How to make career advancement in Economics more inclusive

Men are overrepresented in senior academic positions in Economics (Teunissen and Hogendoorn, 2018). While gender inequality in ­academia is universal (Miller et al., 2015), it is especially pronounced in the Economics discipline (Leslie et al., 2015) and in the Netherlands in particular (Miller et al., 2015). In nearly four decades, only six women have ever made it into the ESB Economics Top 40. It is important to note that promoting gender equality is not just a matter of fairness; it is – as should be of interest to Economists – also a matter of ­efficiency. For instance, Hsieh et al. (2018) have argued that no less than a quarter of the economic growth in the US between 1960 and 2010 can be attributed to what they call “the improved allocation of talent” of members of underrepresented groups. For the Netherlands specifically, The McKinsey Global Institute recently calculated that greater gender parity in labor force participation, STEM fields, and senior positions, would add more than 100 billion euros to Dutch GDP (McKinsey, 2018). To shed light on this phenomenon and to present insight into possible interventions, we provide a conceptual and empirical analysis of the factors underlying gender differences in career advancement in Economics, drawing on the latest research in the behavioural sciences

Life Role Salience and Values

Purpose-Even though both values and life roles are intensively studied topics, limited research has been conducted regarding the association between the two. In the context of the Dutch public sector, this study therefore examines how life roles and values relate to each other. Moreover, the possible role of gender within these associations is explored. Thereby, the study extends the literature in this domain and increases the understanding of how values and life roles affect the behavior. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach-The paper analyzed cross-sectional survey data of 114 employees of the Dutch public sector. Values were operationalized according to the Dolan et al.'s dimensions: emotional-developmental; ethical-social; pragmatic-economic; life roles were measured as "parental" and "occupational". Findings-The paper found no direct association between life roles and values. However, the paper found a gender differences suggesting that the more parental role oriented a woman is, the less occupational role oriented she is. In addition, the paper found a negative association between emotional-developmental values and ethical-social values. Originality/value-This study contributes to the existing literature on life roles and values by examining their mutual association. The paper found that the two concepts-although theoretically related-can be empirically distinguished. For organizations within the public sector, it is relevant to know which and how values and life roles affect their employees. Thereby, organizations can design their strategies, training and development policies, and recruitment activities in order to attract and retain (potential) employees. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Ethnic diversity and social capital in upward mobility systems: Problematizing the permeability of intra-organizational career boundaries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between ethnic diversity, social capital, and objective career success in upward mobility systems over time. The authors conceptualize the underlying process of why intra-organizational career boundaries are more permeable for dominant ethnics compared to minority ethnics. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conceptually explore and model this relationship by elaborating on three mechanisms of social capital return deficit proposed by Lin (2000), building the argument based on four underlying principles (stereotype fit, status construction, homophily, and reciprocity). Findings – Based on a proposed reciprocal relationship between social capital and objective career success, the authors suggest the development of an upward career spiral over time, which is continuously affected by ethnic group membership. Consequently, the authors argue that dominant ethnics do not only advance to a higher level of objective career success, but that they also advance exponentially faster than minority ethnics. Research limitations/implications – The conceptualization provokes the question to what extent the permeability of intra-organizational boundaries constrains careers of some, while enabling careers of others. Originality/value – The contribution lies in the exploration of the relationship between social capital and objective career success over time, of the permeability of intra-organizational career boundaries, and how both are affected by ethnic group membership

Ethnic identity positioning at work: Understanding professional career experiences

In our effort to uncover, understand, and make sense of career experiences of ethnic diverse employees in a professional service firm in the Netherlands, we unraveled ethnic identity construction through analyzing accounts of individual sensemaking, interaction, and institutional practices. The analysis of 26 semi-structured interviews of dominant and minority ethnic professionals shows how both dominant and minority ethnic identity construction is conflated with processes of "othering" in relation to the hegemonic norm. We illustrate and problematize the emergence of the normalization of othering by highlighting its potential consequences for individual career experiences. By opening up the discussion of identity matters in professionals' career experiences, we suggests means to move away from normalized processes of othering by making room for alterity

Dare to care: Negotiating organizational norms on combining career and care in an engineering faculty

Contains fulltext : 134099.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access