Existing research has shown that labor regimes implemented by transnational companies in low-wage locations often build on local gender inequalities (see e.g. Bank Muñoz, 2008; Lee, 1998; Ngai, 2004). In particular the sweatshop industries (electronics, textile, food processing) in the Global South rely on the exploitation of cheap female labor. Several studies have observed – to put it in the most general terms – that female employees in developing countries form an unusually compliant, docile workforce which can easily be exploited by multinational companies. The main reason for this phenomenon is seen in the interaction of traditional gender identities and discrimination against women on the local labor markets.
The present study adds to the existing research by describing a case in which local gender inequalities played out at the workplace level clearly beyond managerial control. Our analysis focuses on RusCar, a relatively new lean automotive plant established by a European manufacturer in Russia. From the very beginning of the factory’s operation, the management encountered significant problems regarding work discipline and organizational commitment. Labor turnover reached up to 40%, absenteeism rates were high, and many intense conflicts emerged on the shop floor. Most interestingly, however, a gendered pattern of worker compliance was observed at the plant. The management was apparently able to secure relative consent among female, but not among male employees who constituted a larger part of the workforce. The main question of our paper is how to explain the gender-specific patterns of consent.
In the present study, we examine the relationship between gender and consent on the shop floor. We draw on the notion of gender workplace inequalities as conditioned by organizational structures (Acker, 1990) and social organization of local labor markets (Lee, 1995). Methodologically, our study uses mixed-methods data collected first-hand at the plant between 2008 and 2015 as a part of two empirical projects on work systems in multinational companies (Jürgens/Krzywdzinski 2012 and 2016; Krzywdzinski/Mählmeyer 2015). More specifically, our analysis is based on three kinds of sources: semi-structured interviews with managers, employees, and trade unionists; an employee survey; and participant observation conducted in the plant by one of the authors.
The results of our analysis reveal different mechanisms contributing to gender differences regarding consent on the shop floor. Gender inequalities on the labor market represent the first general mechanism. We observed more external labor market pressure on female than male workers’ since women had less access to the better and well-paid jobs. Second, we reconstruct the particularities of the transition period in Russia to show how women internalized a habitus of “responsibility” and “ultra-flexibility.” At the same time, the dominant male (working class) habitus emphasizes physical strength, “doing what you want when you want” (smoking breaks, coming late etc.), and last but not least, high alcohol consumption. This specific male habitus contradicts the requirements of lean production systems in the automobile industry.
We could have expected that this leads the management to increase female employment in the plant. This was, however, not the case. Despite the official policy and the aim of the RusCar management to implement gender-neutral recruitment and promotion policies, the plant reproduced a gendered division of labor and gendered hierarchy structures based on traditional concepts that can be found in Russian companies. The types of jobs that were occupied by women at RusCar were relatively restricted, in particular on the shop floor. This delimitation of jobs seen as “suitable” for women entailed lower development opportunities. It is notable that this considerably reduced women’s job satisfaction, but had no negative impact on their work discipline and consent.
References
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Bank Muñoz, C. (2008). Transnational tortillas: race, gender, and shop-floor politics in Mexico and the United States. Ithaca: ILR Press.
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