Group Gender Composition Research Articles

Too few or too many? Exploring the Link between gender dissimilarity and employee absenteeism

Despite well-intentioned gender diversity initiatives aimed at addressing gender imbalances by ensuring minimal female representation in predominantly male groups, such tokenism often exacerbates discrimination and social isolation for these women, potentially leading to absenteeism. Research suggests that the benefits of diversity are realized only when the ratio of women to men reaches a critical threshold that allows for genuine integration and participation. However, this threshold remains uncertain. We integrate tokenism theory with social identity and status characteristics theories to investigate the effects of gender ratios within organizational teams on individual absenteeism. Specifically, we theorize a U-shaped relationship between gender dissimilarity and absenteeism for women, but not for men. Study 1, with a one-year cross-lagged design, encompassing 10,332 blue-collar workers in 1064 teams, supports the U-shaped relationship for women, while the relationship for men was non-significant. In Study 2, we use an experimental design with a sample of 370 female blue-collar workers to explore two potential mechanisms that may together explain the U-shaped gender dissimilarity effect for women. We test whether the gender composition of the work group affects both women’s likelihood of reporting unpleasant experiences and the group’s norms regarding absence. We draw theoretical and practical implications from these findings.

Examining the boundary conditions of tokenism: within-occupation gender wage gaps and female representation in the Canadian labor market

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the boundary conditions of Kanter's (1977) tokenism theory as applied to the gender wage gap. The authors aimed to discover if there was a point where the relationship between the percentage of women in a job category and the gender wage gap changed, and, if so, where the threshold was located and what was the nature of the shift in relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the Andrews’ (1993) threshold effects technique. Using 22 separate years of publicly available Canadian wage data, they examined the relationship between the percentage of females in 40 unique occupational categories and the female-to-male earnings ratio (for a total of 880 observations).FindingsThe results showed the existence of a threshold point, and that early gains in percent female within an occupation, up to approximately 14% female in the occupation, associate with strong gains in the female-to-male wage ratio. However, beyond that point, further gains in percent female associate with smaller improvements in the female-to-male wage ratio.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful in understanding the dynamics of occupational group gender composition, potential theoretical reasons for the nuances in relationship, as well as opportunities that may facilitate more equitable outcomes.Originality/value The results show that, though improvements were made above and below the threshold point, enhancements in the wage gap are actually larger when there are less women in the job category (e.g. tokens).

Peer groups, academic achievement and the behaviour of elementary school‐aged children: A strength‐based perspective

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine how the members of children's peer groups resemble each other in terms of behavioural and emotional strengths, academic achievement and behaviour at school. The participants were 739 9‐ to 10‐year‐old children (354 boys, 385 girls) from 30 Finnish elementary schools. 431 children (241 girls, 190 boys) were part of peer groups. Less than 5% of participants were other than Finnish origin. The children self‐assessed their behavioural and emotional strengths, and teachers evaluated the children's academic achievement and behaviour at school. Children also filled the sociometric questionnaire and sociograms were drawn to identify peer groups. Standardized beta values of regression analyses were used as indicators of effect sizes. The results showed that when observed as a strength, children's school functioning was positively linked to both academic achievement and behaviour at school. The intraclass correlations (ICC) revealed that members of peer groups resembled each other in terms of behavioural strengths, and behaviour at school, but not in academic achievement. The gender composition of peer groups explained the variance in behaviour at school between peer groups. The results of this study highlight the importance to consider children's peer group also when implementing behavioural interventions.

Group psychotherapy for chronic pain: A meta-analysis.

Chronic pain is common among adults and frequently interferes with regular functioning while reducing quality of life. Though pharmacological approaches are used most frequently to treat pain-related issues, the side effects often lead to other problems. Group therapy has been used and studied for decades in treating pain although its general efficacy in this is not clear. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine group therapy's effectiveness in reducing pain intensity and improving adjacent issues. Potential randomized clinical trials were selected from various databases and included if published between 1990 and 2020, investigated group treatment's efficacy for pain-related concerns, measured pain intensity, included a comparison condition, and reported sufficient data in each trial arm at the first postassessment. We included 29 studies representing 4,571 participants in group therapy being treated for pain. The analysis yielded a significant, small effect when group was contrasted against passive control groups (g = 0.26, 95% CI [0.11, 0.41], p = .001) on the reduction of pain intensity. Two variables were found to moderate group therapy's efficacy: gender composition of groups and theoretical orientation. Although effects on reducing pain intensity are small, group psychotherapy should be considered a viable treatment option for chronic pain patients given the lower risks of side effects compared to pharmaceutical analgesics and comparable effects compared to other chronic conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender, beliefs, and coordination with externalities

Groups such as committees or boards make many important decisions within organizations. Many of these decisions affect external parties. This paper uses an experimental approach to study how the gender composition of three-person groups affects choices and beliefs in a Coordination game with selfish and prosocial equilibria. We find that the social preferences of group members are a key determinant of the group’s coordination choice. Controlling for social preferences of the group, groups with more women are more likely to make choices that are kinder to external parties. Both men and women believe that women will make kinder choices more frequently. Groups comprised of all men are expected to make 18 percentage points fewer kind choices than groups of all women. Men are also expected to be 9 percentage points less kind than women overall. These results have implications for public policies intended to increase gender diversity and women’s representation on decision-making committees in the corporate sector, in politics, and in academia.

Subjective well-being and the gender composition of the reference group: Evidence from a survey experiment

This paper tests how people’s subjective well-being reacts when they compare themselves with other people of the same gender, and if this reaction differs between women and men. We implement a randomized control trial prompting some respondents to compare themselves with people of the same gender and leaving the reference group of others unconstrained. Treated women report higher income and leisure satisfaction. Evaluating satisfaction in relation to a given reference group may be cognitively demanding. When accounting for this, we find that the treatment also increases women’s health satisfaction. No or small effects are found for men, suggesting that the reference group affects subjective well-being reporting of men and women differently.

Women's and men's experiences in group therapy for substance use disorders: A qualitative analysis.

This thematic analysis of qualitative interviews from participants in Stage II randomized controlled trial examined women's and men's experiences in group therapy for substance use disorders (SUDs). Interviews were conducted with 77 women and 38 men after completion of either the gender-specific Women's Recovery Group (WRG) or mixed-gender Group Drug Counseling (GDC). Interviews were coded for themes using a deductive approach with a coding scheme modified from the Stage I trial. Satisfaction was measured quantitatively posttreatment. Participants had high satisfaction scores with no significant differences between groups. Women in GDC rated group gender composition as less helpful than those in WRG. In the GDC group, women more frequently discussed the theme of self-perception (e.g., feelings of comfort, safety, shame) compared with men. Men overwhelmingly expressed the benefits of having women in the group, whereas women expressed advantages and disadvantages of mixed-gender groups and preference for single-gender groups. Guilt and shame were discussed by women and men; however, only women discussed stigma and its important role in their addiction and recovery. Men more frequently endorsed the helpfulness of mixed-gender groups than did women while women appreciated the enhanced support in single-gender SUD groups. Issues of stigma are especially salient for women. Men and women express differences in their experiences of SUD group therapy. Only women endorse stigma as an obstacle to their treatment and recovery. Tailoring treatment to meet women's and men's needs may enhance engagement, retention, and clinical outcomes.

CONFLICTS IN STUDENT GROUPS WITH DIFFERENT COMPOSITION BY SEX

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of conflicts in mixed and same-sex student groups. The theoretical basis of the study was the position of the structural features of interpersonal interaction in the middle of the group, including the substructure of horizontal and vertical relationships in the instrumental and expressive spheres of group activity. The study of conflict in student groups was based on the analysis of the characteristics of interpersonal relationships between group members in certain areas. To study the peculiarities of conflict in groups of different sexes, a questionnaire was developed, which provided an opportunity to determine the overall assessment of conflict, conflict in the vertical and horizontal subsystems of group activity, as well as in its instrumental and expressive areas. 188 students from 10 academic groups of the higher educational institution took part in the survey. Of these, six were sexually homogeneous and four heterogeneous. According to the results of the survey, the gender composition of student educational groups is more related to the emotional component of group activity and the horizontal substructure of intragroup relationships. These trends were confirmed using the methods of mathematical statistics (Student’s t-test).
 The results suggest that gender-mixed academic groups are more resistant to conflict triggers than homogeneous ones. However the composition of the group on the basis of gender can not be considered a factor that directly determines the conflict in the field of solving business problems, as well as interaction with teachers, officials of the dean’s office and student government.

Gender composition of management groups in a conservation agreement framework: Experimental evidence for mangrove use in the Colombian Pacific

The sustainable use of natural resources depends on formal and informal institutions, where gender composition might play a role. Several studies have shown the effects of having men and women working together in environmental protection and conservation management. Nevertheless, there is little evidence regarding the impact of groups’ gender composition. This study aims to identify whether the extraction of a common-pool resource at the group and individual levels is different for women and men in the context of collective action in groups with different gender compositions. To do so, we ran experimental economic games with local fishing communities in the Colombian Pacific in the context of a conservation agreement. We used nested experimental games (combining extraction and public-good games) to compare extraction decisions in groups of four people with different gender combinations according to the number of women in each. The experimental setting allowed us to identify the gender composition effect in groups subject to collective action, finding that before collective action, women-majority groups extracted more, whereas, after building collective action, extraction was the lowest for women-majority groups. At the individual level, women extracted more during the baseline. However, after collective action treatment, all women reduced their extraction levels, and men belonging to mixed groups exhibited the highest extraction reductions, achieving the same level as their female partners. The results suggest that integrating women into environmental-management groups is positive for the conservation of natural resources. In practice, women’s contribution would be useful only if they can participate actively in decision-making processes. This condition becomes relevant for strategies aimed at local development and environmental sustainability.

Effects of Media Health Literacy School-Based Interventions on Adolescents’ Body Image Concerns, Eating Concerns, and Thin-Internalization Attitudes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT This systematic and meta-analytic review investigated the effects of media health literacy (MHL) interventions in school settings on adolescents’ body image. Twenty one intervention-control comparisons reported in 16 studies were identified. The following attributes were extracted from each study for a systematic review: Study time-period and country location, sample composition, school atmosphere, unit of random assignment, theoretical perspective, intervention-control comparison, co-interventions, number of overall and MHL sessions, length of MHL sessions, and outcomes measured. The meta-analysis of effect sizes for three outcomes of interest related to body image showed consistent changes in the desired negative direction as expected: body image concerns (g = −0.25, k = 19); eating concerns (g = −0.18, k = 19); thin-internalization attitudes (g = −0.40, k = 12); and combined (g = −0.25, k = 21). Homogeneity analysis for the combined effect size and moderator analyses for gender composition of intervention group, number of overall intervention sessions, number of MHL specific intervention sessions within the overall intervention, and time length of MHL intervention session all showed absence of moderators. However, all study samples except one were of European origin and so caution should be exercised when generalizing to other cultures that may have different standards of female ideal body type.

Effect of Group and Leader Attributes on Men and Women Farmers’ Participation in Group Activities in Zambia

ABSTRACT Since development agencies often implement interventions through collective-action groups such as farmer cooperatives and self-help groups, there is a need to understand how participation is affected by group-level and leader attributes. This study collected gender-disaggregated, quantitative and qualitative data on sixty-eight self-help groups in Zambia to understand the participation of men and women farmers in different crop-production activities. Results show that participation rates of men and women are the same across all maize production activities except harvesting. The gender composition of members influenced men’s and women’s participation in group activities: when men were fewer in a group, they (men) participated more, while when more women were in a group (above 53 percent), the women participated less. Leader’s education level, knowledge of group agenda, and frequency of meetings also affected participation rates. To design collective action groups that promote gender equity outcomes, gender composition of groups should be considered. HIGHLIGHTS Agricultural collective-action groups assembled by development organizations attempt to bolster women’s participation and leadership within the group and the community. These empowerment groups may inadvertently reproduce traditional gender labor roles, particularly when membership increases women’s workload. Attention to group dynamics demonstrates that minority group members – who are usually men – work harder and overperform due to their increased visibility within the group. Thus, increasing women’s numbers in groups has not aided the goal of increasing their participation. Policymakers should consider the gender composition of the group, labor roles, time commitment of participation, and leader attributes when forming collective-action groups in order to achieve gender-equity outcomes.

Exploring the effects of gender grouping and the cognitive processing patterns of a Facebook-based online collaborative learning activity

ABSTRACT Efficient collaborative learning relies on productive interaction among learners. Previous studies have suggested that group gender composition might affect the group dynamics. While previous studies have generally focused on the learning performance of different gender groups, relatively little effort has been devoted to scrutinising the learning process. Therefore, this study seeks to further explore students’ cognitive processing patterns in the collaborative learning process among different gender groups, namely, five female-only groups (4 female students in each group), five male-only groups (4 male students in each group), and five balanced-gender groups (2 male and 2 female students in each group). This study employed quantitative content analysis and lag sequential analysis to explore students’ cognitive processing patterns in a Facebook-based online discussion learning activity. A total of 3230 messages in the online discussion were retrieved and analysed. The results indicate that the female-only groups were the most active groups in terms of the messages generated. By contrast, male-only groups were the least active but exhibited a more diverse discussion pattern. Meanwhile, the balanced-gender groups showed the most diverse cognitive transition patterns. Our findings could serve as a guideline for gender grouping and collaborative learning activity design.

Gender, Sense of Power, and Desire to Lead: Why Women Don’t “Lean In” to Apply to Leadership Groups That Are Majority-Male

We investigated why women may have lower desires and intentions to apply to become a member of a leadership group (i.e., committee) than men when the majority of its members are men. In four studies, we examined the interaction between gender and gender composition of the leadership group on leader candidates’ sense of power, desire to lead, and intentions to apply to become a member of a leadership group. Informed by research on gender, perceived power, and the model of goal-directed behavior, we found that women, compared to men, expected lower sense of power when considering applying to a majority-male (vs. gender-balanced) online leadership committee (Study 1A, N = 294; Study 1B, N = 278). This pattern observed for women in majority-male leadership committees was not, however, evident for men in majority female leadership committees (Study 2, N = 560). Furthermore, women’s lower sense of power explained why they expressed lower desires to lead and intentions to apply for a majority-male leadership committee compared to men. Finally, we found that increasing women’s sense of power increased their desires and intentions to lead in a majority-male committee (Study 3, N = 460). We contribute to understanding why there still exists a discrepancy in the number of men versus women in leadership groups despite ongoing efforts to reduce it. We hope readers will apply these findings by identifying ways to increase women leader candidates’ sense of power in order to increase women’s representation on leadership committees and groups (e.g., boards). Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684320939065

Level of occupational health risk for workers exposed to aerosols containing chrysotile asbestos

Introduction. The presence of asbestos-containing aerosols in the workplace is one of the main occupational carcinogenic risks in the world. In view of the absence of registered cases of occupational diseases related to exposure to asbestos dust in the Republic of Belarus, it is relevant to study morbidity with temporary disability and to assess occupational health risks using these data. The aim of the study is to determine the characteristics of the dynamics and structure of the morbidity with temporary disability and the assessment of occupational health risks for workers exposed to aerosols containing chrysotile in the building materials manufacturing. Materials and methods . The studies were carried out on the basis of a workshop for the production of asbestos-cement products based on chrysotile. An in-depth analysis of the morbidity with temporary disability was conducted over a four-year period. The influence of the gender, age, and experience composition of groups on the levels of the morbidity with temporary disability was evaluated using standardized indicators. The assessment of the production conditionality of morbidity was carried out in a comparative analysis with the control group (workshop for the production of blocks made of cellular concrete and composite materials), national indicators and indicators of the construction materials industry. The risk assessment was carried out using the occupational risk index calculated based on the relative risk index and the total coefficient of working conditions. Results. The dynamics of the overall intensive indicators of morbidity with temporary disability in the study group shows a tendency to decrease due to a decrease in labor losses in the class of “Respiratory Diseases”, however, the duration of 1 case increases. The overall average long-term indicators of temporary disability are significantly higher in the control group. However, the incidence rates for the class of endocrine diseases, diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the digestive system are significantly higher in the study group. The average long-term morbidity rates of the study group do not have statistically significant differences with national and industry indicators. Standardization of general indicators of morbidity by gender, age and experience does not change their ratio, but the incidence rates differ in different age, experience and gender groups. The occupational risk index for employees of the asbestos cement products workshop is estimated as average, and the level of occupational health losses of employees is 33.7% (significant, class 3) in the study group and 45.7% (high, class 4) in the control group. Conclusions. Morbidity with temporary disability of workers exposed to chrysotile asbestos dust does not differ significantly from the national and industry levels, and in comparison with the control group shows lower indicators; the level of occupational health risk of workers exposed to chrysotile asbestos is significant; the highest incidence rates are registered in young and least trained employees of the workshop of asbestos — cement products, and by gender-in men, which should be taken into account when planning preventive measures.

When are women willing to lead? The effect of team gender composition and gendered tasks

It is a well-documented phenomenon that a group's gender composition can impact group performance. Understanding why and how this phenomenon happens is a prominent puzzle in the literature. To shed light on this puzzle, we propose and experimentally test one novel theory: through the salience of gender stereotype, a group's gender composition affects a person's willingness to lead a group, thereby impacting the group's overall performance. By randomly assigning people to groups with varying gender compositions, we find that women in mixed-gender groups are twice as likely as women in single-gender groups to suffer from the gender stereotype effect, by shying away from leadership in areas that are gender-incongruent. Further, we provide evidence that the gender stereotype effect persists even for women in single-gender groups. Importantly, however, we find that public feedback about a capable woman's performance significantly increases her willingness to lead. This result holds even in male-stereotyped environments.

Relationship between the level of estrogen, calcium and phosphorus concentration in serum with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Objective:To investigate relationship between the level of estrogen, calcium and phosphorus concentration in serum with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV). Method:A total of 84 patients with idiopathic BPPV were enrolled in the experimental group, including 32 non-menopausal women, 24 menopausal women, and 28 males; 83 healthy people without vertigo and vestibular disease were selected as the control group consisted with 32 non-menopausal women, 24 menopausal women and 27 males. The levels of estradiol, serum calcium and serum inorganic phosphorus were measured in all participants. The difference of estrogen level, serum calcium and serum inorganic phosphorus concentration between the experimental group and the control group was analyzed by t test. Result:The total number, age distribution and gender composition of the experimental group and the control group were basically paired, and the age difference was not statistically significant (P=0.71). The overall estrogen level in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.01). Among them, the female group's estrogen level, menopausal female estrogen level and male estrogen level in the experimental group were lower than the control group (P<0.01); there was no significant difference in serum calcium and serum inorganic phosphorus concentration between the experimental group and the control group (P=0.55, 0.11, respectively). Conclusion:The decrease of estrogen level may be a risk factor for idiopathic BPPV. The relationship between serum calcium and serum inorganic phosphorus concentration and BPPV needs further study.

Individual gender and group gender composition as predictors of differential benefit from mindfulness-based relapse prevention for substance use disorders.

Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) is an effective group-based aftercare treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs), yet few studies have examined moderators of MBRP efficacy. This secondary data analysis evaluated individual gender and group gender composition (e.g., proportion of women relative to men in each therapy group) as treatment moderators of MBRP. The analysis sample included 186 individuals with SUDs randomized to MBRP or relapse prevention (RP) as an aftercare treatment. Outcomes included number of heavy drinking days and drug use days at the 12-month follow-up. There were no treatment moderation effects for models with heavy drinking days as the outcome (all ps > .05). Group gender composition, but not individual gender, moderated the effect of treatment condition on drug use days (p < .01). Individuals who received MBRP had significantly fewer drug use days at 12-months than those who received RP, but only among individuals in therapy groups comprising one-third or more women (p <0 .0001). Specifically, all women and men who received MBRP in groups with one-third or more women were abstinent from drugs at month 12, whereas those in RP groups with one-third or more women had an average of about eight drug use days at month 12 (corresponding to a large between-treatment condition effect size). Group-based MBRP may be more efficacious than group-based RP, particularly when women compose at least one-third of the therapy group. Further research is warranted on gender and group gender composition as moderators of MBRP.

The Paradox of Equality Policies and Meritocracy in Female Leadership

This paper examines whether women leaders behave differently when they believe they are elected by a gender quota or by merit and if their behavior is affected by group gender composition. We conduct a laboratory experiment in which participants decide whether to invest or not in a project that presents coordination failures. Leaders can send a risky signal (their investment) to persuade the other members of their group to invest in the project. The group can attain the cooperative equilibrium if the leader is followed. We provide experimental evidence that when investing is costly, the behavior of women leaders is affected by both the way they are elected and the gender composition of their group. We find that gender quotas do not have a significant effect on cooperation but meritocracy triggers selfish attitudes of female leaders when they face all-male or mixed gender followers, undermining cooperation. We argue that group identity may be the underlying explanation of all our findings. When investing represents a social dilemma, leaders elected by merit don't identify themselves with their followers, they believe they are superior and reduce their investment. However, gender identity seems to offset this behavior and reconnect leaders with followers, as the negative effect of meritocracy does not hold when female leaders are facing female followers.

Gender norms and STEM: the importance of friends for stopping leakage from the STEM pipeline

ABSTRACTMore women are now entering male-dominated fields, yet, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remain dominated by men. We examined the association between boys’ and girls’ STEM choices after secondary education and friends’ gender norms, and whether pressure to conform to traditional gender norms differs depending on the gender composition of the friend group. Drawing on 3 waves of longitudinal data (N = 744) from the Netherlands, our sample consists of adolescents in STEM trajectories in secondary education. Their retention in STEM after secondary education gives us a better understanding of gender-specific “leakage” from the STEM pipeline. We found that girls’ likelihood of choosing STEM decreased drastically when friends had more traditional gender norms. Friends with traditional gender norms had less effect on boys. Nonetheless, boys with only same-sex friends were more likely to enter STEM. Our findings indicate that an environment with gender-normative ideas pushes girls out of the STEM pipeline.

Bringing Managers Back in: Support for Gender-Equality Measures in the Business Sector

The progression of gender balance in top positions at big corporations in Nordic countries has not lived up to the expectations. Inspired by studies emphasizing the crucial role of top management in gaining support for gender-equality measures to make changes happen, we set out to investigate what kind of policies top managers in Norway would prioritize to further gender balance in the executive ranks. We found that active recruitment policies receive the strongest support and quota and preferential-treatment policies the least support. We found clear similarities between men and women in the ranking of measures, although women generally indicated stronger support for most measures. We found no differences related to gender composition of the management group, but some differences across company types (subject to CBQ or not) were revealed. Although corporate-board quotas received the least support, there was no indication that these measures were strongly objected.