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Current debates on neo‐liberal and universalistic globalization pay little attention to gender or to other marginalized groups, and fail to consider the complexity and diversity of the experiences of men and women in specific socio‐political contexts, especially those in the developing world. The paper challenges mainstream theories which present globalization and its associated forces as gender neutral. The main purpose of this paper is to advance theoretical debates on the gendered organizing dynamics of globalization.

The paper draws on organization theory, gender and development studies literature, and feminist sociology, to advance critical understandings of contemporary debates of the intersecting qualities of globalization, transnational organizations and gender social divisions.

The paper provides a critical synthesis of the complexity and interconnections between gender, organization and globalization. The paper identifies international development agencies; transnational corporations; international nongovernmental organizations and government state machineries as key stakeholders in the global and national regulation of employment and diversity issues. The paper outlines the organizing praxis of these key stakeholders, and stresses the need for all actors to engage in human rights awareness and equality consciousness raising.

The paper provides an original gendered organization analysis of globalization which reveals the specificity of global‐local linkages mediated by national states, international organizations, women's NGOs and gendered government machineries.

The aim of this paper will be to examine the social and economic changes that have shaped women's work identity in the USSR and Russian Federation. Based on interview research with 30 female professionals in St Petersburg, Russia, we unravel the complexities of the “woman question” in soviet discourse and explore the individual subjectivities of managing gender and managing transition.

The paper adopts a life‐history qualitative research approach. We examine how transition from a Marxist system to a free market economy has impacted employment experiences of women.

It is shown that women have traditionally progressed in managerial and professional fields in Soviet society but that this advancement is being reversed during transition stages. Emphasising the socio‐political legacies of the Soviet gender order, we highlight how dominant gender roles are being reinforced along essentialist lines. The results highlight how women's work identity is being reconstructed along stereotypically feminine lines. This feminisation of work identity however, focuses on the aesthetic qualities of being a professional woman rather than on personal managerial qualities. We argue that the construction and reconstruction of a feminine professional self is an important aspect of managing gender and transition. The results also highlight an increase in discriminatory practices in HR systems and that women face both cultural and organisational barriers to their career advancement.

The paper argues that socialist ideology did not solve the woman question, but rather produced different forms of gendered inequalities. It suggests that equal opportunities will only be achieved when organisations comply with employment legislation. The research provides important insights into the gendered management processes within transitional contexts, which have previously remained uncharted.

This paper examines gender, work and equal opportunities in central and eastern Europe (CEE) countries. The worker‐mother contract in socialist systems is discussed and reveals how transition from a communist economic system to a market economy has eroded women's equality within the workplace claimed with the Communist and economic social legacy. The aim is to explore the opportunities and constraints on women's professional career advancement in post‐socialist societies.

The paper consolidates research on gender and work within CEE countries and draws on international datasets including, the Gender Development Index and Gender Empowerment Index.

The results show that women's high representation in management and professional occupations, once the hallmark of socialist employment structures, is now being threatened by the erosion of state childcare services and the increasing level of discriminatory practices in recruitment, selection and development. It is suggested that the formal state structures have acted to foster neo‐traditionalism and a traditional gender identity. Economic and political transition is argued to be a process of remasculinisation, which reaffirms gendered hierarchies and gendered power relations in public and private realms.

The paper contributes to the limited subject of equal opportunities and gender issues within an organisation context within CEE regions. The paper examines gender‐mainstreaming methodologies and considers implications for the development of equal opportunity and diversity management policies at state and organization level.

This chapter address how critical feminist organization studies can shed light on the dominance of masculinist logics in TM theorizing in both theory and practice and open up opportunities to review TM systems that stress inclusion and equity. The exclusive approach is most worrisome given that contemporary events such as the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein the global ‘#metoo campaigns and the Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted the importance of equality agendas. We draw on transnationalism, intersectionality and postcolonialism approaches to illustrate how TM reinforces inequalities. Our contribution questions the elite logics, and the white Global North males that dominate both TM theorizing, and TM practitioners and denies many stakeholders voices and contributions to organization life. We also question the longevity of the elite mantra of MNCs’ HRM policy given that the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly being advocated by the business community, and contradict entirely an organizational ethic premised on valuing the elite.

To address the research gap on East German women managers and to examine some of the experiences of post‐socialist East German women who entered management positions during 1990s. The discussion focuses on the nature of women's commitment to career and organisation.

The study presented adopts a methodology based on a qualitative approach, the grounded theory approach as developed by Glaser. One‐to‐one, semi‐structured interviews were carried out in 2000 with 24 East German women managers and five human resource managers in eight companies located in Eastern Germany, headquartered in Western Germany.

The case of post‐socialist East German women managers shows that gender can in fact become secondary criterion in employing women managers. It was revealed that opportunities for advancement were greater for East German female managers than West German managers due to the existence of childcare and women's programmes. The support structures, however, are currently being dismantled and women's growth and development in management levels is uncertain. The data show that women managers have coped with transition very effectively and are highly committed to their organisation and their career. However, their high commitment needs to be understood in relative terms as it is strongly context‐related.

Considering the qualitative nature of this study research results should not be generalised, rather they serve as a base for future research.

Particularly, the identification of personnel strategies employed towards post‐socialist women managers and an insight into East German women's commitment could benefit HR practitioners.

This paper contributes to the limited literature on women in management Hungary as well as literature on women in post‐socialism.

The aim of this paper is to examine the gendered nature of work‐life policies in and the work‐life conflicts of managers in a multinational corporation in Hungary.

The research is based on 30 qualitative interviews with male and female managers at junior, middle and senior management levels located in Unilevers Eastern European headquarters in Budapest.

The results show that while legislative measures for family‐leave related policies are being encouraged in the EU, this is not the case with employer organizations in transition states, yet this is an important aspect of gender and employment policy as accession states begin to redesign their programmes to fall in line with EU guidelines. The research reveals that attempts to introduce family‐friendly policies still create gendered effects and gendered dilemmas for individual managers. The results reveal that men and women have different perceptions of work‐life balance and adopt different coping strategies to manage work and family commitments. Overall it is found that work‐life balance is constructed as an individual, rather than a corporate responsibility and this also creates gendered inequalities.

The study focuses on one organisation in a transition context and so results cannot be generalised.

The paper aims to contribute to the limited knowledge that currently exists on work‐life initiatives in a transition context and attempts to clarify how gender equality measures can be understood and further developed within the Hungarian context.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of ethnic minority entrepreneurship in Sweden offered through the sacred‐secular lens of the Islamic Dawoodi Bohra community, with the purpose of exploring the relationship of spirituality to entrepreneurship.

Through a case study, this paper spotlights the entrepreneurship of immigrant women from the Dawoodi Bohra Islamic community in Sweden. Utilizing the literature from spirituality, ethnography and ethnic minority entrepreneurship, this paper seeks to foreground the importance of a transcendent dimension in entrepreneurship which is woven into and sustains the day‐to‐day beliefs and practices of ethnic minority women entrepreneurs.

The women seem to be able to negotiate their spirituality within their role as ethnic minority women entrepreneurs, which gives meaning to their daily existence and increases their izzat (honour) in their community.

This is a specific case study and represents a particular Islamic community, hence cannot realistically reflect all Islamic women in entrepreneurship. Future research can uncover the role of migrant Islamic women from various communities and countries.

The paper presents the interweaving and leavening effect of spirituality and entrepreneurship for Islamic women entrepreneurs and is a valuable insight on how such women negotiate their lives.

The paper presents a close look at Islamic women from the Dawoodi Bohra community whose lived experience represents a negotiation between their spirituality, patriarchy, migration, ethnicity and minority.