitations/implications – The analysis is based on a small sample of qualitative interviews, therefore the findings are not meant to be generalisable to the wider population. This ‘vignette’ approach allows us to explore in some depth the relations between identity construction and organisational context. Originality/value – Empirical paper using an alternative lens to analyse gender identity and the impacts of increasing managerialism on processes of identity construction. Highlights in particular the continual struggles over meaning within organisations

Students' Views of Retail Employment - key findings from Generation Ys

Purpose: the aim of this article is to highlight some preliminary findings regarding students’ perceptions of retail employment. It concentrates on those students who belong to Generation Y, those born between 1977 and 1994. Methodology: the research instrument consisted of a questionnaire survey administered to business studies students at two Scottish universities – Glasgow Caledonian University and Stirling University. This article reports on responses to 340 of these questionnaires – those students who already have some experience of retail employment, mainly as their part-time employment experiences while studying for their degree. Findings: retail employment experience is common with the majority of students. Their expectations for future retail employment after graduation is to enjoy their work, while they are also concerned with fairness, equality and tolerance from their future employment. Practical implications: the results are of benefit to retail employers’ as preliminary indications of how they can attract potential graduate entrants into the sector. They provide some areas that retail companies should be addressing in their recruitment literature. These factors include future career opportunities including opportunities for self development, training and development, as well as pay and job security. Other factors that are also important to highlight are responsibility and challenging work opportunities and the maintenance of a good work-life balance. Originality/value: this is an under-researched topic in the area of retail employment and Generation Y

13_2_30: experiences, perceptions and expectations of retail employment for Generation Y

Purpose This paper examines Generation Y, potential graduate entrants to UK retailing, in respect of their job experiences, career perceptions and initial employment expectations. Design, methodology, approach Utilising qualitative research methods, an exploratory study was undertaken with 33 students (all of whom fell into the category of Generation Y) from two UK universities. Findings The study found that many of the propositions contained within the Generation Y literature were reflected among participants in relation to their future career and lifestyle aspirations. This points to the need for retailers to carefully manage graduate expectations and experiences to ensure commitment to the sector. Research Limitations/implications Being an exploratory study, the results are not genralisable to the wider population. The findings frame a future longitudinal study on the retail careers of Generation Y graduates as they move from the anticipation to the encounter stage of their career development. This will seek to further explore the implications of Generation Y values, including those relating to diversity and equality which were not raised as an issue in this preliminary study. Originality/Value The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the career aspirations of Generation Y. It indicates to retailers some of the future recruitment and HR practices they might adopt to meet the needs of this generation of employees

Women in management: perspectives from the European Academy of Management

Purpose – To introduce the special issue. Design/methodology/approach – A brief description of the Gender and Management track at the European Academy of Management Conference and an outline of the papers in the issue. Findings – The track examined various issues and the papers chosen from the track for the special issue are closest to the central concerns of the journal. Originality/value – Provides a summary of the perspectives considered. Keywords Women, Management power, Europe Paper type Viewpoin

Women in formal corporate networks: an organisational citizenship perspective.

To investigate women's corporate networks, and the reported benefits for the women and their employers. To gain insight into the motivation for these voluntary activities, by drawing on organisational citizenship theory