Personnel practices in careers of women at the top in government and business in Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Abstract

This article, which is the first empirical study of upper‐level female managers in Central America, extends the exploration of similarities and differences between public and private sectors in human resource management to the context of developing countries. A comparison of work hours, recruitment and selection practices, mentoring, political pressure, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, reported by female managers in public and private organizations in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, yielded no sector‐based differences and few country‐based differences. We conclude, therefore, that the public sector is not a more supportive or more fair employer for women in management than the private sector in these two countries, contrary to the assumption in the women‐in‐management literature that the public sector is a more hospitable environment. Improvements in human resources practices are appropriate in both sectors.

Contextualization and strategic international human resource management approaches: the case of Central America and Panama

“…Throughout the world, the civil service, based on universalistic rules, is assumed to be less gender-biased than business (Steinhoff and Tanaka, 1988;Antal and Izraeli, 1993) with shorter work hours (Antal and Izraeli, 1993). Nevertheless, a comparison of personnel practices in a sample of women at the top of private and public organizations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua contradicted those findings and found no evidence that the public sector was more female-friendly (Snyder et al, 1995). However, many of the private-sector subjects worked for MNCs or were CEOs of their own family business; thus, their experience might differ significantly from that of low-and mid-level women in local firms.…”

“…Particularism influences hiring, performance appraisal and promotion decisions in these countries. In a study of mid-level professionals of both sexes from primarily Central American countries and high-level female executives from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, 70 per cent reported that they obtained their job via personal contacts rather than formal channels (Snyder et al, 1995). Some firms have minimal HR departments and policies, which allow owners or senior managers to make personnel decisions based on relationships; for example, they can reimburse the education costs of some employees with whom they have relationships but not others who hold the same jobs and qualifications.…”

The Determinants of Nicaraguan Nonagricultural Exporters: A Firm-Level Perspective

“…Also important is the growing role of women in Nicaraguan business, where female participation in firm ownership facilitates entry into the world economy. According to Snyder, Osland, and Hunter (1995), top Nicaraguan female private sector managers are highly educated, experienced, and mostly participative in their managerial styles, perhaps engendering an organizational environment conducive to initiating business connections outside the domestic economy. However, this gender-based impetus does not spill over to export-focused firms.…”

“…Less expected was the role of female ownership in export orientation. However, the emergence of women in business may be a long-run outcome of the Nicaraguan revolution (Babb, 2001), female executives' managerial style (Snyder et al, 1995), and the important role that women played and continue to play within a Sandinista oriented government (Martí i Puig, 2010). Unexpected was the role of the informal sector in the firm progression toward an export orientation.…”

Women’s Issues in Mauritius: Of CEO Attitudes and Platitudes

“…These include: lower participation rates in the education system by girls, gender division of labour, examples including rural Bangladesh where women are forbidden to go to market; violence towards or disapproval of non-conformist women (for example, those who will not marry); and lack of training. Other examples also come from studies in Costa Rica and Nicaragua (Sivard, 1985;Collinson, 1990;Snyder et al, 1995). In contrast to the countries mentioned above, Mauritius has historically not engaged in explicit discrimination against women.…”