“Male Quote” on Corporate Boards and in Top Management

Abstract

This study will summarize the complex structural and cultural factors considered as the greatest barriers in women’s careers in Hungary today, where what we can now see is a multiple paradox situation. On the one hand, although in recent decades the professional qualifications acquired by young women have far exceeded those by men, the former are nevertheless unable to gain leading positions in Hungarian economic life. As a result, while twenty five years ago under the former Socialist regime the proportion of women managers in Hungary was considerably higher than in the rest of Europe this advantage no longer holds In addition to the statistical and quantitative sociological data that we have collected, we will present our most important qualitative findings related to the acceptance of women managers in Hungary, which highlights the traditional gender order in Hungarian society.