Managing like a Man or Liberalizing Finance in Interventionist States

Managing like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

Author: Judy Wajcman

A critical analysis of women's and men's experiences in five multinational corporations with model equality policies.

"Why can't a man be more like a woman?" seems to be the catchphrase of modern management gurus. They claim to be revaluing feminine "soft" skills as qualities necessary for corporate success. This book looks behind the rhetoric and investigates the gender relations of senior management in a post-equal opportunities world.

The proportion of women managers has risen dramatically in the last twenty years, yet there are still very few women getting to the top. Based on a major study of five multinational corporations with model equality policies, this book takes a critical look at women's and men's experience in a changing corporate climate. Wajcman brings to bear feminist theories on equality and difference in employment, together with organizational analysis, in her assessment of whether women really do bring a distinct feminine style of management to tomorrow's organizations. The main focus is on the processes of masculine organizational culture that sexualize women and exclude them from senior management.

But how comfortable are men with the masculinity of management? This book presents fascinating material on the private lives of managers and looks at the interconnections between home and work for men as well as women. The author reveals how relations between the sexes are negotiated in the corridors of power and at the kitchen sink.

Booknews

Rather than considering only women managers, as most such studies have, examines men and women doing the same jobs, and encompasses the experiences of both sexes in the managerial hierarchy. Argues that management incorporates a male standard that positions women as out of place, and that the construction of women as different from men is one of the mechanisms by which male power in the workplace is maintained. The study is based on high-technology, multinational companies with high-sounding equal opportunity claims. Paper edition (unseen), $18.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

What People Are Saying

Joan Acker
This is an absorbing analysis of women's and men's managerial careers in leading-edge multinational firms. . . .The book is a delight to read and a real contribution to understanding the complex ties between gender, work, and organizations. -- University of Oregon

Table of Contents:

	Acknowledgements
	Introduction	1
1	Sex Equality in Organizations	10
2	The Gender Relations of Management	31
3	It's Hard to be Soft: Is Management Style Gendered?	55
4	The Corporate Career: 'Why Can't a Woman be More like a Man?'	78
5	Personal Management: Sexuality and Workplace Relationships	108
6	Managing Home Life	132
	Conclusion	158
	Bibliography	167
	Index	178

Books about: Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin or Appalachian Home Cooking

Liberalizing Finance in Interventionist States

Author: Michael Loriaux

'A first-rate book. It represents the cutting edge of research in political economy and groups together in a single volume some of the most original research to date on the politics of financial liberalization.' -- Harvey B. Feigenbaum, George Washington University.