Women in Business

Women in Business

Objectives of the Research

Women in most organizations have found to demonstrate a huge desire for flexible work arrangements. Possenriede & Plantenga (2011) argue that women who are given flexible working arrangements report high levels of job satisfaction in comparison of male employees. Appelbaum et al. (2003) also claim that more than 60 % of women believe that they represent a small number of employees in any organizations and flexible working arrangements are effective strategy to increase women workforce. However, it can be seen that majority of organizations claim that they are equal opportunity employers as they provide equal opportunities to both the men and women employees to grow at any levels. Barth (2005), on the other hand, presents another side of the picture and argues that flexible working arrangements are not only the way to increase women workforce but also facilitate mother to manage their families while working for companies. According to Lineberry & Trumble (2000), flexible work arrangements cause more satisfaction in women employees and also improve their performance by increasing their commitment with work.

Similarly, it is also a fact that concept of equality in many western businesses is discontinuous and dissimilar in terms of employment, education, access to services, participation policy, and so on. Jacobs & Schain (2009) explain that presence of women in business brings positive effects not only on women employees but also their families. Halpern (2005) also believes that flexible working arrangements can be seen as a significant tool to reduce stress that is associated with different roles of women in any organizations. In addition, it would not be wrong to say that status of women is challenged in businesses in western countries as there are very few women leaders in major businesses. This indicates that most of the companies have not recognized the equal status of women and believe that women have limited capabilities than men. No doubt, this reflects discrimination for women in the labor market and women more often become victims of low wages, violence, bullying, sexual harassment, etc. at workplace.

There are a variety of flexible work hour schemes such as compressed hours, flextime, home working, structured time hours, staggered hours, and annualized hours suggested by the Government which generally allow the same salary level as full time employment. These arrangements, if more efficiently implemented across corporations, could increase women presence in the workforce. However, as many of the diversity issues, there is an urgent need for a shift in attitudes as well as the corporate culture because these arrangements are still not widely used and accepted (Osterlind & Haake, 2010). Ironically, the change in attitudes relies in the successful implementation of flexible work arrangements.

Problem

No one can deny the reality that women are present in organizations but they are still absent as the role of women in management is very limited. This small number of women workforce creates obstacles in their careers than men. In fact, this is also a reason that does not allow management to provide ...