Identities under scrutiny: How women leaders navigate feeling misidentified at work

Meister, Alyson; Sinclair, Amanda; Jehn, Karen A.

doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.01.009

Cited by 72 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…We found that a key to retaining professionally employed new mothers is encouraging their sense of maternal confidence, which differs from previous research that assumes professionally employed new mothers contemplate leaving their jobs due to work demands and an incompatibility between motherhood and work (Buzzanell et al, ; Gatrell, ; Ladge & Greenberg, ). Indeed, the effects of family/parent‐related stressors on work‐related outcomes may be particularly acute for professionally employed women since they often face intense scrutiny by coworkers and may be falsely perceived as less devoted to their career now that they are mothers (Gatrell, ; Meister, Sinclair, & Jehn, in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retaining professionally employed new mothers: The importance of maternal confidence and workplace support to their intent to stay

Ladge

Humberd

Eddleston

2017

Human Resource Management

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In this multimethod study, we explore why some new mothers may “opt out” of the workforce while others stay after the birth of their first child. Findings from a qualitative study of 40 professionally employed new mothers revealed the importance of maternal confidence, managerial support, and work hours to their experience of work–family conflict (WFC) and subsequent intent to stay with their organization. We tested these relationships in a follow‐up survey‐based study of 802 professionally employed first‐time mothers and found that the relationship between maternal confidence and intent to stay is mediated by WFC, suggesting that WFC acts as an important cross‐domain mechanism that links confidence in a nonwork role to women's intent to stay with their organization. We also found that for women who work full‐time, those who lack maternal confidence experience significantly greater WFC than those with strong maternal confidence. While we did not find support for managerial support as a moderator in the quantitative study, our analysis revealed that it directly affects WFC and intent to stay. To increase professionally employed new mothers’ intent to stay with their organization, our study therefore emphasizes the importance of nurturing maternal confidence and encouraging managers to display support for working parents.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retaining professionally employed new mothers: The importance of maternal confidence and workplace support to their intent to stay

Ladge

Humberd

Eddleston

2017

Human Resource Management

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“…Individuals consider their desire for symmetry along with the importance of preserving the current image perceptions. These considerations will drive resolution and maintenance outcomes (Meister et al, 2014;Meister, Sinclair, & Jehn, 2017).…”

Section: Responses To Work-family Image-identity Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, women may find that overcoming gender stereotypes and discrimination associated with being a working mother is impossible either in their workplace or in their personal life. Indeed, it is more socially acceptable for women to disengage at work when they feel their identity is threatened and it may be easier to withdraw from work rather than challenge or influence others' perceptions (Meister et al, 2017). Each scenario suggests that the greater the work-family image-identity asymmetry, the greater the degree to which one restructures their work-family identity.…”

Section: Family Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

When Expectations Become Reality: Work-Family Image Management and Identity Adaptation

Ladge

Little²

2019

AMR

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Working parents often contend with how to effectively portray themselves as both devoted professionals and good parents. In this article, we introduce the construct work-family image as a cross-domain, collective image representing how competent an individual is perceived to be as a parent and a professional by key constituents in both work and life domains.We present a theoretical framework to explicate a process in which work-family image management drives work-family identity adaptation. Specifically, we suggest that work-family image management occurs when work-family norms, derived from societal, organizational and familial expectations, create image discrepancies that drive impression management behavior.These behaviors, in turn, can create image-identity asymmetries and lead to work-family identity adaptation. We contribute to existing research by highlighting the dynamic interplay between image management and identity adaptation and explain the process by which work-family norms can influence working parents' identities.

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“…Over time, women have become difficult to differentiate (today) because of complexities in women's activities in relation to land. In addition, there is the issue of emerging complex identities of women [64]. This has made women difficult to differentiate.…”

Section: Adopting Modes Of Action In Support Of Women's Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differentiations in Women’s Land Tenure Experiences: Implications for Women’s Land Access and Tenure Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Chigbu

Paradza²,

Dachaga

2019

Land

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Most literature on land tenure in sub-Saharan Africa has presented women as a homogenous group. This study uses evidence from Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe to show that women have differentiated problems, needs, and statuses in their quest for land access and tenure security. It illustrates how women-to-women differences influence women’s access to land. By investigating differentiations in women’s land tenure in the three countries, the study identifies multiple and somewhat interlinked ways in which differentiations exist in women’s land tenure. It achieved some key outcomes. The findings include a matrix of factors that differentiate women’s land access and tenure security, a visualisation of women’s differentiation in land tenure showing possible modes for actions, and an adaptable approach for operationalising women’s differentiation in land tenure policies (among others). Using these as evidence, it argues that women are a highly differentiated gender group, and the only thing homogenous in the three cases is that women are heterogeneous in their land tenure experiences. It concludes that an emphasis on how the differentiation among women allows for significant insight to emerge into how they experience tenure access differently is essential in improving the tenure security of women. Finally, it makes policy recommendations.

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Identities under scrutiny: How women leaders navigate feeling misidentified at work

Cited by 72 publications

References 103 publications

Retaining professionally employed new mothers: The importance of maternal confidence and workplace support to their intent to stay

Retaining professionally employed new mothers: The importance of maternal confidence and workplace support to their intent to stay

When Expectations Become Reality: Work-Family Image Management and Identity Adaptation

Differentiations in Women’s Land Tenure Experiences: Implications for Women’s Land Access and Tenure Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

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