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The similarities and differences of men’s and women’s personal work networks

University of British Columbia

Although network analysis has proven a useful approach to the study of organizations and organizational behavior, very little research has been done on the issue of gender differences in personal work networks. While there is considerable conventional wisdom about how men and women associate with their colleagues in the workplace, the matter still requires scientific scrutiny. The purpose of this thesis is to provide much needed descriptive evidence about the ways and extent to which the personal work networks of men and women managers or supervisors differ, and to illustrate how promotions impact such networks. Two separate studies comprise the thesis. The first study considered the personal work networks of men and women supervisors or managers who had not undergone formal career transitions in the previous 12 months. Network characteristic data were generated through a questionnaire returned by 242 individuals, representing three large Canadian companies in the banking, forestry, and insurance industries. Multiple regression was used to test for gender differences and company moderator effects. Contrary to the common assumption currently found in the literature that there are gender differences in personal work networks, this study found that differences in men’s and women’s association patterns at work were more likely in their expressive, rather than instrumental, networks. Though managers and supervisors were more likely to form homophilous ties, and men had networks of greater density, the results suggested that men and women had comparable instrumental work networks. The expressive networks, however, exhibited greater gender differences. Significant differences included the gender, location, the density, and the frequency of contact of these expressive ties. The second study considered the personal work networks of men and women supervisors or managers who had recently been promoted. Network characteristic data were generated through a questionnaire returned by 33 individuals working for a leading Canadian bank; however, possibly because of sampling deficiencies, no significant instrumental or expressive network differences were identified. Moreover, there were no differences in the turnover of individuals in men’s and women’s instrumental and expressive networks following promotions. A discussion regarding the status and future of personal work network research concludes the thesis.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-04-22

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7478

Business Administration

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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