ABSTRACT
In the west, attention paid to the role of female managers has intensified as increasing numbers of women have entered and progressed in the workforce, and as sexual politics and ideology have altered. However, research and analysis outside of the west or on a comparative basis has been limited (Adler and Izraeli 1994; Chusmir and Frontczak 1990; Davidson and Cooper 1993). In Asia there is little homogeneity with respect to the position, status and experience of female managers, which is due to variations not only in economic development and industrial organisation, but also in culture, ideology and social development. In South Korea, for example, although female labour force participation rates are high, representation in management is extremely low. By contrast, in Singapore and Hong Kong the number of women in management has been more marked, such that the ratio of male to female managers is on a par with that of many Western European economies. The situation in the PRC is more complex. Communist ideology and the exigencies of development again led to large numbers of women entering the labour force, but their participation in management is more difficult to determine, not least because the concept and role of management has been very different, but also because enterprise leadership had until recently been more a political matter with Party officials and cadres occupying leadership roles. Furthermore, the convoluted structure of Chinese bureaux and the lack of accurate records make a clear determination of levels of female participation difficult, even in those terms.
