Psychometric evaluation of the “Men's Polarized Gender Thinking Questionnaire (MPGQ)”

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a new measure of gender equality at male-dominated workplaces, allowing quantitative analyses of men's beliefs about gender-based inequality at work.Design/methodology/approach– The present paper examines a questionnaire developed from qualitative interviews based on grounded theory methodology and designed to assess men's beliefs about gender inequality. A 23-item version of the Men's Polarized Gender Thinking Questionnaire (MPGQ) was completed by a sample of 220 men from three different male-dominated organizations in Sweden. Recommended psychometric testing procedures were conducted.Findings– Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-factor model of male attitudes to gender-based inequality: different views on success, stereotypical gender roles – different jargons, benevolent sexism, conscious of gender order, conscious of the male norm system and strategies for gender equality at work. The final model showed acceptable fit to data. All six factors were positively intercorrelated.Practical implications– It was concluded that the MPGQ provides a useful tool for further studies of men's sometimes polarized views of gender equality in male-dominated workplaces. Hence, MPGQ may allow researchers and practitioners to go deeper in their understanding of persistent and often hidden gender-based inequality at work.Originality/value– Equality plans are difficult to fulfill if people do not know on which subtle mechanisms the concept gender-based inequality is founded. The MPGQ illustrates how they are manifested at a specific workplace. Because of the scarcity of this type of workplace measures, this study may make a contribution of concern to the literature. By measuring these sometimes polarized beliefs, management strategies aiming at decreasing barriers to gender equality at work could become more accurate and efficient.