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11 – 20 of over 21000Rajshekhar (Raj) G. Javalgi, Robert Scherer, Carol Sánchez, Lorena Pradenas Rojas, Víctor Parada Daza, Chi‐en Hwang and Wu Yan
The purpose of this research is to determine if stereotypical perceptions of women as managers exist between men and women in three countries: the USA, China, and Chile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to determine if stereotypical perceptions of women as managers exist between men and women in three countries: the USA, China, and Chile. Based on the extant literature, hypotheses were developed and tested.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants in the study were students enrolled in degree programs. The data were collected from the USA, China, and Chile using the “Women as Managers Scale”. The study explores attitudinal dimensions. Further, gender and country effects were identified at both multivariate and univariate levels.
Findings
The findings show that stereotypical perceptions of women as managers exist between men and women in the USA, China, and Chile. US and Chilean men had more positive perceptions of women as managers than Chinese men. Chinese men and women displayed the lowest perceptions of women as managers.
Originality/value
The results of this study offer useful insights for international managers on the perceptions of women as managers in three distinct countries. Implications for research and practice in international management shed additional light on this important topic.
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Konstantinos Vassakis, Georgia Sakka and Christos Lemonakis
The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender role phenomenon and the stereotyping of requisite managers’ personal characteristics in the Greek society of today.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender role phenomenon and the stereotyping of requisite managers’ personal characteristics in the Greek society of today.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected quantitatively based on the informants’ perceptions on successful managers’ personality traits and according to the informants’ personality characteristics. Questionnaires were administered online to two separate convenience samples. Reliability analysis (Cronbach’s α) was employed for scale refinement, while intraclass correlation coefficient (r’) and t-test analysis examined the similarity of respondents’ responses across the items of the refined scale.
Findings
The results indicate that gender role stereotypes are challenged. It seems that the perceived managers’ personality is comprised of both agentic/masculine and communal/feminine characteristics and this perception is not perceived differently by men and women. This debates on whether the “glass ceiling” exists due to other determinants.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on gender role stereotyping research and perceptions of managerial personality characteristics in Greece.
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Women are vastly underrepresented in corporate Greece. One widely accepted explanation for this situation is the negative stereotypes about women as managers. Given the…
Abstract
Purpose
Women are vastly underrepresented in corporate Greece. One widely accepted explanation for this situation is the negative stereotypes about women as managers. Given the apparent influence of business students' stereotypes on future discriminatory behaviour toward women in management, and given the dearth of empirical research on this issue for the Greek case, this study aims at measuring and assessing gender‐based attitudes of surveyed students.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted involving 323 undergraduate students majoring in business administration at the University of Macedonia, Greece.
Findings
The main finding is that business students' attitudes toward women in management are primarily shaped by their own gender. This study, employing the Women as Managers Scale, found that male business students hold relatively negative stereotypic attitudes compared to their female counterparts. In addition, it was found that gender was by far the most influential factor in accounting for the difference in attitudes. No significant differences on other sample characteristics such as age, work experience and cooperation with female supervisor were detected.
Research limitations/implications
Further research to extend the current investigation to full‐time employees and managers would allow for a more articulated discussion of the main sources of influence on stereotypical attitudes toward women in management.
Originality/value
Given the dearth of empirical research on stereotyping and women's career prospects in Greece, this study contributes to debates in the wider academic community on the issue of analyzing empirically stereotypic attitudes toward women as managers.
Mark Cordano, Robert F. Scherer and Crystal L. Owen
This paper examines attitudes toward women managers in Chile (n=194) and the USA (n=218) using the women as managers scale (WAMS) and a Spanish version of WAMS developed…
Abstract
This paper examines attitudes toward women managers in Chile (n=194) and the USA (n=218) using the women as managers scale (WAMS) and a Spanish version of WAMS developed for this study. Across both cultures, two coherent measures were labeled “acceptance” and “ability”. No cultural differences in the acceptance of women as managers were discovered. The differences in acceptance were divided solely according to sex. There were differences in the perceived ability of women managers for both the sex and culture variables. The paper then compares the impact of the sex and culture variables. Results show that sex explained approximately three times more variance than culture. These findings can inform both the expatriate woman manager who is likely to encounter friction in interactions with males in many cultures and the human resource manager interested in improving the success of women managers working overseas.
Renee Warning and F. Robert Buchanan
The purpose of this paper is to inquire whether gender plays a role in the supervisory preference of female workers, and to establish a starting‐point in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inquire whether gender plays a role in the supervisory preference of female workers, and to establish a starting‐point in the identification of any bias that is discovered.
Design/methodology/approach
A field experiment of 226 adults of both genders was used to test the hypotheses. It combined a video vignette with a survey that employed a dispositional index followed by attitudinal measures.
Findings
Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and regression analyses were used to highlight the biases that were discovered. Females believed that other women are good managers, but the female workers did not actually want to work for them. The results may have some basis in females' perceptions of female managers as being high in dominance. The female manager was also seen as being emotional. More specifically, the female manager was seen as being more nervous and more aggressive than a male manager. It was also discovered that female preference for male supervisors increased with greater numbers of years in the workforce.
Research limitations/implications
This is an exploratory study. Workers surveyed were enrolled in a large metropolitan US university. Subsequent studies need to include a broader sample, particularly including workers from earlier generations. Extensive additional research is essential.
Originality/value
The findings lend credence to strong but seldom discussed anecdotal undercurrents of women's unwillingness to work for other women. Although female managers have been studied to a limited degree, there has been no empirical research on the female subordinate relationship. The study makes an entry into this important question of whether women have a prejudice against working for other women. The practitioner/policymaker implications are substantial.
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Rachelle Cortis and Vincent Cassar
To investigate specific barriers that might be hindering Maltese women from achieving a managerial position.
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate specific barriers that might be hindering Maltese women from achieving a managerial position.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on research by Cromie. Barriers are classified into two main categories; internal and external barriers. Job‐involvement and work‐based self‐esteem are considered to be internal barriers, whereas attitudes towards women in management are considered to be external barriers. The total population was 200, consisting of male and female middle managers, female and male employees and B. Commerce students.
Findings
Results indicate no differences between job involvement and work‐based self‐esteem of male and female managers. On the other hand, both male employees and students seem to hold more stereotypical attitudes towards women in management than their female counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
One of the basic limitations of this study was the sample size since small samples make it difficult to generalize. Further research may focus on two main areas. First, it would be useful to have qualitative research on the work experiences of female managers to further investigate the various factors that have helped and hindered women thorough their career advancement. Secondly, research on corporate climate can be helpful in identifying organizational practices that might be blocking female career prospects. Finally, a study considering how attitudes can be reshaped through the educational system and through the use of the media can also help to reduce gender stereotypes.
Practical implications
This study indicates that women often have to face several attitudinal barriers, which in turn may explain the lack of female participation in managerial occupations. A change in organizational policies can help women to overcome these barriers.
Originality/value
This paper confirms that, as in several countries, Maltese women are facing several barriers, which are hindering their career prospects. It also highlights the important role of organizations in reducing workplace barriers.
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Joseph Tomkiewicz, Robert Frankel, Tope Adeyemi‐Bello and Mariusz Sagan
As globalization intensifies, the need for tapping the capabilities of corporations’ human resources, gecome more paramount. To this end, businesses cannot afford to have…
Abstract
As globalization intensifies, the need for tapping the capabilities of corporations’ human resources, gecome more paramount. To this end, businesses cannot afford to have their most important resource, their people, hampered by attitudes that detract from their abilities to perform at their best. This is especially relevant when there may be a misconception that being male is synonymous with management competency. The focus of this research was on exploring the attitudes towards women managers in the United States and Poland. Questionnaires were distributed to two groups of individuals within each nation, professionals and graduating business students or “future managers”. There were 157 and 295 usable responses from Poland and the United States, respectively. The results indicate that Polish women may have more negative attitudes to overcome in becoming managers in comparison to the US counterparts. Perhaps more disconcerting is the potential that “future managers” in Poland may have even more negative attitudes toward women as managers.
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Chinese women are often perceived as passive, submissive, lacking aggressiveness and a drive to be successful managers. Using a previously validated culturally modified…
Abstract
Chinese women are often perceived as passive, submissive, lacking aggressiveness and a drive to be successful managers. Using a previously validated culturally modified Miner Sentence Completion Scale‐H (for hierarchic), this study compares the motivation to manage a sample of 156 BBA and MBA students in Hong Kong. Results indicate no significant differences between the scores of males and females on the total MSCS‐H or its components, including assertiveness and competitiveness. Gender role differences are not supported by differences in managerial motivation of Hong Kong business students.
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Recent evidence from glass cliff research suggests that women are more willing than men to accept risky leadership positions. The purpose of this paper (based on three…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent evidence from glass cliff research suggests that women are more willing than men to accept risky leadership positions. The purpose of this paper (based on three studies) is to reveal and resolve the apparent paradox that women are more risk averse than men yet end up in risky leadership positions.
Design/methodology/approach
In Study I, risk attitudes of 125 participants were surveyed to understand gender differences in risk taking. In two experimental vignette studies, 119 university students (Study II) and 109 working adults (Study III) were offered a leadership position in either a risky or successful company and asked to rate their willingness to accept the job.
Findings
Together, the results showed that although women are generally more risk averse than men, women who scored low on career self-efficacy were more likely to perceive a risky job as a promotional opportunity and were therefore more willing to accept such a job. These findings shed light on the role of women’s career decision making in the glass cliff phenomenon.
Originality/value
Glass cliff research has focused almost exclusively on organizational decision makers. The authors aim to better understand the glass cliff phenomenon by incorporating the perspective of job seekers.
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Ignace Ng and Irene Hau‐siu Chow
This study seeks to examine how individual and organizational characteristics as well as attitudinal factors can affect the network composition of female managers. Another…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine how individual and organizational characteristics as well as attitudinal factors can affect the network composition of female managers. Another of its objectives is to examine the effect of cross‐gender network on the quit intention of female managers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey questionnaire was administered, seeking information on the personal characteristics and attitudes of the 91 managers, the characteristics of the organization for which the respondent works, and the network characteristics of the respondents in Hong Kong.
Findings
The results show that positive attitudes towards women's leadership qualities and higher ratio of females in top management positions are associated with a lower cross‐gender instrumental network for females. Perceived discrimination or being married encourages female managers to seek a cross‐gender network. Cross‐gender networks reduce the quit intentions of female managers.
Originality/value
The study offers a better understanding of how networks change involves an examination of both the characteristics of the network holder and the larger context in which the network holder is located. It contributes to the scant evidence on the consequences of cross‐gender networking for female managers in the Chinese context.
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