The gender diversity–performance relationship in services and manufacturing organizations

Workforce diversity in manufacturing companies and organizational performance: the role of status-relatedness and internal processes

“…Gender, age, and education diversity promote the division of labor among employees, which can be realized more effectively because these attributes impose less status differential and social chasm among employees. Gender diversity is a source of intangible and socially complex resources that improve problem solving, creativity, and overall organizational performance (Ali et al, 2011;McMahon, 2010). Scholars have explained the reason for the positive implications of a gender-diverse workforce for organizational performance as complementarity between males and females with regard to their skills and abilities (Ali et al, 2011;Wood, 1987).…”

“…Differing and often complementing skills and the competence of males and females, and of the old and the young can also stimulate mutual learning, leading to greater KSAs of employees (Ali et al, 2011;Backes-Gellner & Veen, 2009;Wood, 1987).…”

“…(1 = rapidly decreasing; 5 = rapidly increasing). Organization size has also been acknowledged as a critical firm-specific factor that affects various firm outcomes (Ali et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2010). In the present data, organization size was indicated by a scale with four categories representing the number of employees (1 = 100-299; 2 = 300-999; 3 = 1000-2999; 4 = above 3000).…”

“…Gender diversity is a source of intangible and socially complex resources that improve problem solving, creativity, and overall organizational performance (Ali et al, 2011;McMahon, 2010). Scholars have explained the reason for the positive implications of a gender-diverse workforce for organizational performance as complementarity between males and females with regard to their skills and abilities (Ali et al, 2011;Wood, 1987). Similarly, organizations are likely to be more effective and productive when composed of members of diverse ages due to the potential complementarity and division of labor between older and younger employees based on their distinct social experiences, skill profiles, and differing perspectives (Bantel & Jackson, 1989;Vendramin, 2009).…”

“…Nevertheless, several meta-analytic reviews of empirical studies on diversity do not provide a clear pattern regarding performance implications of diversity in different personal attributes (e.g., Webber & Donahue, 2001). This happens because typical social-category variables, such as gender and age, also implicate informational diversity based on distinct experiences and views (Ali, Kulik, & Metz, 2011;Vendramin, 2009). Similarly, typical task-related variables, such as tenure and functional background, also activate social categorization processes and stereotyping based on in-group and out-group perceptions (Knight et al, 1999;Van der Vegt, Vliert, & Oosterhof, 2003).…”