Barriers to Women in Management Careers: Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Women as Managers Scale

Abstract

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination serve as major barriers to women's career adjustment and advancement. To assess the current level of attitudes and the change in attitudes toward members of diverse populations in a variety of occupational roles, psychometrically sound assessment instruments are needed. The Women as Managers Scale is one such instrument. Exploratory factor and principle components analyses have been used in past research to challenge the dimensionality and reliability of the Women as Managers Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a three-factor model was superior to a one-factor model, and was stable across subgroups. Evidence for discriminant validity among the factors was, however, weak. A possible explanation of the lack of discriminant validity is offered.