title: Implicit and explicit attitudes and beliefs towards male and female leaders in New Zealand organizations

authors: Roopra, Tara Kaur

subjects: Leadership

abstract: This research aims to present insight into current gender leader beliefs, in New Zealand. In particular the research design supported the inclusion of both implicit and explicit measures of gender leader beliefs, in order to analyse the difference between what we say (explicit) and what we believe (implicit). The study quantified the implicit and explicit beliefs and attitudes towards leaders in New Zealand organizations based on leader gender, in addition to, examining the relationship between the responses to these measures. Furthermore, this study sought to understand how current women leaders influence employee’s implicit gender leader beliefs. That is, it assessed whether organizational factors, such as, direct report’s gender and organizational leadership profile, have the potential to influence implicit gender leader beliefs. To achieve this the study utilised an online version of the Gender Leader Implicit Association Test (GL-IAT) and a series of questionnaires.
 
	Participants were recruited from organizations across New Zealand via an online survey sent to a number of organizations including both private and public organizations (e.g., AUT, Bell Gully, Russell McVeagh, Free FM, Bay of Plenty DHB, Hawkes Bay DHB, TompkinsWake, the University of Waikato). 552 valid participants responded (male = 26.4%, female = 73.6%), with the majority working full time (42.2%). Both implicit and explicit measures were subject to SSPS analysis etc.

	A variation of Implicit Association Test (IAT), the GL-IAT, which measures people’s unconscious beliefs towards males and females as leaders (Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004) was used to assess implicit gender leader beliefs. The IAT records response times pairing target categories (e.g., “Josh” and “Emily”) with attribute labels (e.g., “Leader” and “Supporter”). Faster responses indicate the target category and attribute label are highly implicitly associated, whereas slower responses indicate the target category and attribute label are less implicitly associated (Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003). Three surveys that explicitly measure gender equality beliefs and attitudes, the Gender Equality Scale (GEAS) (Houkamau & Boxall, 2011), Women as Managers Scale (WAMS) (Peters, Terborg, & Taynor, 1974), and the Gender Leader Index  (GLI) (Rudman & Kilianski, 2000), were used to measure explicit beliefs and attitudes regarding men and women as leaders. 

	The research demonstrated that, despite self-reporting explicitly positive attitudes towards leaders, our implicitly held stereotypes associate men with leaders, more so than women, and women with supporters, more so than men. Surprisingly, female direct reports or saturation of female senior leaders were not found to influence follower’s implicit gender bias, it is likely that the more that females are accepted into leadership roles, the easier it will become for women pursuing and performing leadership roles. The results of this study emphasise, to practitioners, Human Resource (HR) managers and researchers, that the scarcity of women within leadership may be, at least in part, due to implicitly held stereotypes, that disassociate women from leaders, and therefore implicit gender bias needs to be recognised within New Zealand organizations as a real barrier to women’s progression. Efforts to reduce the impact of implicit bias should be undertaken.

text: Implicit and explicit attitudes and beliefs towards male and female leaders in New Zealand organizations This research aims to present insight into current gender leader beliefs, in New Zealand. In particular the research design supported the inclusion of both implicit and explicit measures of gender leader beliefs, in order to analyse the difference between what we say (explicit) and what we believe (implicit). The study quantified the implicit and explicit beliefs and attitudes towards leaders in New Zealand organizations based on leader gender, in addition to, examining the relationship between the responses to these measures. Furthermore, this study sought to understand how current women leaders influence employee’s implicit gender leader beliefs. That is, it assessed whether organizational factors, such as, direct report’s gender and organizational leadership profile, have the potential to influence implicit gender leader beliefs. To achieve this the study utilised an online version of the Gender Leader Implicit Association Test (GL-IAT) and a series of questionnaires.
 
	Participants were recruited from organizations across New Zealand via an online survey sent to a number of organizations including both private and public organizations (e.g., AUT, Bell Gully, Russell McVeagh, Free FM, Bay of Plenty DHB, Hawkes Bay DHB, TompkinsWake, the University of Waikato). 552 valid participants responded (male = 26.4%, female = 73.6%), with the majority working full time (42.2%). Both implicit and explicit measures were subject to SSPS analysis etc.

	A variation of Implicit Association Test (IAT), the GL-IAT, which measures people’s unconscious beliefs towards males and females as leaders (Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004) was used to assess implicit gender leader beliefs. The IAT records response times pairing target categories (e.g., “Josh” and “Emily”) with attribute labels (e.g., “Leader” and “Supporter”). Faster responses indicate the target category and attribute label are highly implicitly associated, whereas slower responses indicate the target category and attribute label are less implicitly associated (Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003). Three surveys that explicitly measure gender equality beliefs and attitudes, the Gender Equality Scale (GEAS) (Houkamau & Boxall, 2011), Women as Managers Scale (WAMS) (Peters, Terborg, & Taynor, 1974), and the Gender Leader Index  (GLI) (Rudman & Kilianski, 2000), were used to measure explicit beliefs and attitudes regarding men and women as leaders. 

	The research demonstrated that, despite self-reporting explicitly positive attitudes towards leaders, our implicitly held stereotypes associate men with leaders, more so than women, and women with supporters, more so than men. Surprisingly, female direct reports or saturation of female senior leaders were not found to influence follower’s implicit gender bias, it is likely that the more that females are accepted into leadership roles, the easier it will become for women pursuing and performing leadership roles. The results of this study emphasise, to practitioners, Human Resource (HR) managers and researchers, that the scarcity of women within leadership may be, at least in part, due to implicitly held stereotypes, that disassociate women from leaders, and therefore implicit gender bias needs to be recognised within New Zealand organizations as a real barrier to women’s progression. Efforts to reduce the impact of implicit bias should be undertaken.

year: 2017

title: John Watson Walker: a leading mine manager

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: After successfully mining in Victoria, in 1869 John Watson Walker was invited to report on Thames mines, and subsequently was asked to stay on as a mine manager. Despite his high reputation as both a manager and company director, in 1881 some shareholders in one company  sought his dismissal because he had failed to find rich gold (!). From the 1880s onwards, he envisaged obtaining English capital to enable the development of much larger areas than those traditionally worked. 
Involved in most Hauraki fields (and beyond) as an investor if not a miner, in the 1880s he was for a time a publican at Te Aroha, and in the following decade acquired a farm nearby. He struggled financially in both decades, and moved from goldfield to goldfield trying to develop his ‘gigantic’ schemes, making several trips to London over more than 20 years in usually fruitless attempts to raise capital. As the first supervisor for the Waihi Company, he investigated new treatment processes, but resigned his position shortly before cyanide was proved to the ideal one. At Thames, his ‘gigantic’ scheme was to work the low levels, and at Te Aroha he attempted to develop a large area of unpayable ground. All his schemes depended not only on attracting overseas capital but on obtaining concessions from both government and union. His last efforts to develop mining on a massive scale were at Waihi, in the early twentieth century.
Walker was seen as being a skilled and practical miner, whose opinions were taken seriously. On behalf of investors, he investigated some new areas, and achieved fame for exposing an attempted fraud near Wellington. He attempted to assist the interests of the industry, and urged the need for capital and labour to work together harmoniously. He was outspokenly critical of the Liberal Government’s mining legislation, which he claimed scared capital away. 
He could be arrogant, as illustrated on several occasions, notably when participating in shooting matches in the early 1870s. And a question must be raised about his treatment of his first wife. But as a mine manager, he excelled, even if his schemes to work large areas were over-sanguine and lacked credibility both because he did not understand the geology and because he over-estimated his ability to raise capital and to get his way with both government and the union.

text: John Watson Walker: a leading mine manager After successfully mining in Victoria, in 1869 John Watson Walker was invited to report on Thames mines, and subsequently was asked to stay on as a mine manager. Despite his high reputation as both a manager and company director, in 1881 some shareholders in one company  sought his dismissal because he had failed to find rich gold (!). From the 1880s onwards, he envisaged obtaining English capital to enable the development of much larger areas than those traditionally worked. 
Involved in most Hauraki fields (and beyond) as an investor if not a miner, in the 1880s he was for a time a publican at Te Aroha, and in the following decade acquired a farm nearby. He struggled financially in both decades, and moved from goldfield to goldfield trying to develop his ‘gigantic’ schemes, making several trips to London over more than 20 years in usually fruitless attempts to raise capital. As the first supervisor for the Waihi Company, he investigated new treatment processes, but resigned his position shortly before cyanide was proved to the ideal one. At Thames, his ‘gigantic’ scheme was to work the low levels, and at Te Aroha he attempted to develop a large area of unpayable ground. All his schemes depended not only on attracting overseas capital but on obtaining concessions from both government and union. His last efforts to develop mining on a massive scale were at Waihi, in the early twentieth century.
Walker was seen as being a skilled and practical miner, whose opinions were taken seriously. On behalf of investors, he investigated some new areas, and achieved fame for exposing an attempted fraud near Wellington. He attempted to assist the interests of the industry, and urged the need for capital and labour to work together harmoniously. He was outspokenly critical of the Liberal Government’s mining legislation, which he claimed scared capital away. 
He could be arrogant, as illustrated on several occasions, notably when participating in shooting matches in the early 1870s. And a question must be raised about his treatment of his first wife. But as a mine manager, he excelled, even if his schemes to work large areas were over-sanguine and lacked credibility both because he did not understand the geology and because he over-estimated his ability to raise capital and to get his way with both government and the union.

year: 2016

title: Reconnection with DNA: Policy and issues with direct-to-consumer DNA testing for indigenous Māori identity reclamation

authors: Turanga, Karen

abstract: The disconnection of tangata whenua (indigenous people born of the land) impacts all social determinants. A clear sense of identity and connection to the land and culture is an important solution to this problem. The purpose of this research is to share a personal and whānau (family group) story of using direct-to-consumer (DTC) autosomal DNA genetic testing (GT) to determine ancestry and show others a potential path forward to identity reclamation. To fulfil this purpose and explain the policy context, the research examines historical assimilation policies of closed cross-cultural adoption, and the possibilities DNA technology offers for whakapapa (genealogy, lineage descent, family history) reconnection. This includes addressing two key research questions: How does DTC-GT facilitate reconnection to Māori identity and whakapapa for cross-cultural adoptees? What are the short, medium and long-term risks and advantages of DTC autosomal DTC-GT testing for iwi Māori? A bricolage methodology frames this research and draws on kaupapa Māori (Māori approach, principles, and ideology), autoethnography, and interpretive phenomenology, which are used to analyse academic commentary and key policy decisions. An autoethnographic layered practice approach presents insights and key findings by combining personal narratives with various media types, academic research, policy documents and popular culture. The research highlights how the implicit processes of policy-led assimilation and colonisation still need to be challenged today. Existing literature has identified the importance of giving Māori pathways to reconnect with their identity. The personal story shared explains how DNA technology offers a way to do that, but the research completed for this thesis demonstrates this approach has serious risks and limitations that require consideration before utilising this technology.

text: Reconnection with DNA: Policy and issues with direct-to-consumer DNA testing for indigenous Māori identity reclamation The disconnection of tangata whenua (indigenous people born of the land) impacts all social determinants. A clear sense of identity and connection to the land and culture is an important solution to this problem. The purpose of this research is to share a personal and whānau (family group) story of using direct-to-consumer (DTC) autosomal DNA genetic testing (GT) to determine ancestry and show others a potential path forward to identity reclamation. To fulfil this purpose and explain the policy context, the research examines historical assimilation policies of closed cross-cultural adoption, and the possibilities DNA technology offers for whakapapa (genealogy, lineage descent, family history) reconnection. This includes addressing two key research questions: How does DTC-GT facilitate reconnection to Māori identity and whakapapa for cross-cultural adoptees? What are the short, medium and long-term risks and advantages of DTC autosomal DTC-GT testing for iwi Māori? A bricolage methodology frames this research and draws on kaupapa Māori (Māori approach, principles, and ideology), autoethnography, and interpretive phenomenology, which are used to analyse academic commentary and key policy decisions. An autoethnographic layered practice approach presents insights and key findings by combining personal narratives with various media types, academic research, policy documents and popular culture. The research highlights how the implicit processes of policy-led assimilation and colonisation still need to be challenged today. Existing literature has identified the importance of giving Māori pathways to reconnect with their identity. The personal story shared explains how DNA technology offers a way to do that, but the research completed for this thesis demonstrates this approach has serious risks and limitations that require consideration before utilising this technology.

year: 2025-08-08