Sex-role Orientation, Women as Managers and Transformational Leadership Among Female Law Firm Partners and Subordinates

Nearly 30% of all attorneys in the U.S. are women, but only 17% of all partners in major U.S. law firms are women. The disparity in the number of women at the top of the legal profession echoes the shortage of women at the helm of major U.S. corporations. Traditional sex-role stereotypes represent one type of "glass ceiling" barrier and stem from the different behavioral norms assigned to men (agentic) and women (communal) based on relative social status. Women exhibiting nonconforming behavior are less liked than conforming women. Conversely, women exhibiting agentic behaviors such as selfconfidence and assertiveness are seen as more competent than women exhibiting more communal behaviors such as warmth and helpfulness. A randomly selected sample of 489 female law firm partners and their female subordinates participated in an online survey in this correlational (explanatory) study. Multiple regression analyses tested hypothesized relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, sex-role orientation, attitudes toward women as managers, and evaluations of transformational leadership ability among female law firm partners and their female subordinates using the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES), Women as Managers Scale (WAMS), and Global Transformational Leadership (GTL) scales. Results of psychometric analyses indicated estimates of reliability and validity related to both the SRES and WAMS were less favorable among this sample than past student samples, but consistent with the field sample used in the GTL scale development. More than 90% of the sample had nontraditional sex-role orientations. Respondents' degree of nontraditional sex-role orientation was an explanatory variable of their WAMS, but not GTL, scores. Respondents' religiosity and political affiliation were explanatory variables of SRES and WAMS. No sociodemographic characteristics were explanatory variables of respondents' GTL scores. However, respondents' WAMS scores were explanatory variables of their GTL scores. Findings indicate socialization has some influence on sex-role orientation and attitudes toward women as managers. Structural equation modeling in future studies may further clarify relationships in hypothesized models involving sociodemographics, sex-role orientation, attitudes toward women as managers, and evaluations of transformational leadership ability. The generalizability and implications of results from studies measuring perceptions of women's leadership are improved with field, rather than student participants. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study Purpose Definition of Terms Independent Variables Dependent Variables Sociodemographic Characteristics of Managers and Subordinates Assumptions Justification of the Study Delimitations and Scope CHAPTER 11: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Review of the Literature Human Capital Model Systemic Model Sociopsychological Model Sex-Role Stereotypes Sex-Role Stereotypes and the Evaluation of Female Managers Homophily and the Queen Bee Syndrome Homophily and the Queen Bee Syndrome in the Evaluation of Female Managers Theoretical Framework for the Study Research Questions Hypotheses CHAPTER 111: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design Population and Sampling Plan Target Population Accessible Population Sampling Plan and Setting Instrumentation Continued xviii TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page CHAPTER 111: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (Continued) Sociodemographic Profile Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) Subordinate Perception of Manager's Sex-Role Orientation (MSRO) Women as Managers Scale (WAMS) Global Transformational Leadership (GTL) Scale Procedures: Ethical Considerations and Data Collection Methods Methods of Data Analysis Sociodemographic Characteristics Sex-Role Orientation (SRES) Manager's Sex-Role Orientation (MSRO) Attitude Toward Women as Managers (WAMS) Global Transformational Leadership (GTL) Research Questions Hypothesis Testing Other Analyses Evaluation of Research Methods Internal Validity External Validity CHAPTER IV: RESULTS Multistage Sampling Descriptive Characteristics Sociodemographic Characteristics Comparative Analysis of Setting and Sample Characteristics Sex-Role Orientation (SRES) Manager's Sex-Role Orientation (MSRO) Attitudes Toward Women as Managers (WAMS) Global Transformational Leadership (GTL) Psychometric Characteristics of the Survey Instruments Reliability of the SRES Factor Analysis of the SRES Reliability of the MSRO Reliability of the WAMS Factor Analysis of the WAMS Reliability of the GTL Factor Analysis of the GTL Construct Validity of the SRES, WAMS, and GTL Research Questions Research Question 1: Sociodemographic Variables and SRES Research Question 2: Sociodemographic Variables and WAMS Research Question 3: Sociodemographic Variables and GTL Continued TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page CHAPTER IV: RESULTS (Continued) Research Question 4: Manager Sociodemographic Variables, SRES, WAMS, and GTL Research Question 5: Subordinate Sociodemographic Variables, Job Level, SRES-MSRO Congruence, WAMS, and GTL Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis 1: Manager SRES and WAMS Hypothesis 2: Subordinate SRES and WAMS Hypothesis 3: Subordinate SRES and Nontraditional Manager GTL Hypothesis 4: Subordinate SRES and Traditional Manager GTL Summary CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION Interpretations Descriptive Characteristics of the Sample Psychometric Characteristics of the Instruments Research Questions Hypotheses Limitations Implications for Theory and Practice Conclusions Recommendations for Future Study REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES Appendix A: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Forms: Approval and Authorization for Voluntary Consent Appendix B: Print Out of the Online Authorization for Informed Consent Appendix C: Print Out of the Online Survey Appendix D: Print Outs of the E-Mail Invitation and Follow-Up E-Mails Appendix E: Permission to use the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale Appendix F: Permission to use the Women as Managers Scale Appendix G: Permission to use the Global Transformational Leadership Scale Appendix H: Survey Monkey Confirmations H-1: Confirmation of professional subscription and data encryption H-2: Confirmation IP tracking was turned off during data collection Continued TABLE O F CONTENTS (Continued) Page APPENDICES (Continued) Appendix I: Tables: Instrument Items and Scoring 365 1-1: Instrument Items and Scoring for the Sex Role Egalitarianism Scale, Form BB (King & King, 1993) 1-2: Instrument Items and Scoring for the Women as Managers Scale (Peters, Terborg, & Taynor, 1974) 1-3: Instrument Items and Scoring for the Global Transformational Leadership Scale (Carless et al., 2000) Appendix J: Psychometric Characteristics of the Instruments: 370 Coefficient Alphas and Corrected-Item Total Correlations by Manager and Total Subordinate Appendix K: Summary of Research Questions Findings 376