The position and role of women in corporate governance bodies in majority state-owned companies

U ovom radu istražen je položaj žena na rukovodećim pozicijama unutar državnih poduzeća na području Republike Hrvatske. Analizirajući dostupnu literaturu vidljivo je da su žene na vodećim pozicijama unutar organizacija na svjetskoj razini relativno podzastupljene. Razlog te podzastupljenosti leži u činjenici da su žene suočene sa raznim predrasudama i stereotipovima prilikom rada te je na ženama sav teret balansiranja privatne i poslovne sfere. Majčinstvo također ostavlja trag i teret na karijerama ženama. Kroz rad se između navedenog, nastojalo istražiti koje su to prepreke i izazovi s kojima se žene suočavaju prilikom razvoja svoje karijere. Rezultati empirijskog istraživanja na uzorku od 6 ispitanica koje su članice uprave/NO pokazuju da se žene susreću sa mnoštvom prepreka u karijeri koje se primarno odnose na fenomen staklenog stropa, brojne predrasude i stereotipove od strane muških kolega te otežano balansiranje privatne i poslovne sfere života. Ključni zaključak provedenog istraživanja je da su žene snažne i otporne na sve izazove sa kojima se suočavaju. Međutim, ženama nije uvijek jednostavno igrati sve dodijeljene i nametnute uloge. Žene jednostavno imaju više utega na poslovnom putu u odnosu na muške kolege. Za uspješnije funkcioniranje žena privatno i poslovno nužna je potpora sustava, društva, partnera i okoline. Rezultati ovog i ostalih istraživanja idu u smjeru da se optimizira brojnost oba spola na visokim pozicijama, jer adekvatnom brojnošću i iskorištavanjem prednosti oba spola u radu, poduzeća mogu očekivati maksimiziranje poslovnih performansi.This paper investigates the position of women in management positions within state - owned enterprises in the territory of the Republic of Croatia. Analyzing the available literature, it can be seen that women in leading positions within organizations at the global level are relatively underrepresented. The reason for this underrepresentation lies in the fact that women are faced with various prejudices and stereotypes at work, and women bear the entire burden of balancing the private and business spheres. Motherhood also leaves a mark and burden on women’s careers. Through the work, we tried to explore the obstacles and challenges that women face in the development of their careers. The results of empirical research on a sample of 6 respondents who are members of the board / supervisory board show that women face many career obstacles that primarily relate to the phenomenon of the glass ceiling, numerous prejudices and stereotypes by male colleagues and difficult balance of private and business sphere. The key conclusion of the conducted research is that women are strong and resilient to all the challenges they face. However, it is not always easy for women to play all the assigned and imposed roles. Women simply have more weights on the business journey than their male counterparts. The support of the system, society, partners and the environment is necessary for the successful functioning of women in private and business. The results of this and other research go in the direction of optimizing the number of both genders in high positions, because with adequate numbers and taking advantage of both genders in work, companies can expect to maximize business performance