<p> The gender gap issue is a complex, systemic problem emerging from the interrelation of multiple variables. This study sought to identify the primary, interrelated, and mutually influential variables that contribute to the C-suite gender gap phenomenon using Moustakas' transcendental phenomenological research methodology. Seven female vice president level executives who work in a male-dominated private sector industries in a major metropolitan area were interviewed. Common themes emerged around the significant impact of culture and upbringing and experiences with subtle or overt second-generation gender bias. Five women had some experience of the double bind, although not all of them seemed to perceive the experience that way. All participants discounted the concept of the "glass ceiling." All except one credited strong mentors who provided advice, guidance, and support and who also acted as advocates in helping to advance their careers. All participants demonstrated strong self-confidence, although two noted their confidence was low during their early career and grew through positive, reinforcing experiences. All participants discussed work-life balance and many tempered their career ambition with a similarly strong value for creating and maintaining work-life balance. Only one experienced career limitations by downgrading her work schedule to accommodate childcare needs. Each of their stories, though unique, illustrated how the variables of personality, leadership style, levels of ambition and confidence, upbringing, organizational culture, societal culture, how others interact with them, work-life balance, and mentors created a systemic "whole" that brought them to their current level of success in their careers. It is in the context of describing and seeing the systemic complexity of the issue that recommendations for a comprehensive strategy for action were presented.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines how differing goals men and women bring to the workplace affect the impact of corporate rewards intended to motivate and recognize performance and promote retention. It focuses on gender because of the changing composition of the American workforce. In 2010 women constituted 47% of the total U.S. employed workforce and 52% of the U.S. professional workforce. An emerging body of research indicates that women in professional positions increase the effectiveness of problem solving and the profitability of organizations. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the impact of reward systems on retention, especially for women. This dissertation explores the links among individual goals, organizational rewards, and retention. Using social cognitive theory, it examines gender differences in goals; identifies the types of rewards that are most effective for each group; and proposes a model for determining effective reward structures. The dissertation conclusions are these: (1) there are barriers to success for professional women and there is a need for organizational support; (2) flexible work arrangements are a key antecedent to reduce turnover of professional women; (3) mentoring of professional women is needed, but sponsorship is required; and (4) to be a visionary organization that creates and sustains a competitive advantage by retaining valuable human capital action has to be taken now.</p>

<p>Since the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964, female law enforcement officers have battled obstacles and barriers, both external and internal in their effort to gain equality and assimilate into the role of police officer. The problem examined in this qualitative study was the low percentage of women in sworn law enforcement positions of all ranks. Thirty-six sworn female officers currently serving in the state of Arizona were selected to participate in focus group discussions to assist in the phenomenological examination of low representation of women in law enforcement. The female officers were asked a series of questions to facilitate discussion in an effort to explore their experiences and possibly reveal underlying police cultural factors that may lead to limited opportunities for women who choose law enforcement as a career. The qualitative design fostered a sharing of the stories of these female officers and provided an in-depth understanding of their experiences both on and off the job related to their choice of career. Information-rich data provided by the participants served to inform the Arizona law enforcement community concerning the experiences and career choices of women in law enforcement. Discovered through focus group discussions were the reasons women choose law enforcement as a career as well as why they remain in the profession. The excitement of the job coupled with job security, and salary factored into the decision making processes. Data addressing promotion, leadership, and role models were also revealed with female officers advising an inequitable promotional process, yet one in which they believed women needed to participate to improve the profession for others. Recommendations of formal mentoring and succession planning were made along with changes in the recruitment process. Future study should include male participants as well as female participants. Funding sources or sponsoring organizations should be explored in an effort to expand the scope of future study. Conducting focus groups discussions in different parts of the state and for longer periods of time would permit individuals from different areas of the state an opportunity to participate. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 2002. Adviser: Steven Aragon. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-176) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Existing research has shown that gender stereotypes regarding characteristics of men and women influence others' perceptions of their fit with organizational roles, including leadership roles (cf. Eagly &amp; Karau, 2002). However, little research has examined stereotypes regarding other demographic characteristics (e.g., race, sexual orientation) and how they may interact with gender stereotypes to influence leadership evaluations. The current study examined whether leader gender and sexual orientation interact to influence subordinates' evaluations of leader effectiveness, likability, and boss desirability using an experimental design. In addition to examining whether leader gender and sexual orientation interacted to predict leader evaluations, the present study also examined why, or the mechanisms, that underlie these effects. Specifically, the present study evaluated two potential mediators: (1) role incongruity, perceptions that there is a misfit between the characteristics of an individual and the role on communality (or warmth) and agency (or competence) and (2) moral outrage, affective reactions of contempt, anger, and disgust toward individuals and/or groups who violate societal mores. Results indicate that gay and lesbian leaders were perceived to be less agentic and more communal than their heterosexual counterparts, though leader gender and sexual orientation did not interact in predicting perceptions of agency and communality. Furthermore, in the full sample, leader gender and sexual orientation interacted to predict moral outrage. When examining moderated mediation analyses, moral outrage mediated the relationship between leader demographics and evaluations of leader effectiveness (but not leader likability) for gay male leaders. Results from the present study helps to inform researchers and practitioners regarding how and why stereotypes influence others' leadership evaluations and suggest entry points for interventions designed to minimize discrimination against sexual minorities in organizational settings.</p>

In this study, I explore how school band organizational culture produces gender roles and stereotypes within a percussion section. While previous research (Abeles, 2009) records percussion as predominantly male demographically and in popular perception, such research limits itself to battery percussion, largely excluding mallet percussion. Additionally, researchers have not addressed how existing gender stereotypes influence percussionists or how such stereotypes propagate. This research, a case study, supplements existing findings by qualitatively assessing how students and directors perceive gender stereotypes’ influence the organization, and how stereotypes emerge. By using multiple data sources, I illuminate various understructures (Acker, 1990) that help enforce gender roles and stereotypes observed and described by participants. Understructures represent the unintended impact of aspects of organizational culture. The exploration of understructures helps to explain how gender patterns in percussion sections continue despite the wishes of directors and students alike. Data analysis revealed percussion as divided into two “zones:” mallet and battery percussion, wherein females predominantly play mallets. Participants associated two different skill sets with the zones. Data revealed that experiences in middle school, family tradition, and other factors directly affected what zones students occupied and what skills they had obtained. The most valued musical skills reflected masculinized ideals of marching band and battery percussion. I concluded that understructures influenced percussion students by tacitly predetermining their placement in one of two instrument-based zones. These zones embodied a hierarchized system that privileged masculine-typed battery/marching instruments. I theorized that dividing percussion into gendered zones negatively influenced the musical and academic prospects of all students. / 2019-10-23T00:00:00Z