Women Executives in Gladiator Corporate Cultures: The Behavioral Dynamics of Gender, Ego, and Power

39 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2011

See all articles by Marleen O'Connor

Marleen O'Connor

Stetson University - College of Law

Date Written: 2006

Abstract

Although women have fifty percent of the managerial positions in large corporations in the United States, the number of women CEOs and directors is low and progress is stalled. Many scholars maintain that we should promote women executives so they will acquire experience, not because they will transform corporate decisionmaking. Under this view, one should not classify a corporate actor as a woman, but as a manager who happens to be a woman. Alternatively, some researchers assert that women's "outsider" status increases corporate accountability because they bring distinct moral perspectives to business decisions. This Article seeks to bridge efforts to advance women to upper-level management and attempts to foster more ethical corporate cultures. Traditionally, corporate law scholars have not examined issues involving gender. Social psychology, however, has produced many studies that use gender as a lens to analyze organizational behavior. This Article examines how societal norms restrict both men and women to avoid a one-sided analysis that limits the use of gender as an analytical tool.

Keywords: women, women executives, gender, ego, power, behavioral dynamics, corporations

JEL Classification: J16, K20, K22, K30

Suggested Citation

O'Connor, Marleen arleen, Women Executives in Gladiator Corporate Cultures: The Behavioral Dynamics of Gender, Ego, and Power (2006). Maryland Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1800042

Marleen arleen O'Connor (Contact Author)

Stetson University - College of Law

1401 61st St. South
St. Petersburg, FL 33707
United States
813-562-7873 (Phone)
813-347-3738 (Fax)

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