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Social Sustainability in Business from a Gender Perspective

Editors

Department of Business Administration, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid (28032), Spain
Interests: gender; tourism and gender; technology; research market; leadership
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Social Psychology, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (E-12071), Spain
Interests: psychosocial health at work; gender; leadership; emotions at work
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Topical Collection Information

Dear colleagues,

The scope of the Special Issue ”Social Sustainability in Business from a Gender Perspective” focuses on the social part of the triple-bottom-line (TBL) model: social, environmental and financial. This interrelation between social, economic and environmental factors includes gender equality and social equity, equity in health, equity in labor rights, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable consumption, among others.

Social sustainability in business seeks to identify and manage businesses’ social impacts, both positive and negative, on society, the environment, employees, workers in the value chain, customers and local communities. For social sustainability, the especially relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are SDGs referring to a) economic, financial and labor sustainability—"decent work and economic growth" (SDG8) and "reduction of inequality" (SDG10); b) socio-occupational health—"health and well-being" (ODS3); c) gender equality—“gender equality” (SDG5); d) "reduction of inequality" (SDG9); e) “build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”—(SDG10); and f) “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” (SDG11). In this sense, the working conditions that ensure a reduction in economic and social inequalities, together with policies and organizational measures aimed at promoting health and well-being, and inclusive and sustainable industrialization consumption mean that companies are directing their actions towards the achievement of the SDGs.

Social sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary by combining gender studies, psychology, economics, finance, marketing, tourism, sustainability, ecofeminism and sociology to address the invisible dimensions of the interconnections between the interconnected dimensions of social sustainability. Different sectors take different approaches to addressing social sustainability; however, although there are numerous gendered issues and impacts that could be identified, there is a lack of studies focusing on social sustainability taking into account gender as a key factor. In this line, it is important to consider the relevant role of social responsibility to reduce gender inequality in employment and precarity in working conditions, or the special role of women in promoting a more pro-environmental and sustainable society. Additionally, the current COVID-19 pandemic environment will also play a role in how actors/businesses/citizens are addressing social responsibility, taking into account a gender perspective.

According to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, social sustainability has five dimensions that should be considered when determining if a business or project is socially sustainable: equity, diversity, social cohesion, quality of life, democracy and governance. In this Special Issue, we invite papers that cover those dimensions from a gender perspective in different sectors (tourism and ICT, among other sectors), addressing topics including (but not limited to):

Equity:

  • Gender balance and equality at workplaces;
  • Working conditions/arrangements and gendered impacts;
  • Work–life balance;
  • Promoting decent work and economic growth.

Diversity:

  • Gender diversity management.

Social cohesion:

  • Social leadership, empowerment and gender.

Quality of life:

  • Promoting employees’ (psycho-socio and physical) health and well-being at work.

Democracy and governance:

  • Community engagement and volunteerism;
  • Corporate sustainability (CSR).

Other topics regarding gender:

  • “Doing gender” through social, pro-environmental and ethical actions, attitudes and values (consumption, responsible investment etc.);
  • The gender impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on social sustainability in business. 

To sum up, all topics related to social sustainability in gender research are of interest.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Societies.

Prof. Dr. Monica Segovia Pérez
Prof. Dr. Eva Cifre
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • social sustainability
  • gender
  • gender equality
  • decent work
  • working conditions
  • health and well-being
  • corporate sustainability
  • women’s pro-environmental attitudes and values
  • research
  • COVID-19

Published Papers (13 papers)

2023

Jump to: 2022, 2021

25 pages, 2468 KiB  
Article
Women Entrepreneurs Who Break through in Reward-Based Crowdfunding: The Influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation
by Ke Zhao, Hongwei Wang and Wei Wang
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9276; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129276 - 08 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1249
Abstract
Based upon social identity theory, having a strategic entrepreneurial orientation is crucial for ventures seeking funding, since entrepreneurial orientation (viewed as an entrepreneurial organizational culture) has a significant influence on investors’ decision-making for resource allocation. However, the attitude of investors toward women entrepreneurs’ [...] Read more.
Based upon social identity theory, having a strategic entrepreneurial orientation is crucial for ventures seeking funding, since entrepreneurial orientation (viewed as an entrepreneurial organizational culture) has a significant influence on investors’ decision-making for resource allocation. However, the attitude of investors toward women entrepreneurs’ behavioral orientation is controversial. Women entrepreneurs may not benefit from specific behavioral orientations because of gender bias. In this study, we had a sample of 5105 ‘design and technology’ campaigns with explicit gender information on Kickstarter, utilizing a computer-aided text analysis dictionary of entrepreneurial orientation to examine whether the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation signals affected the relationship between women entrepreneurs and their performance in reward-based crowdfunding. Our findings demonstrated that investors tended to support women entrepreneurs who displayed many of the signals for autonomy and risk-taking, while backers were skeptical of women entrepreneurs displaying a high number of the signals for proactiveness. This study will enable an in-depth understanding of the link between investors’ decision-making and women’s entrepreneurial behaviors, in addition to determining which specific entrepreneurial behavior is important for helping women entrepreneurs to obtain funding in the context of reward-based crowdfunding, from a practical perspective. Full article
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2022

Jump to: 2023, 2021

20 pages, 462 KiB  
Article
Are the Sins of the Father the Sins of the Sons, but Not the Daughters? Exploring How Leadership Gender and Generation Impact the Corporate Social Responsibility of Franchise Firms
by María Fernández-Muiños, Kevin Money, Anastasiya Saraeva, Irene Garnelo-Gomez and Luis Vázquez-Suárez
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8574; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148574 - 13 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1220
Abstract
Emerging literature suggests that male leaders guide their companies more towards operations-related (OR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and female leaders lead their companies more towards non-operation-related (Non-OR) CSR activities. Nevertheless, very little research has considered intergenerational issues in CSR practices. This study explores [...] Read more.
Emerging literature suggests that male leaders guide their companies more towards operations-related (OR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and female leaders lead their companies more towards non-operation-related (Non-OR) CSR activities. Nevertheless, very little research has considered intergenerational issues in CSR practices. This study explores this question in a context unexplored to date, the franchise industry. We apply multivariate analysis to explore differences between franchisor leaders. Our results reveal that successor leaders engage their companies more in normative CSR than founding leaders. Contrary to our expectations, they also encourage more instrumental CSR activities compared to the founders. We found that female leaders promote normative CSR practices to a greater extent than their male counterparts. However, gender differences in instrumental CSR were only present for the group of current leaders, where men outperformed women. When we delved into the analyses by looking at the influence of the gender of the previous founder, we found that female heirs engage their companies at the same levels of instrumental CSR as their male heir counterparts. Implications for CSR practices in franchise firms and directions for future research are discussed. Full article
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19 pages, 1208 KiB  
Article
Women’s Promotion to Management and Unfairness Perceptions—A Challenge to the Social Sustainability of the Organizations and Beyond
by Amparo Ramos, Felisa Latorre, Inés Tomás and José Ramos
Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020788 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2267
Abstract
Inequality between women and men in top management positions is still a current reality where women are underrepresented. Gender discrimination against women in managerial positions violates the Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality. Gender discrimination affects women but also has negative consequences for [...] Read more.
Inequality between women and men in top management positions is still a current reality where women are underrepresented. Gender discrimination against women in managerial positions violates the Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality. Gender discrimination affects women but also has negative consequences for employee output. Our aim is analyzing how the role of gender moderates the relationship between gender barriers to managerial positions and performance, mediated by organizational justice and commitment, and whether this relationship is stronger in women than in men. This study was carried out with 1278 employees (45.2% women and 54.8% men) of a Spanish financial group consisting of three different organizations. We performed a moderated mediation path analysis with Mplus. Results show that some gender barriers are associated with lower perceptions of organizational justice, which in turn are associated with lower organizational commitment, thus reducing performance. Moreover, this relationship is significant in men and women for work–family balance and barriers to accessing influential networks, but for unfair HR policies and practices, it is only significant in women. Removing gender barriers and unfairness perceptions is the goal that will contribute to organizational sustainability from the gender perspective. Full article
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2021

Jump to: 2023, 2022

15 pages, 245 KiB  
Article
The Silent Discrimination against Headscarved Professionals in the Turkish Labor Market: The Case of Women in the Banking Sector
by Hatice Karahan and Nigar Tugsuz
Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11324; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011324 - 13 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1697
Abstract
This study addresses the widespread discriminatory policies against headscarved professionals in the Turkish job market, by focusing on the female-intensive banking sector. Although the number of professionals wearing headscarves has increased since 2013 with the removal of the ban on headscarves for workers [...] Read more.
This study addresses the widespread discriminatory policies against headscarved professionals in the Turkish job market, by focusing on the female-intensive banking sector. Although the number of professionals wearing headscarves has increased since 2013 with the removal of the ban on headscarves for workers in the public sector, we argue that significant ideological discriminatory practices and bias against these women still exist. To expose this hidden reality and uncover its dynamics, we undertook exploratory in-depth interviews with 30 professionals from the Turkish banking sector, including both men and women. Our findings verify a severe underrepresentation of headscarved professionals in the commercial banking sector. Whereas, after 2013, state-owned banks began, to some extent, to recruit women wearing the headscarf, private commercial banks have not amended their exclusionist policy towards headscarved white-collar employees. Research findings confirm that in the Turkish banking sector, policies regarding the headscarf are still shaped by ideological corporate values. This study suggests that the appointment and promotion of female professionals in the Turkish banking sector are blocked by long-established stereotypes and prejudices, which stand in the way of inclusive practices supporting social equity, as well as diversity and the equality of women in the workplace. Full article
20 pages, 340 KiB  
Article
Women as Victims of Court Rulings: Consequences of Workplace Harassment in the Hospitality Industry in Spain (2000–2016)
by Consuelo Reguera and Antonio L. García-Izquierdo
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7530; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147530 - 06 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2156
Abstract
Workplace harassment is a psychosocial risk factor that increasingly affects workers in the hospitality industry. Although this risk factor is recognised by legal regulations in Spain, in many cases the scope of these regulations and their interpretation by the courts remains unclear. The [...] Read more.
Workplace harassment is a psychosocial risk factor that increasingly affects workers in the hospitality industry. Although this risk factor is recognised by legal regulations in Spain, in many cases the scope of these regulations and their interpretation by the courts remains unclear. The aim of this research is to conduct a qualitative, documentary, and descriptive study of the content of 61 rulings obtained from a search of 2335 rulings in the database of the Judicial Documentation Centre (CENDOJ) for the years 2000 to 2016. The main results show a steady increase in complaints over sixteen years; that women are predominantly the victims of work-related and sexual harassment; and that most harassment is carried out by men, is vertical in nature, and is frequently perpetrated by employers or bosses. Approximately half of the cases resulted in the awarding of some form of financial compensation, and although the amounts were small, over half of these cases involved workplace harassment, with the rest relating to sexual harassment at work. Most cases resulted in the termination of the victim’s contract, either through dismissal or employee abandonment. Based on the results found, we develop proposals that may facilitate future lines of action designed to enhance the defence and legal protection of workers and thus contribute to the promotion and sustainability of wellbeing in the workplace. Full article
23 pages, 1163 KiB  
Article
Awakenings: An Authentic Leadership Development Program to Break the Glass Ceiling
by Miryam Martínez-Martínez, Manuel M. Molina-López, Ruth Mateos de Cabo, Patricia Gabaldón, Susana González-Pérez and Gregorio Izquierdo
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7476; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137476 - 05 Jul 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4531
Abstract
Companies are vital agents in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. One key role that businesses can play in achieving the 5th Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality is implementing training programs for their women executives so they can reach top corporate [...] Read more.
Companies are vital agents in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. One key role that businesses can play in achieving the 5th Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality is implementing training programs for their women executives so they can reach top corporate leadership positions. In this paper, we test the effectiveness of an Authentic Leadership Development (ALD) program for women executives. By interviewing 32 participants from this ALD program and building on authentic leadership theory, we find that this program lifts women participants’ self-efficacy perception, as well as their self-resolution to take control of their careers. The driver for both results is a reflective thinking process elicited during the program that leads women to abandon the stereotype of a low status role and lack of self-direction over time. Through the relational authenticity developed during the program, women participants develop leadership styles that are more congenial with their gender group, yet highly accepted by the in-group leader members, which enhances their social capital. After the program, the women participants flourished as authentic leaders, were able to activate and foster their self-esteem and social capital, and enhanced their agency in career advancement, increasing their likelihood of breaking the glass ceiling. Full article
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15 pages, 923 KiB  
Article
Please, Do Not Interrupt Me: Work–Family Balance and Segmentation Behavior as Mediators of Boundary Violations and Teleworkers’ Burnout and Flourishing
by Vânia Sofia Carvalho, Alda Santos, Maria Teresa Ribeiro and Maria José Chambel
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137339 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4988
Abstract
The lockdown, in the COVID-19 pandemic, is considered an external crisis that evokes innumerous changes in individuals lives. One of the changes is the work and family dynamics. Based on boundary theory we examine the mediated role of work and family balance and [...] Read more.
The lockdown, in the COVID-19 pandemic, is considered an external crisis that evokes innumerous changes in individuals lives. One of the changes is the work and family dynamics. Based on boundary theory we examine the mediated role of work and family balance and boundary segmentation behavior in the relationship between boundary violations and teleworkers’ stress and well-being. However, because women and men live their work and family differently, gender may condition the way teleworkers lead with boundary violations and boundary segmentation. Hypotheses were tested through moderated mediation modeling using data collected of 456 teleworkers during lockdown. In line with our expectations, teleworkers who have suffered most boundary violations were those with least boundary segmentation behaviors and with least work-family balance which, in turn was related to higher burnout and lower flourishing. Furthermore, gender was found to moderate the relationship between boundary violations from work-to-family and segmentation behavior in the same direction and this relationship was stronger for females than for males. We discuss implications for future research and for managing teleworkers, creating sustainability, both during a crise and stable days. Full article
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19 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
The Importance of Sustainable Leadership amongst Female Managers in the Spanish Logistics Industry: A Cultural, Ethical and Legal Perspective
by Elena Bulmer, Magalí Riera and Raquel Rodríguez
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6841; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126841 - 17 Jun 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3135
Abstract
At present, the logistics industry in Spain is one that is mostly male-dominated, and women middle and top managers make up less than 10% of the workforce at these management levels. There is therefore an obvious lack of parity in this sector. Spanish [...] Read more.
At present, the logistics industry in Spain is one that is mostly male-dominated, and women middle and top managers make up less than 10% of the workforce at these management levels. There is therefore an obvious lack of parity in this sector. Spanish regulation at present supports and promotes gender parity in different sectors including the logistics industry. Our article uses as a basis the fifth Sustainable Development Goal, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Twenty-four female middle and top managers of the logistics sector were interviewed via a questionnaire of 52 questions. The research for this study was based on Avery and Bergsteiner’s 2011 Honeybee and Locust Sustainable Leadership Model and strived to determine how female middle and top managers in the logistics sector in Spain perceived leadership in their workplace and whether these perceptions were aligned with Avery and Bergsteiner’s sustainability leadership model. Findings showed interesting results, indicating that the Spanish logistics industry seemed to be a mixture of bee- and locust-type leadership. Respondents agreed that organizations were not very open to knowledge sharing and indicated that there is still a considerable need for improvement with regard to leadership practices in the logistics sector. Finally, our study is innovative in the sense that sustainable leadership and gender equality are two elements that have not been researched together. Full article
18 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Analysing the Impact of the Glass Ceiling in a Managerial Career: The Case of Spain
by Rosa M. Yagüe-Perales, Pau Pérez-Ledo and Isidre March-Chordà
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6579; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126579 - 09 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3489
Abstract
The need to break down the barriers facing women in the labour market arouses great interest for reasons of social and sustainability justice. This study breaks new ground on the topic of the “glass ceiling” by assessing the evolution of gender inequality in [...] Read more.
The need to break down the barriers facing women in the labour market arouses great interest for reasons of social and sustainability justice. This study breaks new ground on the topic of the “glass ceiling” by assessing the evolution of gender inequality in the proportion of individuals reaching high managerial positions. The application of the csQCA method to a survey of two cohorts of Spanish graduates in management sharing the same starting conditions reveals two factors: job variety and additional education, as conditions that are usually present in a successful managerial career. Our findings confirm the prevalence of the gender gap with little progress in recent years. Women find it more difficult to promote to high managerial positions whereas being a man turns out to almost be a guarantee for eluding low managerial positions. In the context of Spain, and for sure in most other countries, the few women attaining high managerial positions still need to make a greater effort in their professional career than their male counterparts. Full article
29 pages, 2024 KiB  
Article
Gender Equality in Business Action: A Multi-Agent Change Management Approach
by Leire Gartzia
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6209; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116209 - 31 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5363
Abstract
Critical to social sustainability and organizations’ growth, at present, is gender equality. Yet, egalitarian principles are difficult to apply in the practice, particularly in private firms. Acknowledging previous calls that research should respond to these concerns and support practitioners, we provide a theory-grounded [...] Read more.
Critical to social sustainability and organizations’ growth, at present, is gender equality. Yet, egalitarian principles are difficult to apply in the practice, particularly in private firms. Acknowledging previous calls that research should respond to these concerns and support practitioners, we provide a theory-grounded conceptual framework to address change management in this field, aimed at providing applicable guidelines in the organizational practice. Integrating utilitarian and social justice perspectives about gender action, we call for multi-agent collaboration involving coordinated action from policymakers, private firms and gender experts. We provide an overview of how public policies and legislation guide organizational action by providing key statutory norms and procedures. We then address the relevance of organizational commitment and the alignment of gender goals with the organizational strategy and decision-making, involving managers. Finally, we underscore the benefits of implementing evidence-based action based on academic and consultancy collaboration. The implementation of these principles is illustrated with a multi-agent practice developed in the Basque Country (Spain) between gender equality change agents, suited to apply academic principles to real-world organizational practices. Recommendations for gender equality and corporate social action are provided. Full article
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14 pages, 256 KiB  
Article
Workers’ Observation of Uncivil Leadership: Is Tolerance for Workplace Incivility a Gendered Issue?
by Isabel Carmona-Cobo, Eva Garrosa and Esther Lopez-Zafra
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116111 - 28 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2402
Abstract
In the context of organizational psychology, this study aimed to examine workers’ gender biases in tolerance when observing leaders’ incivility in the workplace. Based on role congruity theory, this paper proposes analyzing the gender differences in workers’ evaluations of awareness and tolerance of [...] Read more.
In the context of organizational psychology, this study aimed to examine workers’ gender biases in tolerance when observing leaders’ incivility in the workplace. Based on role congruity theory, this paper proposes analyzing the gender differences in workers’ evaluations of awareness and tolerance of workplace incivility considering the gender of a leader who commits different incivility behaviors against an employee. Moreover, we posit that the type of incivility is also gendered. A sample of 547 workers (male and female) randomly played the roles of observers whereby they rated a scenario describing a leader (male or female) who publicly humiliates and openly doubts an employee’s judgment (overt incivility—agentic), or leaves out and pays little attention (covert incivility—communal) to an employee. The results indicate that male workers tolerated incivility less when role incongruence occurred, such as when male leaders used covert incivility. In contrast, female workers were consistently less tolerant when role congruence occurred with the leader’s gender, such as when male leaders were overtly uncivil. Furthermore, compared to males, female workers were more aware and less tolerant of incivility when a female leader was overtly or covertly uncivil. This paper provides empirical insights and fulfills an identified need to study how gender bias in workplace incivility can be enabled in organizations. The implications for practice can drive the development of prevention strategies within the field of management and human resources. Full article
18 pages, 1310 KiB  
Article
Inequalities in the Exercise and Continuity in Building Engineering in Spain. Factor Analysis Including Gender Perspective
by Irantzu Recalde-Esnoz, Daniel Ferrández, Carlos Morón and Guadalupe Dorado
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5514; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105514 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1740
Abstract
The building sector is one of the most relevant at world level in view of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) concerned, as well as the number of new jobs created. Nevertheless, it is a completely male-dominated industry. Different institutions and organisms, [...] Read more.
The building sector is one of the most relevant at world level in view of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) concerned, as well as the number of new jobs created. Nevertheless, it is a completely male-dominated industry. Different institutions and organisms, such as the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, struggle to reduce gender inequality in different environments, including the working one. Aligned with these goals, this study provides the data exploited from the first survey regarding gender inequality within the professionals of the building engineering field in the Spanish population as a whole. This survey was developed in 2018 by the Spanish General Council of Technical Architecture and it was sent to its members. The sample involved 1353 cases. For this data mining, bivariate analyses were conducted in order to subsequently carry out a factor analysis and the socio–demographic composition of the dimensions found. Results exposed statistically meaningful differences in the eyes of women and men about those factors which facilitate practice and continuity in the profession. The most relevant conclusions drawn from the factor analysis reflect the existence of three factors: (1) work competences, (2) social capital and (3) physical appearance and being a man, dimensions in which women and men’s opinion was unevenly distributed. Full article
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18 pages, 316 KiB  
Article
State Ibuism and Women’s Empowerment in Indonesia: Governmentality and Political Subjectification of Chinese Benteng Women
by Vinny Flaviana Hyunanda, José Palacios Ramírez, Gabriel López-Martínez and Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3559; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063559 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3573
Abstract
This paper examines how the patriarchal understanding of “women’s empowerment” in Indonesia instrumentalizes the notion of Ibu, a social construction of womanhood based on a societally determined idea of domestication and productivity. Through the establishment of a saving and lending cooperative, a [...] Read more.
This paper examines how the patriarchal understanding of “women’s empowerment” in Indonesia instrumentalizes the notion of Ibu, a social construction of womanhood based on a societally determined idea of domestication and productivity. Through the establishment of a saving and lending cooperative, a group of Chinese Benteng women was subjected to a neoliberal development project that operated on the basis of a market-driven society and promoted a “gender mainstreaming” discourse to enhance this participatory project. They were introduced by a women’s NGO as their broker. The notion of “women’s empowerment” inspired a governmental operation aimed at these women, promoting the particular qualities of the dutiful housewife, devoted mother, and socially active member of Indonesian society. These characters were distinguished by their high level of devotion to community volunteering and to the state’s apolitical project, thus depoliticizing and deradicalizing the feminist view of women’s empowerment; this was simultaneously balanced with the promotion of the traditional gender roles of wife and mother. Such a discourse also molds women’s desires to voluntarily subscribe to such a social construction of womanhood and, at the same time, circumvents objections to any form of women’s subordination reproduced by the same rhetoric of “women’s empowerment”. By employing an ethnographic methodology, this article argues that the patriarchal view of “women’s empowerment” emerged as a deceitful doctrine to prompt Chinese Benteng women into internalizing certain qualities according to the gendered conception of womanhood in Indonesia. This article concludes that the patronizing and dominating aspects of State Ibuism have normalized Indonesian society’s expectations and desires with regard to women’s empowerment. Full article

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: The importance of Sustainable Leadership amongst female managers in the Spanish logistics industry: a cultural, ethical and legal perspective
Authors: Elena Bulmer; Magalí Riera; Raquel Rodríguez
Affiliation: 1 Department of Operations and Data Science. EAE Business School, Madrid (Spain); 2 Department of Human Resources, EAE Business School, Madrid (Spain);
Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify the level of sustainable leadership among the middle and top female managers of Spanish logistics industry. Sustainable leadership is a type of leadership that is carried out in the long term and which is based on acting fairly and ethically with all stakeholders. Our article uses as a basis the fifth Sustainable Development Goal, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. At present the logistics industry in Spain is one that is mostly male-dominated, and women middle and top managers only make up less than 10% of the workforce at these management levels. There is therefore a need for equality in this sector. Spanish regulation at present supports and promotes gender in different sectors including the logistics industry. 24 female middle and top managers of the logistics sector were interviewed via a questionnaire of 54 questions. Findings showed interesting results. Respondents agreed that organizations were not very open to knowledge sharing and indicated that there is still a considerable need for improvement as regards to leadership practices in the logistics sector Almost 70% of female managers interviewed manifested that environmental protection was not a priority while 83.3% of respondents felt they were committed to their company. Keywords: Female leadership Sustainability; Gender equity; Sustainable leadership

Title: Analysing the impact of the glass ceiling in a managerial career: the case of Spain
Authors: Rosa M. Yagüe-Perales; Pau Perez-Ledo; Isidre March-Chordà
Affiliation: Department of Applied Economics, University of Valencia, 46010 València, Spain
Abstract: The need to break down the barriers facing women in the labour market arouses great interest for reasons of social and sustainability justice. This study breaks new ground on the topic of “glass ceiling” by assessing the evolution of gender inequality in the proportion of individuals reaching high managerial positions. The application of the csQCA method to a survey of two cohorts of Spanish graduates in Management sharing the same starting conditions reveals two factors: job variety and additional education, as conditions usually present in a successful managerial career. Our findings confirm the prevalence of the gender gap with little progress in the last years. Women find it more difficult to promote to high managerial positions whereas being a man turns out to be almost a guarantee for eluding low managerial positions. In the context of Spain and for sure in most other countries, the few women attaining high managerial positions still need to make a greater effort in their professional career than their male counterparts. Keywords: Management; gender; gap, labour

Title: Teleworking during COVID-19 lockdown: Is work and family balanced affected differently by women and men?
Authors: Vânia Sofia Carvalho; Maria Teresa Ribeiro; Alda Santos; Maria José Chambel
Affiliation: CICPSI; Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract: The lockdown, as sudden consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, is considered an external crises event that evokes innumerous changes in individuals lives. One of the changes is teleworking imposition’ that challenge business sustainability and evokes changes in work and family dynamics. As such, in order to create business sustainability is crucial to understand the work and family dynamics. Based on boundary theory we examine the mediated role of work and family balanced in the relationship between violations / segmentation of these both domains and teleworkers’ stress and well-being. However, because women and men live their work and family differently, gender may condition these mediated relationships. Hypotheses were tested through moderated mediation modeling using data collected of 456 teleworkers during lockdown. In line with our expectations, teleworkers who have suffered most family-to-work violations, most work-to-family violations, least work-to-family segmentation and least family-to-work segmentation were those with the least balance between work and family, which, in turn was related to higher burnout and lower flourishing. Furthermore, the direct negative relationship between work-to-family violation and flourishing was stronger for woman than for men. However, contrary to our expectations this well-being indicator also was stronger affected by family-to-work violation for women than for men and stronger affected by family and work balanced for men than for women. We discuss implications for future research and for managing teleworkers, creating sustainability, both during a crise and stable days.

Title: Empowerment vs glass ceiling. A proposed index to women advancement at the regional level in Spain.
Authors: Lidia de Castro; Víctor Martín; Rosa Santero-Sánchez
Affiliation: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28032 Madrid, Spain
Abstract: Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a social sustainability. Over the last decades, large progresses have been made with a higher participation of women in the education, labor, social and political spheres. Nevertheless, many challenges remain, like female underrepresented leadership. The glass ceiling is a central topic of our society, and its study is gaining increasing attention at the international level. Ensuring women’s effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life is set as a specific target in the Sustainable Development Goal 5. To the best of our knowledge, while many indicators on gender equality and women empowerment has been proposed, the only existing glass ceiling index, is the one constructed by The Economist. In this paper, taking building up The Economist index and relying in the methodology of the Gender Equality Index by the European Institute for Gender Equality, we propose a new glass ceiling index calculated at the regional level (NUTS2) for Spain. The results show the presence of important differences between regions so that our regionalized approach is a valuable instrument to set priorities and target regional policy actions.

Title: Work Violence and Self-Perceived Health in Nursing Personnel: The Mediator Role of Resilience
Authors: MARIA ISABEL SOLER SANCHEZ
Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Social Psychology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Abstract: Department of Psychiatry and Social Psychology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain Abstract: Violence at work is an especially important problem in a sector as feminized as nursing. Workplace violence refers to incidents in which staff are abused, threatened or attacked in circumstances related to their work that implicitly or explicitly endanger their safety, well-being or health (ILO, CIE, WHO, IPS , 2002, p. 3). It is, therefore, any action, incident or behavior that deviates from what is reasonable by which a person is attacked, threatened, humiliated or injured by another in the exercise of his professional activity or as a consequence of it (ILO, 2003 ). Within the framework of the Resource Conservation theory, the objective of this work is to analyze the mediating and moderating role of resilience as a resource that can alleviate the loss of resources or elicit new resources in adversity situations, such as workplace violence, and that could have a positive effect on the self-perceived health of the nursing staff.

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