Internationally active companies rely more on female employees
A study by the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration shows that companies operating internationally employ more women than companies operating exclusively nationally. The location of the customer also plays a role. Only the filling of top management jobs remains unaffected by the internationality of a company.
In her study, Alyssa Schneebaum from the Institute for Heterodox Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, together with her co-author Carolina Lennon, investigated whether globalization also affects the distribution of female and male employees in companies. For this purpose, the researcher examined developments in over 30,000 companies in more than 100 developing and middle-income countries between 2006 and 2014.
Internationally active companies are more female
The results clearly demonstrate the connection between internationality and the distribution of employees by gender. Alyssa Schneebaum explains, "We see a 'race to the top' here, meaning that when companies interact with countries with high gender equality, this also has a positive effect on the gender distribution within the company. But conversely, there is no negative effect, meaning that gender inequality is not imported from other countries." Numerous European countries are classified by the United Nations as having high gender equality, led by Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark, among others. Massive inequality has been located in numerous countries in Africa, such as the Republic of Chad, but Yemen, for example, also stands out negatively.
Transmission of social norms
The study results show that internationally active companies generally hire a larger share of female employees than those that are only active on the national market. This is particularly evident among companies whose investors or even customers are in countries with high gender equality: They hire 6-7 percentage points more women than national firms that do not operate internationally. But ownership structures also play a role. "Companies with national owners hire 17-18 percentage points fewer women than those with owners in countries with high gender equality, even if both operate in the same market with the same local gender norms," the study author said.
Top jobs remain predominantly male
However, the positive effects of globalization and internationalization of entrepreneurial activities are not equally evident in all types and levels of companies. Production jobs in particular benefit from the development in terms of gender distribution, with white-collar workers (in classic office jobs) coming in second. "The proportion of women is increasing only for the lower and middle levels of the organizational structure. Top management positions remain unaffected by the 'internationality' of their companies," Schneebaum says. "Accordingly, on the one hand, we see how internationality acts as a medium for gender norms and can reduce inequality. On the other hand, it becomes quite clear that other measures are also needed to achieve diversity in management positions and reduce gender inequality."
Source: Vienna University of Economics and Business
