CERES :: Browsing by Author "Anderson, Deirdre A."

Browsing by Author "Anderson, Deirdre A."

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Open Access
Assessing the impact of religion and family in shaping UAE national women’s choice of, and engagement with their careers
(Cranfield University, 2015-06) Hussain, Nazia; Vinnicombe, Susan; Anderson, Deirdre A.
National women in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries are highly educated yet their work participation remains low when compared to the rest of the world. This thesis aims to assess the impact of religion and family in the shaping of national women’s careers in the GCC workforce, in particular the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This aim is fulfilled by conducting three interlinked research projects; a systematic literature review, a qualitative study and finally, a quantitative study. The first research project comprises a systematic review of the literature that identifies the barriers and enablers to the participation and advancement of female national managers in the GCC workforce. The synthesis of articles reveals findings at the societal, organizational, family and individual levels. At the societal level, barriers and enablers are identified as those influenced by socio-cultural and religious norms and practices. These norms and practices influence how organizations (public and private) engage with their employees, and families engage with their individual members. In the second research project, I choose to narrow the scope of my research from six GCC countries to one country, the UAE. I explore the influence of family on the experiences of ten senior female UAE national managers at key work decision stages; I employ semi-structured interviews and, based on their experiences, the findings reveal that the family has influence at both the role entry and role participation stages. No data were available for the role exit stage. Furthermore, the experiences are different for women from extended versus nuclear families. In the third research project I choose to focus on the factors that support and impact on the experiences of UAE national women during their career life cycle. The findings indicate that overall there are no differences between the experiences of women from nuclear families versus extended; however, there are differences between the model and the UAE sample, both at the overall level and individual age stages. My second research project; a qualitative study provides three contributions to knowledge. Firstly, I extend the understanding of work related decisions, taking into account family influences. However, in the UAE, based on my research, the outcome will primarily be in favour of family due to the influence of socio-cultural and religious norms and practices. I propose that the conceptual framework be extended by adding the component of religion to it when considering the context of the UAE. Secondly, I propose a modification to the framework enabling it to be used in the UAE context. Thirdly, no previous empirical research has been conducted using this framework, with the result that the data from my research contribute empirically. With respect to contribution to practice, this qualitative study identifies the need for enhanced recruitment strategies for women and more gender friendly policies and practices to ensure the effectiveness of Emiratization within both the public and private sectors. The evidence from my third research project; a quantitative study contributes theoretically as my research demonstrates that the O’Neil and Bilimoria (2005) three phase women’s career development model does not fit in the UAE context. The research also contributes from a practical perspective as it identifies the need to improve the development of networking, communication and leadership skills for women and the implementation of comprehensive flexible working practices for women.
Open Access
The career agency of indian managerial women: a culture-centred approach.
(2018-06) Prashar, Manjari; Anderson, Deirdre A.; Vinnicombe, Susan
The purpose of this study is to develop a culturally sensitive model of women’s career agency. Adopting a qualitative research method, analyzing semi structured interviews with 36 managerial women in India this study provides a culture' centred model of career agency and a culture' centred framework for the analysis of career agency. The model highlights how managerial women’s career agency interacts with the enabling and constraining aspects of the context in which their careers unfold. This study broadens our understanding of women’s career agency by revealing the dynamic relationship between the context and the individual as emergent ‘agentic bonds’ shifting over time and in relation to each other. Career agency is conceptualized as a process of emergent agentic bonds within a temporal relational context. This study identifies five agentic bonds fusion, communion, divergence, assertion and integration through which individual assert agency in their careers. The study makes three contributions. First, a theoretical contribution introducing a career centred model of career agency. This model identifies the construct of ‘agentic bonds’, to distinguish the ways in which individual’s bond with the collective to develop career intentions and actions. This new construct facilitates a culturally sensitive view of career agency as a contextually dependent process, extending Stage theories of careers beyond Individual agency. In addition, a sub contribution of a culture centred framework for the analysis of agency in women’s careers, operationalizing and is aggregating career agency permits a liminal/hybrid/fluid view of agency and extends the theory of culture centred approach to careers. Second, an empirical contribution reconciling and resolving the struggle to identify the career agency of Indian managerial women. Third, a practical contribution with a culturally sensitive approach to career coaching embedded in a temporal relational view of career agency, facilitated by the concept of ‘agentic bonds’. The study responds to the call for cultural sensitivity in careers research and practice.
Open Access
Enforced remote working and the work-life interface during lockdown
(Emerald, 2020-09-17) Anderson, Deirdre A.; Kelliher, Clare
Purpose This paper aims to consider enforced working from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may differ from working from home through choice. In particular, the authors discuss how lockdown may be affecting work-family arrangements. Design/methodology/approach This is a thought piece. Findings The paper briefly examines the extant research on remote working. It is argued that as many of the (beneficial) outcomes found for both employees and employers are associated with feelings of greater autonomy and gratitude on the part of employees for being able to exercise choice over their working arrangements, these outcomes may not be found where working from home is required of employees. The authors contend that women, and mothers in particular, have had little choice in relation to when work has taken place, and how much work has been done. Practical implications The authors urge employers to consider the positive and negative outcomes of emerging evidence as they review their flexible working policies. They call for a widespread review of childcare provision in supporting women and men in the labour market. Originality/value The authors explore this unexpected context of the pandemic and highlight the need for research which examines these different circumstances.
Open Access
Examining Political Will, Political Skill and their Maturation among Male and Female Managers
(Cranfield University, 2011-08) Doldor, Elena; Vinnicombe, Susan; Anderson, Deirdre A.
This thesis explores engagement in organizational politics among managers. There is increasing recognition that organizational politics are ubiquitous in organizational life and critically important in managerial roles. Drawing on micro perspectives in extant literature on organizational politics, this research attempts to better understand managerial engagement in politics by focusing not only on managers’ ability to engage in politics, but also on their willingness to do so. As such, the research examines what managerial political will and political skill entail, as well as how political will and skill develop. In doing so, special consideration is paid to gender, an aspect largely ignored in extant research on organizational politics. Adopting a qualitative exploratory approach, the empirical study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 38 managers (20 women and 18 men) in two global companies. The thesis makes four key theoretical contributions. First, it conceptualizes and identifies three dimensions political will, a previously neglected factor pertaining to managerial political engagement. Second, the study reconciles and refines the dimensionality of political skill, as related to existing models in field. Third, the thesis introduces a novel developmental perspective on political will and skill, proposing an initial model of political maturation. This model outlines three stages of political maturation by mapping out developmental patterns in managers’ political will and skill. The model also identifies triggers of political maturation. Finally, the thesis unpacks the role of gender in managers’ political will, skill and their maturation, demonstrating the importance of making gender visible and voiced when investigating managers’ engagement in organizational politics. In articulating these contributions, the study thoroughly accounts for the impact of organizational context on the political will, skill and maturation journey of male and female managers.
Open Access
Expanding the notion of dialogic trading zones for impactful research: the case of women on boards research
(Wiley, 2017-01-19) Vinnicombe, Susan; Anderson, Deirdre A.
Debates about research impact highlight the importance of involving practitioners in research processes but are unclear as to how precisely to foster this dialogue. This paper considers how dialogic encounter can be encouraged through ‘trading zones’ where academics and practitioners collaborate. We draw on our experience of conducting research on women on boards for over 15 years to examine (a) how we established and evolved our role within trading zones in this field, achieving impact on policy and business practice, and (b) how we interfaced between trading zones and the academic field, thereby enabling cross-fertilization of ideas between academics and practitioners. We contribute to literature on research impact by empirically examining and critically evaluating the key characteristics of trading zones. First, trading zones are theorized to be action-oriented. Our analysis reveals how multiple stakeholders collectively redefine the action goals, illustrating the need to expand our understanding of relevant ‘practitioners’ beyond managers. Second, we find that durability of trading zones is crucial because it enables gestation of ideas and reframing problems. Third, we problematize the notion of psychological safety in trading zones, arguing that dialogic capability and the pursuit of impact require acceptance of trade-offs and political manoeuvrings.
Open Access
The female FTSE board report 2021: inclusion works for everyone
(2021-10-07) Vinnicombe, Susan; De Largy, Christine; Tessaro, Michelle; Battista, Valentina; Anderson, Deirdre A.
This year we see further progress in terms of the number of women on corporate boards. The percentage of women in FTSE 100 boards is 38% and the parallel figure for FTSE 250 boards is 35%, so all boards in aggregate have met and indeed exceeded the target set by Hampton-Alexander. In total, women hold 393 directorships across FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) stands at 44.4%, an all time high, in comparison to the percentage of female Executive Directors (EDs) which has flatlined for a second year, running at 13.7%. A similar picture is evident across FTSE 250 boards where women hold 688 directorships and 41.2% of the NED roles, but only 11.3% of the ED roles. There continues to be considerable variance across the boards, indicating that 21% of the FTSE 100 boards and 32% of FTSE 250 boards have yet to reach the Hampton-Alexander target of 33% women on their boards. This highlights the drawback to voluntary targets and prompts whether it is time to make these targets mandatory.
Open Access
Flexible work arrangements and sustainable careers: a study of Swedish women managers in a male-dominated environment.
(Cranfield University, 2019-07) Michaelides, Andrie Georgiou; Anderson, Deirdre A.; Vinnicombe, Susan
Women’s career advancement rate to senior management positions continues to lag behind men’s. One frequently cited obstacle within the work-family and career literature is women’s compromised career decisions in trying to balance career, self and others as they still, unfairly, bear the brunt of caregiving and home responsibilities. Organizational flexible work arrangements (FWAs) have been advocated as one potential avenue to facilitate women’s career advancement. These are intended, for both women and men, to alleviate conflicting demands arising from their career and home roles. In practice, however, FWAs are a predominantly female phenomenon due to the gendered division of labour. Despite the explosion of research on FWAs, the results have been far from unequivocal. Various types of FWAs, organizational culture and supervisor attitudes have been found to impact on utilization and work-family interface and career consequences differentially. This study draws on the lived career experiences of 43 women managers with FWAs, across all levels of a Swedish organization. Examining how the women engaged with FWAs retrospectively and over time revealed that, by using tailored FWAs and having schedule control, the women were better able to cope with the demands from their work-family interface as those changed with career and family stage. However, the key determinant of women’s career sustainability was Sweden’s policy of long and shared parental leave between the women and their husbands, which shaped gender egalitarian home roles, and family-supportive supervisor attitudes. Furthermore, utilization of FWAs disadvantaged the women by triggering work intensification. In exchange for having flexibility and autonomy to manage their career and home demands, the women worked additional hours at night and on weekends, which was particularly pronounced in the experience of those at senior levels. Supervisor sponsorship and partnership with husbands were additional factors contributing to the career advancement of the women who reached senior levels and the fact that they never worked part-time. This study makes three key contributions. It is the first study to provide empirical evidence on the role of FWAs in women managers’ career experiences across all levels of an organization, facilitating comparisons of different points of career and family stage. Secondly, the study extends Tomlinson et al.’s (2018) flexible and sustainable career determinants’ model by demonstrating the salience of the parental context as an additional determinant. Sharing parental leave sets up routines for life whereby each parent can flex their career to help one another. Thirdly, this study furthers understanding of how work intensification is perceived and experienced. While the women described having “balance” in their lives, they also talked about working additional hours at home to reciprocate for using FWAs. The paradox of work intensification and “balance” poses a threat to well-being and career sustainability and contests the positive portrayal of “balance” in the sustainable careers’ literature. This study has a number of implications for policy and practice. Improving women’s career sustainability and advancement requires a synergy between society, organization and family. Public policies directed towards working mothers and fathers have the potential to accelerate change towards gender equality at work and home. Organizations, by offering FWAs and safeguarding against work intensification, may contribute to employee career sustainability and well-being.
Open Access
For Better or for Worse? An Analysis of how Flexible Working Practices Influence Employees' Perceptions of Job Quality
(Taylor & Francis, 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z) Kelliher, Clare; Anderson, Deirdre A.
This paper is concerned with examining the relationship between flexible working practices and employee perceptions of job quality. In recent years a growing number of employers in the UK have introduced flexible working options for employees in response to increasing concerns over work-life balance and the desire to be seen as an ‘employer of choice’. At the same time there has been considerable policy debate amongst the European Union (EU) over job quality and the need to create not only more, but better jobs. It might be expected that since flexible working affords a degree of choice to employees, it would impact positively on their perceptions of job quality. However, to date few studies have explicitly examined how flexible working can contribute to job quality. Where studies have examined outcomes relevant to aspects of job quality, the evidence is somewhat inconclusive. The research reported in this paper was designed to explore how lived experiences of flexible working have influenced employees’ perceptions of a range of job quality dimensions. The findings show a generally strong, positive relationship between flexible working and perceptions of job quality, but also that there are perceived costs to job quality, particularly in relation to longer term opportunities for development and progression, suggesting that the relationship is more co
Open Access
An investigation into the experiences of managers who work flexibly
(Cranfield University, 2008-09) Anderson, Deirdre A.; Singh, Val
This thesis explores the experiences of managers who work flexibly. Flexible working policies are prevalent in all organizations in the UK because of the legislation giving specific groups of parents and carers the right to request flexible working. Many organizations extend the policies to all employees, yet the take-up is not as high as expected, particularly among staff at managerial levels. This thesis explores how managers construe and experience flexible working arrangements while successfully fulfilling their roles as managers of people. The exploratory study consisted of interviews with eight managers with unique flexible working patterns. Analysis of the interview transcripts identified concepts of consistency and adaptability. Consistency refers to meeting fixed needs from the work and non-work domains, and adaptability refers to the adjustment of schedules to meet the changing demands from those domains. The concepts of consistency and adaptability were further explored in the main study which is based on interviews with 24 women and 10 men who held managerial positions and had a flexible working arrangement which reduced their face time in the workplace. The research offers three main contributions to the literature. At a theoretical level, I propose a model which demonstrates how individuals use consistency and adaptability to meet the fixed and changing demands from the work and non-work domains. This model extends understanding of the complexity of the segmentation/integration continuum of boundary theory, explaining how and why managers use flexible working arrangements as a means of managing boundaries and achieving desired goals in both domains. Four distinct clusters emerged among the managerial participants in terms of the type and direction of adaptability, indicating the range of strategies used by managers to ensure the success of their flexible working arrangements. A detailed description of managers’ flexible working experiences is provided, adding to what is known about the role of manager through the exploration of the enactment of that role when working flexibly.
Open Access
Maternal and professional identity change during the transition to motherhood
(Cranfield University, 2013-08) Kutzer, Roxanne; Anderson, Deirdre A.
Becoming a mother derails many women’s chances for career progression. One reason for this is that women leave organisations when they become mothers, or reduce their working hours. Another reason is that people within the organisation start to view them as less career-orientated as a result of being mothers. At the core of this issue is that who a woman is – her identity – is being redefined in the transition to motherhood, by herself and by those around her. But, little is known about how her professional identity develops during the transition to motherhood, or whether its development is related to her growing maternal identity. This paper, therefore, presents a systematic review of the literature concerning changes in maternal and professional identities, as well as the relationship between them. Based on the evidence, this review concludes that although the development of maternal identity has been well documented in the literature, little is known about how a woman’s professional identity develops, as she becomes a mother. Suggestions for further research and practice are discussed.
Open Access
Nonstandard work arrangements and configurations of firm and societal systems
(Taylor and Francis, 2015-01-13) Stavrou, Eleni T.; Parry, Emma; Anderson, Deirdre A.
In this study, we proposed and empirically confirmed that the use of nonstandard working arrangements (NSWAs) varies according to firm system and societal cluster. Utilizing the configurational, institutional and cultural perspectives, we explored antecedents to the use of four NSWAs across firms in six countries, expanding the scope of variables examined in relation to NSWAs and capturing context as a way of broadening the theory base on the subject. We found a tendency toward greater use of NSWAs among firm systems that foster internal socialization and career advancement over time as well as national contexts that promote employment protection and/or Institutional Collectivism. Finally, we found national context to be a significant determinant of firm system, reinforcing the importance of aligning national with organizational-level antecedents to the study of NSWAs.
Open Access
Public sector austerity cuts in Britain and the changing discourse of work-life balance
(SAGE, 2016-05-01) Lewis, Suzan; Anderson, Deirdre A.; Lyonette, Clare; Payne, Nicola; Wood, Stephen
The relative importance of economic and other motives for employers to provide support for work–life balance (WLB) is debated within different literatures. However, discourses of WLB can be sensitive to changing economic contexts. This article draws on in-depth interviews with senior human resources professionals in British public sector organizations to examine shifting discourses of WLB in an austerity context. Three main discourses were identified: WLB practices as organizationally embedded amid financial pressures; WLB practices as a strategy for managing financial pressures; and WLB as a personal responsibility. Despite a discourse of mutual benefits to employee and employer underpinning all three discourses, there is a distinct shift towards greater emphasis on economic rather than institutional interests of employers during austerity, accompanied by discursive processes of fixing, stretching, shrinking and bending understandings of WLB. The reconstructed meaning of WLB raises concerns about its continued relevance to its original espoused purpose.
Open Access
A qualitative exploration of managerial mothers' flexible careers: the role of multiple contexts
(Elsevier, 2023-01-11) Michaelides, Andrie; Anderson, Deirdre A.; Vinnicombe, Susan
This study explores the lived career experiences of women managers with children in Sweden. Drawing on existing theory on flexible careers which proposes that multiple contexts – institutional, organizational and individual - shape employees' career decisions, we present findings from a study of 34 career mothers in dual-income households within a large engineering company in Sweden. We show that the institutional context in Sweden, with its shared parental leave, is an important element in the women's career decisions by directly mandating the fathers' engagement with childcare and home roles and indirectly fostering a family-supportive organizational culture. We theorize that the family context needs to be incorporated into existing theoretical models and specifically demonstrate how continuing shared childcare roles between the parents is critical to mothers' career outcomes. We evidence the various ways in which fathers engage with home responsibilities and how that influences the mothers' career decisions. Furthermore, we argue that the institutional environment has consequences which cascade down to each of the other contextual levels and that the importance of the different contexts can vary according to the work-care regime. We therefore challenge recent research which claims that the industry ecosystem is the crucial force in shaping women's careers.
Open Access
Responsible autonomy: the interplay of autonomy, control and trust for knowledge professionals working remotely during COVID-19
(SAGE, 2022-12-07) Abgeller, Neve; Bachmann, Reinhard; Dobbins, Tony; Anderson, Deirdre A.
This article revisits the concept of responsible autonomy, analysing the interplay of employee autonomy, management control and trust experienced by knowledge professionals in the UK compelled to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. The authors theorise about the tensions and paradoxes of responsible autonomy in the contemporary context of the COVID-19 crisis, drawing on empirical findings gathered in May 2020 and May 2021. Many participants experienced increased autonomy and discretion, but also work intensification and blurred work–life boundaries. Interestingly, many accepted this paradox as a palatable trade-off for the autonomy of being able to work from home, particularly where there was reciprocal trust between employee and manager. Trust is the glue in responsible autonomy, yet exists in tension with intrusive managerial control.
Open Access
Sustaining identities in the face of competing norms: returners' identity work.
(Cranfield University, 2018-07) Kutzer, Roxanne; Vinnicombe, Susan; Anderson, Deirdre A.
Management and organization studies indicate that motherhood can change women’s working lives and that the transition to motherhood contributes to the leaky pipeline for female talent. The extant literature suggests that women manage tensions between cultural norms for ‘good mothers’ and ‘ideal workers’ by developing a consistent approach, such as prioritising their maternal identities over their worker identities or trying to segment the two identities to limit conflict. However, the suggestion that women can manage tensions between their maternal and worker identities utilising one strategy implies stability in these identities that is not evident in the everyday practices of working mothers. Drawing on a qualitative study of German women’s experiences of returning to professional and managerial roles within a manufacturing company following parental leave, I describe the identity work returners engage in to sustain their maternal and worker identities in the face of competing norms for mothers and workers. The findings indicate that returners engage in dialectic identity work, which is the purposeful and situationally-emergent effort returners expend to construct coexisting maternal and worker identities. This study extends previous research by highlighting the instability and incoherence in maternal and worker identities following the return to work -- differentiating between the strategies returners describe using in response to identity challenges upon workplace re- entry and the dialectic identity work tactics that facilitate situationally-appropriate identity responses. Applying Kreiner et al.’s (2015) identity elasticity construct to individual identities, this study demonstrates how returners maintain maternal and worker identities that are shifting and incoherent. This study also extends our understanding of women’s experiences in returning to work by revealing the influence of the length of parental leave taken and prior return to work experience on returners’ identity work.
Open Access
Women partners leaving the firm: Choice, what choice?
(Emerald Group Publishing, 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z) Anderson, Deirdre A.; Vinnicombe, Susan; Singh, Val
This paper is based on the experiences of 31 women who have recently left partner roles within an international management consultancy firm. The purpose of this paper is to explore discursively their perceptions of choice within their decisions to leave. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 31 women using semi-structured telephone interviews, a 66 per cent response rate. A discursive approach to analysis was adopted. Findings - The decision to leave is the culmination of many interacting factors at a time when a financial incentive for resignation is available. Findings present here focus on discourses of loyalty to and affection for the company and work-life integration. Research limitations/implications - Limitations include access only to women who have left the firm, allowing for no comparison with those who were still partners. Additionally, we were unable to speak to any of the male partners who have left the firm in the same timescales, although in smaller proportions. Practical implications - The findings indicate the need to review the excessive time demands placed on partners and provide further support for policies, which enable greater flexibility. Originality/value - This paper uses data from a rare sample of women, those who have actually left senior roles within one organization.
Open Access
Women’s leadership development programs: lessons learned and new frontiers
(Sage, 2016-06) Debebe, Gelaye; Anderson, Deirdre A.; Bilimoria, Diana; Vinnicombe, Susan
The quest to develop talent across all workforce segments coupled with the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in organizations across the globe has led to increasing demand for women’s leadership development programs (WLDPs) over recent years. This special issue, titled Women’s Leadership Development Programs: Lessons Learned and New Frontiers, considers the use of these programs to foster transformational change (Anderson, Vinnicombe, & Singh, 2008; Debebe, 2011; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2002, 2003; Bilimoria, Joy, & Liang, 2008; Bilimoria & Liang, 2012; Ely & Meyerson, 2000; Fletcher, 2004). In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of transformational learning and change at the individual and organizational levels and go on to highlight five key themes in the literature on women’s leadership programs, identifying some of the questions and issues that motivated this special issue. We then provide a description of each article included in the special issue before concluding with some thoughts on fruitful directions for future research on women’s leadership programs.

Browsing by Author "Anderson, Deirdre A."

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