Underrepresentation of Women in Top Management Positions in Germany – Discourse and Institutionalization

• In Event: 161 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Inequality in the Workplace I

Abstract

This paper is an empirical study about the misrepresentation of women in top management positions in Germany. We explore whether the societal institution of gender justice has already penetrated a special part of society: the boardrooms of German corporations. Based on prior research and empirical data, we suppose that an institutional change towards gender justice in top management has not been fully completed. By analyzing a part of the discourse and especially by classifying the patterns of argumentation along the three pillars of an institution, we try to understand and explain this failure. We provide an overview about one part of the discourse by analyzing business media and corporate reports in 2005 and 2011. Our findings imply that gender justice is discussed controversially but it is not taken for granted in German top management.

Authors

• Stefanie Hiss, University of Jena

• Sebastian Nagel, University of Jena

• Hanna Maria Eleonore Schulte, University of Jena