Gender and the Management of Wealth Accumulation: ‘He also Wants a Pudding’

Abstract

This chapter explores the career paths of husband and wife partnerships in the family firm. It examines the processes that characterise a general pattern of female kin subordination and male kin domination as wealth is accumulated in the family business. It argues that business growth has very different outcomes for wives and husbands in business partnerships. It will argue that male partners in parallel with the growth of the business are able to carve out careers as business heads and chief executives. By contrast, it will show that female partners are unable to make the transition from the stereotypical image of ‘helpmeet’ to company professional. The argument developed suggests that such women are systematically marginalised from the nucleus of organisational power and finally excluded from the family business. This is first evident when the business takes shape in organisation form with the introduction of bureaucracy, the formalisation of managerial structures and the specialisation of function. It will be suggested that it is at this point that the unequal character of the marriage business partnership magnifies the contradictions of the class gender nexus when attempts are made to co-ordinate the role of wife and business partner in the family enternrise.