Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Women on Corporate Boards in Germany and China

Abstract

Internationally women are still largely underrepresented on publicly listed corporate boards. The literature frequently uses the metaphor of a glass ceiling to highlight barriers that may block the rise of women to high-level corporate positions. In this study I analyse barriers for female board access in Germany and China, by asking, “Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Which barriers do women in China and Germany face when trying to reach a board position?” For this study I conducted 31 interviews in both countries with female board members, CEOs, entrepreneurs and experts. The transcribed interviews were then addressed in an inductive manner by using qualitative content analysis and doing a cross-case analysis of female board underrepresentation in Germany and China. The most frequently mentioned and emphasised factors by both German and Chinese interviewees were summarised and resulted in the following five thematic categories: Policies & Laws, Compatibility: Family & Career, Personal Initiative, Individual Support & Networks, Societal Structures: Gender Roles & Societal Expectations. All five categories include both limiting barriers and promoting factors. In this study, I primarily focused upon barriers for female board access. All five categories were emphasised to a different extent by German and Chinese interviewees. My findings, based on the conducted interviews in both countries, suggest a five-fold result. First of all, I find that policies aimed at promoting and safeguarding women can have the opposite effect. German interviewees criticise the “Herdprämie” and “Ehegattensplitting” while Chinese interviewees mention the “early retirement scheme” and “two-child policy” as reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes and not being conducive when trying to increase the number of women on boards. Secondly, I find that measures encouraging alternative working models, as part-time work, are not necessarily always career enhancing. This is particularly the case when a person is penalised in his or her career development after taking advantage of alternative working models. Thirdly, I find that a lack of confidence in one´s own abilities in addition to stereotypes assuming women to not have any interest in a board or management position to be a barrier in Germany and China. Fourthly, limited access to powerful often “old boys´ networks” and a lack of networking skills are barriers. Fifthly, societal expectations assuming women to naturally embody stereotypical feminine characteristics are a barrier for women´s career development. I find that societal expectations, as assuming women to be the primary caretaker, can lead to an underestimation of women´s abilities in the professional world.