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Despite the persistent gender gap in many organizational leadership positions, researchers have not yet examined objective predictors of this gap. A fully crossed 3 (Role Prime: leader, follower, control) × 2 (Gender Prime: present, absent) × 2 (Sex: male, female) experimental design examined the effect of group role (i.e., leader or follower) and...
Context in source publication
Citations
... Many scholars from the critical school of thought argue that there is a strong influence by sociocultural factors on inequality (see Bourdieu, 1991;Marx, 1843Marx, /1970Nichols and Cook, 2019;Swartz, 1996;Saliya and Jayasinghe, 2016a, b;Saliya, 2020Saliya, , 2022. These studies, along with others, have consistently shown that elites utilize religion as a means of social control (Shaver, 2012). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the roles that sociocultural systems such as traditions, religious practices, and rituals play in upholding gender imbalance in Fiji.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study relies on results from semi-structured interviews with auditors, educationalists, academics, partners from leading accounting/audit firms, company directors and high-ranked government officers. Thematic analysis was conducted both manually and using MAXQDA software, and the themes that emerged from both analyses are complementary. A few more complementary analyses were also conducted such as Word Cloud.
Findings
The results support the claim that the religious traditions and rituals are strongly linked to gender-inequitable beliefs and suggest sociocultural factors impose on women experiencing self-effacing emotions and passive acceptance of lower status, contributing to the persistence of gender inequality. It also emphasizes the need to challenge certain sociocultural practices to promote greater gender equality, which is the theme emerged from thematic analysis. Additionally, this paper proposes four distinct types of attitudes in this regard as self-effacing feminist, self-effacing traditional, self-effacing modesty and talented driven.
Research limitations/implications
Respondents' openness authenticity may be limited by factors like selection bias, small sample size and other potential constraints in this study.
Practical implications
The findings might influence stakeholders to advocate for policy changes to promote women's representation in leadership positions. The results give voice to various segments of society who are advocating greater gender diversity on board representation in Fiji. The themes immerged and theories developed would make a substantial contribution to the existing literature.
Social implications
The findings highlight the importance of addressing gender inequality in leadership positions to promote inclusive and sustainable growth.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on the less-explored domain of internal barriers to gender equality within Fiji. It adds a novel dimension to the understanding of how cultural norms intersect with individual perceptions to shape gender inequality.
... Social scientists have long been studying relationships between sociocultural influences and social inequality in many societies (see Bourdieu, 1991;Douglas, 1978;Durkheim, 2001;Gluckman, 1965;Marx, 1970;Nichols & Cook, 2019;Saliya & Jayasinghe, 2016;Swartz, 1996;Turner, 1986;Weber, 1993). Some researchers (e.g., Bettinelli et al., 2019;Giraldez-Puig & Berenguer, 2018) argue that compared to men, women can bring different values of strengths and experiences, gender diversity in organisations. ...
A Grounded Theory of Enterprising Mothers: Work-Life Balancing
of Women in Fiji
Candauda Arachchige Saliya
Gender equality is recognized as crucial for firms' growth. This paper attempts to investigate how and why do certain sociocultural and structural factors influence sustained gender inequality in Fiji? And then, using Grounded Theory (GT) method, it attempts to conceptualise how are Fijian working mothers striving to promote equality and diversity in the workplace, society, and family-life? By employing Grounded theory (GT) method, semi-structured interviews (32) were used to collect data from high-ranked officers in private and public sectors and, the interview transcripts were analysed using GT techniques: iterative and recursive processes of coding, categorising, theoretical sampling and constant comparison. The core category, "enterprising mothers need comprehensive support for equal status," emerged from Fijian executive mothers' efforts in: (1) securing a fair share for females in senior-management positions with the support of legal backing; (2) discouraging women's reticent attitudes towards sociocultural suppressions of gender equality; (3) challenging certain discriminatory structural factors and self-effacing allegations; and (4) balancing work-life and endeavouring career advancements. This study attempts, for the first time, to theorise these Fijian working mothers' efforts to conquer gender inequality and to expose how the Fijian sociocultural and structural system influences sustained gender inequality.
... So far, research has shown that thinking about one's social role (family vs. on-the-job) can influence risk aversionmen and women demonstrate greater risk aversion when thinking about their family role than when thinking about their occupational role, but only under certain circumstances where choice options were probability-dependent (Karginova-Gubinova, 2018). A further experimental study, taking different social roles into account (leader vs. follower), has shown role priming to affect women's loss aversion, but not men's risk attitudes (Nichols & Cook, 2019). Women primed with the follower role (which can be perceived as stereotypically female) were more loss-averse than both those in a control group and those primed with the leader role (which can be perceived as stereotypically male). ...
... Studies show that women are more risk-averse than men (Khor et al., 2020) and that the stereotypically female social role of a follower is associated with greater risk aversion (Nichols & Cook, 2019). Moreover, the stereotypically female social role of homemaker is associated with looking after the home and family and securing these against possible loss and harm (Eagly et al., 2000): functions that should not be conducive to risk-taking. ...
Previous studies observed differences between men and women in terms of their financial risk-taking. However, these differences may stem not only from the gender of the decision-maker but also from other factors, such as stereotypical gender social roles. Media content exposes both men and women to stereotypical portrayals of their gender, and this might temporarily activate thoughts related to their social roles. A question arises whether such activation might impact the way people make risky financial decisions. The present experimental study investigated whether temporarily activated gender-related social roles influence the risk-taking propensities of men and women (N = 319) in the context of gambling and investment choices. The results show that activating a stereotypically male social role (professional employee) made both men and women more prone to take financial risks relative to a control condition. Furthermore, activating a stereotypically female social role (homemaker) lowered the propensity to take financial risks in both genders for the investment domain and in women only for the gambling domain. This study contributes to the literature on gender differences in economic behavior by showing that researchers should not overlook sociocultural factors.
... Social scientists have long been studying relationships between religious in uences and social inequality (see Bourdieu 1991;Douglas 1978;Durkheim 1915Durkheim /2001Gluckman 1965;Irons 2001;Marx 1843Marx /1970Nichols and Cook 2019;Swartz 1996;Turner 1986;van Gennep 1904van Gennep /2004Weber 1920Weber /1993. Many other empirical studies have consistently found that elites use religion as a form of social control (Shaver 2014). ...
Empirical studies show that there is lack of female presence on corporate boards in public companies, although some companies have a single female director (known as a ‘pink unicorn’) who, like a unicorn, might look nice but who is, in fact, only a fiction. We investigate whether traditions and rituals support gender inequality in a religious country and attempt to provide evidence that the Fijian cultural and religious systems influence sustained gender inequality. This paper seeks to identify the internal obstacles that seem to be intrinsic to women’s presence, such as self-effacing attitudes and which, among men, appear less prevalent. This qualitative study relies on results from 32 semi-structured interviews with auditors, educationalists, and company directors from leading accounting/audit firms, universities, and Fijian companies, and high-ranked government officers. The findings of this study may encourage stakeholders, including professional bodies, and those who have interests in gender diversity, to promote more female representation on corporate boards of Fijian public companies. The results support assertions that religious traditions and rituals are strongly linked to gender-inequitable beliefs and give voice to various segments of society who are advocating greater gender diversity on board representation in Fiji.
... A wide range of studies has examined the association between individual differences and loss aversion (Bibby & Ferguson, 2011). For example, it has been found that individual attributes, such as gender, age, and personality, lead to differences in the degree of loss aversion; specifically, women are more likely to be loss-averse than men (Carr & Steele, 2010;Nichols & Cook, 2019), 7 and loss aversion increases with age (Mrkva et al., 2020). ...
A person's propensity to attribute more weight to a loss than a gain of equal magnitude is known as “loss aversion.” Loss aversion is a component of the prospect theory (which provides a descriptive account of a person's value judgments) and has broad effects in terms of market transactions, intrapersonal decision‐making, and behavioral regulations. Previous studies have considered loss aversion as an omnipresent fundamental psychological bias; however, recent studies have highlighted the limitations of its impact. Accordingly, this paper summarizes the process and boundary conditions of loss aversion in decision‐making under risk, considering four distinct approaches: the absolute magnitude of losses, the bias of attentional allocation, the ranking of losses relative to gains, and the preference for inaction. A comprehensive overview of studies that examined loss aversion from these different perspectives reveals detailed boundary conditions for loss aversion and provides an in‐depth perspective on the mechanism of its occurrence. Based on these findings, specific directions for future loss‐aversion studies are discussed.
