Women in Banking: A Comparative Perspective on the Integration Myth

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. IntroductionThis article reports on the results of two similar surveys conducted with professional women bankers, one in the USA and the other in Turkey, to explore socio-economic backgrounds, attitudes towards work, and the nature of the support they receive as such. It also describes the views of women bankers in both cultures with reference to sexual discrimination in the workplace and also their varying levels of job satisfaction and frustration.In the last decade, the number of professional women has increased substantially in the workplace. In particular, women have made significant advancements in the banking industry[l], where 190 of them serve as Presidents at the 14,000 banks in the US, and where the number of them serving as executives has tripled over the last decade. A similar trend also exists in Turkey [2]. The number of women bankers has increased since 1971, and these women have high potential for promotion to executive positions. Because banks are major employers of women, women bankers represent an important case study. Studying women and their professional advancement in banks will provide guidelines for other women professionals striving to achieve professional advancement. A comparative study will help to expand the boundaries of knowledgeability about the advancement of professional women bankers to an international level. Literature ReviewA review of the literature on women professionals, especially women in banking reveals that some important issues still exist. Although women made a great deal of progress in joining professional ranks in organizations, acceptance of women in the top management positions has been rather slow. Despite the fact that the number of women corporate managers has increased from 24 per cent to 37 per cent in the past decade, the overall progress of women has been moderate [3]. The traditional beliefs about women's roles obscure the advancement of women in leadership positions [4,5,6]. In contemporary American organizations, this c ontroversial view about women's leadership skills in management still persists [7]. The existing literature suggests that women are less preferred for managerial positions than men and they are extended fewer

Examining occupational stress, job satisfaction and gender difference among bank tellers: evidence from Ghana

“…Some researchers have found gender difference in job satisfaction (e.g. Crossman and Abou-Zaki, 2003;Culpan et al, 1992;Dirani and Kuchinke, 2011;Okpara, 2006). For example, Crossman and Abou-Zaki (2003) explored the relationship between job satisfaction, job characteristics and socio-demographic variables and found that female employees were less satisfied with all job facets except pay in banks.…”

‘Belonging’ and ‘Otherness’: Sex Equality in Banking in Turkey and Britain

“…Although the financial services sector is small, employing only two per cent of the Turkish employed population in 2001 (TBB, 2002), workers in this sector earn the highest average income in Turkey (DIE, 1994). The state‐owned banks and most commercial banks (except for the Islamic finance houses described above) now provide employment opportunities for women, and this sector is traditionally considered to offer ‘secure’, ‘prestigious’ and above‐average career opportunities for women (Culpan et al ., 1992; Seyman, 1992). However, a recent book (KSSGM, 2000) on sex equality in the financial services sector in Turkey published by the Directorate General of Women's Status and Problems (the national institution for sex equality in Turkey) reported that gendered inequalities are indeed deep‐seated in the sector.…”

“…In Britain women have been entering management posts in growing numbers, yet the most lucrative positions in banks’ boardrooms and stock market trading departments are still widely (and accurately) seen as male preserves (Ashburner, 1988; EOC, 2002, p. 3; McDowell, 1997; Pascall et al ., 2000). Similarly, women are taking a growing share of posts, including management positions, in the Turkish financial services sector (Culpan et al ., 1992; Bankacilik Sektorunde Cinsiyete Dayali Ayrimcilik [KSSGM], 2000; Turkish Union of Banks [TBB], 2002). Over the last 20 years various studies of the financial services sector in Britain and elsewhere have shown that organizational restructuring, taking advantage of information technology to cut costs or to promote competitiveness, has often had a gendered dimension operating to men's advantage (Crompton and Sanderson, 1994; Halford et al ., 1997; Humphries et al ., 1992; McDowell, 1997).…”

The Economics of Work and Family

“…Sicherman (1996), for example, found that a higher proportion of women than men leave their jobs for nonmarket reasons, such as household duties and family illness. Culpan, Akdag, and Cindogvlu (1996), Wentling (1996), and Gordon and Whelan (1998), among others, also present evidence indicating that family concerns play a large role in women's career satisfaction, retention, and achievement.…”