wow-inequalities/02-data/intermediate/wos_sample/a1861524aa4f04907f8d91094296012e-esteban-salvador-m./info.yaml

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abstract: 'Objectives
Cooperative enterprises have different organizational and operational
characteristics that could provide favorable conditions for gender
equality. In this paper, we describe several aspects of the working
conditions and workplace flexibility of women in cooperatives in the
province of Teruel, a region that is characterized by its low population
density. In addition, we study other aspects involved in the running of
these organizations in the context of social economy, and how this could
have potential benefits and advantages for the personal and professional
development of women and their families. A greater understanding of
these organizations will facilitate the development of actions aimed at
strengthening business projects that contribute to integrate women''s
needs and the needs of their surrounding environments.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative analysis has been carried out through in-depth interviews,
which have provided more detailed and extensive information than other
available methodologies. The initial sample consists of 99 cooperatives,
representing 31.03\% of the total population of cooperative entities in
the province of Teruel, Spain. This sample was then filtered by
selecting the cooperatives which have a greater percentage of female
employees higher than male employees, or have more female than male
directors, including those cooperatives which fulfilled both of these
conditions. There resulting set of 12 cooperatives with a large number
of female employees among its staff or with high female participation in
their boards of directors. We subjected to semi-structured interviews,
one per cooperative, of their partners and/or employees, using a
semi-structured questionnaire.
Results / Research limitations / Implications
The results suggest that self-management allows greater flexibility than
other forms of enterprise in areas such as conciliation or working
conditions. Likewise, women recognize that their involvement with the
entity must be greater, since their future employment depends on the
survival of the cooperative. One factor that affects the reconciliation
of family, work and personal life is the presence or absence of
seasonality in the activities carried out by the cooperative. Internal
measures for the seasonal adjustment of demand could contribute to
improving the reconciliation and also to reducing inequalities between
men and women.
With regard to working conditions, there are opportunities for
conciliation and timetable flexibility that rely on the goodwill and the
climate of trust existing in the cooperatives. This issue is closely
related to the good relations among its members, as evidenced by the
opinions of the respondents and the presence of female leadership
focused on greater collaboration and teamwork. It is noteworthy that
these cordial relations extend even among the companies in the sector.
Collaborative attitudes between cooperatives of the same sector of
activity are frequent.
Self-management allows the working day to be better and more easily
adjusted to the specific needs of female employees as compared to other
styles of management. In general, working hours are not cause for
concern. Women are aware that if the activity requires a greater time
investment, their commitment must be greater, since their future careers
depend of the survival of the cooperative
The good relations existing among the different cooperatives in the
province are remarkable. The study emphasizes the establishment of
mutually supportive relationships with other cooperatives and, in many
cases, the use of synergies with the competing companies. This
reinforces the expected behaviors for organizations based on
inter-cooperation and networking.
Due to the peculiarities of the context in which these cooperatives
operate, mainly in rural areas, cooperatives can cover the needs of the
partners, boost rural development, to improve trade activities, provide
support and advice to access to new foreign markets; improve structures
through integration processes and obtain competitive advantages with
formulas of inter-cooperation with other groups.
Regarding the support of the public administrations in issues related to
paperwork or consultation and advisory services, no conclusive results
have been obtained. Relations with public administrations, however,
could be improved to take full advantage of the potential of wealth
creation in cooperatives and to achieve greater effectiveness of
policies of public support for the promotion of female entrepreneurship
and social economy entities. The recognition of gender inequalities in
the labor and business sphere by the Spanish government, expressed
through the Gender Equality Act, should be taken into account when
implementing administrative procedures for cooperatives in order to be
more sensitive to women''s necessities.
Simplification of administrative procedures and a more individualised
guidance and advice for female entrepreneurs in the social economy
should be included in the agendas of public authorities. These measures
become especially sensitive in territories such as Teruel, where the
weakness of its business fabric and its relatively high rate of female
unemployment are clear components of the economic stagnation of the
province.
Some questionnaire answers show that cooperative principles are present
in these entities, as is the case in one company where the partners
reported being satisfied and happy to contribute to the respect of
agriculture and to promote environmental care.
In addition to the financial income associated with participation in the
cooperative, other non-economic ``intangible{''''} benefits related to
personal satisfaction and fulfilment derived from such participation
should be highlighted. This added value must also be taken into account
at the time of quantifying the benefits of both cooperatives and the
social economy as a whole, and especially when formulating strategy and
assessing the results achieved.
Practical conclusions and original value
The findings show that there is still a long way to go to achieve the
reconciliation of personal, family and work life that allows full
equality. This issue reveals the need for action, both institutionally,
through a suitable framework of support measures, and internally, within
the entities themselves, through incentives leading to the full
implementation of these cooperative values and rules of conduct.
Our results give new evidence of the internal and external social
policies, and of institutional and business relationships of these
cooperatives characterized by a high representation of women. It is also
noted that self-management allows improve adaptation of the working
conditions and flexibility of women in cooperative workplaces. Moreover,
they realize that their involvement must be greater, since future
employment depends on the survival of the cooperative. It would be
interesting for future studies to compare these results with the
equivalent relationships observed between shareholders and employees in
other types of entities. Future research could also examine whether
other factors, such as the size of the organization, can influence the
existence of harmonious relations.'
affiliation: 'Esteban Salvador, ML (Corresponding Author), Univ Zaragoza, Fac Ciencias
Sociales \& Humanas, Escuela Univ, Zaragoza, Spain.
Esteban Salvador, M. Luisa; Gargallo Castel, Ana F.; Perez Sanz, Francisco Javier,
Univ Zaragoza, Fac Ciencias Sociales \& Humanas, Escuela Univ, Zaragoza, Spain.'
author: Esteban Salvador, M. Luisa and Gargallo Castel, Ana F. and Perez Sanz, Francisco
Javier
author-email: luisaes@unizar.es
author_list:
- family: Esteban Salvador
given: M. Luisa
- family: Gargallo Castel
given: Ana F.
- family: Perez Sanz
given: Francisco Javier
da: '2023-09-28'
eissn: 1989-6816
files: []
issn: 0213-8093
journal: CIRIEC-ESPANA REVISTA DE ECONOMIA PUBLICA SOCIAL Y COOPERATIVA
keywords: Cooperatives; employment; woman; conciliation; Spain; depopulation
keywords-plus: 'TOP MANAGEMENT; FIRM PERFORMANCE; WOMEN; DIVERSITY; BOARDS; TEAM;
DISCRIMINATION; EXECUTIVES'
language: Spanish
month: DEC
number-of-cited-references: '84'
orcid-numbers: 'ESTEBAN-SALVADOR, MARIA LUISA/0000-0001-6511-1893
Gargallo-Castel, Ana/0000-0001-8054-8997'
pages: 61-92
papis_id: 6f508c2da309531f30b7b338d2479520
ref: Estebansalvador2016docooperatives
researcherid-numbers: 'ESTEBAN-SALVADOR, MARIA LUISA/H-3181-2015
Gargallo-Castel, Ana/F-8686-2016'
times-cited: '4'
title: 'Do cooperatives have favorable contexts for gender equality?: Special reference
to the province of Teruel'
2023-10-01 08:15:07 +00:00
type: article
2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
unique-id: WOS:000399878000003
usage-count-last-180-days: '5'
usage-count-since-2013: '31'
volume: '88'
web-of-science-categories: Economics
year: '2016'