How do male and female managers in banking view their work roles and their subordinates?

Abstract

Women are still in a minority in managerial positions in most countries. Reasons that have been put forward for this have included the gendered structures of society, the masculine image of the manager and the different kind of socialization processes to which men and women are subject. However, most earlier studies in management and leadership concerned with women in managerial positions and the possible differences between male and female managers have been carried out in the United States. This raises the question as to whether there would be differences between male and female managers as regards work role descriptions and attitudes towards subordinates in a country with a different cultural background and another business tradition. A research project was therefore designed and carried out in Finland, where, not only is there a different organizational culture, but women's participation in society in general and in the labour market and public life has also been high ever since World War II. Using a sample of 100 male and 100 female Finnish bank managers, this study demonstrates that in spite of the reported differences between male and female managers in managerial and leadership attitudes and self-descriptions, major differences were not evident. However, a slight difference in managerial attitudes towards subordinates was noted.