Advancing the careers of women with children

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to assess whether differences exist in the barriers reported by, and in the person‐ and situation‐centred factors related to the managerial advancement of, women with and without children. The study also seeks to examine whether having children influences women's advancement, by affecting person‐situation factors such as training and development or work hours.

Design/methodology/approach
A confidential, voluntary survey was mailed to 1,183 female staff who held from non‐manager to executive positions in the banking industry. The response rate was 65.23 per cent or 848 respondents, of whom 209 (24.6 per cent) had children and 639 (75.4 per cent) did not.

Findings
The survey results indicate that, although the links and barriers to the advancement of mothers and non‐mothers are similar, important differences exist. Specifically, internal networks are negatively related to the advancement of women with children, but unrelated to the advancement of women without children. In addition, having children weakens the relationship between work hours and managerial advancement.

Research limitations/implications
This is a cross‐sectional study that included women currently in the workforce. Future research needs to include women who have left their organisations and needs to examine causal effects. The interaction of marital status and children should also be examined in future research, because marital status may not be a barrier to advancement for women but being a single mother might be.

Originality/value
The results provide some support for the belief that mothers experience additional barriers to advancement when compared with women without children.

Full text

Career Development International
Advancing the careers of women with children
Isabel Metz
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To cite this document:
Isabel Metz, (2005),"Advancing the careers of women with children", Career Development International,
Vol. 10 Iss 3 pp. 228 - 245
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Deborah A. O'Neil, Diana Bilimoria, (2005),"Women's career development phases: Idealism,
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Souha R. Ezzedeen, Kristen G. Ritchey, (2009),"Career advancement and family balance strategies of
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Advancing the careers of women
with children
Isabel Metz
Department of Management, The University of Melbourne,
Parkville, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to assess whether differences exist in the barriers reported by, and in the
person- and situation-centred factors related to the managerial advancement of, women with and
without children. The study also seeks to examine whether having children influences women’s
advancement, by affecting person-situation factors such as training and development or work hours.
Design/methodology/approach – A confidential, voluntary survey was mailed to 1,183 female
staff who held from non-manager to executive positions in the banking industry. The response rate
was 65.23 per cent or 848 respondents, of whom 209 (24.6 per cent) had children and 639 (75.4 per cent)
did not.
Findings – The survey results indicate that, although the links and barriers to the advancement of
mothers and non-mothers are similar, important differences exist. Specifically, internal networks are
negatively related to the advancement of women with children, but unrelated to the advancement of
women without children. In addition, having children weakens the relationship between work hours
and managerial advancement.
Research limitations/implications – This is a cross-sectional study that included women
currently in the workforce. Future research needs to include women who have left their organisations
and needs to examine causal effects. The interaction of marital status and children should also be
examined in future research, because marital status may not be a barrier to advancement for women
but being a single mother might be.
Originality/value – The results provide some support for the belief that mothers experience
additional barriers to advancement when compared with women without children.
Keywords Women, Parents, Management development
Paper type Case study
Women make up an increasing proportion of the full-time workforce and of managers
around the world (Wirth, 2001), including in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS), 1999; Trewin, 2002). Yet, they are still under-represented in management in
most countries and in senior management everywhere (Davidson and Burke, 2004;
Wirth, 2001). Wirth concluded that one of the obstacles to women’s equal
representation in management is the gender inequality in home responsibilities.
Family responsibilities create unique challenges for women who want to advance in
management. Women continue to be responsible for the majority of family
responsibilities, such as the care of dependent children (Hochschild, 1997; Wirth,
2001). In line with the time scarcity hypothesis, time spent fulfilling family
responsibilities is time that cannot be spent at work. In addition, many women believe
that family responsibilities are a barrier to their advancement (Liff and Ward, 2001;
Metz and Tharenou, 2001), partly because they affect their colleagues’ and superiors’
perceptions of them (e.g. Griffith and MacBride-King, 1998; Ragins and Sundstrom,
1989; Swiss and Walker, 1993). These perceptions and stereotypes of women with
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children can lead to discriminatory behaviour, thus creating an additional obstacle to
advancement for mothers.
However, research on the impact of family on career success found no differential
effects for men and women (Kirchmeyer, 1998). In particular, Tharenou (1999a) found
that mothers did not advance less in management than single women, single men or
single fathers. The absence of an impact of family responsibilities on advancement
may partly be due to the fact that family responsibilities influence the process of
advancement indirectly rather than directly. For instance, having children may affect
managerial advancement because it influences women to use human capital resources
(such as training and development opportunities) differently. Therefore, the present
study examines if having children moderates some of the factors commonly known to
be linked to women’s advancement, such as education and years of work experience.
Quantitative and qualitative research methods can be expected to explain
organizational phenomena from different perspectives (Lee et al., 1999). Therefore, this
study also compares the barriers to advancement reported by women with and without
children to check if differences exist in perceived barriers to advancement. These
reports may reflect women’s individual experiences and “realities” (Lee et al., 1999).
From a human resource management and an individual career management
perspective, it is important for organizations and for women to fully understand how
being a parent affects advancement, because of the continuing trend of mothers in the
workforce (ABS, 1999; Wirth, 2001). This understanding can help organizations avoid
the underutilisation or loss of talented women who are mothers.
Literature review and research propositions
To address the study’s aims, person-centred and situation-centred factors that have
been found to be related to women’s managerial advancement were examined, as
recommended by Riger and Galligan (1980). Riger and Galligan (1980), demonstrated
that many person-centred explanations for women’s lack of managerial advancement
could be replaced by equally plausible work situation interpretations. So, both are
included in this study.
Specifically, person-centred factors of (having) children, ambition, and human
capital (e.g. education level and hours worked) were assessed. The variable of children
was included in the present data analyses, because past studies have shown that an
increasing number of women managers and executives are married (Catalyst, 1996,
2003), but many still trade children for a career because of their work commitments
(e.g. Catalyst, 2003; Griffith and MacBride-King, 1998; Wirth, 2001). Thus, marital
status was not included in these analyses because it does not appear to be a barrier to
women’s career success (Greenhaus and Parasuraman, 1999). In addition, reviews of
the literature found that ambition and human capital were related to women’s
managerial advancement (see Tharenou, 1997) and their power in organizations (see
Ragins and Sundstrom, 1989). Ambition was also found to be the strongest predictor
(among the personality factors measured) of managerial level, including for women
(Howard and Bray, 1988). Lastly, human capital inputs can be related to the knowledge
and skills women have, which in turn can raise their earnings (Becker, 1993). Human
capital inputs included in the present study were years of work experience, career
breaks, work hours, education level, training and development, and career
breakthrough opportunities.
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In addition to the eight person-centred variables, three situation-centred factors
were included in this study. These were mentor support, career encouragement and
internal networks, because they have been suggested in the past to be important to
women’s advancement (e.g. Riger and Galligan, 1980; Schor, 1997; Tharenou, 1999b).
Mentor support and career encouragement can help women overcome obstacles to their
advancement (Ragins, 1999), and internal networks can assist women obtain
information necessary to perform their jobs and advance (e.g. Liff and Ward, 2001;
Mallon and Cassell, 1999).
The author recognises that other variables could have been included in this study.
However, the greater the number of tests the more likely it would have been that some
significant results would have occurred by chance (Cohen and Cohen, 1983). Hence,
eight person-centred and three situation-centred variables were used to examine the
influence that having children may have on these 11 predictors of women’s
advancement.
The careers of women with and without children
What is related to advancement in management? The view that family responsibilities
hinder women’s managerial advancement is supported by past research (Melamed,
1995; Tenbrunsel et al., 1995). Yet, some women in management and in senior
management positions are married with children (e.g. Catalyst, 1996; Griffith and
MacBride-King, 1998; Metz and Tharenou, 2001; Wirth, 2001). So, if family
responsibilities hinder the advancement of women then how do some women with
children advance in management?
The answer to the above question is not clear, but it is possible that when we
compare samples of women with and without children who have not left the
organizations or the workforce, we find that similar factors are related to the
managerial advancement of women in both groups. The scant empirical evidence that
exists shows that the career experiences are similar for women singles, women with
children, and women married without dependents (e.g. Brett and Stroh, 1999). Women
with MBA degrees do not differ substantially in their commitment to work (Korabik
and Rosin, 1995). Women who try to balance family and career do not appear to be
penalised in terms of managerial level (Konrad and Cannings, 1994), advancement
(Tharenou, 1999a), or salary (Schneer and Reitman, 1993). Hence, it is proposed:
H1. Similar person- and situation-centred factors will be related to the managerial
advancement of women with and without children.
What are the barriers to advancement? Although recent empirical research has shown
that the process of advancement is similar for women with and without children,
qualitative studies present a different reality. As previously mentioned, past
qualitative studies indicate that women with children report additional barriers to their
advancement due to stereotypes and perceptions of mothers in the workforce (e.g.
Ragins and Sundstrom, 1989; Swiss and Walker, 1993). Hence, it is proposed:
H2. Women with and without children will report different barriers to
advancement. In particular, women with children are more likely to report
stereotypes and perceptions as barriers to advancement than women without
children.
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The indirect influence of children on women’s managerial advancement
All of the five person-centred variables examined in this study have been found in past
research to be directly related to women’s advancement (e.g. Howard and Bray, 1988;
Metz and Tharenou, 2001; Tharenou and Conroy, 1994). However, having children can
also influence these direct relationships. Past research indicates that the relationships
between family and managerial advancement can be explained by a third independent
variable (Parasuraman et al., 1997; Tharenou et al., 1994). For instance, Parasuraman
et al. (1997) focussed on the impact of family variables on development opportunities
(such as visibility and key assignments) through mediators such as the individual’s
commitment to family and work. In turn, Tharenou et al. (1994) used confirmatory
modelling to test situation- (e.g. career encouragement) and person-centred influences
(e.g. having a spouse and children) on managerial advancement for both women and
men. Tharenou et al. (1994) found a path between “home status” (which comprised of
marital status and the number of children) and work experience, but not between home
status and any of the situation-centred variables. Therefore, this study will only
investigate the moderator effect of children on person-centred factors. A moderator is a
variable that influences the direction or strength of the relationship between the
independent variables and the dependent variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986; Lindley
and Walker, 1993).
The author recognises that many other combinations of moderator relationships
could have been tested, given the number of independent variables included in this
study. However, not all possible combinations of moderator relationships were
tested because the greater the number of tests the more likely it would have been
that some significant results would have occurred by chance (Cohen and Cohen,
1983). Therefore, the first criterion for selecting variables was that they were
related to managerial advancement in the quantitative results. The second criterion
was that past research supported the relationships between the IVs selected and
women’s managerial advancement. The second criterion was used only if relevant
past research was found.
The model shown in Figure 1, conceptualises that the relationships between
person-centred factors and women’s managerial advancement could be contingent
upon having children. “Children” is chosen as the moderator in this study, because
having children is more likely to influence than to be influenced by other factors such
as training and development and work hours. For example, past research has found
that having children can reduce the number of hours women work (Korabik and Rosin,
1995; Liff and Ward, 2001; Mallon and Cassell, 1999; Wolcott and Glezer, 1995) and the
training they obtain (Still, 1997; Tharenou et al., 1994). So, the arrow in Figure 1
represents the influences that children may exercise on these relationships.
According to the model in Figure 1, it is possible that some women with children
may spend or are perceived to spend some of their time at work on family-related
rather than on work-related matters. In turn, some women with children have reported
that stereotypes and perceptions of women with families are barriers to their
advancement (e.g. Griffith and MacBride-King, 1998; Liff and Ward, 2001; Metz and
Tharenou, 2001; Still, 1997). Either way, it is possible that having children will weaken
the relationships between years of work experience, work hours, training and
development, career breakthrough opportunities, and women’s managerial
advancement. Thus, it is proposed:
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H3a. Children will moderate the relationship between years of work experience,
work hours, between training and development, between career breakthrough
opportunities, and women’s managerial advancement. These four
person-centred factors will be more related to managerial advancement for
women without children than for women with children.
In addition, women with children are more likely to take career breaks than women
without children (e.g. Tharenou, 1999a). Career breaks have been found to be
negatively related to managerial advancement for women (Tharenou, 1999a). Women
know that career breaks are detrimental to their careers and use education as a way to
update their knowledge in preparation to re-enter the workforce (Swiss and Walker,
1993). Decision makers use human capital factors, such as education level, to screen
candidates into higher paying jobs (Strober, 1990). So, it is possible that the
relationship between education level and women’s managerial advancement is
stronger for women with than for women without children. Thus, it is proposed:
H3b. Children will moderate the relationship between career breaks and women’s
managerial advancement. Career breaks will be more negatively related to
managerial advancement for women with than for women without children.
H3c. Children will moderate the relationship between education level and women’s
managerial advancement. Education level will be more related to managerial
advancement for women without than for women with children.
In summary, as can be seen in Figure 1, Model 1 proposes that having children
influences the years of work experience, career breaks, work hours, education level,
training and development, and career breakthrough opportunities women get.
Data and methods
Data and the sample
A confidential, voluntary survey was mailed to 1,183 female staff in the Australian
banking industry. These women were all members of the Australian Institute of
Banking and Finance (AIBF), and were in non-management or management positions.
Figure 1.
Proposed moderator
relationships between
children and other
person-centred factors,
and women’s managerial
advancement
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The AIBF’s list only had 11 women in executive positions. As a result, the author used
her own networks to reach an additional 163 women in middle and senior management
levels in banking. This was necessary to obtain a representative sample of women at
middle and senior management levels. The final response rate was 65.23 per cent or
848 respondents, excluding 46 surveys that were returned to the sender because of
incorrect addresses.
Of the 848 respondents, 209 (24.6 per cent) had children and 639 (75.4 per cent) did
not. Chi-square tests (available from the author on request) revealed that women with
children (n¼209) were different from women without children (n¼639) with regard
to some person-centred factors. Overall, women with children were likely to be older,
have had one or more unpaid career breaks, had more years of work experience, but
worked fewer hours per week than women without children. However, respondents
with and without children were similar with regard to education level and ambition.
Most women wanted to move up three or four levels from their current position (78.5
per cent, non-mothers and 63.9 per cent, mothers).
Measurement
The dependent variable
Managerial advancement (MA) was the dependent variable. MA was the mean of four
standardized items (a¼0:77) assessing the respondent’s managerial level, salary,
number of subordinate staff, and total number of manage rial promotions (see Appendix).
This measure included the three-item reliable, validated measure used in a longitudinal
study of Australian managers (Tharenou, 1999a). Number of staff was added to form the
four-item scale, as it has been used to measure managerial advancement (Tharenou et al.,
1994), organizational stature (which encompassed managerial level; Lyness and
Thompson, 1997) and managerial authority (Reskin and Ross, 1992).
Variable measured to describe the sample: age
Age was a single item with response categories ranging from 1, under 25 to 9, 60 or
over.
Person-centred variables
The number of dependent children was a single item from Tharenou and Conroy
(1994), and it comprised response categories ranging from 1, none to 5, four or more.
The five response categories were dummy-coded as 0, none and 1, one or more children,
to allow entry into the correlation matrix and hierarchical regression.
Ambition was measured as the mean of seven standardised items (a¼0:81). Five
items were from Korabik and Rosin’s (1995) ambition scale, one item was from Howard
and Bray’s (1988) ambition measure, and one was developed for this study (see
Appendix).
In addition to children and ambition, seven human capital variables were measured.
Specifically, years of work experience, unpaid career breaks, work hours, education
level, training and development, and career breakthrough opportunities, were
considered part of women’s human capital.
The number of unpaid career breaks was a single item from Tharenou and Conroy
(1994), with response categories from 0, none to 5, five or more. Education was also a
single item measuring the highest level of education completed. The response
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categories ranged from 1, completed primary school to 9, doctorate. The item was
based on Tharenou and Conroy’s (1994) education measure which comprised 12-points.
Work experience was the mean of two items (a¼0:79). Both items ranged from 1, less
than one year to 9, 30 or more years. This measure was based on Tharenou et al.’s
(1994) work experience measure which had an alpha of 0.62. Training and development
was the mean of five a five item scale (a¼0:82), based on Tharenou and Conroy’s
(1994) and Tharenou’s (1999a) measures (a¼0:79, 0.81; test-retest r¼0:85). This
measure assessed the frequency of participation in training and development activities,
with response categories ranging from 1, never to 7, 11 or more times. Work hours was
a single item scale that measured the hours worked each week. The response categories
ranged from 1, less than 15 hours to 9, more than 60 hours.
Lastly, career breakthroughs were defined as events that had been especially
important as a breakthrough (or in overcoming obstacles for advancement) in the
respondents’ careers. The career breakthroughs variable was developed for this study
and averaged eight items (see Appendix) with five-point response categories ranging
from 1, not at all to 5, to a very large extent (a¼0:73). These items were based on
events found by past researchers (e.g. Forbes and Piercy, 1991; Mainiero, 1994; Ohlott
et al., 1994) to be important breakthroughs in career advancement.
Situation-centred variables
Mentor support measured various forms of career and psychological functions that a
higher-ranking individual with advanced experience and knowledge may have
performed to help the respondent advance in her career. Mentor support (or mentoring)
averaged 14 items (a¼0:91) from Dreher and Ash’s (1990) 18-item scale of mentoring
practices (a¼0:95). The items used a five-point Likert scale from 1, not at all to 5, to a
very large extent. Examples of items included in the mentor support measure were
(mentor) “Given or recommended you for challenging assignments that present
opportunities to learn new skills” and “Served as a role model”.
Career encouragement was defined as the encouragement received from colleagues
and superiors for one’s career development (Tharenou et al., 1994). Career
encouragement averaged three items (a¼0:76) of Tharenou and Conroy’s (1994)
measure (a¼0:80). The items used a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1, never to
7, 11 or more times.
Internal networks were measured by a scale developed for this study, which
included the number, gender, and managerial level of the contacts women have inside
their organizations (see Appendix). This scale was based on Ibarra’s (1995, pp. 684-687)
network characteristics of status or managerial level of contacts, degree of closeness,
and sex of contacts, and Campbell et al.’s (1986) network characteristics of size. Internal
networks averaged ten standardised items (a¼0:81).
Open-ended question
In an open-ended question the respondents were asked to state five or fewer major
obstacles to their career advancement. The question was used to determine if women
with children reported more or different barriers to advancement than women without
children. This knowledge may assist organizations in developing policies and in
encouraging practices to retain, and advance the careers of, women who have dependent
children in their workforces. The open-ended question was placed last, rather than first
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as suggested in the literature (e.g. Zikmund, 1994), to allow the respondents to express
their views after having had the opportunity to think about the topic.
Statistical method
The means and standard deviations were calculated, and Pearson correlation analyses
were conducted to assess the association between the variables. As can be seen in
Table I, there were no problems with collinearity amongst the independent variables
except for age, which was highly correlated (0.65) with years of work experience. As a
result, age was excluded from the regression as it is likely to be less relevant to
advancement than work experience.
In addition, multiple regression analyses were used to assess the relative
importance of the person- and situation-centred variables for managerial
advancement for women with (N¼209) and without (N¼639) children. As the
number of years of work experience, work hours, and work breaks differed
between women with and without children (as mentioned above), these three
variables were entered first as Block 1 in the multiple regression analyses (see
Table II). The remaining person-centred variables and the situation-centred factors
were entered as Block 2.
Further, moderator regressions assessed if having children influenced the direct
relationships that exist between managerial advancement (the DV) and the
person-centred variables of ambition, years of work experience, work hours, training
and development, and career breakthrough opportunities (the IVs). For moderation to
occur, managerial advancement was regressed against each of the five person-centred
variables, children (the moderator), and the interaction variable. The interaction
variable was composed of one of the person-centred variables and children, multiplied
together (e.g. Work hours £Children). Before their multiplication, however, the
variables which form the interaction terms were standardised (as Z scores) to cater for
differences in standard deviations. The variable of children was identified as a
moderator if significant increments in variance occurred in managerial advancement
when the interaction term was added to the independent variables (see Table III).
Lastly, the barriers of advancement reported by women with and without children
in the open-ended question were content coded by two independent raters (the author
and a post-graduate student). Overall, Goodwin and Goodwin’s (1985) procedure was
used to content code the open-ended responses and calculate the inter-rater reliability.
The results showed that an inter-rater reliability of 0.95 was achieved, demonstrating
reliability of the content coding procedure (Sommer and Sommer, 1991). To calculate
the inter-rater reliability the number of coding agreements was divided by the total
number of coded responses, as done by Goodwin and Goodwin (1985). The agreements
were the responses that both raters coded in the same category. As shown in Table IV,
frequency analyses were then performed on the coded responses separately for
mothers and non-mothers. Chi-square (x
2
) tests were performed to assess if the
frequency of the responses were significantly different for mothers and non-mothers.
Results
The careers of women with and without children
What is related to advancement in management? H1 proposed that similar person- and
situation-centred factors would be related to the managerial advancement of women
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Variable Mean SDs 12345678910111213
1. MA 0.00 0.77 –
2. Age 3.33 1.41 0.44 –
3. Children 0.25 0.43 0.05 0.24 –
4. Ambition 3.49 0.53 20.04 20.21 20.10 –
5. Career breaks 0.55 0.90 0.05 0.30 0.45 20.06 –
6. Education 5.49 1.42 0.18 –0.13 20.10 0.13 20.04 –
7. Work experience 4.77 1.46 0.38 0.65 0.12 20.20 20.02 20.32 –
8. T&D 2.67 1.52 0.63 0.33 0.03 0.04 0.07 0.17 0.25 –
9. Work hours 5.95 1.25 0.43 0.15 20.19 0.19 20.11 0.17 0.12 0.30 –
10. Breakthroughs 2.25 0.75 0.33 0.07 20.00 0.14 20.04 0.08 0.08 0.39 0.14 –
11. Mentor support 3.35 0.77 0.05 20.11 20.05 0.13 20.02 0.06 20.10 0.20 0.01 0.23 –
12. Encouragement 2.67 1.21 0.17 0.01 0.00 0.05 20.02 20.07 0.11 0.38 0.04 0.34 0.29 –
13. Internal networks 0.00 0.61 0.02 20.12 20.06 0.17 20.06 20.05 20.03 0.17 0.06 0.17 0.25 0.32 –
Notes: MA ¼Managerial advancement; T&D ¼Training and development; Breakthroughs ¼Career breakthrough opportunities; Correlations of 0.07
and 0.08 are significant at p,0:05; and of 0.09 and above are significant at p,0:01
Table I.
Means, standard
deviations and
correlation coefficients
for all the variables
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Independent variables BAdj. R
2
DR
2
Results
Person-centred factors:
Work experience 0.38
***
Children 20.00
Work exp. £Children 20.01 0.15
***
0.00 Not a moderator
Work hours 0.49
***
Children 20.13
***
Work hours £Children 0.10
**
0.21
***
0.01
**
Moderator
Career breaks 0.05
Children 0.05
Career breaks £children 20.06 0.00 0.00 Not a moderator
Ambition 20.04
Children 0.04
Ambition £children 0.00 0.00 0.00 Not a moderator
Education level 0.18
***
Children 0.07*
Education level £children 0.03 0.03 0.00 Not a moderator
T&D 0.63
***
Children 0.02
T&D £children 20.00 0.40
***
0.00 Not a moderator
Career breakthroughs 0.33
***
Children 0.05
Career breakthroughs £children 0.02 0.11
***
0.00 Not a moderator
Notes.
*
p,0:05;
**
p,0:01;
***
p,0:001; B ¼Standardised beta coefficients
Table III.
Moderator regression
analyses of managerial
advancement on person-
centred variables and
interaction terms
Women without kids
(n¼639)
Women with kids
(n¼209)
Independent variables BBTolerances VIF BB
Block 1: control variables
Years of work experience 0.35
***
0.30
***
0.60 1.67 0.26
***
0.15
**
Work hours 0.43
***
0.24
***
0.79 1.27 0.36
***
0.29
***
Career breaks 0.08
*
0.05 0.75 1.33 0.03 20.01
df ¼ð3;621Þdf ¼ð3;196Þ
DR
2
0.35
***
0.22
***
Block 2: remaining variables
Ambition –0.07
*
0.64 1.56 20.09
Education level 0.15
***
0.69 1.45 0.11
*
Training and development 0.41
***
0.50 2.00 0.53
***
Career breakthroughs 0.13
***
0.74 1.35 0.12
*
Mentor support –0.01 0.81 1.24 20.01
Career encouragement –0.06 0.69 1.46 20.02
Internal networks –0.03 0.75 1.34 20.12
*
df ¼ð7;614Þdf ¼ð7;189Þ
DR
2
0.21
***
0.34
***
R
2
0.56
***
0.56
***
Notes.
*
p,0:05;
**
p,0:01;
***
p,0:001; B ¼Standardised beta coefficients; VIF ¼Variance
inflation factors
Table II.
Hierarchical multiple
regressions of managerial
advancement for women
without and for women
with children
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with and without children. As shown in Table II, similar person- and situation-centred
factors were related to the managerial advancement of women with and without
children, except for internal networks. Internal networks were negatively related to the
advancement of mothers, but unrelated to the advancement of non-mothers. It is
possible that the sub-sample of women with children was too small for factors, such as
ambition, to be significant at p,0:05 (Stevens 1996). Hence, H1 is supported in the
main.
What are the barriers to advancement? H2 proposed that women with and without
children would report different barriers to advancement. In particular, women with
children would be more likely to report stereotypes and perceptions as barriers to
advancement than women without children. As shown in Table IV, women with
children were more likely than women without children to report that family or family
responsibilities and work discontinuity hindered their advancement (at p,0:001). In
turn, at a significance level of p,0:01, non-mothers were more likely than mothers to
report the lack of promotion or work opportunities, and personality traits as barriers to
their career success. Lastly, women with children were less likely than women without
children to report no hindrances to advancement (at p,0:05). Therefore, there were
some differences in the barriers reported by women with and without children.
However, mothers were just as likely as non-mothers to report stereotypes and
attitudes as barriers to their advancement. Hence, H2 was only partly supported.
The indirect influence of children on women’s managerial advancement
Children can be said to moderate the relationship between the person-centred inputs
(the IVs) and managerial advancement (the DV) if the interaction terms (e.g. Work
hours £Children) show significant effects when the person-centred inputs and the
other independent variables are controlled (Baron and Kenny, 1986). Table III shows
the regression analyses that test the interaction terms for moderators while controlling
for the person-centred variables.
Women
Response categories
Without kids
(n¼639)
(%)
With kids
(n¼209)
(%)
Chi-square
(x
2
, df, p)
Gender discrimination
a
24.3 21.4 (0.70, 1, 0.40)
Immediate boss 17.0 14.3 (0.86, 1, 0.36)
Personality traits 10.9 5.2 (5.83, 1, 0.02)
Lack of knowledge/skills 11.0 8.6 (1.02, 1, 0.31)
Family/family responsibilities 3.8 34.3 (145.67, 1, 0.00)
Stereotypes and perceptions 14.5 16.2 (0.36, 1, 0.55)
Organizational change 13.1 11.0 (0.65, 1, 0.42)
Work discontinuity 3.9 19.5 (53.18, 1, 0.00)
Lack of promotion/work opportunities 11.0 4.8 (7.21, 1, 0.01)
Restricted mobility 6.1 8.6 (1.48, 1, 0.22)
No hindrances 15.7 10.0 (4.25, 1, 0.04)
Notes:
a
Racial discrimination was reported by only 6 per cent of the overall sample. Examples of the
responses that fell in each of the categories listed above can be obtained from the author on request
Table IV.
The ten most frequently
reported barriers to
managerial advancement
for women without and
for women with children
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H3a proposed that years of work experience, work hours, training and
development, and career breakthrough opportunities would be more related to
managerial advancement for women without children than for women with children,
respectively. As can be seen from Table III, children only moderated the relationship
between work hours and managerial advancement because the standardised beta
coefficient of the interaction term (Work hours £Children) was significant
(B¼20:10, p,0:01) and the change in R
2
was also significant. This interaction term
explained 1 per cent of the total variance, which is considered important in field studies
(McClelland and Judd, 1993). This result indicated that work hours were more related
to managerial advancement for women without children than for women with children.
Thus, H3a was supported only for work hours.
In addition, H3b proposed that children would moderate the relationship between
career breaks and women’s managerial advancement. Specifically, it was proposed
that career breaks would be more negatively related to managerial advancement for
women with than for women without children. As shown in Table III, children did not
moderate this relationship, because the standardised beta coefficient of the interaction
term (Career Breaks X Children) was not significant (B¼20:06). Thus, H3b was not
supported.
Lastly, H3c proposed that children would moderate the relationship between
education level and women’s managerial advancement. Education level would be more
related to managerial advancement for women without than for women with children.
As can be seen from Table III, children did not moderate this relationship, because
the standardised beta coefficient of the interaction term (Education £Children) was not
significant (B¼0:03). Thus, H3c was not supported.
Discussion
The aim of this study was twofold. First, the study assessed if similar person- and
situation-centred factors are related to the managerial advancement of women with
and without children. In addition, this study sought to determine if the barriers to
advancement reported by women with and without children differed. Second, this
study also assessed if having children moderates some of the factors commonly known
to be linked to women’s advancement, such as education and work experience. The
results show that similar factors are related to the managerial advancement of women,
except for internal networks. Similarly, the qualitative data gathered using the
open-ended question indicate that women with and without children report similar
barriers to advancement. Yet, family responsibilities and work discontinuity are more
likely to be reported as barriers by mothers, and personality traits and lack of
promotion or work opportunities by non-mothers. Lastly, having children weakens the
positive relationship between work hours and women’s managerial advancement.
To the author’s knowledge there are no studies that combine quantitative and
qualitative tests of differences between women with and without children in person-
and situation-centred factors related to their managerial advancement, and of the
obstacles they encounter along the way. Therefore, this study supports recent findings
of a similar process of advancement in management for mothers and non-mothers. In
addition, this study extends current knowledge of how women with children advance
because it provides initial empirical evidence of the influence of having children on
women’s managerial advancement.
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More specifically, the results of the hierarchical analyses show that similar
person-centred variables are related to the advancement of women with and without
children. Years of work experience, work hours, ambition, education level, training and
development and career breakthrough opportunities are all related to women’s
advancement as expected. Interestingly, career breaks are unrelated to the
advancement of women, regardless of whether they have children or not. Based on
social role theory (Eagly, 1987), these results indicate that women, in general, are
expected to take career breaks and, therefore, are not penalised for doing so.
In terms of the situation-centred variables, the study’s results show that internal
networks are negatively related to the advancement in management for mothers.
According to network theory, this negative relationship may be partly due to the fact
that women with children have more career breaks than women without children. That
is, career breaks may lead to structural holes in the internal networks of women with
children (Podolny and Baron, 1997). It is also possible that because mothers spend less
time at work than non-mothers, mothers have smaller and less close internal networks
than women without children. In line with the time scarcity hypothesis, time spent
fulfilling family responsibilities is time that cannot be spent at work developing
networks.
Although the quantitative results show a similar process of advancement in
management for women with and without children, the qualitative results tell us of a
different “reality”. For example, women with children are more likely to report “family
responsibilities” and “work discontinuity” as barriers to advancement than women
without children. This is not surprising, considering that women continue to be the
primary carers despite their responsibilities outside the home (Hochschild, 1997; Wirth,
2001). It is also possible that the presence of children may affect how women are
perceived at work. As one respondent explained:
Children and marriage affect people’s perception of women’s commitment to work.
Either way, it appears that EEO legislation and family-friendly policies in
organizations are insufficient to make women with children feel that family
responsibilities and work discontinuity do not negatively affect their career success.
In addition, women with children are less likely than women without children to
report lack of promotion or work opportunities as being a barrier to advancement.
According to expectancy theory (Dunnette and Hough, 1994), it is possible that women
with children have lowered their expectations of being promoted and of being given
work opportunities in light of expected social roles (Eagly, 1987) and the barriers
previously encountered to advancement. This explanation is supported by women
with children being more likely than women without children in this study to report
barriers to advancement. However, it is also possible that women without children are
not being promoted in line with their work participation and contribution, perhaps in
anticipation that they will become mothers. As one respondent explained:
Once married, people assume women are no longer interested in a career.
Hence, social role theory partly explains why few differences were found in this study
between women with and without children. Based on social role theory (Eagly, 1987),
women may not escape the stereotype of primary care givers, regardless of whether or
not they have children.
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Lastly, the results of the moderator regression analyses indicate that the
relationship between the number of hours women work and their advancement is
stronger for women without children than for women with children. This result
suggests that working long hours may not assist women with children overcome the
negative perceptions others have of them, found in past studies (e.g. Liff and Ward,
2001; Metz and Tharenou, 2001; Still, 1997). For women without children such
perceptions may not apply as strongly as for women with children.
In sum, the results of this exploratory study indicate that women with children face
similar obstacles, and experience a similar process of advancement in management to
that of women without children. However, the importance of work hours to
advancement may force mothers to make choices that they would not otherwise make.
As the small proportion of women with children in this sample indicates, either most
women decide not to have children for advancement or only a few mothers abide by the
current model of long work hours.
Limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research
The results of the current study provide only partial support for the belief that women
with children experience additional barriers to advancement. Therefore, more research
is needed in this area. For instance, longitudinal studies are needed to determine if
women reduce their work hours because they do not advance or if they do not advance
because they reduce their work hours. Causal effects are difficult to detect using
cross-sectional data. This topic will also benefit from an analysis of the interaction of
marital status and children. This is because marital status may not be a barrier to
advancement for women, but being a single mother might be. Interaction effects could
not be examined in this study because the very different sizes of the sample of mothers
who were married or co-habiting (N¼194) and of the sample of single mothers
(N¼15) (Hair et al., 1995). Lastly, to fully understand if additional barriers prevent
women from advancing, studies need to include women who have left their
organisations. Until we do so, we only understand the process of advancement of those
mothers who manage to successfully combine family and work responsibilities in the
current work environment.
Practical implications
The chief implication of this study’s results for organizations is that the small
percentage of women with children in this sample, as in many samples in past research
(e.g. Lyness and Thompson, 1997), indicates that it may be more difficult for mothers
than for non-mothers to remain in the workforce. Hence, there is probably much that
organizations can do to retain women with children. One way to achieve this may be by
facilitating their advancement in management. For instance, past research found that
senior women with children are more likely than senior women without children to say
that they would change jobs for a more supportive and family-friendly work
environment, although other factors such as advancement opportunities are more
valued than flexibility (Griffith and MacBride-King, 1998, p. 21). Similarly, women with
children in this study were just as ambitious as women without children.
In addition, organizations need to review current social practices to ensure that
parents are integrated in the organization’s internal networks. Being part of networks
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helps individuals gather information that may be relevant to performing their jobs or
applying for promotions.
Further, organizations can also encourage decision making that is not influenced by
the parental status of employees, so that objective factors such as work hours are
equally linked to the advancement of women with and without children. This can be
achieved by making decision-makers accountable for their promotion and other
selection decisions. After all, it is in the interests of organizations to eradicate any
discrimination based on family responsibilities. Only in doing so, will organizations be
able to fully utilize the talent in their workforce.
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Appendix
Scale items (Questions and responses are given verbatim.)
Managerial advancement:
(1) What is your current job level (1, Non-supervisor/Non-manager, to 13, Managing
Director)?
(2) Please state your total annual compensation which may comprise an annual salary as
well as bonuses, stock options and/or other cash components (1, under $25,000 to 12, over
$125,000).
(3) How many people are accountable to you for their performance (0, none to 10, more than
200 persons)?
(4) Over your career how many supervisory or managerial promotions have you had (1,
none to 6, nine or more)?
Ambition. Please indicate your extent of agreement or disagreement (1, strongly disagree to 5,
strongly agree) with each of these statements:
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(1) When obstacles get in the way of my advancement, I keep trying.
(2) My goal is to reach the “top” in my career.
(3) It is not important to me to keep moving in the hierarchy.
(4) It is important to me to be seen as very successful.
(5) I very badly want to “make my mark” in my career.
(6) I am prepared to work long and hard to gain prominence in my career.
(7) The seventh item was: How many levels (0, none, to 4, four or more) do you want to move
up from your current position?
Career breakthroughs. To what extent (1, not at all, to 5, to a very large extent) these events have
been especially important as a breakthrough in your career:
(1) An opportunity to work in a new functional area.
(2) An opportunity to work in high-profile project/area.
(3) Self-initiated activity(ies) (ie, job transfer, new procedures instituted in the department,
and projects undertaken to resolve specifc problems).
(4) An opportunity to be a staff member in the chief executive office or staff to a very senior
executive.
(5) An opportunity for a supervisory assignment.
(6) An opportunity for a general management assignment.
(7) A promotion with an increase in responsibility.
(8) An opportunity for an international appointment.
Internal networks. How many (0, none, to 6, six or more) of each contacts (listed) do you have
whom you can discuss important matters with (e.g. work, leisure, family, politics). How close (1,
not at all close, to 5, extremely close) are you to each of the contacts (listed)? The list for each
question comprised:
(1) Female co-workers in my immediate area.
(2) Male co-workers in my immediate area.
(3) Female colleagues in other areas in my organization.
(4) Female superiors in my organization.
(5) Male superiors in my organization.
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