Is there a link between family structures and women's and men's managerial career advancement?

Abstract

SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of family structures on the managerial career advancement of managers and professionals using a longitudinal design (Time 1 n 3555; Time 2 n 2339). Family structures were found to predict managerial advancement for women and men and employment disruption for women only. Advancement in organizations was lower for childless single men and women, and for single fathers, than for other family structures. Greater managerial advancement was associated with being a traditional father, in the private sector, whereas mothers with employed spouses ( posttraditional mothers) advanced in management as much as other women. The impact of family structures on male and female advancement was not aected by employment disruption but was moderated by employment sector.

Family Influences on the Career Life Cycle

“…Married women, in contrast, and especially those who have children, ought to take on less demanding jobs with lower pay in order to successfully combine employment with their household responsibilities (Becker, 1985). This would imply that single women, who have more time and energy for demanding jobs, are able to achieve greater career advancement than married women and/or those with children (Tharenou, 1999).…”

“…According to this theory, therefore, married women will not be able to concentrate on their paid work to the same extent as single women, and will therefore experience less advancement in their careers (Tharenou, 1999).…”

“…While these findings would also appear to support human capital theory, single women were found to achieve similar career progress as married women, rather than outperform them as implied by the precepts of human capital theory. A longitudinal study of managers and professionals conducted by Tharenou (1999) revealed that in the private sector, married fathers with stay-at-home wives enjoyed greater career advancement than married fathers in dual-earner partnerships, who in turn enjoyed greater career advancement than single men with no children. This too is consistent with spousal support theory, as the resources provided by wives to their husbands' careers diminish once the wives have their own careers requiring resources, and the single men receive no spousal support at all.…”

Beneath the glass ceiling: Explaining gendered role segmentation in call centres

“…First, despite substantial research on the glass ceiling to women's advancement within professions and senior executive levels (Lyness and Thompson, 1997;Tharenou, 1999Tharenou, , 2001, far fewer studies examine women's work in contemporary service occupations (Kerfoot and Korczynski, 2005). By revealing the ways in which women's success (or lack thereof) continues to depend on different factors from men, the present study contributes theoretically to understanding the persistence of women's disadvantage in newer, more flexible, and numerically female-dominated organizations.…”

Who goes to the bargaining table? The influence of gender and framing on the initiation of negotiation.

“…The question of whether and why gender differences exist in the propensity to initiate negotiations is important, given the persistent wage gap (Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000), glass ceiling (Tharenou, 2001), and the fact that women advance in their careers at much slower rates than do men (Tharenou, 1999;Valian, 1998). Babcock, Gelfand, Small, and Stayn (2006) provided some initial evidence that women are less likely to initiate negotiations.…”