Surprising reason for women’s career failure
In a series of studies researchers have found that men seem far more willing than women to sacrifice their ethical values in exchange for money or success. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- In a series of studies researchers have found that men seem far more willing than women to sacrifice their ethical values in exchange for money or success
- Women consistently experienced more moral outrage than men when confronting the ethical compromises
New research has found a surprising explanation for why men continue enjoying more career success than women. The findings which have been published in the current edition of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science show that it has little to do with gender inequality or discrimination and everything to do with men’s values and conscience.
While lack of advancement opportunities for women has been used as an explanation for why women make up only 4.2 per cent of the chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies, the findings of a recent study suggest otherwise.
In a series of studies researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California have found that men seem far more willing than women to sacrifice their ethical values in exchange for money or success on the job and thus get ahead on the corporate ladder faster.
In the first study, 65 men and 38 women were asked to read 14 situations describing compromises on ethical values in order to make more money or enhance their career. Then they were asked their reaction on how upsetting these situations made them feel or how morally acceptable they thought it was.
Women consistently experienced more moral outrage than men when confronting the ethical compromises.
CONFRONTING MORAL ISSUES
In the second experiment, male and female undergraduate students read job descriptions in a private firm and each job included a moral issue that they would have to confront. They were informed that the company favoured profits and overlooked adherence to ethical standards. They were then asked how interested they were in working for this particular company.
Again, the women reacted more negatively to ethical compromises. While all participants exhibited negative reactions to moral compromise, the women’s reactions were more negative. Women were less inclined than men to sell out their values in order to win bonuses and promotions, keep down workplace rivals, have favour with supervisors or otherwise advance their own careers.
The researchers also noted that women generally associated business with immorality, often opting out of jobs if they were going to encounter ethical dilemmas. This could explain why women are under-represented in business careers.
Businesses can change this by allowing people at the workplace to view success not only in monetary terms but also in terms of upholding workplace ethics. This, according to Jessica Kennedy, the study’s co-author, allows both men and women to be more fully human.
