| Author: | Siu, Mei Kuen |
| Title: | Ascending to the top : what can female executives do to earn respect? |
| Advisors: | Chiu, Warren (MM) Choy, Petrus (LMS) |
| Degree: | D.B.A. |
| Year: | 2017 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Women executives Sex role in the work environment |
| Department: | Faculty of Business |
| Pages: | viii, 167 pages : illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Female executives face difficulties in ascending to senior positions due to unfavourable gender-related schemas held by significant others at work. To rise to a higher rank, female executives have to adopt a prestige strategy (Cheng, Tracy, Foulsham, Kingstone, & Henrich, 2013) to earn respect. This study attempts to identify the schemas for female executives to gain respect from their subordinates and test if respect mediates the effect of certain respect-conducive schemas to attain 'promotability'. Based on the exploratory factor analysis of this study, three female leadership schemas (FLS) for respect were identified, i.e., dedication, understanding, and mentorship. The three FLS are tested to determine if they have a positive relationship with respect for female executives and if respect constitutes a predictor of 'promotability' of the female executives, and whether respect mediates the relationship between the three FLS and 'promotability'. In addition, the study also tests if a strong male hierarchy will weaken the relationship between the three FLS respect schemas and respect for the female executives. A quantitative research was conducted to test these hypotheses in the research model. This study contributes to the extant literature focusing on leadership theory by extending the concept of respect on female leadership and by deriving the relational schemas for respect for female leaders. This study also contributes to the literature by empirically examining how female executives can exploit a third way, i.e., by earning respect apart from being feminine or masculine/dominance, to enhance the chance for promotion. Practically, female executives can learn to equip themselves with the schemas to earn respect from their subordinates to attain a better opportunity for career advancement, and understand if they should continue developing their career in an organization with a strong male hierarchy should they desire to advance their career to senior positions in that organization. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 991021980636403411.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.59 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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