Adelina Broadbridge

Women, Careers and Retail Managment Adelina Broadbridge

This book draws together research on retail management and women?s careers. It reveals the factors that continue to be problematic for women?s careers and why they continue to be under-represented in the retail management hierarchy. A contextual background is provided in the first five chapters which summarise some wider issues for the non specialist reader. Chapters 6-11 each adopts a different theoretical perspective and so cumulatively a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for women?s continued under-representation in retail management positions is gained. The overall findings indicate that the main reasons for women?s and men?s differential experience in the retail management hierarchy can be located in issues of male control. Retail management is male dominated, male identified and male centred. This can present itself in a variety of different ways, and through overt or covert means of behaviour and underlying organisational cultures. Key theoretical contributions to the research are located in three sets of theory: the sexual division of labour and the organisation of retail work; the gendered retail career, and work-life balance and multiple role demands.