Progress hindered: the retention and advancement of women in science,engineering and technology careers

Over the last two decades rates of women's participation in science, engineering, and technology careers has greatly increased. However, to date little research exists on how women, especially those in management positions, are performing within these fields. Using data obtained from over 2,493 survey respondents and 28 focus groups, we seek to understand the barriers that hinder the retention and advancement of women in managerial positions in these career fields. Paying particular attention to for‐profit science, engineering and technology firms, we argue that there are significant barriers to female retention and advancement within these fields related to the norms of professionalisation, and that from a human resources perspective firms could do a much better job of leveraging the existing female talent pipeline in these occupations. In addition, we highlight the implications of our findings and provide our policy recommendations to address them.     

Two Cheers for Corporatism, One for the Market: Industrial Relations, Wage Moderation and Job Growth in the Netherlands

The success of economic policies in the Netherlands with regard to enhancing job growth and bringing down unemployment has attracted international attention, especially against the background of persistent high unemployment in many continental European countries. The paper considers the role of Dutch industrial relations, and in particular trade unions, in the turnaround from the 'Dutch disease' to the current 'employment miracle'. It is argued that Dutch unions, weakened by the severe jobs and membership crisis of the early 1980s but assured of continued institutional support, have chosen a public-regarding 'jobs before wages' strategy. The two main features are continued wage moderation and negotiated flexibility of working hours, particularly part-time jobs. The paper stresses the importance of co-ordination within the unions as well as between unions and employers, and compares the contents, causes and consequences of the two central accords of 1982 and 1993. Finally, it considers the renewal of Dutch corporatism in an environment of increased market pressure.     

Inequality and Union Membership: The Influence of Relative Earnings and Inequality Attitudes

Using surveys from the International Social Survey Programme covering the period 1985–2002 for seven European countries (West and East Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain), we examine the effect of relative earnings on union membership and show that union density is higher among workers in the intermediate earnings group than among low or high earners. Next, we examine the association of inequality attitudes with union membership and demonstrate that union membership is not only motivated by instrumental considerations related to relative earnings, but also by normative concerns about inequality. We interpret our findings suggesting that rising earnings inequality is in itself a source of union decline.     

Buy or wait,that is the option: the buyer's option in sequential laboratory auctions

We report results from an experiment on two‐unit sequential auctions with and without a buyer's option (which allows the winner of the first auction to buy the second unit). The four main auction institutions are studied. Observed bidding behavior is close to Nash equilibrium bidding in the auctions for the second unit, but not in the auctions for the first unit. Despite these deviations, the buyer's option is correctly used in most cases. The revenue ranking of the four auctions is the same as in single‐unit experiments. Successive prices are declining when the buyer's option is available.     

Heterogeneous preferences for altruism: gender and personality,social status,giving and taking

Some of the earliest work on heterogeneity in social preferences focuses on gender differences in behavior. The source of these gender differences is the main interest of this paper. We report on dictator game experiments designed to identify heterogeneity of other-regarding preferences according to personality, gender, status, and whether the choice is framed as giving or taking. We find that the effect of gender on giving is more subtle than previously understood, and is explained collectively by various personality factors. We also find that women, high status treatment individuals, and individuals in the giving language treatment give less, and are also less sensitive to the price of giving.