Compared to men, women view professional advancement as equally attainable, but less desirable

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in most high-level positions in organizations. Though a great deal of research has provided evidence that bias and discrimination give rise to and perpetuate this gender disparity, in the current research we explore another explanation: men and women view professional advancement differently, and their views affect their decisions to climb the corporate ladder (or not). In studies 1 and 2, when asked to list their core goals in life, women listed more life goals overall than men, and a smaller proportion of their goals related to achieving power at work. In studies 3 and 4, compared to men, women viewed highlevel positions as less desirable yet equally attainable. In studies 5-7, when faced with the possibility of receiving a promotion at their current place of employment or obtaining a high-power position after graduating from college, women and men anticipated similar levels of positive outcomes (e.g., prestige and money), but women anticipated more negative outcomes (e.g., conflict and tradeoffs). In these studies, women associated high-level positions with conflict, which explained the relationship between gender and the desirability of professional advancement. Finally, in studies 8 and 9, men and women alike rated power as one of the main consequences of professional advancement. Our findings reveal that men and women have different perceptions of what the experience of holding a high-level position will be like, with meaningful implications for the perpetuation of the gender disparity that exists at the top of organizational hierarchies.gender | professional advancement | goals | power | achievement E ven in societies that stress the importance of gender equality, women are underrepresented in most senior-level positions (1). For instance, recent estimates indicate that women comprise less than 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs, less than 15% of executive officers, less than 20% of full professors in the natural sciences, and only 6% of partners in venture capital firms (2-4). Moreover, it seems that the small percentage of women who do attain executive positions are relegated to spheres within the organization that have less influence and fewer opportunities for professional advancement (5). These differences may not exist at the start of the employment relationship. In fact, recent evidence has found that female applicants were favored over male ones for positions as assistant professors in science (6).Many reasons exist for the gender imbalance in high-level positions. These reasons can be grouped into two broad categories. The first category is what sociologists refer to as demandside factors and psychologists call interpersonal effects. These factors encompass the institutional barriers that women face because of the divergent ways in which men and women are perceived and treated by others. For example, evidence suggests that compared to men, women are perceived as less competent and lacking leadership potential (7-9) and are more likely to encounter challenges, skepticism, and backla...

“It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers

“…Women report lower expectations for their career than men (Gino et al, 2015;Institute of Leadership & Management, 2011). There is, nevertheless, no shortage of women with enough ambition to seek top-level positions (KPMG, 2015).…”

“…Furthermore, when women are faced with promotion or increased responsibilities at work, they feel tension because of the sacrifices they must make when one particular goal in life demands more energy and attention than others. Compared with men, therefore, women are likely to see promotion as a less desirable goal (Gino et al, 2015).…”

Appearing self‐confident and getting credit for it: Why it may be easier for men than women to gain influence at work

“…Evidence suggests that gender differences in career aspirations and the importance individuals place on such job attributes as prestige, challenge, and power have been shrinking over the past decades (Astin, Parrott, Kom, & Sax, ; Ely & Rhode, ; Konrad, Ritchie, Lieb, & Corrigall, ; cf. Gino, Wilmuth, & Brooks, ). At the same time, women are still a minority in male‐dominated professions encompassing a range of occupations from science to technology and engineering and including leadership positions in most industries (e.g., Catalyst, , ; Kakabadse et al, ; National Science Foundation, ).…”

...hvað segið þið strákar? Upplifun kvenmillistjórnenda af stöðu sinni, möguleikum og hindrunum í starfi

“…Áhrif staðalímynda birtast til daemis í mismunun, vanmati á virði vinnu kvenna og launamuni kynjanna (Katrín Ólafsdóttir og Steinunn Rögnvaldsdóttir, 2015;Blau og Kahn, 2007;Hausmann, 2015). Einnig geta staðalímyndir valdið því að kona sem hefur löngun til að gegna valdastöðu gaeti horfið frá því að saekjast eftir slíkri stöðu þegar hún hefur upplifað neikvaett viðhorf í garð kvenna sem gegna þeim (Gino, Wilmuth og Brooks, 2015). Samantekt rannsókna síðastliðinna þriggja áratuga á staðalímyndum sýnir að í huga kvenna er ekki lengur samasemmerki milli staðalímyndar stjórnandans og karlmanns, en hins vegar hefur staðalímynd stjórnandans lítið breyst hjá karlmönnum -ungir karlar eru líklegir til að telja karlmenn falla betur að ímynd stjórnandans en konur (Schein, 2007).…”

“…Ýmislegt virðist benda til að lífsgildi og markmið kynjanna séu ólík og að þegar konum býðst stöðuhaekkun eða meiri ábyrgð finni þaer fyrir togstreitu vegna þeirra fórna sem þaer þurfa að faera við það að eitt lífsmarkmið krefst meiri athygli og orku en önnur. Af þessum sökum er líklegt að konur upplifi stöðuhaekkun ekki sem jafn eftirsóknarverða og karlar (Gino, Wilmuth og Brooks, 2015).…”