Gender differences in work experiences and work outcomes among Turkish managers and professionals: Continuing signs of progress?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore gender differences in the work and career experiences and psychological health of women and men in managerial and professional jobs in Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected for 94 men and 48 women in managerial and professional jobs in Turkey. Comparisons of women and men using one‐way ANOVA provided considerable support for the hypotheses.

Findings

Women and men were found to differ on many personal demographic and work situation characteristics: women were younger, less likely to be married or have children, were at lower organizational levels, worked fewer hours and earned less income. Women and men had similar levels of education, however. Women and men were similar on almost all work outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction, work engagement, intent to quit) and indicators of psychological health (e.g. exhaustion, life satisfaction). However, men worked significantly more hours than did women.

Originality/value

The research extends previous work by scholars using a sample from Turkey. It is not often that research of this nature utilizes samples from countries outside of North America, Europe and Australasia. Furthermore, unlike some published research, this study uses many instruments/measures, all with excellent psychometric properties.

Citation

Burke, R.J., Koyuncu, M., Singh, P., Alayoglu, N. and Koyuncu, K. (2012), "Gender differences in work experiences and work outcomes among Turkish managers and professionals: Continuing signs of progress?", Gender in Management, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542411211199255