The Gender Paradox in Work Satisfaction and the Protestant Clergy

Abstract

Female clergy are more likely than mate clergy to serve small, rural churches in declining communities, yet they express a high level of satisfaction with the.ir work, often higher than that ,of male clergy. Why are female clergy relatively happ,y with their jobs in spite of poor work conditions?Studies of other occupations have consistently found that while wornen's u~rk amditions ana rewards ate inferior to those of men in comparable positions ( a situation which should reduce satisfaction), women report being as satisfied of more satisfied with their work (F~ and Greenfield ). This discrelxm~ is caUed the " gender paradox" in work satisfaction.The purpose of this study/s to address female c/ergy's reporta of higher satisfaction, using the tire main explanations of the paradox which have been identif~ed and tested ( Phelan 1994; MueUer and Wa//ar.e 1996); the emphas/s is on arguments that involve justice perceptions. Beyond the effects of justice perceptions on satis… gender difference in justice perceptions ate of interest in and of themselves, since sources o… gender inequality ate not likely to be corrected as lmtg as men and women evaluate those ineclualities as just and fair (Marx [184811964; Smelser 1962). A comprehensive model of sources of satisfaction will be used~as previous,studies ( MueUer and WaUace 1996) have found that using a properly specified model may eliminate much of the paradox for job satisfact/on. The dato come from a 1996 national survey of pastors in two Protestant denominations, and show that a gender paradox does exist for clergy job satisŸ While justice perceptions playa highly significant tole in explaining job satisfaction, they rail to eliminate the gender paradox. A finding which contradicts Iyrevious studies is evidence of differerw, s in job values for male and female clergy, h is suggested that future studies include variables that assess the impormnce of gender-specific job vahes in producing job satisfaction.Downloaded from 2 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION happy with their jobs in spite of poor work conditions? Studies of other occupations have consistently found that while women's work conditions and rewards are inferior to those of men in comparable positions (a situation which should reduce satisfaction), women report being as satisfied or more satisfied with their work than men (Fry

The influence of employee demographic factors on job satisfaction: A case study of Segen Construction Company, Eritrea

“…This can be attributed to men"s perception that they can acquire better opportunities in the construction industry than females. This finding contradicts the findings of studies by McDuff (2001) and Wharton (1993) that found women were more satisfied with their jobs than men. It is however noted that the nature of a job can influence the level of satisfaction across different genders.…”

“…Other studies have shown that women are more satisfied with their jobs than men (McDuff, 2001;Wharton, 1993). For this study, the following demographic factors will be linked to job satisfaction in a bid to establish whether any relationship exists between them with specific reference to SCC: age, gender, working experience, and academic qualifications.…”

Job Status of Women Head Clergy: Findings from the National Congregations Study, 1998, 2006, and 2012

“…Research on women clergy and clergy gender differences tends to focus on individual clergy as the unit of analysis, within the context of the organizational and occupational structure (e.g., Carroll et al 1981;Chang 2005;Charlton 1997;Finlay 1996;Lehman 2002;McDuff and Mueller 1999;McDuff and Mueller 2000;McDuff 2001;Nesbitt 1993;Nesbitt 1997aNesbitt , 1997bNesbitt , 1997cSullins 2000;Wildhagen et al 2005;Zickmund et al 1998). This article adds to the body of research that focuses on congregational characteristics and congregations as the unit of analysis, while still using clergy as the key variable (e.g., Adams 2007; Konieczny and Chaves 2000;Lehman 1981;Mueller and McDuff 2002).…”

How do we understand worker silence despite poor conditions – as the actress said to the woman bishop

“…Both men and women workers in these vocational occupations regularly experience poor terms and conditions (Christopherson 2008;McDuff 2001;Menger 1999). However existing qualitative and quantitative research establishes that, as a category, women clergy and actors experience systemically poorer working conditions than their male peers (Bagilhole, 2003(Bagilhole, , 2006Dean, 2008a;Greene and Robbins, 2015;Thomas, 1995).…”