Suchergebnisse

An instrument for assessing job advancement potential in organizational contexts was developed and administered to a sample of professional females. The Power and Fast Track Job (PFTJ) scale included items measuring organizational power, employee recognition, mentorship, and job flexibility/autonomy. As expected, the PFTJ scale was found to be positively related to self‐reported career success, perceptions of leadership ability, and company support for equal opportunities in the workplace. In addition, follow‐up data indicated that scores on the PFTJ scale were useful in predicting subsequent job promotion or demotion in the current sample. These preliminary findings suggest that the PFTJ scale might have some potential utility as an assessment tool for female professionals seeking job advancement. However, women who rated their jobs as having greater power and fast track potential were also more likely to experience work/family role conflict, and reported less job satisfaction. The costs and benefits associated with jobs having advancement potential are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the conditions for career advancement in healthcare management and examine factors that may be impeding gender equity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors assess gender differences in the odds of being promoted to senior management by: analyzing the relative impact of individual, organizational and family level variables in accounting for gender inequity; examining gender differences in experiences of perceived gender discrimination and sexual harassment, as well as attitudes regarding gender equity in senior management; and by exploring gender differences in aspirations for senior management. ANOVA, χ2 and logistic regression were used to analyze data from 685 respondents to the 2006 Gender and Careers in Healthcare Management Survey.FindingsWomen were significantly less likely to be promoted to senior management, even after controlling for individual, organizational and family level characteristics. One third of women healthcare managers in our study reported perceived gender discrimination in the past five years. Less than half of male healthcare managers were supportive of increasing the proportion of women in senior management positions, while over 80 percent of women were. Among those not yet promoted women were significantly less likely than their male peers to aspire to senior management positions.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross‐sectional nature of the data do not allow for the precise testing of the causal direction of observed relationships.Originality/valueObjective and subjective measures of gender equity were evaluated. The authors' broad approach demonstrated that factors restraining gender equity operate on multiple levels and highlights the relative importance of family factors.

Barriers to women's advancement in the public sector continue to be very real. Debate has shifted from concern about equal employment opportunity and access to entry- and middle-level leadership positions to an examination of the glass ceiling phenomenon, which prevents many women from reaching upper level management positions. Using a conceptual and analytical framework developed for my doctoral dissertation and data generated from a survey of 253 upper level administrators in the Florida State government, this paper compares the experiences of women to those of men in elite public management positions. The paper underscores the barriers women encounter as they attempt to advance their careers and argues that it is not gender difference, but rather the difference that gender makes that explains why these barriers persist.