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The Strongest Link: Legitimacy of Top Management Diversity, Sex Stereotypes and the Rise of Women in Human Resource Management 1995 – 2004

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  • Astrid Reichel
  • Julia Brandl
  • Wolfgang Mayrhofer

Abstract

Over the last decades, HRM scholars associated the inclusion of women into HRM with the occupation’s loss of status. Such views have difficulties to explain more recent developments in Europe that show a co-evolution of feminization and status increase of HRM. In this article, we review these developments and offer an explanation that accounts for them. Linking neo-institutional arguments with literature on sex stereotypes, we suggest that allocating women to HRM offers a solution for organizations to deal with growing demands for enhancing diversity within top management without giving up the traditional division of female and male work. We show how the patterns of the inclusion of women into HRM in 11 European countries between 1995 and 2004 support this explanation.

Suggested Citation

  • Astrid Reichel & Julia Brandl & Wolfgang Mayrhofer, 2010. "The Strongest Link: Legitimacy of Top Management Diversity, Sex Stereotypes and the Rise of Women in Human Resource Management 1995 – 2004," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 21(3), pages 332-352.
    • Handle: RePEc:nms:mamere:1861-9908_mrev_2010_3_reichel
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    File URL: https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/0935-9915-2010-3-332
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Anja Iseke & Kerstin Pull, 2019. "Female Executives and Perceived Employer Attractiveness: On the Potentially Adverse Signal of Having a Female CHRO Rather Than a Female CFO," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 1113-1133, June.
    2. Igor Asanov & Maria Mavlikeeva, 2023. "Can group identity explain the gender gap in the recruitment process?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 95-113, January.
    3. Mavlikeeva, Maria & Asanov, Igor, 2020. "Can Group Identity Explain Gender Gap in Recruitment Process?," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224647, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Hussein N. Ismail & Lama Nakkache, 2015. "Gender Differences at Work: Experiencing Human Resource Management Policies in Lebanese Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 16(6), pages 907-919, December.
    5. Maimunah Ismail & Atikah Nadia Abd Rahim & Kim Hou Lee & Nurul Fariza Mohd Thahri, 2016. "Cultural Values And Career Goal Of Gen-X And Gen-Y Employees: Evidence From Selected Malaysian Companies," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 7(2).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    HRM; occupational status; occupational feminization; sex stereotypes; institutional pressures;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation

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