Cross-Cultural Gender
Issues
Brazil
Presented by:
Carla Lee
Ana Fujihara
Vaidas Sukys
Christina Liu
Vicky Hoang
Sweden
Tonight’s Agenda
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Introduction of Brazil and Sweden
Typical styles of HRM & IHRM in
Sweden & Brazil
Introduce companies chosen to
analyze
Short skit and analysis
Challenges to global leadership
development
Critics of the existing HRM & IHRM
Recommendations
Conclusion
Overview of Brazil
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The largest country in
South America with a
population close to 200
million
Its GDP is $1.38 trillion
with $7,600 per capita
The main stereotype of
doing business in Brazil
stands on 3 factors:
• Government
• Inflation
• Special interests
Brazil’s GDP by Sectors:
Overview of Sweden
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3rd largest country in
Northern Europe
Slightly larger than
California
Population is ~9 million
4.5 million in the workforce
Unemployment rate is 5.8%
GDP is $238.3 billion
GDP per capita is $26,800
Sweden’s GDP by Sectors
Sectorial GDP Distribution for 2003
Services
74%
Industry
24%
Agriculture
2%
Typical styles of HRM & IHRM in
Brazil
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Ethnocentric with mixture of
regiocentric and polycentric
approaches
Recruitment policies and personnel
selection
Training policies
Communication and programs that
increases availability of educated
female population
Classification by Gender
Typical styles of HRM & IHRM in
Sweden
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Ethnocentric approach
Coffee-machine selection process
Technical training instead of cross cultural
training
No mentoring or counseling program
Not much consideration on performance
evaluation
Attractive compensation package
Repatriation program varies from
company to company
Introduction of Brazil’s companies
chosen to analyze
Petrobas:
• One of the largest petroleum companies in the world
• Has 37,899 employees and most of them are men:
33,211 or 87.6%, women only represents 12.4%
Natura:
• A local fast-growing cosmetics company
• The best company for the female workforce
Alpha:
• A subsidiary of US company for Chemical and Equipment
Industry
• Process of selection, training and career promotions
according to US standards.
Introduction of Sweden’s
companies chosen to analyze
Volvo Group:
• Has production in 25 countries and
operates on more than 130 markets
• 76,000 employees around the world
• Employees Overall:
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Women 16%
Men 84%
• Employees in managing positions:
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Women 14%
Men 86%
Introduction of Sweden’s
companies chosen to analyze
Ikea:
• Been the world’s largest furniture retailer
which specializes in stylish, yet inexpensive
Scandinavian designed furniture “at the price
so low that the majority of people can afford to
buy them.”
• Has 201 stores opening in 33 different
countries with a turnover of 13,570 million
Euros in 2004
• 84,000 employees who operate in 44 different
countries
Skit: Process of Selecting a Manager
Scenario:
 A Swedish subsidiary in Brazil is looking for a
candidate to fulfill a managerial position.
 4 candidates are interested in the position.
Roles:
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Ana - Brazilian female employee
Christina - Swedish female employee
Vicky - Swedish male employee
Vaidas – Brazilian male employee
Carla – Swedish male manager
Analysis of the Skit
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Due to the stereotypical roles of a Brazilian
woman, Ana was not taken seriously.
Due to the ethnocentric staffing policies of
Sweden’s IHRM and also the glass-ceiling
Swedish women face, Christina was not chosen
for the position even though she was very much
qualified.
Ultimately, a Swedish male candidate was chosen
based on his gender and because of the
ethnocentric staffing policies.
Challenges to Global leadership
(Brazil)
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Incorporate, utilize and introduce managerial
tools considered as world class
Know how to deal with clients, partners,
competitors and suppliers of various nationalities,
from different cultures and having different
interests
Administrate work as a business, producing and
creating strategies, policies and specific directives
Perform a standard of leadership called
"transformational" or that which produces
substantial changes not only in the job, but also
in the resulting product of this job, and
principally in those people that execute the work.
Challenges to Global leadership
(Sweden)
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Glass ceiling: expatriate is maledominant business
Stereotypes: women as caregiver or
housewife
Coffee machine selection
Culturally tough locations or regions
preclude female expatriate
Government quota enforcement
Critics of the existing HRM & IHRM
(Brazil)
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Training programs aim for the
creation of awareness and a change
in people’s behavior
• Problem: not proper use and
incorporation of diversity and gender
into the workforce
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Enforcement of laws protecting
Human Rights
• Problem: remaining strong prejudice
and racial discrimination
Critics of the existing HRM & IHRM
(Brazil)
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One of the leading South American
countries with anti-glass ceiling for
women
• Problem: there’s still a strong inferior
mentality against female worker
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Brazil is an expatriate friendly country
• Problem: lack of technological education
and foreign language skills creates an
uncomfortable environment
Comparisons by Gender
This data
suggests a
peculiar pattern
of social
mobility for
women in
Brazil.
http://www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/carnegie/capt3.htm
Critics of Sweden’s Existing HRM
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Government encourages firms to
employ more women
• Problem: made the gender gap even
wider in top-level management
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Stereotypes of women
• Problem: difficult for women to move or
be placed in higher level positions
-firms tend to hire women in lower level
positions
Critics of Sweden’s Existing HRM
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Set quota on more equal gender
ratio in management positions
• Problem: not hiring the most qualified
candidate for the right job
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Mandated parental leave
• Problem: Only women take up PL
-firms are unsupportive
Critics of Sweden’s existing IHRM
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Expatriates not prepared to work on
international assignments
• Problem: language barrier leads to
difficulties assimilating with HCN
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Low selection rate for female
expatriates
• Problem: limits the firms to have a
competitive advantage, and again not
hiring the right person for the right job
Critics of Sweden’s existing IHRM
Recommendations For Brazil
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Improvements through a better knowledge
of international operations
Expand the network of expatriation and
repatriation processes
Information exchange processes and
technological advancements
Assure balance among expatriates and
local work force regarding cross-cultural
and gender issues
Improvement of training programs
Work towards enforcement of international
laws regarding human rights
Recommendations For Sweden
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Examine the organizational culture
Change corporate culture to be more
supportive towards women for
management positions – Govt. can give
incentives to speed up process
Encourage men to “take up” parental leave
Develop diversity and support programs
Measure the change to the development
Conclusion
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In a heterogeneous society, like Brazil, with great
social inequalities, the theme of gender issues
assumes great importance.
In contrast, Sweden’s gender inequalities are not
as “great,” but the country is still comparatively
more driven towards total gender equality with
an emphasis on using legislative action.
The only way to approach this subject is to focus
on the company competitiveness and show how a
policy of managing cultural diversity and gender
issues can bring out or develop new competences
that add value to the company.
Thank you!
Questions?