Female Clerical Workers in Academic Settings: An Empirical Test of the Gender Model (original) (raw)

Women Clerical Workers: Sex-Role Socialization, Work Attitudes, and Values

The Career Development Quarterly, 1989

Dramatic changes in the structure and values of North American society and a corresponding expansion in vocational research and theory have broadened our conception of both workers and work. There is now evidence of a marked shift toward viewing career development as a dynamic and systemic process. Individuals are seen as active agents in their career development throughout life (Lerner & Busch-Rossnagel, 1981; Perun & Bielby, 1981; Young, 1984), and the changing nature of societal norms and values is directly addressed in the literature (Astin, 1984; Osipow, 1983; Stafford, 1984). As a result, attention is now focused on the need to integrate opportunity and socialization explanations of career development (Schulenberg, Vondracek, & Crouter, 1984). This new perspective has moved researchers away from restricted sex model approaches to women's career development (Feldberg & Glenn, 1982) and from what Fitzgerald and Betz (1983) called the traditional "homogenization" (p. 87) of women. Personality and socialization variables are no longer seen as the sole determinants of women's attitudes toward work and performance on the job. Rather, they are viewed as part of a complex system of interactive factors that are open to change as individuals respond to, and create, their place in the world of work. This broadening of perspective at a theoretical level has been difficult to translate into research practice. Arguments in favor of breadth of coverage and attention to interactive processes have been countered by concerns for explanatory depth and practicality (Gottfredson, 1983). Similarly, demands for a comprehensive model have met opposition from those who

Women's Gender Role Attitudes, Career Salience, and Paid Work Family Conflict

2009

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC), career salience, and gender role attitudes in a sample (n=147) of women staff and faculty at universities and colleges. Participants were recruited via e-mails and completed measures of WFC (Work Family Conflict Scale), career salience (Career Salience Scale), and gender role attitudes (Attitudes Toward Women Scale). Career salience was found to be a significant predictor of WFC, with greater salience being associated with greater WFC. Gender role attitudes were found to be a significant predictor of WFC, although contrary to prediction more non-traditional gender role attitudes were associated with higher scores on WFC. Also contrary to prediction, gender role attitudes were not a moderator in the relationship between career salience and WFC. Additionally, there were not significant relationships between WFC and number of children, WFC and having children under the age of 6, WFC and number of weekly hours worked, and WFC and partner/living status.

Women's Gender Role Attitudes: Association of Demographic Characteristics, Work Related Factors, and Life Satisfaction

2007

Factors related to women's gender role attitudes were assessed using data from a national survey in 1988 in which 3,507 members of the Young Women cohort were interviewed by phone. The demographic characteristics were education, age, marital status, and region of residence. Older women, married women, and those of Southern residence were hypothesized to have traditional gender role attitudes. These hypotheses were supported by the data (p t .05, p t .05, p t .01, respectively). As hypothesized, those with high educational levels (p t .01) had egalitarian attitudes. Four work related variables (labor force participation, hours worked at one's paid position, personal income, and earnings as percent of total family income) were hypothesized to relate to non-traditional gender role attitudes. Job dissatisfaction was hypothesized to relate to traditional gender role attitudes. Personal income (p t .01) was related to non-traditional gender role attitudes. There was no relationshi...

The Perceptions of Women Working in Male Dominated Professions

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences / Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 2009

A bstract The perceptions of young, nonsupervisory male and female professionals in male dominatedprofesions were compared to determine if women, with fewer than 35% of their peers as females, perceive: (a) being stereotyped as having greater split loyalties between work and home, and lower statuslauthority: (3) receiving less support from supervisors and peers: (c) being evaluated by different performance standards; and (d) lower career satisfaction than their male peers. The only differences in the perceptions of the two genders were women: (a) FOCW, 16,285-303. Cet article a t t t sClcctionnt par le professeur Ron Burke. / Thii article was selected by Professor Ron Burke.

Gender or Occupational Status: What Counts More for Well-Being at Work?

Social Indicators Research, 2015

Literature has conceptualized well-being in the work domain through specific constructs, such as job satisfaction, work alienation, work-family conflict, and the perception of decision-making. Research from a gender perspective has examined gender differences in relation to these variables, showing thatcompared to men-women in most cases experience lower job satisfaction, less decision-making, and higher work-family conflict. Another body of studies has driven the attention to the impact of the occupational status, demonstrating a general positive effect of high-status occupations. However, considering disparities between men and women in career success, the documented gender differences may also be influenced by the fact that women generally hold lower positions, as well as the effects of status may be related to the prevalence of men in high-status job. The purpose of the present study was to extend past research by examining the effects of both gender and status on job satisfaction, work alienation, work-family conflict, and decision-making. To this aim 238 workers (52.5% males) holding high-status (N=98) and low-status (N=140) positions were involved in the research. Results indicated that when the relative salience of both gender and status is considered to understand well-being at work, status counts more than gender. Nevertheless, gender remains a significant dimension that may not be neglected, as it plays a relevant role, along with status, on job satisfaction and perception of decision-making. Implications are discussed.

Breaking the Mold: The Impact of Working in a Gender-Congruent Versus Gender-Incongruent Role on Self-Reported Sources of Stress, Organizational Commitment, and Health in UK Universities

2010

We present an analysis of archive data collected using the ASSET (Cartwright & Cooper, 2002) from a stratified sample of employees (N ϭ 2,005) working in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom in 2003. We hypothesized that employees working in gender-incongruent roles would report higher levels of work-related stress, poorer health, and lower organizational commitment compared with those working in gender-congruent roles. Interpreted in accordance with the role strain hypotheses, we found that women working in genderincongruent roles reported significantly higher (p Ͼ .01) levels of stress, higher levels of minor ill-health problems, and lower levels of perceived commitment from their organizations compared with all other employees. Conversely, men who worked in gender-incongruent roles often reported the lowest levels of stress. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to women's progression in U.K. higher education.

Gender Role Identity and Women's Career Advancement: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict in Higher Education Sector

Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research, 2021

The present study addresses W-F(Work-Family) conflict mainly contributes to the existing literature by examining how W-F conflict and perceptions about gender roles influence women's career advancement. Methodology/Approach: A descriptive study using primary data has been to investigate the objective and hypotheses. The instrument developed and used to collect data in this study was a questionnaire. The research data for this study from married women working in the B-Schools in the Tamil Nadu region Findings: This study provides valuable data for academic institutions to build strategies, policies, practices, and equal opportunities to support more women to move up to higher positions and attract more women to opt for the academic profession. This study provides valuable data for academic institutions to build strategies, policies, practices, and equal opportunity to support more women to move up to higher positions and attract more women to opt for the academic profession. Practical Implications: Nowadays, women are still underrepresented in the higher positions in most organizations, especially in the higher education sector. Some of the crucial questions are whether family responsibilities affect women career development and career expectation influences the relationship between work-family conflict and career development of women or not.

Job satisfaction and gender identity of women managers and non-managers

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 2010

Objectives: This work investigates different cognitive aspects of job satisfaction (co-workers, supervisor, job content, working facilities, organization and management, opportunities for development, income), positive and negative affect at work and their relations to gender role orientation of women occupying managerial and non-managerial positions. Materials and methods: The sample of 122 women (60 managers and 62 non-managers) completed a battery of instruments such as: the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Job Description Inventory by Neuberger and Allerbeck and the Job Affect Scale by Brief et al. Results: Most women managers represented androgynous and masculine types, while women non-managers belonged to androgynous and feminine types. Moreover, women with various degrees of sex-typing showed positive and negative affect at work. The most satisfied with income were masculine women managers, the least-feminine women non-managers. Conclusions: These results may be applied in designing of motivational instruments to enhance job effectiveness and to eliminate unproductive behaviours such as absenteeism, high staff turnover.