Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
Eagly and Karau’s (2002) Role Congruity Theory is one explanation for women’s lack of representation among the highest levels of industry leadership (Schaefer, 2023). It argues that people hold intrinsic associations between women and communality (e.g. Agreeableness) and men and agency (e.g. Ambition), and disassociation with the other. Likewise, it argues job roles carry trait associations (e.g. Leadership: agentic) and that when the traits assigned to the job and gender mismatch, the result is assumed unfitness. This is applied primarily to individual outcomes in internal decision-making processes (Berkery et al., 2013; Garcia-Retamero & Lopez-Zafra, 2006; Powell et al., 2002). The present research expands that scope to the effect of a leader’s role congruence on firm performance, in the context of Broadway plays. To assess gender incongruency, we will examine communal/agentic ratings of main character descriptions from StageAgent, an auditioning database. Broadway plays’ performance will be measured using metrics such as awards, ratings, attendance, and recoupment from news and awards archives (e.g., LexisNexis). Specifically, we hypothesize that: H1: Gender role congruity of a lead actor will be positively related to the performance of a play. However, given that gender bias exists, as well as racial and age biases, we also expect that role incongruity will have a more negative impact on performance when the leads are female, racial minorities, or older actors. This reasoning suggests the following hypotheses: H2: The relationship between role congruity and performance will be moderated by the lead actor’s gender/race/age, such that plays will perform worse when the lead is female, a racial minority and/or an older adult. Finally, we introduce possible moderators from literature on individual performance: H3a: Role consistency, the tendency to appear in similar roles, of a lead actor will be positively related to the performance of a play. H3b: Role consistency of the lead actor will moderate the relationship between role congruity and performance, such that the discrepancy in performance between role incongruent leads and congruent leads will be greater at lower levels of role consistency. H4: Gender role congruity effects will be moderated by time such that more recent runs of plays will perform better than older plays with female leads, but there will be no temporal differences for men. The result of this research will expand upon the current literature regarding gender and leadership. It will also expand practical knowledge of the complicated effects of gender in the workforce.
Date
11-9-2024
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Included in
Performing on the glass stage: examining role congruity's effect on firm performance
Eagly and Karau’s (2002) Role Congruity Theory is one explanation for women’s lack of representation among the highest levels of industry leadership (Schaefer, 2023). It argues that people hold intrinsic associations between women and communality (e.g. Agreeableness) and men and agency (e.g. Ambition), and disassociation with the other. Likewise, it argues job roles carry trait associations (e.g. Leadership: agentic) and that when the traits assigned to the job and gender mismatch, the result is assumed unfitness. This is applied primarily to individual outcomes in internal decision-making processes (Berkery et al., 2013; Garcia-Retamero & Lopez-Zafra, 2006; Powell et al., 2002). The present research expands that scope to the effect of a leader’s role congruence on firm performance, in the context of Broadway plays. To assess gender incongruency, we will examine communal/agentic ratings of main character descriptions from StageAgent, an auditioning database. Broadway plays’ performance will be measured using metrics such as awards, ratings, attendance, and recoupment from news and awards archives (e.g., LexisNexis). Specifically, we hypothesize that: H1: Gender role congruity of a lead actor will be positively related to the performance of a play. However, given that gender bias exists, as well as racial and age biases, we also expect that role incongruity will have a more negative impact on performance when the leads are female, racial minorities, or older actors. This reasoning suggests the following hypotheses: H2: The relationship between role congruity and performance will be moderated by the lead actor’s gender/race/age, such that plays will perform worse when the lead is female, a racial minority and/or an older adult. Finally, we introduce possible moderators from literature on individual performance: H3a: Role consistency, the tendency to appear in similar roles, of a lead actor will be positively related to the performance of a play. H3b: Role consistency of the lead actor will moderate the relationship between role congruity and performance, such that the discrepancy in performance between role incongruent leads and congruent leads will be greater at lower levels of role consistency. H4: Gender role congruity effects will be moderated by time such that more recent runs of plays will perform better than older plays with female leads, but there will be no temporal differences for men. The result of this research will expand upon the current literature regarding gender and leadership. It will also expand practical knowledge of the complicated effects of gender in the workforce.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology