Value Orientations of Civil Servants: the Gender Dimension

Abstract

The world has entered the era of postmodernism, which is characterized by social, economic and political changes in society. Under these conditions, on the one hand, the role of women in public administration increases, and on the other hand, the value orientations of public servants change. However, today the highest state authority biased gender inequality exists, which can lead to poor governance. The purpose of this research is to identify the differences in the value orientations of civil servants on the basis of gender. We use a questionnaire in order to identify the gender dimension of value orientations of civil servants which based on the theory of J. Nalbandian of the division values of civil servants on the political and administrative values. A questionnaire survey was conducted among municipal officials of the two districts of St. Petersburg. The survey involved 49 women and 23 men. The findings reveal that women consisting in the municipal service, to a greater extent inherent administrative value orientations. Men in their work are guided by not only administrative, but also political value orientations. The differences in the value orientations of civil servants of women and men underscore the importance of the participation of both sexes at all levels of public authorities.

Keywords

• theory of postmodernism
• gender
• women in public administration
• politic and administrative value orientations