Gender diversity at work Flashcards
What are some positive (7) and negative stereotypes about men (10)?
Positive Traits:
- Independent
- Active
- Self-confident
- Makes decisions easily
- Never gives up easily
- Competitive
- Stands up under pressure
Negative Traits:
- Egotistical
- Hostile
- Cynical
- Servile
- Arrogant
- Greedy
- Feels superior
- Unprincipled
- Boastful
- Dictatorial
What are some positive (6) and negative stereotypes about women (7)?
Positive Traits:
- Gentle
- Helpful
- Emotional
- Warm to others
- Aware of others’ feelings
- Kind
Negative Traits:
- Subordinates self to others
- Spineless
- Gullible
- Whining
- Devoted to others
- Complaining
- Nagging
Source: Spence, Helmreich, and Holohan in Blaine (2013)
What are the two types of trait leadership theories? and what do they each believe? (2 & 1)
- Leadership Categorisation
- Implicit Leadership Theory
Leadership Categorisation Believes that:
- Image of the leader as stereotypically male
- Traits impact the way men and women are perceived as leaders (aligned to or counter to stereotype)
Implicit leadership theory believes:
1. Gender traits can affect access to leadership positions.
What are the three types of behavioural leadership theories and what do they each believe?
Types:
- Two-factor (task vs relationship)
- Transformational versus transactional leadership
- Leader–member exchange (LMX)
Two-factor (task vs relationship) Believes that:
1. Masculine gender-role traits are related to task focus.
2. Feminine gender-role traits related to relationship.
= Task focus -> leadership emergence
Relationship focus -> leadership effectiveness
Transformational versus transactional leadership believes that:
- Transformational Leadership is less effective for female leaders/ male follower relationships, because it counters the social roles
- Female leaders who used autocratic styles were rated more harshly than male leaders who did so.
Leader–member exchange (LMX) believes that:
1. LMX lower for female leader / male follower relationships
Source: Ayman and Korabik (2010)
When are women particularly likely to be devalued? (3)
Women leaders were particularly likely to be devalued when:
- They adopted stereotypically masculine leadership styles
- They were in male dominated leadership roles
- They were evaluated by men.
When were men (2) and respectively women more effective? (1)
Men:
- In male dominated situations
- In stereotypically masculine leadership roles
Women:
1. In more stereotypically feminine leadership roles.
What are the 8 distinctive factors of implicit leadership ?
- Sensitivity
- Dedication
- Tyranny
- Charisma
- Attractiveness
- Masculinity
- Intelligence
- Strength
Offmann, Kenedy and Wirtz (1994)
How is leadership prototypes formed? (4 sequence)
- When we think “Leader”, we think “Male”.
- > Leads to the assumption that women are not suited to these roles.
- > Women will have a higher risk of failing.
- > Employment decisions are likely to be unfavourable.
What does the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) show? (4)
- Study of over 1 million individuals
- Found that only 1 in 15 people have the potential to be a senior leader
- Found no differences in leadership capability between men and women
- Women are disproportionately under- represented in leadership roles.
What are arguments supporting that it is not about the ability difference between men and women? (4)
- Recognition that there are few, if any, important differences between men and women that will affect their job performance.
- There are no consistent gender differences in problem-solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation, sociability or learning agility.
- Psychological studies have found that women are more willing to conform and that men are more aggressive and more likely than women to have expectations of success.
- The only significant differences found were in motor performance (conflicting findings!!)
Define the gender construct?
- An idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society (Webster dictionary)
What is the difference between sex and gender? (3)
- sex= is a biological difference
- Gender= social construct around sex
- Greater variance on physical, behavioural and cognitive factors WITHIN each sex than BETWEEN the two sexes
Explain Hakim’s 2006 preference theory! (4)
- The theory suggests that not all women wish to advance in their careers.
- suggests women fall into 3 camps:
- Home-centered (~20% of women)
- Adaptive (~60% of women)
- Work-centred (~20% of women)
- Predicts that men will retain their dominance in the labour market, politics and other competitive activities, because only a minority of women are prepared to prioritise work.
What does Walsh counter argue with his gender debate? (3)
Women in law firms study:
1. women with strong aspirations for advancement to partnership don’t shun the need for a balanced lifestyle
- Perceived constrained opportunities for promotion
- Key influence is the work-life culture of the firm and availability of flexible working
What counter argument does Lyness and Heilmann (2006) reveal in their Women in a Financial Services Organisation study? (2)
- Greater perceived lack of fit between stereotypical attributes of women and requirements of senior roles, makes entry and reqruitment harder.
- Promoted women have higher performance than promoted men
What did the Gender Pay gap in the UK signify for companies and what did they have to publish? (4)
- From 6 April 2017 employers in Great Britain with more than 250 staff were required by law to publish:
- Gender pay gap (mean and median averages)
- Gender bonus gap (mean and median averages)
- Proportion of men and women receiving bonuses
- Proportion of men and women in each quartile of the organisation’s pay structure
What Is the typical jobs associated with gender and posit in horizontal occupation segregation? (4 for each)
Men: • Computer Programmers • Labourers • Taxi drivers and chauffers • Architecture and Engineering
Even split: • Computer operator • Journalist • Photographers • Medical Scientists
Women • Pre-school teacher • Secretary/Admin assistant • Nurses • Hairdressers
Explain the 3 factual quotes to why women are less present in leadership roles?
- “Female leaders are viewed as being less effective when they are in male-dominated settings or leadership roles that are defined as more masculine.” (Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani, 1995)
- Leadership emergence is more likely when congruent with social roles. Women are often constrained to leadership in more stereotypically feminine areas. (Ayman and Korabic, 2010)
- Across Age, work experience and culture, the image of a leader is strongly associated with men and masculinity. The stereotyped image develops as early as kindergarten. Ayman-Nolley and Ayman (2005)
What is the UK Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and what does it encompass? (3)
- it was Introduced 5 April 2015
◼ Gives parents more choice and flexibility in caring for their children in the first 12 months after their birth.
◼ Parents can split 52 weeks’ leave, receiving some payment for 39 of those weeks
What did research found of the SPL? (3)
◼ Research among 200 employers by the firm My Family Care found:
❑ More than 40% of employers questions had not seen one single male
❑ employee take up SPL, 11% of employers questioned saw only between 0.5% and 1% of male workers took up SPL
❑ 10% of employers questioned saw 1% take up of SPL
How did men and women surveyed respond to the SPL? (3)
- 50% of men surveyed said they thought taking leave was perceived negatively at work
◼ 55% of mothers questioned said they did not want to share their leave.
◼ Only 40% of individuals said shared parental leave was encouraged by their employer
What did Al Fergusson comment on the initiative? (3)
◼ he mentioned how there is still a stigma attached to a father’s role in parenting
◼ Working Dad’s feel it is their duty to go out and earn money
◼ A government assessment suggested 285,000 working fathers would be eligible to take the leave, but only 2% to 8% would do so.
