Sex and Power in the Federal Bureaucracy

Abstract

Questionnaire data from 152 female employees and 46 supervisors in a large federal bureaucracy are used to test Kanter's hypothesis that sex differences in supervisory behavior result from sex differences in organizational power. Female subordinates of female supervisors, compared to female subordinates of male supervisors, report less job satisfaction and lower group morale and are more likely to describe their supervisor's behavior as controlling and particularistic. However, when differences in organizational power (as measured by an index comprised of supervisor's job status, the amount of voice they believe they have in their superior's decisions, and the amount of autonomy they feel they have with respect to their superior) are controlled, differences between male and female supervisors on all of these variables are significantly reduced. The results are interpreted as providing support for Kanter's theory.