processes are mixed, but what is clear is that they play an important role as gatekeepers in Liberal Market Economies and maintaining good relations with them is therefore advisable. In Germany, only two of the participants mentioned
recruiters. In the rare cases where participants wanted to change firms, they had established good relationships in other firms themselves, which made securing a new position uncomplicated. But this was rare and many of the women I interviewed in Germany talked about the importance of working with those you trust and having long-term and established relationships, especially in an industry where hours can be long and where liabilities are shared between partners.
TRUST, NORMS AND BOUNDARIES But such trust is a double-edged sword. It can help make work more meaningful and many of the women I talked to in Germany spoke of the pride they took in building a firm with people they knew well and enjoyed working with over a long period of time. They were very confident and secure in their roles. Trust also brings pressure to conform and expectations of reciprocity. This can affect what we think is possible and how we live our lives. It especially affects women, because we are often subject to quite entrenched expectations of what a ‘good mother’ looks like. For example, many of the women I interviewed in Germany talked about the needs of children for their mothers and that mothers should ideally work part-time. At the same time, making partnership was not seen to be compatible with part- time work, effectively excluding mothers. In contrast, in the UK, relationships at work were
much more fleeting and often assigned and contained by the employer. Childcare was seen to be a private matter and in half of the cases where children were present, it was fathers who downshifted or gave up work entirely. It made navigating the professional hierarchy much easier because advancement is seen as everyone’s business. At the same time, the women I spoke to were much more aware of redundancies; even when working at the top of the hierarchy, some had suffered redundancy themselves. While long-term relationships of trust and their importance in the workplace can in some circumstances be stifling for women on the way to the top, they also bring meaning to our work and perceived as well as real job security.
SMOOTHING GENDERED EFFECTS For me, there are three key lessons to take forward from this research that may help bring more women to the top. The first is that a transparent appraisal process is essential to help more women advance. Second, long- term relationships of trust are important to foster cultures of trust, which can bring meaning to our work and help facilitate a sense of job security – important for our physical and mental wellbeing. But these first two points can be in conflict. Promoting a performance culture where experience and tenure are dismissed can make it difficult for employees to establish trust between themselves. The third lesson is that 80% of women in
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the two countries I examined have children. For many women, spending more time with their children in the early years will be important. We see this by the high number of women downshifting their careers every year. Making it to the top should not come at the cost of forgoing motherhood entirely or having to work like fathers have traditionally done. Organisations have the capacity to create employment that can be mindful of the human life-cycle, especially as careers are long games, with many of us today expecting to work until our 70s.
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“ ORGANISATIONS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CREATE EMPLOYMENT THAT CAN BE MINDFUL OF THE HUMAN LIFE- CYCLE, ESPECIALLY AS CAREERS ARE LONG GAMES, WITH MANY OF US TODAY EXPECTING TO WORK UNTIL OUR 70S.”
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