University Politehnica of Bucharest [604801]

University Politehnica of Bucharest
Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Management and Business
Engineering
Master Degree Study Program:
Management of the Digital Enterprise

Dissertation Paper
Women Managers

Scientific Coordinator, Graduate ,
Prof. Dr. Ing. Cezar SCARLAT Alina – Andreea J IANU

BUCHAREST
2017

Contents
Introduction ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 1
Chapter 1. Managers’ Roles and Key Competencies ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 3
1.1. The Managers’ Roles ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 3
1.2. Key Managerial Skills ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 7
Chapter 2. Women in Management and Barriers ………………………….. ………………………….. …………….. 10
2.1. General Overview ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………. 10
2.2. Women in Management in Romania ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 12
2.3. Barriers & I mprovement Recommendations ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 16
2.4. Conclusions ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………………. 21
Chapter 3. The Modern Workplace – Generational Mix ………………………….. ………………………….. ……. 22
3.1. Generational Aspects ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………….. 22
3.2. Generational Differenc es in Management ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 24
3.3. Women Managers: Generational Perceptions ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 27
3.4. Conclusions ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………………. 29
Chapter 4. Research: Women’s P erception about Management ………………………….. ……………………. 30
4.1. Research Methodology ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 30
4.2. Results Analysis and Interpretation ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………….. 37
4.3. Conclusions and Limitati ons ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …. 42
Conclusions ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 43
Bibliography ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 45

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Introduction
Gender and generational diversity in business and particularly in management is now
an important point of interest for both public and private institutions and also a social
phenomenon, especially in developing countries. More and more studies indicate that
management boards with a balanced proportion of women and men lead to better financial
results and a higher level of commitment. This goes to show that promoting gender equality in
managerial positions is not only ethical, but also the beneficial for businesses’ performance.
This scientific research addresses the subject of women Managers by presenting
specific topics related to their status in the economic decision and the generational gaps in the
context of the new workplace.
My motivation for choosing this subject is my own interest in acknowledging the
current situation of women in management, the perceptions of the society and the barriers that
they are still facing nowadays when trying to accede to a managerial position.
The scope of this research is to provide a brief ov erview on the current situation of
women in managerial positions in terms of their presence in suc h decision making roles, gender
and generational discrimination and other barriers that they encounter either from managerial
positions or while attempting to obtain such a function.
One of the objectives that I have for creating this thesis is to investigate the gender and
generational balance in management in order to form an opinion based on which a research
study on Romanian women’s perception about a caree r in management could be conducted .
Another objective is to create awareness of the benefits of gender diversity in management and
of the limitations (by personal choice or imposed by the society) that ladies are dealing with
and the improvements that comp anies or governments have been trying to make in the sense of
promoting women’s advancement to managerial positions.
The first chapter of the research summarily presents a series of introductive notions
related to manager’s roles and competencies in gener al, while also bringing forward a
comparison of the perceptions of management styles and skills between men and women.
The second chapter is related to women’s presence in middle and top management
roles, both globally and in Romania, with emphasis on the main barriers that women identified
and the support programs that companies and governments are implementing for facilitating
their access to higher managerial positions.
The third chapter presents a global overview related to the generations’ perceptions of
management styles and skills that a manager needs to exert. Subject to discussions in this
chapter are also the main barriers that women identify when working with other generat ions

2
and how this multi -generational context affects their professional development and capability
to ascend to a managerial position, taking also into account the gender discrimination that is
still present in the organizations.
The final chapter is a st udy conducted on several Romanian employed women, both
managers and non -managers, belonging to Gen X and Gen Y generations, which aims to
provide a view upon their perceptions about a career in management, based on their personal
opinion and/ or past exper iences.
Limitations of this research are generated by the few number of reliable existent
studies over various subjects under the umbrella of gender and generational aspects regarding
women in management and especially focused on Romania. For instance, res earches are scarce
regarding the women’s perspectives from different generations about the barriers that they face
when trying to accede to a management position.

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Chapter 1. Managers’ Roles and Key C ompetencies
1.1. The Managers’ Roles

“Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient
manner through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources.” This
definition holds two important ideas: (1) the four functions of planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling, and (2) the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient
manner. (Richard L Daft, Management, 9th Edition)
To be more specific, management can be considered “the process of achieving
organizational goals by engaging in the four major functions of planning, organizing, leading
and controlling by coordination of human, material, technological and financial resources”.
(Vilas S. Bagad , Principles of Management, 3rd edition, 2009, p. 4)
Fayol is also recognized as being the first to identify and describe the elements or
functions that form the management process: planning, organizing, command, coordination,
and control. In modern management are usually described 4 functions: planning, organizing,
leading and controlling. Moreover, some management theorists identify additional management
functions, such as staffing, communicating or decision making. (Daft, 2010 )
Within an organization, three managerial levels have been defined: top, middle and
first-line/ supervisory management. This classification hierarchically differentiates the
managers based on their organizational p osition and responsibilities.
Top managers are at the top level of the hierarchy and hold the overall responsibility
for the entire organization. They are concerned with the long term organizational development,
environment trends and their main function is that of strategic management. Top management
set the organizational goal, define strategies to achieve them, constantly monitor and interpret
the external environment and male decisions that have an impact in the organization as a whole.
Managers on thi s upper layer are also the shapers of the corporate culture and vision, as well as
drivers of company innovation. Usually, the common titles used for their positions are:
president, chairperson, executive director, chief executive officer (CEO) and executi ve vice
president. (Bagad, 2009)
Middle managers report to top management and serve as the head of business units
and major departments within the company, thus having limited authority and responsibility.
They are accountable for implementing the overall plans, strategies and policies defined by top
managers and their work concerns medium term planning. They are the link between the top
management and the rest of the organization but rather than managing the information flow

4
vertically, modern middle mana gers create horizontal networks which allows the organization
to act quickly. Their essential role is to design, select and carry out the most suitable plan in
order to achieve the organizational goals set by the top management. (Study.com, 2015)
First-line managers (or lower management) are directly accountable for the production
of goods and services. They are responsible for departmental sections or subsections and their
main job is to apply the rules and procedures in order to achieve high levels of prod uctivity.
They focus on short term plans, with the emphasis on achieving daily goals. Thus, they
supervise and coordinate the work of operating employees and act as leaders, motivators,
counselors, trainers for their subordinates. Examples of first -line m anagers can be Supervisor,
Line Manager, Team -Leader, Section Chief etc.
In the past, a Manager was considered to be the one who is accountable for the work
of other individuals. This definition clarified that managing was a particular sort of work that
could be analyzed, studied and enhanced systematically. The definition concentrated on the
basically new, expansive, and lasting association developing to perform the economic errands
of society. (Drucker, 2008 )
More recent definitions assert that a manager is somebody accountable for the work
performance of the group members. A manager has the recognized authority to utilize
organizational resources, no matter if the approval of others is necessary. ( DuBrin , 2012)
The management style is way of carrying out the managerial functions, characterized
by a set of attitudes and work methods, with emphasis on the specific features of the
relationships with subordinates and with the external environment. (Puiu, 2011)
Some managers are very concerned about the tasks (i.e. the process), others focus on
staff welfare and others are a combination of both types. This approach is two -dimensional,
based on whic h Blake and Mouton identified five managerial styles:
 “Laissez – faire” – the managers shows a minimum interest in the process and
employees, he is not very involved in achieving the objectives
 Permissive style (“Country Club”) – the manager shows a lo w interest in the process,
but is highly concerned about the human resources
 Autocratic style (or authoritarian) – managers are focused on the process and
achievement of the objectives, but do show little care for the employees (one – way
communication)
 Consultative style – managers tend to be balanced, they have medium attention and
interest for both production and subordinates

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 Participative style – is the ideal case with strong emphasis on both the efficiency and
effectiveness of the workflows and a lso on the working conditions and the needs of the
people (Muscalu ș.a., 2007; Tutor2u, 2015)
If the permissive, autocratic and consultative style are adopted by most of the
managers, it is the participative managers that are high -performers – leaders and builder of the
managerial teams.
Disregarding the style of management adopted, it is vital to respect the balance
between competence, authority and accountability (the golden triangle of a manager which must
be equilateral). (Scarlat, 2015)
A manager is expected to create his own particular job description, to establish his own
proposition for the outcomes and commitments for which he and his team ought to be
responsible, to work out and thoroughly consider his relationships and to determine his
information needs and contribution. (Drucker, 2008 )
A manager’s roles are therefore key to understanding the specificities of his job.
Mintzberg led studies, also later extended by other researchers, have outlined the major
managerial functions and the roles associated with them. They agreed on 17 such managerial
roles.
The first two managerial roles, strategic planner and operation al planner are related to
the planning function.
 Strategic Planner – this entails setting up a direction for the organization, which is
usually assisted by other members, dealing with external environmental aspects and
corporate policy development.
 Operati onal Planner – they deal with the day -to-day operations, such as developing a
schedule for a supervised unit or defining an operational budget. Unlike first -level
managers, the middle -level managers are highly involved with these aspects.
The next five ro les relate to organizing and staffing functions. They are:
 Organizer – the manager engages in designing job descriptions, clarifying assignments,
establishing and disseminating organizational policies, rules or procedures in order to
coordinate the work an d information flows.
 Liaison – developing and maintaining a professional network of people. The manager
has to cultivate and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other persons
or groups of interest, as well as to establish an external netwo rk that might attract work –
related opportunities and contacts, while doing the same within the organization.

6
 Staffing Coordinator – the manager has to make sure all positions are filled with the
right people. Such activities include hiring staff, evaluatin g the work and overall
performance of each group member, organizing trainings, compensations and
promotions, as well as terminations and demotions.
 Resource Allocator – involves managing the resources in the most constructive way for
the organization. The se include activities like authorizing resource use and financial
expenditures and discontinuing any unnecessary or inefficient equipment or services.
 Task Delegator – assigning projects and tasks to members and clarifying priorities and
KPIs.
The leadin g eight managerial roles are related to the leadership function:
 Motivator and Coach – the manager has to take time to motivate and coach members by
recognizing achievements, offering reassurance, encouraging, and showing concern,
providing feedback and giving advice.
 Figurehead – these are those managerial activities that involve acting as the figurehead
of the organization. This can mean entertaining clients, officially representing the
organization in outside gatherings, escorting official visitors, et c.
 Spokesperson – the spokesperson has to formally report to entities outside the managed
organizational unit. These entities can be upper management, clients and customers or
other such important outsiders, professional colleagues and the general public.
 Negotiator – the managerial part that involves making deals with others for any needed
resource. In this sense, the manger has to bargain for funds, facilities, equipment, staff
and other forms of support, negotiate with suppliers and vendors about servic es,
schedules and deadlines, etc.
 Team Builder – this involves activities that make sure group members’ achievements
are suitably recognized, raise the group’s morale, holding staff meetings in order to
encourage members or talk about their problems and co ncerns.
 Team Player – the manager has to also show appropriate personal conduct, cooperate
with other managerial units or display loyalty to superiors and supporting their decisions
and strategy.
 Technical Problem Solver – helps first and middle level man agers in solving more
technical problems. This can happen by applying technical expertise or performing
individual contributor tasks when a dedicated person is not available.
 Entrepreneur – this involves suggesting innovative ideas that contribute to the
achievement and surpassing of business strategies. This can be done by staying up to

7
date with all information related to the business, networking and resonating with
customers through visits, trade shows and educational programs.
The last two roles are re lated to the controlling function:
 Monitor – such activities include developing monitoring system in order to oversee the
unit’s overall performance, measure productivity costs, talk to members of task
progress, and oversee the use of equipment, facilities and services.
 Disturbance Handler – takes part in the grievance resolution processes, resolves
complaints, conflicts and problems with the work flow and communication within the
unit. This role is categorized under controlling as it involves changing an unacceptable
condition to an acceptable stable one. (DuBrin, 2012)

1.2. Key Managerial S kills
Based on field research in management and own observations of executives in the
workplace, Katz (1955) found that effective managers possess three basic personal skills:
technical, human, and conceptual. It’s necessary to mention that skills are quite different from
traits or qualities. Skills are defined as the ability to use one’s competencies and knowledge in
order to accomplish objectives, whereas traits relate to a person’s natural characteristics.
Technical skills refer the knowledge about and proficiency in a specific type of work
and it refers to competencies in a specialized area, analytical ability, ability to utilize specific
job related techniques and to ols. Manager at lower and middle management levels need to have
strong technical skills, while for the upper management layers they are less important.
Interpersonal or human relations skills refer to the manager’s ability to work effectively within
a team. Communication, which is a component of this category) are the basis for sending and
receiving messages on the job. Another important component of the interpersonal skills for
managers is multiculturalism, which translates into the ability to work eff ectively and conduct
business with employees or peers from different cultures. Human skills allow the managers’ to
guide their team members in working cooperatively as a gro up to accomplish common goals.
Conceptual skills are related to the capacity of man agers to see the organization as an entire
entity: how the units of the organization depend on one another and how changes in any one
part affect all the others; visualizing the relationship of the company to the industry, the
community, the political, soc ial, and economic forces of the country as a whole. Conceptual
skills are central to creating a vision and strategic plan for an organization. For top -level
management, conceptual skill is a priority because executive managers have the most contact

8
with t he outside world (Northouse, 2016) . Diagnostic skills refers to the ability to analyze a
problem, decide on and implement a suitable solution. Political skills refers to the ability of
obtaining power and prevent ing others from taking it away (DuBrin, 2012 ). Besides the above
mentioned key skills, there of course other important competencies that managers should
possess, such as: administrative, leadership, decision making skills etc. (Kalyan –
city.blogspot.ro, 2011)
In order to evaluate models that attempt to explain gender differences in evaluation
and promotion, The Management Research Group has evaluated gender differences in
management competencies appraisal. 2.178 female and 2.718 male managers matched for
industry, management level, job function, age, and boss gender in 1.131 US company were
compared on 22 competency ratings.
Most of the managers received positive reviews on many of the competencies, but for
less positive ratings, a number of gender differences emerged.
Competencies on which both gende rs were equally prone to receive negative ratings:
 availability to listen to people and ask for other people’s points of view
 ability to build connections with customers
 capacity to discern how to effectively use organizational resources capacity
 credibili ty to inspire confidence with peers and direct reports
 capacity to contribute to team performance
Competencies on which men were prone to receive negative ratings:
 credibility with management and ability to inspire confidence with superiors
 ability to comm unicate in a straightforward manner
 insight into other people’s motivations
 sensitivity to other people’s feeling (only when they are being rated by a male boss)
 capacity to motivate, develop and accomplish tasks through people
Competencies on which wome n were prone to obtaining negative ratings:
 business aptitude: comprehend how to make a business successful, exploiting business
opportunities and demonstrating skill in business dealings
 Financial understanding: ability to deal with financial issues (budg eting, accounting,
costs etc.)
 ability to see the big picture: strategic thinking, seeing interconnections between his/
her own objectives and those of the organization and anticipating problems
(Kabacoff, R., 2012)

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Due to their stronger interpersonal abilities, it seems like women managers are better
motivators than men and, according to a Gallup study from 2015, employees are more likely to
be engaged at work, if their manager is a woman. 35% of employees were found to feel more
involved with their work, compared to 25% who have a male manager. (Techtimes.com, 2015)
The traditional ways of managing businesses and people are becoming less and less
applicable in the context of a fast – paced changing economy, technology and society. Some
decades ago, a small pool of workers were highly educated, most of the work was manual, tasks
were repetitive and change s were rare and slow. Strong hierarchical structures brought unity
and control and following the p rinciples of management for defining tasks and coordinating
employees were applicable at that time . However, as the economy switched from manufacturing
to services, the need for eng aging workers and gain their loyalty became more important.
In today’s fast -changing environment , organization s are seen more as social
movements, with participation in leadership across all levels. Social n etworks within companies
allow employees to find out about each other and acces s the people who possess the appropriate
skills, knowledge or connections for getting the job done. Continuous learning is crucial for
both the indivi duals and the organizations as a whole, in order to transfer knowledge and try
out new ideas . Virtual organizations aim to speed up cycle tim e, but this also represents a new
challenge for managers who must learn how to manage remote employees . Communications
technologies ensure that the work can be done from anywhere and requir e from the managers
special attention regarding to managing communication and information security . (Carpenter,
2012)
The modern definition asserts that management is the process through which things
are getting done efficiently and effectively with the scope of achieving the organization’s goals.
Process is the sequence of steps/ functions that are necessary for getting things done – planning,
organizing, staffing, dir ecting and controlling.
Efficiency and effectiveness are a must for each organization in the sense that work
must be completed on time (effective) with minimum costs and optimum amount of resources
(efficient). All activities must be directed to a common organizational goal and each employee
should work towards achieving it. (Singh & Gupta, 2015)

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Chapter 2. Women in M anagement an d Barriers
2.1. General Overview

All world’s economies have been encountering a persistent gap in regard with the
access to opportunities and decision -making power for women and men. Globally, women have
reduced opportunities for economic participation in comparison with men, less access to basic
and higher education, higher health and safety risks, and less political r epresentation. (Irimie,
2013)
Gender parity is progressively seen as useful for business. The increasing cooperation
of women in the labor market has generated a noteworthy positive change towards the
worldwide development and competitiveness. Furthermore, different studies are concluding
that management and board teams with gender balance seem to make sense from the financial
point of view. (International Labour Organization, 2015)
Tarr Whelan (2009) identifies 5 benefits that the companies would attract i f they would
assign more women in senior level positions:
 Higher revenues, increased risk awareness, less hyper competitiveness and a bigger
ability to survive financial downturns
 Increased concern in policies that contribute to individual/ societal commun ity –
education, families, entrepreneurship
 A stronger integration of work and family leading to higher productivity and quality of
life
 Increased commitment to both personal and corporate responsibilities by a long -term
planning
 Management style which reflects the 21st century trends: teamwork, participative
decision making (Vinnicombe, a.o, 2013 )
The advantages of having more ladies in decision making functions are numerous.
Governments normally use arguments identified with human rights, fighting disc rimination and
equal opportunities. Most organizations found many more reasons, for instance:
 Improved financial performance: there is a positive relationship between a company’s
relatively high extent of ladies in boards and their good financial results
 Reflecting the client base: ladies take 80% of their household choices. Therefore,
women at each level of the company convey particular knowledge and empower

11
organizations to better design new or adjust existing items and services to match ladies'
needs ('r eflecting the business sector practices')
 Winning the 'talent war': Companies and even societies are passing up a great
opportunity for profitable talent if the pool for senior officials and boards are formed of
mainly men. Particularly since ladies in num erous nations are as well or surprisingly
better instructed than men.
 Demographic changes (retirement and low birth rates) make it fundamental that ladies
participate at all levels within the society and organizations
 Enhanced corporate governance: some st udies have linked the presence of female board
members with the board’s improved capabilities to oversight
 Influence on behaviors: ladies in the boardroom have been accounted for the positive
impact on directors’ conduct, such as an increased participatio n at meetings, less
conflicts and better planning for assemblies.
 Better quality of the decision -making process since gender diversity brings new
thoughts and points of view and thus encourages debates.
 Innovation: diversity (including gender) leads to tra nsformations in products and
services
 Management styles mirror the employee base: women have a tendency towards the
‘transformational leadership’1 and prefer participatory styles aimed to empower
employees while men may rely more on transactional styles2
 Ensure compliance with current legislation and governance codes. Companies are
obliged to comply with the directives set by government (laws) or by the industry (self –
regulation)
 Ethical implications: companies would be perceived as equal opportunity employ ers,
being socially and ethically responsible
 In certain fields, benefits have been proven as well: in the financial sector for instance,
researches have indicated that women have a good influence on the risk -taking
behaviors of boards (AFFAEMME, 2015 )
In the past 10 – 15 years, the acknowledged message on gender disparity at work is
that ladies represent only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs and under 15% of corporate executives at

1 Style of leadership where the leader works with employees to identify the needed change, creating a
vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed
members of the group
2 Known as managerial leadership, focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group
performance; transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which the leader promotes compliance
of his/her followers through both rewards and punishments

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top organizations around the world. Nevertheless, it is to be taken into account tha t women
represent just 40% of the global workforce, with continuous growth in numbers in several
countries. They're gaining advanced professional qualifications in record numbers and in a few
territories women even surpass men. Organizations have implement ed programs to support the
full participation of women in leadership. (hbr.org, 2010)
Today, women own and manage over 30 per cent of all businesses, ranging from self –
employed, micro and small enterprises to medium and large organizations. However, women
tend to be concentrated more in micro and small companies. They represent around 3 24% of
all employers in all regions except the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) where they are
around 6 per cent. By comparison, women represent 31 – 38% of freelancers across all regions
except the MENA countries, where they make up almost 13% of thos e who are self -employed.
(International Labour Organization , 2015)
A Mercer gender diversity survey published in 2014 shows that, despite being 41% of
the global workforce, women represent only 19% of executives, 26% of senior managers and
36% of managers. The study was carried a research looking at workforce data from more than
1.7 million employees in 28 countries, including more than 680,000 women.
Surprisingly, more than half of 4,000 enterprises globally reported boards with 10%
or more female members and several organizations are rebuilding their workforce to be more
gender diverse, including in order to advance more ladies into middle and upper -management
positions (sometimes to appeal to their largely female customer base and achieve a better
financi al result). (Workforce.com, 2015)

2.2. Women in M anagement in Romania

Romania is known for a top -bottom approach to gender equality, promoted by the
dominant gender egalitarian communist ideology. Measures such as equal gender access to
education, trainings and access on the labor market, positively influenced the involvemen t of
women in the labor market and politics in communism, but still preserved the old believes on
women’s primary role unchallenged: taking care of the household and children.
In the last decades, the European Union facilitated a legislative and instituti onal
change in the field of equal opportunities regardless the gender. Nevertheless, due to the lack

3 ILO statistical database, table on employme nt by sex and status, June 2014

13
of political interest to prioritize gender equality, the status of Romanian women remains caught
between opportunities and vulnerabilities.
Despite the fact that in the latest years Romania made important steps in adjusting its
legislation, institutional settings and policies on gender equality, the reality is that Romania has
the lowest level of gender equality in the EU. In the past 20 years, the Romani an Government
and other related institutions proposed several national programs and measures for generating
equal opportunities. But the infrastructure can be qualified as good on paper and bad in practice,
mostly because there is no monitoring procedure i n place. ( International Labour Organization,
2015 )
At present, women still lag behind men in terms of labor participation and the gender
gap in earnings is found both in the public and private sector. Even though general equal
opportunities for women and m en exist, Romania has no policy, legislation or action regarding
gender quota or any other measure (in place or planned) to achieve a gender balance in terms
of economic decision -making. It has no legislative mechanism to establish quotas or targets for
gender representation on company boards. Consequently, it is hard to believe that Romania is
going to achieve the target imposed by the European Commission of having 40% of women in
the boards of directors of the 5000 companies listed in stock exchange by 20 20, even if it will
introduce in 2015 specific measures in this direction. Nearly all the initiatives in the area of
gender equality in economic decision making are taken by NGOs or/and private sector
companies. (Balica and Dragolea, 2015)
In 2013 Romanian women were more likely than men to accede to a higher education
degree. In the general active population (ages 25 -64), 16.4% of women had attended tertiary
education as compared with 14.9% of men. The difference within the age group 30 -34 is even
more pro nounced, with a 3 percentage points more women having university degree than men
(23.2% vs. 20.5%). However, this achievement hasn’t been a significant gain for women in the
labor market participation or earnings.
In 2013, the female employment rate in th e age group 20 -64 was 56.2%, well below
the EU average of 62.6%. The employment rate of women in Romania declined during the
economic crisis, a situation that had not happened in other EU countries as well. The relatively
low female unemployment rate of 4. 9% in 2013, points to the fact that Romanian women often
pushed to economic migration, informal employment or domestic work, leading them to a
higher level of social vulnerability and risk of exclusion. Even though it is hard to approximate
the exact numbe r of Romanian migrants, because of the high volume of undocumented
migration, official Eurostat data shows that in 2012 more than half of the people that migrated
from Romania were women (100.023 women out of 170.000 total migrants). The difference

14
between official employment and unemployment rates for women (both low) can be also
explained by informal employment. Although difficult to define and measure, informal
employment in Romania is dominated by young ladies. Even more, in 2012, 19, 5% of women
identi fied themselves as household workers while the percentage for men was 7%.
In tables no. 2.1. and 2.2 ., one can notice what the status of Romanian employed men
and women has been in comparison with the 28 countries from the European Union. Although
the wome n with a higher education on the labor market may have seen to be bigger in Romania,
we must also consider that from the total population of Romania, only 56.7 % were employed
in 2015, compared to 66.8 % the average of EU -28.

Table no. 2.1. – Employment rates by sex, age and educational attainment level for people aged 15 –
64 with tertiary education in 2013
Year Geographical
area Total (%) Males (%) Females (%)
2013 EU-28 countries 81.7 85.4 78.4
Romania 82.6 85.0 80.5
2014 EU-28 countries 82.0 85.7 78.8
Romania 82.5 84.8 80.3
2015 EU-28 countries 82.7 86.4 79.4
Romania 85.3 88.0 82.9
Source: Eu rostat, accessed on 21.05.2016

Table no. 2.2. – Employment rate and activity by sex and age in 2015 (percentage of total population,
ages between 15 -64)
Geographical
area Total (%) Males (%) Females (%)
EU-28 countries 72.5 78.3 66.8
Romania 66.1 75.3 56.7
Source: Eu rostat, accessed on 21.05.2016

Until now, the fact that ladies dominate numerically the tertiary education as
mentioned before, hasn’t resulted in a positive trend towards ending the gender pay gap.
The unadjusted gender pay pap (GPG) is an indicator used within the European
employment strategy (EES) to monitor disproportion in salaries between men and women. It’s
defined as the differenc e between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women
expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men. (ec.europa.eu, 2016)

15
In 2014, the gender pay gap was 10.1%, lower than the EU -28 average of 16.1%, but
still significant. S urprisingly, even in fields were they are overrepresented, women earn less
than men, as is the case with education (men earned in 2013 450 $ per month while women
made 370 $)4. The gender gap in earnings is replicated in the private sector as well, for instance
in the financial system women won in 2013 1.185 $ per month and men 1.580 $. However, we
should also consider the fact that women tend to choose sectors of activities that are generally
less well paid and they pay a higher price for part -time work , which is less well remunerated
than full -time jobs per hour of work. (International Labour Organization, 2015)
Romania was ranked 53 out of 126 countries by the percentage of women who have a
management position, with 31.4 %. Thus, Romania surpasses coun tries like Germany, Austria,
Spain and the Netherlands, but has a lower rank than Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria
and Poland, according to a study by the International Labor Organization. Regarding the
presence of women in positions of top and middl e management, Romania ranks 24 out of 49
countries, with a share of 31.1%. (wallstreet.ro, 2015)
In Romania, according to the Mercer study, the number of women in top management
positions is better than that recorded across Europe, and their number seems t o keep growing.
One factor that has supported this trend may be the fact that few women chose to stay home to
care for children at the end of maternity, compared to other countries in Western Europe.
Financial and economic conditions don’t bring a consider able support for this matter: no tax
deductions for families and child rearing allowance is not motivating. Romanian employers
have accepted this ‘new category’ of managers and they gradually started to implement specific
support conditions for women, such as special medical benefits or working conditions adapted
to their needs (flexibility, work from home etc.) . (dailybusiness.ro, 2015)
The share of women in executive management positions in large companies and SMEs
was 29.0% in 2012, which is stagnant ove r the last decade and well below the EU average of
33.0%. Romania defies the trend in the EU that women are more frequently appointed to
supervisory than executive boards. Almost one quarter of executive board members of the
largest listed Romanian compani es are women. However, there is a declining trend over the
past years. (International Labour Organization, 2015)

4 Labour market survey, 2014, National Institute of Statistics.

16
2.3. Barriers & Improvement R ecommendations
When it comes to analyzing the barriers that women encounter in their attempt to
advance to the higher management positions, one should definitely investigate two
perspectives: the size of the female talent pool (supply) and the demand side (the companies).
(International Labour Organization, 2015)
One reason why it can be more troublesome for women to be assigned in top
management positions is that their professional experience in this field is not adequately
diverse.
Since they are not exposed to a wide range of company operations during their car eers
they didn’t have the chance to gain adequate experience in management across different
functional areas. The ILO organization researches among 1300 private sector companies in the
39 developing countries also confirm the patterns regarding the converg ence of women in
certain types of management which mirrors the "glass wall" phenomenon that is the isolation
by gender within management occupations. While ladies are progressively obtaining access to
higher management positions, there is an inclination fo r them to be grouped in specific
managerial positions. Figure 2.1 beneath shows that a bigger proportion of organizations taking
an interest in the study have 100% women compared to 100% men in managerial positions such
as HR, PR, Finance and Administratio n.
Less organizations have 100% or more than 50% women that occupy managerial
functions like operations, sales, and research, product and general managers. Furthermore,
more companies declared that have more than 50% women in the first three types of
management compared to the latter. (International Labour Organization, 2015)

Figure no. 2. 1. – Percentage of companies with women and men in different types of management
(Source: International Labour Organization , 2015)

17
Women’s educational choices (like the preference for other subjects than STEM5) and
other career preferences (local assignments rather than international ones, option for staff roles
in certain areas etc.) limit the pool of women candidates for top management positions further.
Women tend to focus more on tasks’ execution in terms of performance and don’t pay enough
attention to other important competencies that are necessary, such as the ability to effectively
build a network and create a personal brand as a trustworthy, experienced profes sional. At the
top levels the competencies of promotion and power become crucial.
On the ‘demand side’, there are issues related to gender discrimination in the
recruitment and selection processes, women’s absence from the organizations’ informal talent
networks and different elements of corporate culture (e.g. ‘24 hours/ 7 days a week’
availability).
The division of household chores and work life balance programs have an important
role for ladies’ career paths from junior to middle and senior management roles and
organizations are expected to adopt support systems and programs that would help women
through their career stages at least until a certain age when the care for children is no longer a
blocking point since they get older and the focus shifts to other barriers which may prevent
further career advancement. (AFFAEMME, 2015)
A survey conducted in 2013 by ILO among 1300 private sector organizations in across
39 developing regions ranked the most significant barriers in order of priority as shown in
Figure no.
All regions except Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) recognized the same top 5 or 6
barriers relating to women’s and men’s social and reproductive roles on the one hand and on
the other the reflection of these in workplace structures, e.g. corporat e culture and women not
gaining adequate line management experience to position them for the jobs. They’ve also
considered that inadequate labor and non -discrimination laws are the least significant barrier.
The lack of flexible solutions as a barrier for women was ranked 10 out of 15. While most
regions identified roles assigned by society to men and women as one of the top barriers, CEE
countries only ranked this as 9 out of 15. While CEE companies ranked women having more
family responsibilities than men as the top barrier, they ranked men not being encouraged to
take leave for family responsibilities as the second highest barrier and in third place the lack of
a strategy for the retention of skilled women. In 5th place CEE ranked inherent gender bias in
recruitment and promotion.

5 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

18
As for Romania, for the ‘Women in Leadership Survey’ by Stanton Chase (2010) a
selected group of over 300 female senior executives from multinational, regional and Romanian
companies operating in Romania were surveyed. Starting a family was one of the factors which
was considered by almost 60% of the respondents to be the most limitative for ascending on a
higher managerial level About 30% mentioned that female senior executives may continue to
encounter several barriers like gend er discrimination, organization culture misfit, prejudice, less
objective assessment criteria, limited advancement imposed by industry specifics, family
constraints, lack of powerful networks, less availability for overtime and travelling, strong
patriarc hal culture and differences between men and women in decision making and leadership
styles. However, surprisingly, 57% of the respondents declared that gender was not a barrier in
career advancement to management roles at all. (AFFAEMME, 2015)

Figure no. 2.2. – Top barriers for women’s advancement in management
(Source: International Labour Organization , 2015, p. 16)

19
Figure no. 2.3. indicates the extent to which organizations replying to the ILO survey
were implementing various policies in order to support women’s advancement in a managerial
position. They are ranked according to the greatest number of companies implementing a
specific policy. (International Labour Organization , 2015 )

Figure no . 2.3. – Policies implemented to support women’s ascension to a managerial position
(Source: International Labour Organization, 2015)

In order to provide a suitable environment for supporting gender balance at work in
regards with women’s access to a managerial position, companies can work on a set of policies
and practices such as:
 Contemporary HR practices – examining prospection, recruitment, promotion and
succession plannin g procedures to assure that men and women are equally taken into
account
 Selection quotas and dedicated attempts to recruit female talent aim to create a critical
mass of women employed in an organization
 Talent development and promotion programs aim to pr ovide to the potential female
candidates for management roles with specific management training and career
development opportunities

20
 Mentoring and networking programs train women in career development strategies
within a supportive environment. Women's ne tworks are also a popular element of
diversity strategies. A growing number of business leaders are publicly mentoring
female candidates for executive and boardroom appointments
 Childcare – work -based childcare facilities would truly address common problem s in
accessing such services that are affordable, reliable and local
 Infrastructure support initiatives for working mothers including mothers' groups,
breastfeeding rooms and children days
 Flexible work opportunities – more and more popular initiatives ta ke into account part –
time and job share arrangements, flexi -time or working from home solutions, facilitated
by technology
 Leave entitlements – companies started to offer incentives for additional unpaid annual
leave, paid maternity/ paternity leave.
 Raising awareness with the scope of educating managers on the gains of ensuring
greater workforce diversity. “Mind -sets” may be influenced by organizing a range of
courses about diversity in the workplace and in management and involvement in
diversity council s that offer executives the chance to oversee the implementation of
strategies for cultural change (Piterman, 2008)

In Romania, there is a significant match between the degree to which public
institutions support equal opportunities and outcomes for women and the status of gender
equality as a whole.
Government employment and promotion practices have the potential to lead by
example to other employers and show how provisions should be implemented and democratic
values supported. Political support is a key factor underpinning this, and the EU and other
agencies are in a key position to lead the way to progress. (UNDP, 2012)

21
2.4. Conclusions

Managerial roles and competencies seems to make a difference in how women and
men lead their teams and achieve the bu siness goals. Men tend to focus more on the role of
supervision, organization, and group performance, while women prefer participatory styles
aimed to empower employees and create a vision to guide the change through inspiration.
Women have managed to incr ease their participation rates in managerial positions in
many developing countries and generally made progress at lower -management positions,
however they’re still greatly under -represented at senior levels of management. In most regions,
women still rece ive lower salaries than men, often for the same jobs. There is also continued
gender segregation since STEM management positions are still mainly held by men, while
women tend to concentrate on less technical department such as human resources, marketing
and public relations.
Despite what one may believe, Romania seems to have made progress for women’s
access to middle and top management. Ranking 53 out of 126 countries by the percentage of
women who have a management position (with 31.4 %) and with almost one quarter of women
executive board members, it still seems hard for Romania to reach the EU target of having 40%
of women in the boards of directors of the 5000 companies listed in stock exchange by 2020,
because of the lack of a serious legislative fram ework that would support this progress.
Although each country has its own legislative framework for labor, family support
(allowances, maternity etc.), gender equality, overall, women’s top barrier in advancing to a
higher managerial position is still cons idered to be their demanding role and responsibility
towards their families. The sudden interruption of their jobs for maternity leaves and further
childcare preoccupations are usually preventing women to access a managerial position since
they may lack ex perience, time to develop necessary skills or commit to bigger responsibilities
and unavailability to travel.
Women feel that in order to focus on advancing on the higher managerial positions
they would need more flexible solutions to manage family respo nsibilities and work
commitments at the same time, mentoring and career development opportunities to develop
certain managerial competencies and equal opportunities during the recruitment and selection
and performance evaluation for promotion processes.

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Chapter 3. The Modern Workplace – Generational Mix

3.1. Generational Aspects

Generational diversity has become an important concern for many organizations,
which are currently managing a broader range of employees’ work needs and experiences as
well as career development choices. At the same time, they are lacking women representatives
in management roles, and are becoming concerned with the competitive and financial impact
that this could mean for their organizations
A generation is a group of p eople born around the same time and in a similar social
location, exposed to similar social events, which leads to a limited range of potential
experiences. Therefore, people who belong to a certain “birth cohort”, as referred to, tend to
display similar c haracteristics, values and preferences over their lifetimes. (The Center for
General Kinnektics, 2016; Sessa & others, 2007)
According to global studies and researches, there are 5 main generations, whose
characteristics and behaviors have been influenced due to the historical period and events,
demographics, economic and technological advancement.
 The Traditional Generation – born before 1945
 Baby boomers – born between 1943 – 1965
 Generation X – born between 1965 – 1979
 Generation Y – born between 198 0 – 1995
 Generation Z – born between 1996 – 2010
The Traditional generation is the oldest in the working environment, albeit most of
the people are presently resigned. Otherwise called the veterans, the Silents, the Silent era,
this generation includes pe ople conceived before 1945, and a few sources put the most
punctual birth year to 1922 ( www.valueoptions.com ).
At work, they attempted to show consistency, search out technological advancement,
be past -oriented, show charge and -control administration reminiscent of military operations,
and favor various leveled authoritative structures. They are additionally liable to be steady,
conscientious, intensive, faithful and dedicated, in spite of the fact that they migh t feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty, change and conflict, hesitant to disregard the rules and
procedures and hesitant when they have different opinions about something. (Tolbize, 2008)

23
The Baby Boom Generation

Most sources distinguish Baby Boomers as individuals conceived between 1943 to
1965. The U.S. Statistics Bureau characterizes Boomers as people born around 1946 and 1964.
Boomers would like to have their efforts recognized and are normally reliable task co mpleters,
although they might be offended by constant feedback. Boomers have been depicted as having
a feeling of entitlement and as being good at networking, but hesitant to conflict with associates
and judgements of other people who do not share the same vision.
Generation X
The U.S. Census Bureau characterized this generation as consisting of people born
between 1968 and 1979. Other researches consider Generation X to reach as high as 1982, while
the lower limit was considered 1963.
They are not excessi vely faithful to their employers and they normally question
authority and do not let themselves feel threatened by it. Financial reward does not really inspire
individuals from this era, but the lack of money can lead to demotivation. They accept feedback
more easily, are versatile to change and prefer flexible schedules. (Tolbize, 2008)
Generation Y
The lowest limit of Generation Y might be as low as 1978, while the upper limit might
be as high as 2002, contingent upon the source. Individuals from Generation Y may incorporate
people conceived between 1980 and 1999 (Campton and Hodge, 2006); 1978 and 1 995 (The
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association Offiee of Diversity, 2006); 1980 and
2002 (Kersten, 2002) or 1978 and 1988 (Martin, 2005). (Tolbize, 2008)
Gen Y representatives believe that self -expression is more important than self -control,
marketing and self – branding is important. Also, they are afraid of living poorly —this is related
to lifestyle enjoyment, not wealth and believe that respect must be earned; it is not freely granted
based on age, authority or title. They manage to adapt r apidly, are exceptionally resilient and
committed when dedicate d to an idea, cause or product. (Valuepoints, 2016)
At present, companies and research centers alike tend to concentrate a lot of their
attention on Millennials since they are the largest gene ration alive today – approximately 1.8
billion globally (out of 7 billion people), they have an impact on the purchase decisions of peers
and parents and by 2018 they are likely to outpace Boomers’ earnings. Their also unique
advantage (out of the generati ons who are active in the workforce) is that they are the first
inherently digital generation. (Millennial Week, 2014)

24
Generation Z
Right now aged 20 and under, this new generation is known by various names such as:
iGen, Gen Z, Centennials, Founders etc. While most studies incline towards the term iGen, as
it functions admirably with the "i -everything" environment in which iGen grew up, the
undisputed reality that this era is soon to be the fastest developing generation in the workforce.
They are as of now representing the majority in schools and their inclination to technology is
the main characteristic for this generation. (Dorsey, 2016)

3.2. Generational D ifferences in Management

One of the possible clashes among generations in the working environments is related
to the management and leadership styles. This both influences and is affected by numerous
distinctions among the generations in regards with retention, motivation, values, work style
preferences and the perspective of what effective leadership implies.
Ranking the top admired traits of leaders, 8 of the 10 characteristics were quite
different from generation to generation. For instance, albeit every generation felt that ho nesty
is the most important for leaders, Traditionalists, Silents and Boomers ranked it as more
important than Gen X -ers and Millennials did. They additionally positioned caring at the top,
while Gen -Xers and Gen Ys ranked determination and ambition as bei ng more valuable.
Zemke and partners (1999) proposed the following preferences for the leadership
styles by generations. Both Traditionalists and Silents incline towards a well -defined structure
with respect for order and hierarchical power. They prefer a directive style, which is more
simple and clear. Boomers, on the other hand, are more comfortable with a consensual and
collegial leadership, characterized by open communication and responsibility sharing and
hardly tolerate traditional hierarchical struc tures. Gen -Xers are egalitarian and do not cherish
authority. They value honesty, fairness, competence and straightforwardness. They are
comfortable with changes. The Millennials lean toward a pleasant relationship with the
authority figure, prefer collect ive actions and expect their leaders to pull employees together.
(Warner & Sandberg, 2010)
Moreover, Millennials do not want to follow the traditional corporate model — with
strictly established protocols and processes. They rather think outside the box a nd are inclined
towards inventing new ways of doing their jobs. They are interested in transformational change,
and where they cannot find it, they look to invent it themselves, including improved leadership

25
and corporate structures. All these will have a significant impact on the corporate culture,
leadership/ management style and design of operational procedures and therefore directly affect
the requirements and perception of corporate compliance.
Gen Y executives will therefore have a bigger impact on th e corporate culture, business
operations and the speed we currently work in. From a compliance point of view, the workforce
as we know it, will experience challenges in delivering in real time, managing a large scale of
data, and communicating in new ways by le veraging technology. (EY, 2015)
EY carried out an online generation’s survey6 in 2013, in which 1,215 respondents
were evenly split among the three defined generational groups: Gen Y: 33%, Gen X: 33% and
boomers: 34% and evenly divided among males (48 %) and females (52%).
From 2008 to 2013, both during and coming out of the recession, there has been a
significant shift in Millennials and Gen X moving into management roles. In fact, 87% of Gen
Y managers surveyed moved into a management role during thi s period vs. 38% of Gen X and
19% of boomer managers.
By comparison, the generational mix of those who moved into management the prior
five years, from 2003 to 2008, was 12% Gen Y, 30% Gen X and 23% boomers.

Table no. 3 .1. – Generations movement into management by time
Moving into Management Gen Y Gen X Boomers
Less than a year to less than five years ago (2008 –
2013) 87% 38% 19%
Five to less than 10 years ago (2003 -2008) 12% 30% 23%
10+ years ago (earlier than 2003) 1% 31% 59%

The most positive perceptions of both the management abilities and general
characteristics of each generation were obtained by the Gen Xers. Members and managers of
this generation were perceived favorably on almost each trait in the survey.
56% o f respondents felt that Xers displayed each of the surveyed positive
characteristics. Actually, the only negative attribute identified by 51% of respondents was

6 EY conducted an online generation’s survey in late June 2013. The 1,215 respondents were evenly split
among the three defined generational age groups (Gen Y: 33%, Gen X: 33% and boomers: 34%) and fairly
evenly divided among males (48%) and females (52%). Generations were defined as: Generation
Y/millennials, ages 18 -32; Generation X, ages 33 -48; and baby boomers, ages 49 -67. A majority of
respondents (98%) worked full -time, had at least some level of higher education (95%) and reported
household income in excess of US$75K a year (57%).

26
"entitled and concerned primarily about individual promotion." This was also a characteristic
of Millennials (68%) and, to a lesser extent, Boomers (32%).
80% of respondents selected Gen X as the generation best equipped to manage in
current economic conditions, followed closely by Baby boomers (76%) and Millennials (27%).
Gen X also outpaced the re st with 65% vs. 27% for boomers and 51% for Gen Y as the
generation perceived as best equipped to manage in 2020.
Support for Xers and boomers to manage in the future dropped, however the
expectations that Millennials will manage effectively in 2020s alm ost doubled, from 27% in
2013 to 51%. As expected, boomers were not identified as equipped to manage in 2020
economic conditions, as respondents probably expect that the majority of them will retire by
2020.
75% of the managers surveyed confirmed that mana ging multi -generational teams is
quite a challenge, and 20% manage a mostly even mix of employees from all three generations.
Some of the main challenges mentioned across all generations include different work
expectations (77%) and lack of comfort with yo unger employees managing older colleagues
(72%).
Another challenges organizations face with an increasingly generationally diverse
workforce is determining which benefits are the most meaningful to employees of different age
groups — so they can both retai n top talent and motivate them.
Some of the top benefits within and across generations, and by gender, include:
 Monetary compensation & benefits, flexibility, promotions
 Money is still the most important among all the generations and ranked first by 49% of
the interviewees, while benefits such as healthcare and retirement ranked first by 22%.
 Baby boomers were significantly more likely to identify benefits as the most important
perk compared to younger generations (29% vs. 19% for Xers and 17% for Millennia ls)
When asked which generation is best equipped to manage teams effectively overall,
70% of the respondents mentioned the Xers in comparison with 25% boomers and 5%
Millennials. Regarding managerial skills, respondents overwhelmingly favored Gen X
(consid ered the "best" on nine of the 11 attributes). (Business Insider, 2013; EY, 2013;
Multivu.com, 2013)

27
3.3. Wo men Managers: Generational P erceptions

Over the last century, our views have evolved on gender roles, on what women can
and should do versus what they are expected to do.
Women in the Silent generations had the role of mother and home keeper, while the
husbands had a job. Those who actually wo rked outside the home, most middle class women
were secretaries, teachers and nurses; very few were lawyers, surgeons or senators. Baby
Boomers grew with the choice of birth control and more opportunities on building a career,
rather than stay at home. Xers women had role models – their career moms and they knew they
would have even more chances to balance family and work. Millennials grew up seeing women
in high power roles and millennial men who have competed with girls in school and on the job
and ha ve had women bosses are likely to seeing them as equals.
Some women managers from Generation X are finding a clear generation gap with
female employees from Gen Y. Likewise, some female bosses who are baby boomers or from
the Silent generation often have t rouble relating to women born at other times. (Zaslow, 2016)
The Silents and Boomers observe and honor hierarchical structures, which are
characteristic of a masculine value. Gen Xers and Millennials on the other hand, have an
inclination for a less hierar chical structures and prefer network oriented structures which is a
characteristic of a feminine value. (Turner, 2014)
Gen X women are the so called "fo rgotten middle child" in the workplace, squeezed
between the baby boomers and millennials. There were only 45 million gen -Xers born,
compared to 78 million baby boomers and 77 million millennials and in the first quarter of
2015, Gen Y became the largest g eneration in the workforce, according to Pew Research.
Therefore, each of these generations is twice as large as the gen X workforce, and often twice
as vocal about their achievements.
According to data from the Development Dimensions International and The
Conference Board’s Global Leadership Forecast, Gen Y women display a greater
comprehension of their future career path as managers within their company, compared to gen
X women. Millennial women managers are more inclined, compared to their gen X peers, t o
indicate that they are advancing in their careers at an acceptable rate.
Contributing to gen -Xers’ pessimism may be the feeling that they worked hard, did
their time, and now they are "frustrated, as millennials seem to compete with them and question
their higher experience. After all, it was generation X women who paved the way for work -life
balance – maternity leave, nursing rooms at work, flexible schedule and it is often their

28
commitment to family that prevents them from aiming for a promotion. They a re typically
responsible for their children and their aging parents, making them the first workforce to be
caregivers for both children and senior parents. Millennial women may or may not have kids,
but gen -Xers have kids and aging parents. Those life circ umstances become a barometer for
where they want to go and how fast. It is common for a gen X woman to postpone her own
career advancement or promotion until their children are in college. They are also not as vocal
about their accomplishments or their des ire to win a promotion as their millennial colleagues
are. Instead, gen X women tend to sit back, do the work and think that they will be rewarded
automatically, instead of advocating for a promotion for themselves. (Fastcompany, 2015)
Millennial women thi nk that their gender prevents them from receiving a raise, being promoted
or given access to a high visibility job faster, as their male colleagues seem to get. (Catalyst,
2015)
Another study from the Business and Professional Women’s Association, carried out
a survey among 662 Gen Y American women in 2011, and their findings also revealed a
perception of gender discrimination. 77% of survey participants identified gender as a moderate
or severe problem in today’s workplace. Only 3% indicated that gender di scrimination is not a
problem. 50% of Gen Y women have observed or experienced gender discrimination in the
workplace. Women who had observed or experienced gender discrimination were more likely
to report gender as a severe problem (37%) compared with wom en who had not (8%). For Gen
Y women who had either experienced or observed gender discrimination, reported situations
like:
 Stereotyping (63%)
 Unequal compensation (60%)
 Being treated with superiority (58%)
 Inequality of opportunities (52%)
 Being held to a different standard (51%)
 Sexist jokes and derogatory statements about women (38%)
 Sexual harassment (31%)
Survey results indicate that gender and age can have a compounding impact. 51% of
Gen Y women who observed or experienced gender discrimination also reported generational
discrimination. The types of generational or age discrimination reported included: being
perceived as incompetent or inexperienced because of age; name calling such as “kid” and girl”;
being left aside when a promotion opportunity be cause of age; and even more, being held to
different standards because of age. (BPW, 2011)

29
Female millennials seem to get more attention because they are more highly educated
and are entering the workforce in larger numbers than any of their previous gener ations. Female
millennials are estimated to form approximately 25% of the global workforce by 2020. Despite
this, women remain scarce at the top with only 4,6% of Fortune 500 CEOs female in 2014. Yet,
the female millennial has likely outperformed her male counterparts at school and at university
and is the most confident of any female generation before her.
To truly address the gender leadership gap, organizations should enable enhanced
leadership diversity along with programs to develop junior talented w omen for future leadership
roles.
A commitment to an inclusive culture and talent processes, policies and programs will
support a business model where all talents can prosper, including the female millennial. (PwC,
2014)

3.4. Conclusions

The different approaches and visions about the ideal workplace, behavior and
expectations are generating conflicts between the generations. Besides this generational “war”,
women are also put aback by the still present gender discrimination, in their strug gle to advance
in their careers. Women have greatly increase d their participation in the educated labor market,
and also made quite big steps in managerial positions in many developing countries.
Out of the five generations (the Silents, Baby Boomers, Xers , Millennials and iGen),
most studies regarding the workplace focus on finding out more about the Gen X and Gen Y
interactions since they are the closest in terms of age and historical context. Also, they represent
the majority of the working population wh o are not close to retirement.
Millennial women seem to be more privileged comparing to their Gen X colleagues,
as they are more highly trained and also tend to be more expansive and vocal about their
achievements and professional expectations. Gen X wome n would rather expect to be
recognized by their manager, instead of trying to highlight more often their results and desires.

30
Chapter 4. Research: Women’s P erception about M anagement

4.1. Research M ethod ology
As mentioned in the previous chapters, it has been acknowledged globally that women
faced several barriers which prevented them from acceding to a managerial role or barriers
encountered while they occupied a managerial role. Organizations tend to give mor e credit to
men in management than to women, as it is thought that they are less emotionally influenced in
their decisions and they have more availability to work, as they do not have so much pressure
to care for children as women do.
The objectives of th e research are:
 The scope and objectives of the research is to interview minimum 30 romanian women
– 15 Managers and 15 Non -managers, in order to determine their perception about a
career in management
 Assess and compare the interviewed women’s opinions about a career in management
and their perception on the possible barriers and generational influences
This research is based on the interview technique which uses the questionnaire as a
tool for research. The target group consists of Romanian women who ar e employed and were
selected based on two factors: age, so that the research could cover two main working
generations – Gen X and Gen Y and their career stage – an equal number of women who are
already occupying a managerial position and women who hold a n on-managerial role, in order
to compare their views.
To measure the results of this study, the questionnaire contains both open questions,
as well as questions with measurable answers – based on the Likert scale, wit h a typical 5 level
Likert item.
The full que stionnaire is presented in the following pages.

31
Women Managers – Questionnaire

This study aims to analyze women’s perception about a career in management, by
analyzing your opinions about past experiences and possible barriers.

Email: ___________________________________

1. Please choose your birth year interval
a) 1943 – 1965
b) 1965 – 1979
c) 1980 – 1995

2. Please select your education level
a) High school graduate
b) Undergraduate – currently studying
c) Bachelor’s Degree graduate
d) Master’s Degree or MBA graduate

3. I currently work in a:
a) Top Management role
b) Middle Management role
c) Junior Manager role
d) Project Manager role
e) Non Managerial role

4. In the next 5 years, I see myself working in a:
a) Top Management role
b) Middle Management role
c) Junior Manager role
d) Project Manager role
e) Non Managerial role

5. From a woman’s perspective, please assess to what extent you agree with the following
statements:

a) I think that work -life balance (family time versus work time) has an impact on women’s
management career or path t o a managerial position.

32
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

b) I think that maternity leave influences women’s management career or path to a managerial position.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

c) I think that gender bias (unequal treatment between genders at work) has a limitative effect on
women’s management career or path to a managerial position.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

d) I think that insufficient specialized training opportunities would have more impact on women’s
management career or path to a managerial position, compared to a man in a similar career stage.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

e) I think that insufficient general, or line management experience, would limit women’s chances to
accede to a managerial posit ion, compared to a man in a similar career stage
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

f) I think that women are conditioned by the society and cultural background in their management
career or path to a managerial position.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

33
g) I think that flexible work solutions contribute to women’s decision to pursue or continue in a
management role.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

h) I think that limited availability for business trips/mobility influences women’s chances to take on
and sustain a managerial role.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

i) I think that the existence of gender equality policies in companies would influence women’s chances
to take on and sustain a managerial role.
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

j) Others (please specify and rate):
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

6. I have encountered the situations below while occupying a managerial position or while
competing for a managerial position:

a) Unequal compensation, comparing to men in a similar position
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

b) Being treated with superiority by your managers
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

34
c) Gender bias – inequality of opportunities in recruitment and promotion
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

d) Derogatory statements, showing a critical or disrespectful attitude
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

e) Sexual harassment or sexist jokes
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

f) Lack of gender equality policies or poor implementation of them
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

g) Lack of, or less specialized training for women managers, comparing to men managers
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

h) Others (please specify and rate):
1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

7. My company addresses the following aspects, in supporting women in a managerial
position or who wish to advance to a management role:

a) Work – life balance (family versus work time)
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

35
b) Childcare facilities (maternity leave)
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

c) Infrastructure support initiatives for working mothers (e.g. mother’s groups, breastfeeding rooms,
events for employees’ children etc.)
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

d) Gender equality policies (in recruitment and promotion)
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

e) Talent development and promotion programs
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

f) Opportunities for gaining general or line management experience
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

g) Improved cultural factors in order to support women’s advancement
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

36
h) Flexible work solutions
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

i) Business trips/mobility support for mothers
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

j) Others (please specify and rate):
1 – Strongly
disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Neither agree,
nor disagree 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree

8. When it comes to the chances given to pursue a career in management, I feel that I have
more/less advantages than my women colleagues from other generations:

a) Generation X – women born between 1965 – 1979
1 – I am completely
disadvantaged 2 – I am partially
disadvantaged 3 – I am neither
disadvantaged, nor
advantaged 4 – I am partially
advantaged 5 – I am
completely
advantaged

b) Generation Y – women born between 1980 – 1995
1 – I am completely
disadvantaged 2 – I am partially
disadvantaged 3 – I am neither
disadvantaged, nor
advantaged 4 – I am partially
advantaged 5 – I am
completely
advantaged

37
4.2. Results A nalysis and I nterpretation
Respondents’ profile
I have gathered the answers of 30 employed women who expressed their opinions on
the analyzed topic. Their profile is summarized in figures 4.1. – 4.4. Mainly, the respondents
belong to Gen X and Gen Y generations, in an unequal numb er (1:2) . 86,6% have university
studies, while 13,33% are either students or have graduated high school only. By present
position, half of the interviewees occupy a non – managerial role and half are involved at
different managemen t levels – Junior Managers, Middle Managers and Project Managers.

Figure no. 4.1. – Target group profile, divided by the age interval

Figure no. 4.2. – Target group profile, divided by the educational background
20100Number of women by age
1980-1995 1965-1979 1943-1965
2
2
1016Number of women by education
Highschool graduate Undergraduate – currently student
Bachelors' degree Masters' degree

38

Figure no. 4.3. – Target group profile, divided by the ir current position

Figure no. 4.4. – Target group profile, divided by their desired position in the next 5 years

Analysis and interpretation
Following the collection of all answers , the results have been interpreted in Excel,
through visual, simple charts that allow comparisons among each of the three points of interest:
overall results (both managers and non -managers), women man agers and non -managers
separately, in order to assess the opinions for each category.
The average scores for each questions may be seen in figures no. 4.5., 4.6., 4.7. and
4.8., as well as the measurement scales. Very small differences can be noticed among the
categories, the women’s general responses are quite similar, disregarding the position held or
generational background.
Besides the aspects mentioned in the questionnaire, women identified barriers such as
the lack of encouragement to take full period maternity leave (2 respondents), the need to work 15
339Number of women by current role
Non – Managerial role Junior Manager role
Project Manager role Middle Management roles
5
2
4
109Number of women by desired role in the next 5 years
Non – Managerial role Junior Manager role Project Manager role
Middle Management roles Top Management role

39
over-time (4 respondents) and in one case , complete lack of support from the company’s side
in order to pursue a career in management.
Figure no. 4.5. presents the resu lts of women ’s perspective on different considered
barriers, offering an overall picture , as wel l as the assessment per current role – non –
managerial and managerial. In general, the interviewed women considered the flexible work
solutions (score: 4,03), work life balance (scor e: 3,87) and the existence of gender equality
policies in companies (score : 3,77) as the top influencing factors for them regarding the
influence on a management career. The unequal treatment between genders and the lack of
specialized training were regarded as more neutral factors when discussing about the impact on
a managerial career, scoring only 3,30 and 3,03 , respectively. However, women who already
occupy a management position tend to rank slightly higher scores than non – managers on the
following topics: flexible work solutions, work life balance, gend er equality policies,
availability for business trips / mobility .

Figure no. 4.5. – Comparison of women’s perspective on different so called “barriers”
Measurement scale: 1 – Strongly disagree; 2 – Disagree; 3 – Neither agree, nor disagree; 4 – Agree; 5 – Strongly
agree

40

Figure no. 4.6. – Comparison among encountered barriers of the interviewed women
Measurement scale: 1 – Always 2 – Very Often 3 – Sometimes 4 – Rarely 5 – Never

Figure no. 4.6. shows the results of the situations that the interviewed women have
encountered so far in their career and it seems that the unequal compensation comparing to men
and being treated with superiority by their managers are the most common situations that t he
interviewed women faced. The bottom score is held by sexual harassment and derogatory
statements situations, which were least encountered.
Figure no. 4.7 . presents to what extent interviewed women think that the companies
that they work for offer real solutions and support for women who plan to advance to a
managerial career. As one can notice, the general impression of women is quite negative and
they consider that companies are still not supporting enough their women employees in their
intent to follow a managerial path. The least support is provided for ini tiatives for working
mothers, work life balance and business trips/ mobility support for mothers.
It seems that women are generally not feeling nor advantaged, not disadvantaged by
their women colleagues from other generatio ns (Figure no. 4.8.). Gen Y feels slightly more
advantaged comparing to their colleagues from Gen X when competing for a managerial role.
On the other hand, Gen X women feel a little more disadvantaged in their chances to win over
Gen Y colleagues.

41

Figure no. 4.7 . – Women’s opinion about the support provided by their companies
Measurement scale: 1 – Strongly disagree; 2 – Disagree; 3 – Neither agree, nor disagree; 4 – Agree; 5 – Strongly
agree

Figure no. 4.8. – Perception about generational advantages to pursue a career in management

Question: 8) When it comes to the chances given to pursue a career in management, I feel that I have more/less
advantages than my women colleagues from other generations:
Measurement scale: 1 – I am completely disadvantaged; 2 – I am partia lly disadvantaged; 3 – I am neither
disadvantaged, nor advantaged; 4 – I am partially advantaged; 5 – I am completely advantaged

3.63
3
00.511.522.533.54
a) Generation X –women born
between 1965 –1979 b) Generation Y –women born
between 1980 –1995 Perceived generational advantages

42
4.3. Conclusions and Limitations
The previous research chapters showed a more or less global vision of women
managers ’ situation at present. Large organizations have carried out complex studies
throughout the years in order to determine women’ s perception about possible barriers and
opportunities in this domain. In the context of two main (soon to be three) generational gaps,
women mana gers need not only to cope with gender bias, but also with managing individuals
belonging to different generations.
Based on these pr emises, I wished to conduc t a small research in Bucharest for
assess ing and comparing the interviewed women’s opinions about a career in management and
their perception on the possible barriers and generational influences . In th e result analysis
section are presented the main conclusions of the research and although maybe not so
pronou nced as in a global context, the interviewed Romanian women still feel a gender
discrepancy and some limitations when it comes to a career in management.
One of t he limitations of this research was the uneven number of Gen X and Gen Y
women. Most of the employed women who were willing to participate to the interview belong
to Millennials generation and therefore, the comparison made at question 8 is limited.
The second limitation is that the number of manager women and non -manager women
is not equal , which can have an influence on accura tely assessing the separate views regarding
the questions in the questionnaire .
Anothe r limitation was that women had the tendency to choose more neutral answers
(score 3 on the Likert scale), which, for some of the questions, the results are not very
conclusive.

43
Conclusions

My vision for this research was to provide an overview on th e current situation of
women in management positions, by presenting a series of statistics regarding their global
presence in such decision making roles and by addressing several findings regarding th e most
important barriers that Romanian women identified either from the position of an accomplished
manager or while attempting to obtain such a function. The generational gap in the workforce
and the impact and differences between women of different cohorts, who want to ascend to a
management posit ions, by presenting a series of findings about their situation globally.
Managerial roles and competencies seems to make a difference in how women and
men lead their teams and achieve the business goals. Men tend to focus more on the role of
supervision, o rganization, and group performance, while women prefer participatory styles
aimed to empower employees and create a vision to guide the change through inspiration.
Women have managed to increase their participation rates in managerial positions in
many dev eloping countries and generally made progress at lower -management positions,
however they’re still greatly under -represented at senior levels of management. In most regions,
women still receive lower salaries than men, often for the same jobs. There is als o continued
gender segregation since STEM management positions are still mainly held by men, while
women tend to concentrate on less technical department such as human resources, marketing
and public relations.
Despite what one may believe, Romania seems t o have made progress for women’s
access to middle and top management. Ranking 53 out of 126 countries by the percentage of
women who have a management position (with 31.4 %) and with almost one quarter of women
executive board members, it still seems hard for Romania to reach the EU target of having 40%
of women in the boards of directors of the 5000 companies listed in stock exchange by 2020,
because of the lack of a serious legislative framework that would support this progress.
Although each country has its own legislative framework for labor, family support
(allowances, maternity etc.), gender equality, overall, women’s top barrier in advancing to a
higher managerial position is still considered to be their demanding role and responsibility
towards their families. The sudden interruption of their jobs for maternity leaves and further
childcare preoccupations are usually preventing women to access a managerial position since
they may lack experience, time to develop necessary skills or commit to bigger res ponsibilities
and unavailability to travel.

44
Women feel that in order to focus on advancing on the higher managerial positions
they would need more flexible solutions to manage family responsibilities and work
commitments at the same time, mentoring and c areer development opportunities to develop
certain managerial competencies and equal opportunities during the recruitment and selection
and performance evaluation for promotion processes.

45
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