Women on the boards of belgian cooperatives: (in)equality and commitments

This research focuses on women directors of cooperatives in Belgium, and more specifically on their largely unpaid involvement in the boards of these enterprises. In this field, a few authors have emphasized the under-representation of women in the decision-making bodies of the social economy (Aris, 2013; Bigey, 2020; ILO, 2015; Nippierd, 2012; Parente & Martinho, 2018). However, little work focuses on women on social economy and cooperative boards as unpaid work (Duguid & Weber, 2016; Rawlings & Shaw, 2016). Based on the analysis of interviews with women directors, this paper aims to explore women's engagement on the boards of cooperatives. As social economy enterprises governed by the seven cooperative principles, cooperatives claim to be particularly attentive to democratic management. Therefore, it is legitimate to question the context of women's involvement in cooperatives, recently reformed in Belgium, at a time when feminist demands are developing and a certain loss of meaning of work in its classical organizational forms. This contribution will show that there is an apparent equality (of conditions) on the boards of cooperatives - although little has been concretely put in place around these issues. However, this leads to a low presence of women in these bodies and, above all, their great absence from the position of president. We also identified many tensions between board involvement and the family sphere. Such research contributes to a better understanding of the different profiles of women involved in cooperative boards. Furthermore, it would help to identify the elements that favor their commitment and thus fight against their under-representation.  

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