Social dominance orientation and perceptions of women and men in management.

Abstract

This study investigated current perceptions of women and men in management, and how Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) may be related to these views. More specifically, the purpose was to examine the similarity in ratings given to successful middle managers and each of the following categories: men in general, women in general, male managers, female managers, successful male managers, and successful female managers. Seventy-five individuals participated in this study and were selected from a medium sized university in the midwestern region of the United States and a large manufacturing company in the northeastern region of the United States. Results indicated that men scored significantly higher on SDO (M = 35.37, SD = 9.46) than women (M = 27.7, SD = 11.68), 1(71) = -7.66, 12 < .05.. Perceptions of men and women in management were examined in terms of male and female respondents, as well as high SDO and low SDO respondents. Intraclass correlation coefficients and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficents were used to analyze lack of direct relationships and linear relationships among ratings of successful middle managers and women in general, men in general, female managers, male managers, successful female mangers, and successful male managers. Intraclass correlations and Pearson correlations were converted to Fisher's z's to establish if there was greater resemblance between successful middle managers and a) men or women in general, b) male or female managers, and c) successful male or successful female managers. Among male, female, high SDO and low SDO respondents, ratings given to women had greater or equal resemblance to ratings given to successful middle managers when compared to ratings given to men and successful middle managers in almost all categories (i.e., "in general," as "managers," as "successful managers"). The presentation of performance ability did not appear to make a 4difference concerning enhanced positive perceptions toward women in terms of management potential as it has in previous research.