Gender Differences in Job Satisfaction: Why Aren't Women More Dissatisfied?

Abstract

This article analyzes gender differences in job satisfaction among full-time workers. Why do women report equal or greater job satisfaction than men in spite of objectively inferior jobs? Analysis reveals few differences between men and women in the determinants of job satisfaction when considering job characteristics, family responsibilities, and personal expectations. Little support is found for theories that men and women: (1) focus on different aspects of work in axriving at a given level of job satisfaction; (2) differentially condition their job satisfaction according to the extent of their family responsibilities; and (3) employ different personal expectations in evaluating their jobs. Two alternative explanations for women's relatively positive job attitudes are considered. First, women may anive at a higher level of job satisfaction than men by using different comparison groups. Second, men may be more willing to verbalize dissatisfaction with work because of different socialization. The most likely explanation is that these processes operate in conjunction to produce greater reported job satisfaction among women.Women hold jobs that are, on average, inferior in many respects to those held by men (Berch 1982;Featherman and Hauser 1976;Kreps 1971). Women have been found, on average, to have less autonomy, closer supervision, and more limited promotional opportunities than men (Wolf and Fligstein 1979). Yet women's attitudes toward their jobs are often more favorable than men's (Glenn, Taylor, and Weaver. 1977;Penley and Hawkins 1980; Quinn, Staines, and McCullough 1974). Three possible explanations for this disparity are tested in this article. First, men and women may have different evaluations of jobs because they value different characteristics of work (Kanter 1977). Second, women may be more satisfied because they focus on their roles as homemakers, rather than on their roles as workers, and derive additional satisfactions from this sphere (Veroff, Douvan, and Kulka 1981). Third, men and women may have different personal expectations and use different comparison groups in arriving at evaluations of their jobs. For instance, women may compare themselves to other working women rather than to men and,

Why should gender differences in hospitality really matter? A study of personnel’s service orientation and job satisfaction in hotels

“…Finally, level of job satisfaction was the same for both genders, which is in accordance with numerous previous research (Brief, Rose, & Aldag, 1977;De Vaus & McAllister, 1991;Mottazl, 1986;Smith, & Hoy, 1998;Tait, Padgett, & Baldwin, 1989;Ugorji, 1997;Witt & Nye, 1992). This also indicates our assumptions were erroneous, because we expected women to be more satisfied than men, like many authors proved previously (Clark, 1996(Clark, , 1997Hodson, 1989;Murray & Atkinson, 1981;Sloane & Williams, 1996).…”

“…men would value and perceive more organisational support and precise work procedure, than women. we assume that women will show higher level of job satisfaction than men, like in the studies mentioned earlier (Clark, 1996;Hodson, 1989;Murray & Atkinson, 1981;Sloane & Williams, 1996).…”

Relationship between Job Satisfaction and HR Practices, an Empirical Research of Different Sectors of University Teachers in Pakistan

“…Studying the factor that affect job satisfaction the literature of current study referred to those factors that are very close to teacher turnover in universities that shows that dissatisfied teachers more likely to switch from there institutions (Hodson, 1989). This is also studied from previous research in other disciplined like management, Marketing and in organizational behavior shown that HR practices are primary indicator of job satisfaction to the work (Mottaz, 1985).…”

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction among Academicians: A Comparative Study between Gender and Generations

“…It showed that female teachers hold negative perceptions about their pay, supervision and promotion, thus producing a low level of overall job satisfaction, while their male counterparts hold favorable opinions about pay, promotion policies and supervision and thus indicating high level of job satisfaction. The analysis on gender differences in job satisfaction among full time workers in various fields by Hodson (1989) revealed that there are a number of differences between men and women in determining job satisfaction based on factors such as job characteristics, family responsibilities and personal expectations. Similarly, a study by Carleton and Clain (2012) suggest that there is greater job satisfaction among women but it was limited to married workers.…”