Gendering Human Resource Development: the Case of the Russian Federation
Gendering Human Resource Development: The Case of the Russian Federation
Beverly Metcalfe
Chris Rees
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
UK
Tel- 01785 2752800
Fax- 0161 273 2809
,uk
Marianne Afaniessieva
University of Hull
Abstract (working paper track) for the Fourth Conference on HRD Research and Practice Across Europe, 23-24 May, Toulouse, France
Gendering Human Resource Development: The Case of the Russian Federation
The aim of this paper will be to report on the gendering effects and gendered implications of human resource development initiatives in the Russian Federation. Drawing on life history qualitative data we will examine how transitional processes have impacted the organisation and managerial experiences of thirty female professionals working in both state and private organizations in St Petersburg. Contributing to the limited empirical data on human resource management processes in Russian industry we hope to advance understandings of human resource development systems in a transitional context, to consider their gender effects, and to provide practical advice to Russian organizations wanting to develop gender sensitive employment systems and practices.
In tackling this question the analysis will link together theoretical strands within a number of literatures: feminist sociological accounts of women’s position in soviet society; gender and human resource management; and human resource management/development in transitional economies.
Taking firstly the field of feminist sociological scholarship that focuses on Russia. The position of the working women is of great interest to feminist scholars since under the auspices of the Constitution of the USSR (1936, Article 122) a woman is ‘afforded equal rights with a man in all areas of economic, civil and cultural and socio-political life’. Indeed, the prominence of women in the labour market across all professions has become a key characteristic of Soviet society with female labour participation far higher than any other economy in the world (Gvozdeva and Gerichikov, 2002; Rzhanitsyna, 2000; Standing; 1994). Commentators have argued that whatever the faults and underpinnings of the soviet labour market the position of women was relatively favourable, as were the positions of minorities and physically handicapped workers on account of the strong provision of maternity, health and training policies (Standing, 1994; Ashwin, 2000, 2002).
However, while there has been a surge of scholarship dedicated to exploring gender in Russia these have focused on broader sociological/economic accounts of women’s ‘new’ and ‘transformed’ (?) status in the transitional economy (For example Ashwin, 2002; Katz, 2001; Wilford and Miller, 1998). In particular studies have been concerned to identify instances of occupational segregation (Katz, 2001); gender differences in wages (Brainard, 2000; Rzhanitsyna, 2000; Arabsheibani, and Lau, 2000; Linz, 1996); and the role of women’s organisations in supporting economic development (Sperling, 1999; Satre Ahlarder, 2000). A glaring omission is detailed reporting of women’s work experiences, incorporating accounts of informal organizational processes and networks; access to work-related career development as well as the operation of corporate equal opportunity and training polices. There are very recent Russian scholars who have contributed to the neglected research area of gender organization and management (for example Gvozdeva and Gerichikov, 2002; Chirokora and Krichevaskai, 2002; See also Harden, 2001), however, these have tended to be informed by essentialist notions of gender construction ignoring the potentiality of fluidity and diversity in work systems and processes. There is thus a need to advance further our knowledge and understanding of women’s work experiences within a Russian industrial context.[1]
The gap in gender, organization and management research is not the case in the West with a plethora of studies devoted to unravelling the gendered experiences of organizational subjects as well as the gendered nature of theory itself. A good example is the work undertaken by Woodall (1996) Dickens (1998) and Truss (1999) who critique how HRM and HRD strategies and interventions are not only conceptualised in gendered ways, but also that they have gendered implications for both men and women. These insights however have only begun to scratch the surface, especially within the field of HRD (See for example Wooden and VandeHeuval, 1997). Like much HRM literature, conceptualisations of strategic HRD processes tend to assume that learning opportunities, learning strategies, and knowledge transfer occur in gender-neutral zones (See Hughes, 2000 account for example).
Turning finally to explorations of HRD in transitional economies. Research by Ardichvili and Gasarishvili (2001: 49-50) has shown that HRD studies are still in their infancy and tend to be dominated by highlighting the differences between Russian and Western HRD practices, or reviewing the extent to which Western management techniques can be transported into Russian organizations. Gurkov’s (2000) survey of 740 Russian CEO’s found that HR ‘policies’ were being ‘restructured’ as part of the ‘managerial and organizational revolution’, in particular Gurkov identified the development of performance appraisal schemes as well the training and development of HR administrators and professionals, although he acknowledges there is still much work to be done. We would concur with Ardichivili and Gaparaishvili (2001: 50-51) who suggest that what is needed are more comprehensive studies on the status of HRD activities in the Russian industrial economy in general. Following this reasoning, and acknowledging that we are concerned with the interrelationships between gender and HRD we will consider the following research questions: what are the types of education, training and development programs that the female professionals in our sample have participated in? What are the perceived problems and barriers hindering their education training and development of our cohort? And what coping/self help strategies have they developed for themselves?
Research Approach
Our focus on life history methodologies contributes to the evolving fields of narrative which posits narratives are the central means by which people give meaning to their life an evolves across time (Ries, 1995; Gherardi, 1995). Life stories in this framework are seen as coherent systems in their own right. Up until recently however Russian discourse and in particular narratives have been overlooked as an object of analysis being overshadowed by the study of post-soviet studies of sociology and economy. Thus this present study presents a new development in post-soviet studies as well as for cross cultural investigations of women’s experience of human resource development.
Early data analysis highlights several themes that we would regard as inherently gendered and has implications for how we can understand the development of human resource development strategies in Russia as well as the overall impact that the are achieving. We focus here on access to training and self-help strategies for development.
A Womanly Mission- The Mother Worker
Traditional Soviet society had drawn prescribed roles for men and woman according to the needs of the Soviet State. Gorbachev’s infamous appeal to women acknowledged that women had been given equal opportunity to get an education, to have a career, and to participate in social activities, and in so doing the Soviet society ignored the womanly mission of being a ‘mother’ and a ‘home-maker’ (Gorbachev, 1987: 117). A number of respondents strongly identified with this role and seemed resigned that it was their duty to do a ‘double-shift’ (Olga, Operator Manufacturing) or ‘second-shift’ (Tatanya, Supervisor Manufacturing). They did not feel that the double shift was a double burden: ‘It is our duty, we are good homemakers, we have pride but we want a job too’. The perception of women as mother workers meant that training and development opportunities were limited. Indeed three women reported that their employer was reluctant to provide any form of education and training for women as it was perceived that they would eventually leave and have children. These ‘womanly’ roles often meant that their work position was constructed as a stereotypically feminine support role and so were deemed as less significant, and had less need for any form of advancement and training. The image of the mother worker was thus strongly embedded in the organisation and working practices so that training opportunities tended to be afforded to those employees engaged in technical and professional work who were principally men.
Education and Training for Women, by Women
A significant aspect of the results so far has been the extent to which the women we interviewed are moving beyond the structures of the formal work economy to obtain access to training and education through female entrepreneurial networks and women’s organizations. They are turning to women’s organisations to ‘find space for themselves’ (Shirin, Administration) to ‘get education and training’ (Tamara, manufacturing) but also to raise awareness about women’s rights and feminist policies. At the St Petersburg Gender Studies Centre who we are collaborating with they provide a range of training programmes free of charge for women including ‘female entrepreneurship’ and ‘empowering women’. One woman stated: ‘This centre has given me knowledge, strength- that I can succeed in business on my own’. Similarly, the Club of Business Women provides ‘support of women and their professional formation’, ‘the integration of women in international cooperation programmes’, and ‘business etiquette’ and ‘computer training’. The Women’s Innovation Fund specialises in ‘women’s rights in the economy’ and in ‘internet and web design training’. All these organisations are concerned with the political emancipation of women in the post-soviet state and in improving their social and economic status.
While in the West women’s networking has principally emerged as a way of improving professional and career opportunities, research has shown that women’s organisation’s, while differentiated from the old boy network, is often an ambivalent and contested issue for women professionals to manage. In Fournier and Keleman’s (2001) study of senior female professionals and their involvement in a community ‘learning set’ there were ambiguities and contradictions over how the women members perceived the learning set. Some beloved the ‘set’ was an informal space of mutual support, helping them to reflect on personal growth and development, while others saw it principally s a means of career networking.
There are some parallels that can be made with women’s organizations we have mentioned in St Petersburg. First, a private space to share about their experiences of being working women, and to offer each other mutual support. Secondly, to assist other working women with their career planning and training. However, within St Petersburg these learning opportunities have arisen because the formal work economy limited their inclusion. Moreover, the women inextricably see their self-development intertwined with the broader feminist goal of women’s emancipation in the social and work economy (See Hughes, 2000). As with the learning set in the UK it is difficult to assess whether Russian women’s organizations will challenge managerial and organizational practices since in representing a space for women it may merely result in fostering the exclusionary practices of men’s’ networks.
We completed our data collection in March 2003 and so we are still in the stages of detailed analysis. One finding that is perhaps not surprising is the different work experiences between state and private sector organizations with women reporting that state owned institutions rarely provided any form of training and education, though an exception was the University sector. Another is that very few organizations, state or private had established management development programmes or indeed had a strategic approach to human resource development. The taking up of training and entrepreneurial opportunities by women suggests that the gendered implications of transition have been successfully managed, at least for those women in professional and occupations, but it does show that human that there are potential human resource development gaps in existing Russian management systems. This is perhaps major cause for concern since an individual strategy for self-development and learning rather than an integrated managerial and organizational approach will not help transitional processes and expansion. While we have provided a glimpse here of our research by providing insights into the gendering of human resource development process in Russian organizations we hope to advance understandings of women’s work experience in the Russian industry, identify the nature and type of human resource development policies used in Russia, and consider ways in which HRD initiatives can be developed to assist an economy in transition.
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[1] It is important to note that the concept of gender studies did not really enter into the vocabulary of the Russian scientific community until the early 1990’s. This was largely on account of the gender neutral stance that was taken on employment issues by the Soviet state. Much feminist writing was perceived as anti-communist. It is only in the 90’s that leading texts on feminist theory have been translated into Russian. For example The Second Sex (Beauvior) and Of Woman Born (Rich) were both translated in 1994, while Gender Trouble was not translated until 2000!. (See commentary by REF)