Who is behind successful women?

Abstract

Abstract There is an often cited phrase stating that ‘behind every successful man there is a woman’. There is hardly any popular or academic contribution which disagrees with this statement. Research findings offer sufficient evidence that male managers rely on more social support than women. Life course research indicates a less sacrificed private life in terms of intimate partnership, becoming a parent or time spent parenting in the case of male managers. This paper will focus on what it is like the other way round, i.e. who is/are behind successful women, and what kind of social support can female managers rely on? Even though several research studies have focused on the social support of highly qualified women in Western countries, there is a striking deficiency in exploring specific difficulties female professionals face in Central and Eastern European countries. This aspect highlights the novelty of the present research. The above described question will be answered through the analysis of twenty interviews carried out with highly positioned women managers in 2014–15. The interviews explore the blurring boundaries between work and private life, and also the perceived social support. Similar to the research findings of earlier investigations, women underline the importance of emotional support, paying attention and listening to the respondents, besides, the work around the family members, mainly children is highly appreciated. At the bottom of the hierarchy they list household-related tasks, which can be outsourced and purchased in the market sphere rather easily. Female managers confront stereotypical gender expectations regularly, which they heavily criticize, yet still very often reinforce and reproduce. Keywords: gender, spousal support, managers, work-life balance