From bias to exclusion: A multilevel emergent theory of gender segregation in organizations

Autor: Cynthia G. Emrich, James F. Robison-Cox, Richard F. Martell
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Research in Organizational Behavior. 32:137-162
ISSN: 0191-3085
DOI: 10.1016/j.riob.2012.10.001
Popis: This article presents a multilevel emergent theory of organizational segregation linking gender bias in performance assessment (a micro-level phenomenon) to gender segregation in organizations (a macro-level phenomenon). Based on an integration of multilevel research , emergence and signaling theory , we propose the following: (a) gender segregation in organizations is an emergent phenomenon that arises from the collective behavior of individuals who express only a small bias in favor of males, in concert with the signals governing promotion decisions and organizational mobility; (b) the emergence of a gender-segregated organization is often unintentional and the bottom–up and top–down processes that produce segregation are difficult to see; and (c) agent-based modeling is especially well-suited for illuminating the dynamics of bias that produce gender-segregated organizations. This multilevel emergent-based theory contributes to the research literature on organizational stratification by: (a) revealing the manner in which micro-level and macro-level forces conspire, oftentimes unwittingly, to produce gender-segregated organizations; (b) providing new and very different directions for future research on gender segregation that rely on agent-based modeling; and, most importantly, (c) moving a 30-year debate over the “real-world” impact of gender bias that continues to occupy the field of human resource management and, most recently, Supreme Court justices on to more fertile ground.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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