Women in Senior Management Positions in Australia and the Concept of the "Ideal Manager"

Abstract

The notion of women’s representation in leadership and decision-making positions has been the focus of persistent interest in Australia since the first equity review was conducted as part of the Royal Commission into Australian Government Administration in 1975. Today, despite three decades of extensive legislation to address gender equity and the disadvantaged position of women in the labour market, women are still underrepresented in senior positions in Australian organisations. Only 16.5 percent of CEOs, 29.7 per cent of key management personnel (KMP), and 30.4 per cent of general manager positions are held by women. The representation of women gradually decreases when moving up management levels, and the gap between male and female ratios increases with the levels of management. This PhD study focuses on the underrepresentation of women in senior positions in Australia. It explores the experiences of both women and men in senior management positions in two Australian organisations and their views of what is required to achieve a senior position. The study draws on case studies of two Australian organisations and uses a qualitative approach with a social constructivist worldview grounded in a critical social philosophy. A feminist lens is used to analyse gender relations in the two organisations and relies on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 50 executives and middle and senior managers, both male and female, from those organisations. Although much research has been dedicated to this problem, there has been minimal published research about the experience of men in senior positions. This paper looks at the perspectives of male senior managers in addition to those of female managers for two reasons: it is necessary to analyse social actions from the actors’ standpoints; and there is a need to examine men’s experiences to understand women’s exclusion from leadership. The study is theoretically informed by Acker’s (1990, 2006a, 2006b, 2012) concept of the “ideal worker”, which was defined as an unencumbered worker, totally dedicated to work and with no responsibilities for family care. However, the focus of this study is on managers and through interviews, the related concept of the “ideal manager” emerged. The ideal manager is distinct from the concept of the ideal worker in emphasising the masculine aspects of senior positions, and is also characterised by non-negotiable long working hours, the ability to be mobile, a focus on career ahead of family with no career break, and a planned career path while proactively seeking advancement. Focusing on this ideal has enabled organisations, in the minds of senior executives, to recruit senior people willing who make the sacrifices necessary for the economic success of the organisation. Women were therefore not seen as qualified for the demands of senior positions, and the ideal manager was usually constituted by men and by masculine values and norms. This ideal enabled dominant economic and political interests to maintain control and the gendering of hierarchies, reinforcing the practice whereby those people who committed more to the job and who desired more responsibility and authority achieved senior positions. The ideal manager was not only a male with a full-time and life-long job, he also had a woman in his life that took care of his personal needs and his children. However, the reality of life as an ideal manager can be difficult, as seen in some of the dilemmas the interviewees faced. The situation examined did not bode well for increasing, attracting, or retaining women in senior positions.