Gender Attitudes in Business Students: Beliefs and Values

Introduction and Significance

There is a body of evidence suggesting many disparities in the representation of gender across certain segments of academic and business professions. Previous research has indicated that women, on average, are less likely to attend business school than males and are also less likely to hold high-ranking positions in organizations. Although many factors contribute to such trends — and many societies have made significant progress toward minimizing gender gaps — much remains to be understood about the challenges women face when entering certain professions.

This research considers whether there are differences inherent to the genders that could help explain the outcomes observed in various professions. The proposal outlines a research plan that will investigate differences in beliefs, attitudes, and values relative to work in a population of business students, and will contrast these differences with a student population majoring in a different academic discipline.

Presentation of the Topic and Research Questions

There is a body of research that has examined ethical values and beliefs along gender lines in many different circumstances. Personal and professional values and beliefs about the world, along with cultural norms, can have many implications for life in general, as well as for specific endeavors such as educational achievement or professional development. Many of these beliefs or ethical positions are passed down through generations and are frequently challenged when people reach major milestones in their lives. For example, after transitioning to college, a student will often have to reconcile new information with previous beliefs, revise those beliefs so that they fit with new information, and in some cases replace old beliefs with new ones or entire new belief systems.

In many cases, beliefs and values — coupled with attitudes toward work — can determine what kind of profession or occupation a person might seek. Furthermore, many of these factors appear to be correlated with or mediated by different aspects of gender and gender norms present in society. For example, there may be different preferences among genders regarding positions that could compromise personal ethics, different expectations about behaviors associated with gender roles in organizations, and even differences in leadership style used by members of different sexes. Although some research has been conducted on apparent differences between genders, attitudes toward work, and personality profiles in women in leadership roles, there does not appear to be much research specifically targeting these factors in new generations of female business students and their motivations for studying business practices.

Research Questions

How have women's attitudes, beliefs, and values changed over time relative to the perception of a position in a business environment? What is the current view of the glass ceiling among female business students, and has its salience been reduced?

Are there behavioral profiles that are more common in the new generation of business students, and do these vary at different levels of study?

Are female students adopting traditionally male attributes to succeed in this environment — such as a greater willingness to make ethically compromising decisions they perceive as necessary for success — or are they beginning to craft their own style?

Hypotheses

H1. It is hypothesized that women are beginning to adopt more masculine traits at a greater rate as more women have accepted leadership roles and influenced overall business culture.

H2. It is hypothesized that behavioral profiles will reveal many commonalities in female business students. It is also hypothesized that women at higher levels of study will exhibit higher levels of traits associated with business leadership, such as individualism, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, among others.

H3. It is hypothesized that the normalization of female leadership and the change in cultural norms and barriers related to women will attract women to these opportunities, resulting in an increased willingness among potential students to accept leadership roles and a high percentage of female students entering business programs. It is also hypothesized that even though male and female traits may be converging relative to previous generations, some differentiation between men and women will remain.

Works Cited

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Kennedy, J., & Kray, L. (2014). Who is willing to sacrifice ethical values for money and social status?: Gender differences in reactions to ethical compromises. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 52–59.

Mumford, M., Helton, W., Decker, B., Connelly, M., & Van Doorn, J. (2003). Values and beliefs related to ethical decisions. Teaching Business Ethics, 139–170.

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Underwood, J., & Harrison, A. (2009). Perfectionist at 20 — work-life issues at 40? Personal value systems and future implications. Interbeing, 31–37.