California Management Review

Abstract

The article focuses on influence of sex on managers in service sectors. Using statistical analysis of international survey data, the authors identify many differences between male and female managers perceptions and attitudes. A significantly greater number of women than ever before have entered the work force over the past decade. Recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that the number of employed women in the United States has increased by 53 percent since 1970 and that women now comprise 43 percent of the working population. The data for the study were obtained by mailing a questionnaire to a statistically representative random sample of 420 managers drawn from a variety of service sector organizations in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. The study indicates that there is a relative increase in female motivation by recognition and advancement with increased family size. Yet female managers expressed a relative decline in overall satisfaction as family size increases. This evidence suggests that service sector organizations are not effectively utilizing recognition and advancement to motivate this group of female managers.

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