Factors Relating to Managerial Stereotypes: The Role of Gender of the Employee and the Manager and Management Gender Ratio

Abstract

PurposeSeveral studies have shown that the traditional stereotype of a “good” manager being masculine and male still exists. The recent changes in the proportion of women and female managers in organizations could affect these two managerial stereotypes, leading to a stronger preference for feminine characteristics and female leaders. This study examines if the gender of an employee, the gender of the manager, and the management gender ratio in an organization are related to employees’ managerial stereotypes.Design/Methodology/Approach3229 respondents working in various organizations completed an electronic questionnaire.FindingsThe results confirm our hypotheses that, although the general stereotype of a manager is masculine and although most prefer a man as a manager, female employees, employees with a female manager, and employees working in an organization with a high percentage of female managers, have a stronger preference for feminine characteristics of managers and for female managers. Moreover, we find that proximal variables are much stronger predictors of these preferences than more distal variables.ImplicationsOur study suggests that managerial stereotypes could change as a result of personal experiences and changes in the organizational context. The results imply that increasing the proportion of female managers is an effective way to overcome managerial stereotyping.Originality/ValueThis study examines the influence on managerial stereotypes of various proximal and distal factors derived from theory among a large group of employees (in contrast to students).

Attitude towards Women in Managerial Positions: A study among Undergraduate Students of the University of Ghana

“…This finding suggests that among the undergraduate university students, males do not differ significantly from females in terms of their attitude towards women in management. This finding is congruent with previous findings that found no significant difference between males and females in terms of attitudes toward women in management (Deal & Stevenson, 1998;Stoker, Velde & Lammers, 2012). A possible explanation one can offer with respect to the lack of a significant difference between males and females on scores of attitude towards women in management is because of the higher educational attainment of the participants.…”

Gender Biases in (Inter) Action

“…Moreover, organizations are increasingly committed to promoting gender equality through diversity programs and policies. However, despite an improvement in explicit gender stereotypes (Duehr & Bono, 2006;Stoker, Van der Velde, & Lammers, 2012), negative stereotypes persist at an implicit level, with women being more likely to be implicitly associated with negative managerial traits (Latu et al, 2011) and with roles incompatible with leadership (Nosek, Banaji, & Greenwald, 2002;Rudman & Kilianski, 2000).One pivotal point at which gender stereotypes can manifest themselves in workplace inequality is in the door to employment itself: the job interview. But what is the role that gender stereotypes play in female job applicants' interview performance and employers' interview-based job decisions?…”

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

“…Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir og Margrét Þorvaldsdóttir, 2012;Katrín Ólafsdóttir og Steinunn Rögnvaldsdóttir, 2015;Smith, Smith og Verner, 2013;Tonge, 2008;Yee o.fl., 2015), hvað veldur þeim hindrunum (sjá t.d. Guðný Guðbjörnsdóttir, 2006;Kristín Loftsdóttir og Helga Björnsdóttir, 2015;Oakley, 2000;Stoker, Van der Velde og Lammers, 2012) og loks hvað þaer konur hafa gert sem náð hafa að brjóta sér leið á toppinn og komast í stöðu aeðstu stjórnenda á vinnumarkaði (sjá t.d. Árelía Eydís Guðmundsdóttir, 2008;Baumgartner og Schneider, 2010).…”

“…Baeði karlar og konur lýsa góðum stjórn-anda með þeim einkennum sem gjarnan einkenna karlmenn (Schein, Muller, Lituchy og Liu, 1996;Powell, Butterfield og Parent, 2002;Ryan o.fl., 2011). Líklegra er þó að konur kjósi stjórnanda með kvenlegri stjórnunarstíl og hið sama á við um starfsfólk sem hefur starfað undir stjórn konu, eða starfar í fyrirtaeki þar sem haerra hlutfall er af konum í stjórnunarstöðum (Stoker, Van der Velde og Lammers, 2012).…”