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Purpose – Do gender differences in expected rewards contribute to gender differences in job satisfaction? Design/methodology/approach – This paper utilizes data collected from over 9,400 employees in five economically and culturally diverse former socialist economies, first, to determine whether there are gender differences in desired and expected rewards, and second, to assess whether the link between job satisfaction and expected reward varies by gender or reward desirability. Findings – This paper finds that for women, job satisfaction is positively linked to both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, but for men, job satisfaction tends to be positively linked to extrinsic rewards. When reward desirability is included, more often for women than for men, non-monetary rewards are positively linked to job satisfaction regardless of whether they are viewed as desirable. Among men, the link between job satisfaction and a particular reward tends to be stronger if the reward is desired, although for job security this result holds for women as well. While own earnings tend to be positively linked to job satisfaction, comparison earnings are not statistically significant among most groups of respondents. Finally, we find that the magnitude of the estimated partial effect of increasing the expectation of receiving a particular reward tends to be greater for men than for women. Research limitations/implications – By focussing on gender difference results that are common across these five diverse countries, we are able to add information that will prove useful in developing a more global perspective of factors influencing job satisfaction and worker performance. Originality/value – This paper identifies gender differences in desired and expected rewards, both intrinsic and extrinsic, enabling us to more systematically explore gender differences in the link between job satisfaction, expectations, and reward desirability. Because our data come from employees in over 600 workplaces, we are able to control for an extensive number of worker, job, and workplace characteristics, which allows us to investigate in more detail, not only our primary objective – gender differences in the link between job satisfaction and expected rewards – but also several related topics: the proposition that women generally have lower workplace expectations, the link between job satisfaction and comparison earnings, for example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The robust Russian economic recovery after the 1998 financial crisis raised the economic standing of the population, especially for lowly paid workers, most of whom are women. In this paper I use the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey from 1996 through 2002 to ask whether this helped to reduce the gender wage gap. I first focus on those whose wages are paid in full. Next, I ask about the gender composition of wage arrears as the overall extent of wage arrears dropped from 60 to 20 per cent after the 1998 crisis. I show that a temporary widening of the overall gender wage gap in 2000 is due to low-wage women becoming more likely to receive their wages in full than low-wage men. Except for this effect, the male–female pay difference in Russia exhibits a stable pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do economic indicators predict the general level of support for gender equality? This question was investigated in a sample of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a region that has been undergoing rapid economic changes since the early 1990s. In this overall sample of male and female college students from ten countries, including the United States as a comparison, the predicted association between stronger beliefs in gender role egalitarianism and positive economic factors was generally supported. Also, consistent with other research, women were more in support of gender equality than men were. There was no support for a predicted trend in less support for gender equality over the time period of the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim is to contribute to better understanding of why different practices relating to the division of paid labour by sex in couple households are still to be found in different parts of Europe. We analyse data on the distribution of dominant household employment patterns in eight countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia. Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Using comparative survey evidence for a large total sample (N = 10,123), we examine how national differences in terms of the gender division of paid work correspond with predictions drawn from well-established structuralist and culturalist theories of the determinants of cross-country variations. The findings call for a further elaboration of conventional approaches to explaining gendered employment patterns in an enlarged Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comparison of three West European countries with five Central East European countries in respect of working time and the integration of work and family life. The countries are the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK in West Europe and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia in Central East Europe. As well as providing an East–West comparison, the article also takes into account the differing institutional and policy contexts in the selected countries and the different routes to flexibility. A further aim of the article is to extend our understanding of the culture and values which underpin the organization of family and work in each country. Whilst there is a clear East–West divide, all eight countries demonstrate diverse routes to flexibility and different mixes of social policies and gender cultures which have lead to considerable differences in the integration of work and family life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the work-family experiences of Czech women, and to what extent are there similarities and differences with women in the West? Drawing on a cross-national survey and other findings, this paper points out that unlike the extensive part-time employment of many Western European women, most Czech women in the post-Communist era have continued to combine full-time employment with family roles. Maternity and parental leaves, kindergartens, and other policies have been important supports. It is argued that employment and economic independence remain important to Czech women, and although gender differentiation in women's domestic activities and men's preponderance in upper-level jobs in the economy and government is recognized, Western attributions of patriarchy have been resisted. Since family life is highly valued, many have seen women as advantaged in their greater family involvement and integration of both family and employment roles. Rather than opposition between men and women, Czechs generally point to partnership and overall social equality. During Communism Czechs learned that 'time at work' does not equal productivity, and women practiced an informal flextime to aid work-family integration. This 'self-management' of work time and of work and family activities is cited as a component of Czech women's sense of efficacy and gender equality. An interesting question for the post-Communist success of Czech women and work organizations is whether women's interest in self-management will be met by the support of managers and of workplace cultures and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]