Method for Assessing Structural Gender Barriers in an Organization: Development and Assessment of Psychometric Properties

In gender studies, there is a lack of instruments to assess the severity of gender inequality in an organization. Gender inequality at the structural level of the organization manifests itself as gender asymmetry in an organization and in certain status positions. It is indicated by metaphors of “glass” phenomena: “glass ceiling”, “sticky floor”, “glass walls”, “glass escalator”, “glass rock”, “glass box”. The article is devoted to the development and testing of the author’s methodology for assessing structural gender barriers in an organization. The study was conducted using an online survey in 2020, with a sample of 273 employees aged 18 to 62 years (median 34 years) from various organizations. The survey included, in addition to the developed questionnaire for assessing structural gender barriers, a methodology for assessing gen- der inequality at the individual-behavioral and normative levels in an organization (“Doing gender” and “Undoing gender” scales, “Scale for the severity of norms that support gender inequality” (author’s development), “Perceptions of Politics Scale” (author’s modification of the methodology of K.Kacmar and D.Carlson). The survey also included questions about the characteristics of the organization to assess the criterion validity. Reliability analysis, correla- tion analysis, and structural modeling were used. The results of the study showed good reli- ability of the scales, the results of SEM analysis show that the obtained data do not correspond to the six-factor model. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out, the resulting one- factor solution explains 54% of the variance. A positive correlation was found between the severity of structural gender barriers and the severity of norms that support gender inequality, with the presence of unfair policies in the organization and with the use of the “Undoing gender” individual behavioral strategy. A negative correlation was obtained with the number of women in high leadership positions in the organization. The obtained results testify in favor of the reliability, constructive and criterion validity of the new instrument. It is planned to further test the properties of the questionnaire on a larger sample.

Adams, R.B., Funk, P. (2012). Beyond the glass ceiling: Does gender matter? Management Science, 58 (2), 219–235. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1452

Arulampalam, W., Booth, A., Bryan, M.L. (2004). Is there a glass ceiling over Europe? Exploring the gender pay gap across the wage distribution. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 60 (2), 163–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390706000201

Avduyevskaia, E., Kuporov, Y.Y. (2018). Discrimination against women in the Russian labor market: Background and consequences. In: Proceedings of the international conference on gender research (ICGR 2018) (pp. 28–37). Red Hook.

Berheide, C.W. (1992). Women Still “Stuck” in Low-Level Jobs. Women in Public Service: a Bulletin of the Center for Women in Government. Albany, NY, Center for Women in Government, SUNY.

Bjerk, D. (2008). Glass ceilings or sticky floors? Statistical discrimination in a dynamic model of hiring and promotion. Economic Journal, 118 (530), 961–982. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02157.x

Booth, A.L., Francesconi, M., Frank, J. (2003). A sticky floors model of promotion, pay, and gender. European Economic Review, 47 (2), 295–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00197-0

Budig, M.J. (2002). Male advantage and the gender composition of jobs: Who rides the glass escalator? Social Problems, 49 (2), 258–277. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2002.49.2.258

Calás, M.B., Smircich, L., Halving, E. (2014) Theorizing gender-and-organization: Changing times... Changing theories? In: R.Kumra, R.J. Simpson, S.Burke (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations (pp. 17–52). Oxford, Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxford-hb/9780199658213.013.025

Carli, L.L., Eagly, A.H. (2016). Women face a labyrinth: an examination of metaphors for women leaders. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 31 (8), 514–527. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-02-2015-0007

Catalyst Research (2021). Women in the Workplace — Global: Quick Take. Jan. Available at: https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-the-workforce-global/ (accessed: 01.09.2022).

Cloninger, S. (2017). Exploring the Lives of Women Who Lead. PhD dissertation. Yellow Springs, OH. Available at: https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/370 (accessed: 01.09.2022).

Cotter, D.A., Hermsen, J.M., Ovadia, S., Vanneman, R. (2001). The glass ceiling effect. Social Forces, 80 (2), 655–681. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0091

Eagly, A.H., Carli, L.L. (2007). Women and the labyrinth of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 85 (9), 62–71.

Grangeiro, R.R., Rodrigues, M. S., Silva, L.E.N., Esnard, C. (2021). Scientific metaphors and female representativeness in leadership positions: A bibliometric analysis. Psychology: Organizations and Work Journal, 21. Available at: https://hal.science/hal-03396281 (accessed 20.01.2023).

Gupta, V.K., Mortal, S.C., Silveri, S., Sun, M., Turban, D.B. (2020). You’re fired! Gender disparities in CEO dismissal. Journal of Management, 46 (4), 560–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318810415

Gurieva, S.D., Udavikhina, U.A. (2020). Gender strategies applied by women in their career in Russia. Gertsenovskie chteniia: psikhologicheskie issledovaniia v obrazovanii, 3, 270–273. Available at: https://herzenpsyconf.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/32-2020.-Gurieva-Udavikhina.pdf (accessed: 05.08.2022). (In Russian)

Haack, K. (2014). Breaking barriers? Women’s representation and leadership at the United Nations. Global Governance, 20 (1), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-02001004

Hultin, M. (2003). Some take the glass escalator, some hit the glass ceiling? Career consequences of occupational sex segregation. Work and Occupations, 30 (1), 30–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888402239326

Hymowitz, C., Schellardt, T.D. (1986). The glass ceiling: Why women can’t seem to break the invisible barrier that blocks them from the top jobs. Wall Street Journal, D1, D4–D5.

Johnson, B.J., Crum-Cano, B.D. (2011). Glass walls in urban planning: An examination of policy type and gender segregation within a profession. Review of public personnel administration, 31 (4), 386–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X11408702

Kacmar, K.M., Carlson, D.S. (1997). Further validation of the Perception of Politics Scale (POPs): A multiple sample investigation. Journal of Management, 23 (5), 627–658. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639702300502

Kazantseva, T.V., Gurieva, S.D., Mararitsa, L.V. (2020). Subjective experience of gender inequality among working women. Peterburgskii psikhologicheskii zhurnal, 30, 35–52. Available at: https://ppj.spbpo.ru/psy/article/view/263 (accessed: 05.08.2022). (In Russian)

Khasbulatova, O.A. (2014). Gender approach as a technology for improving the efficiency of personnel policy. Zhenshchina v rossiiskom obshchestve, 4, 3–10. Available at: https://womaninrussiansociety.ru/article/xasbulatova-o-a-gendernyj-podxod-kak-texnologiya-povysheniya-effektivnosti-kadrovoj-politiki-str-3-10/ (accessed: 05.08.2022). (In Russian)

Korostyleva, N.N. (2019). The formation of modern organizations gender ecosystem: Trends and prospects. Zhenshchina v rossiiskom obshchestve, 3, 27–39. Available at: https://womaninrussiansociety.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0_27_39.pdf (accessed: 20.01.2023). (In Russian)

Lyness, K.L., Heilman, M.E. (2006). When fit is fundamental: Performance evaluations and promotions of upper-level female and male managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91 (4), 777–785. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.777

Mararitsa, L.V., Kazantseva, T.V., Gurieva, S.D. (2019). The phenomenon of gender inequality as a factor of women’s career capital: problem definition. Psikhologiia cheloveka v obrazovanii, 1 (1), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2019-1-1-44-52 (In Russian)

Maume, D.J.Jr. (1999). Glass ceilings and glass escalators: Occupational segregation and sex differences in managerial promotions. Work and Occupations, 26 (4), 483–509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888499026004005

McDonald, S. (2011). What’s in the “old boys” network? Accessing social capital in gendered and racialized networks. Social Networks, 33 (4), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2011.10.002

Miller, W., Reid, M. (1999). A national study of gender-based occupational segregation in municipal bureaucracies: Persistence of glass walls? Public Administration Review, 59 (3), 218–230. https://doi.org/10.2307/3109950

Morgenroth, T., Kirby, T.A., Ryan, M.K., Sudkämper, A. (2020). The who, when, and why of the glass cliff phenomenon: A meta-analysis of appointments to precarious leadership positions. Psychological Bulletin, 146 (9), 797–829. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000234

Morrison, A.M., White, R.P., Van Velsor, E. (1987). Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of America’s Largest Corporations? Reading, MA, Addison Wesley.

Ridgeway, C.L. (2001). Gender, status and leadership. Journal of Social Issues, 57 (4), 637–655. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00233

Roshchin, S.Iu., Solntsev, S.A. (2006). Who overcomes the “glass ceiling”: vertical gender segregation in the Russian economy. Moscow, HSE Publishing House. Available at: https://www.hse.ru/data/2010/05/05/1216427467/WP4_2006_03.pdf (accessed 05.08.2022). (In Russian)

Ryan, M.K., Haslam, A. (2005). The glass cliff: Evidence that women are overrepresented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management, 16 (2), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x

Saavedra, L., Araujo, A.M., de Oliveira, J.M., Stephens, C. (2014). Looking through glass walls: Women engineers in Portugal. Women’s studies international forum, 45, 27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2014.04.005

Social psychology: psychological workshop: tutorial. St Petersburg, 2023. (In press). (In Russian)

Spurk, D., Hirschi, A., Dries, N. (2018). Antecedents and outcomes of objective versus subjective career success: Competing perspectives and future directions. Journal of Management, 45 (1), 35–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318786563

U. S.Glass Ceiling Commission. (1995). A Solid Investment: Making Full Use of the Nation’s Human Capital (Final Report of the Commission) . Washington, DC, U. S. Government Printing Office.

Wickwire, K. S., Kruper, J.C. (1996). The glass ceiling effect: An approach to assessment. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48 (1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/1061-4087.48.1.32

Williams, C.L. (1992). The glass escalator: hidden advantages for men in the ‘female’ professions. Social Problems, 39 (3), 253–267. https://doi.org/10.2307/3096961

Williams, C.L, Muller, C., Kilanski, K. (2012). Gendered organizations in the new economy. Gender & Society, 26 (4), 549–573. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243212445466

World Economic Forum (2020). The Global Gender Gap Report 2020. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2020 (accessed: 15.08.2022).