Gender Bias in Organizations
Introduction
In this paper I review the literature on impression Management to determine if there are substantial gender differences in the employment of impression management tactics in organizational contexts. Based on a social roles theory perspective (Eagly, 1987), examines use of impression management tactics in organizational settings for gender differences in behavior. We expected that men and women would generally report using impression management tactics consistent with gender role expectations and that this might not be advantageous to women in the corporate world.
Organizational Behavior
Women comprise a substantial portion approximately 46% of today’s workforce (Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005; Segal, 1992). However, despite nearly equal representation in the workplace, there is a substantial gender difference in their career progression. Although nearly one half the workforces is comprised of women, they occupy only one-third of all management positions (Colwill, 1993; Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005), and women are more likely to be junior or middle managers rather than senior executives. Only 3% of women in the workforce occupy senior management roles (Segal, 1992). In addition, an examination of gender differences in career progression indicated that men experienced faster salary progression than did women, even though the men and women in the study were matched on education and work experience (Stroh, Brett, & Reilly, 1992). Therefore, women are woefully underrepresented in the highest ranks of many organizations (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995), and they earn significantly less than do men in comparable jobs (Thacker, 1995). For example, in the year 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that, across all career fields, women’s salaries were 77% of that of comparable men (Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005). Other research indicates that women earn less than men in commensurate jobs even after other relevant
In this paper I review the literature on impression Management to determine if there are substantial gender differences in the employment of impression management tactics in organizational contexts. Based on a social roles theory perspective (Eagly, 1987), examines use of impression management tactics in organizational settings for gender differences in behavior. We expected that men and women would generally report using impression management tactics consistent with gender role expectations and that this might not be advantageous to women in the corporate world.
Organizational Behavior
Women comprise a substantial portion approximately 46% of today’s workforce (Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005; Segal, 1992). However, despite nearly equal representation in the workplace, there is a substantial gender difference in their career progression. Although nearly one half the workforces is comprised of women, they occupy only one-third of all management positions (Colwill, 1993; Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005), and women are more likely to be junior or middle managers rather than senior executives. Only 3% of women in the workforce occupy senior management roles (Segal, 1992). In addition, an examination of gender differences in career progression indicated that men experienced faster salary progression than did women, even though the men and women in the study were matched on education and work experience (Stroh, Brett, & Reilly, 1992). Therefore, women are woefully underrepresented in the highest ranks of many organizations (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995), and they earn significantly less than do men in comparable jobs (Thacker, 1995). For example, in the year 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that, across all career fields, women’s salaries were 77% of that of comparable men (Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2005). Other research indicates that women earn less than men in commensurate jobs even after other relevant
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