In the early 1970s Schein identified managerial sex typing as a major psychological barrier to the advancement of women in the United States. The globalization of management brings to the forefront the need to examine the relationship between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics in the international arena. A review of the replications of the Schein research in the United States, Japan provides the basis for a global look at the "think manager-think male" phenomenon. Implications of the outcomes, especially among males, for women's progress in management worldwide are discussed.Barriers to women in management exist worldwide. According to a recent International Labor Organization report ("Women in Management," 1998), although women represent more than 40% of the world's labor force, their share of management positions remains unacceptably low, with only a small proportion obtaining top jobs. Butterfield and Grinnell (1999), in their review of 3 decades of research on gender, leadership, and managerial behavior, pointed to the international perspective as an important new frontier. As management becomes increasingly internationalized, research efforts need to follow suit. Cross-national comparisons help avoid oversimplistic explanations and ethnocentric biases (Berthoin Antal, 1987). The discovery of psychological phenomena that transcend national borders facilitates efforts to enhance the status of women in management. Management is going global, and it is time for research on women in management to do so as well.
The relationship between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics among female middle managers was examined. In a replication of a previous study with male middle managers, 167 female middle managers rated either women in general, men in general, or successful middle managers on 92 descriptive terms. As was found with the male sample, the results confirmed the hypothesis that successful middle managers are perceived to possess characteristics, attitudes, and temperaments more commonly ascribed to men in general than to women in general. This relationship between sex role stereotypes and perceived requisite management characteristics was strongest among female managers with limited managerial experience.Male middle managers have been shown to perceive successful middle managers as possessing characteristics, attitudes, and temperaments more commonly ascribed to men in general than to women in general (Schein, 1973). This association between sex role stereotypes and perceptions of requisite management characteristics would seem to account, in part, for the limited number of women in management positions. Such sex role stereotyping of the managerial job could result in the perception that women are less qualified than men for management positions, a perception which would have a definite influence on selection, promotion, and placement decisions.Although the number of studies pertaining to women in management has been gradually increasing (e.g., Bass, Krusell, & Alexander, 1971;Cecil, Paul, & Olins, 1973; Rosen & Jerdee, 1974a, 1974b, the samples for most of these studies have been composed of males. As the weight of evidence from these studies indicating discriminatory attitudes toward women in management increases, the use of such samples implies thatThe author wishes to thank the members of the Personnel Research Committee of the Life Office Management Association for their assistance and John Sherman for his help with the statistical analyses.Requests for reprints should be sent to the author,
Purpose -A major barrier to women's progress in management worldwide continues to be the gender stereotyping of the managerial position. The purpose of the paper is to examine how this "think manager -think male" attitude has changed over the three decades since the author's initial research and to consider the implications of the outcomes for women's advancement in management today. Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews the author's research, first conducted in the 1970s and replicated in the USA and internationally, on gender stereotyping and requisite management characteristics. Findings -The overview reveals the strength and inflexibility of the "think manager -think male" attitude held by males across time and national borders. Over the last three decades corporate males in the USA continue to see women as less qualified than men for managerial positions. Internationally, the view of women as less likely than men to possess requisite management characteristics is also a commonly held belief among male management students in the USA, the UK, Germany, China and Japan. Practical implications -Women's continued progress depends on recognizing the intractable nature of these negative attitudes and continually seeking ways to ensure that these attitudes do not derail their success. The need to maintain and expand legal efforts is discussed. An argument is also made for challenging the "corporate convenient" way of working and restructuring managerial work to facilitate a work and family interface. Originality/value -Based upon three decades of research, the paper highlights the importance of maintaining and increasing efforts to ensure that women advance to positions of power and influence in organizations worldwide.
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