A Reconsideration of Self- and Organization-Referent Attitudes as "Causes" of the Glass Ceiling Effect

Abstract

This article examines potential sex differences in self- and organization-referent attitudes and compares sex versus occupancy of a supervisory position and position in the organizational hierarchy as predictors of self- and organization-referent attitudes for 683 employees of a social service agency. In contrast to beliefs often expressed in the popular media, the results confirm the researchers' expectation that women's self- and organization-referent attitudes will not necessarily be lower than men's in conditions where accurate and realistic feedback about performance is available. Furthermore, the results suggest that position characteristics may help explain potential differences in self- and organization-referent attitudes that have frequently been attributed to sex or gender by previous theorists. Implications for changing the sex segregation patterns of organizations are discussed.

The glass ceiling for women: Things that don't cause it and things that won't break it

“…In fact, there is absolutely no reliable, empirical evidence based on truly comparable samples of men and women who are actually employed in work organizations that women's self-and organization-referent attitudes are systematically lower than men's. Indeed, my associates and I have demonstrated consistently that when the effects of organizational level or position are controlled, women's self-and organization-referent attitudes are usually more positive than men's (Bruning and Snyder, 1983;Snyder and Bruning, 1979;Snyder, Verderber, Langmeyer, and Myers, 1992). We believe strongly that the experiences women should have in the workplace (such as accurate and realistic feedback about performance) can counteract all or nearly all of the societal factors that have caused girls and women to manifest less positive attitudes in nonwork research settings.…”

“…"Women Have Lower Self-and Organization-Referent Attitudes." Potentially, the most serious barrier to women's upward mobility is the belief that women have less positive self-and organization-referent attitudes (Snyder, Verderber, Langmeyer, and Myers, 1992). (Here, self-referent attitudes refers to such constructs as self-esteem and, more cogently, selfperceived, work-related competence; organization-referent attitudes refers to constructs such as psychological attachment to the organization or organizational commitment.)…”

The “double‐glazed glass ceiling” in Australian libraries

“…Despite denials, studies have shown the stalling of women's career advancement beyond a certain level both within an Australian [6][7][8][9][10] and international context [4,11,12]. The invisible barrier which prevents women from breaking through into the top management ranks was the focus of the 1994 conference on women in Australian organizations.…”

The Vicious Cycle of Work Life: Work Effort Versus Career Development Effort

“…The ratio of women on corporate boards in the United States is 14% and 2% in South Korea (GMI Ratings, 2013). Many attempts have been made to explicate the disparity of gender in leadership/management positions at the individual level, including investigation of factors such as career commitment, lapses from the workforce for family considerations (termed kaleidoscope careers in the United States and irregular employment in South Korea where women have interrupted career paths, opting in and out) (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005), and, at the organizational level, the existence of implicit or explicit bias (e.g., the glass ceiling) (e.g., Goodman, Fields, & Blum, 2003; Snyder, Verderber, Langmeyer, & Myers, 1992). Yet, few studies have been able to demonstrate clear gender differences in behavior that contribute to the great disparity in proportions of women in the workforce when compared with those in top leadership positions.…”