From the Forerunners to Anchors: Fading Traces of Socialist Legacy in Professional Knowledge

For decades, former socialist governments officially promoted equality and social mobility in their rhetoric. This political and economic goal was not one-dimensional, though. It focused primarily on the working class and women's empowerment in the labour market and leadership. Ethnicity also played some role; namely, the Roma population’s obligation and access to paid work were among the top-down political goals. The national governments widely advertised these emancipatory principles until the regime change in 1989.

This presentation will explore whether the legacy of socialism can still be traced in the historical knowledge of decision-makers today. To answer this question, interviews with headhunters and executives of large corporations in four Central Eastern European (CEE) countries will be analysed (n=44). The interviews were conducted during 2020-2021 and aimed to explore the gendered executive search and selection. Executive search consultants and company decision-makers are important gatekeepers when future executives are selected, and they substantially impact promoting or neglecting diversity initiatives in top management. They can also reinforce or play down social inequalities.

Our results show that socialism's emancipatory legacy and transformative impact have been almost completely forgotten. Decision-makers are rarely aware of past gender-equalizing initiatives and tend to neglect previous achievements in gender equality. Furthermore, they view diversity initiatives originating from Western headquarters as innovations associated with the 'developed West,' while CEE countries are considered 'backward' en bloc. This study explores dichotomies verbalized by research participants and points out the harm of social ignorance, as historical knowledge of earlier periods is completely eradicated.