Although social movements and legislation have provided the impetus for women to enter the managerial ranks, relatively few females have become top-level managers. Using the sociological theory of marginality, the paper explores this phenomenon and suggests that women are still caught between emerging corporate and traditional roles. Implications of this marginal status are then examined in the context of the multistaged process of organizational socialization.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALLEN, F.Women managers get paid far less than males, despite career gains . Wall Street Journal, October 7, 1980, p. 35 .
2.
AMUNDSEN, K.The silenced majority: Women and american democracy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall , 1971.
3.
ANDRISANI, P.An empirical analysis of the dual labor market theory. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Research Foundation , 1973.
4.
BANAS, C.More women eye “male” careers . Boston Globe, February 7, 1981, p. 4 .
5.
BARTOL, K.Male and female leaders in small work groups. East Lansing: Michigan State University Business Studies , 1973.
6.
BARTOL, K.The sex structuring of organizations: A search for possible causes . Academy of Management Review, 1978, 3, 805-815 .
7.
BENNETT, A.Protege pitfalls . Wall Street Journal, October 13, 1980, p. 18 .
8.
BOWMAN, G. W.What helps or harms promotability?Harvard Business Review, 1964, 42(1), 6-26; 184-196 .
9.
BUNKER, B.Mobilizing resources: Creating a support system. In B. Forisha & B. Goldman (Eds.), Outsiders on the inside. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall , 1981.
10.
BURROW, M.Developing women managers: What needs to be done? American Management Association Survey Report, 1978.
11.
BUSINESS WEEK. Corporate women: Women finally get mentors of their own . October 23, 1978, pp. 74-80 .
12.
COLLINS, E. G. C. , & ESPOSITO, A. I.A woman in the boardroom: An interview with Joan Ganz Cooney . Harvard business Review, 1978, 56(1), 77-86 .
13.
CRITTENDEN, A.Women work and men change . New York Times, January 9, 1977, p. 22 .
14.
DICKIE-CLARK, H. F.The marginal situation. London: Rutledge & Kegan Paul , 1966.
15.
DOERINGER, P. B. , & PIORE, M. J.Internal labor markets and manpower analysis. Lexington: D.C. Health , 1971.
16.
FEAGIN, J. , & FEAGIN, C.Discrimination American style: Institutionalized racism and sexism. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall , 1978.
17.
FELDMAN, D. C.A contingency theory of socialization . Administration Science Quarterly, 1976, 21, 433-452 .
18.
FELDMAN, D. C. , The multiple socialization of organization members . Academy of Management Review, 1981, 6, 309-318 .
19.
FORISHA, B. J. , & GOLDMAN, B. H.Outsiders on the inside. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.. Prentice-Hall , 1981.
20.
FOTTLER, M. D. , & BAIN, T.Sex differences in occupational aspirations . Academy of Management Journal, 1980, 23(1), 144-149 .
21.
GALLESE, L. R.Women and the race up the corporate ladder . Wall Street Journal, November 3, 1980, p. 30 .
22.
GIST, N. P. , & DWORKIN, A. G.The blending of races: Marginality and identity in world perspective. New York: Wiley-Interscience , 1972.
23.
GOLDBERG, M. M.A qualification of the marginal man theory . American Sociological Review, 1941, 6, 52-58 .
24.
GOODMAN, E.Goodbye bra-burning... Now to family life . Boston Globe, January 13, 1981, p. 15 .
25.
GREEN, A.A re-examination of the marginal man concept . Social Forces, 1947, 26, 167-171 .
26.
GREENBERGER, R. S.Female steroetypes begin to fade among fellow workers . Wall Street Journal, June 16, 1981, p. 1 .
27.
HACKER, H. M.Women as a minority group . In E. Sagarin (Ed.), The other minorities. Waltham, Mass.: Xerox College Publishing , 1971.
28.
HAMILTON, M.Women executives younger, better educated, study finds . Boston Globe, November 22, 1979, p. 21 .
KANTER, R. M. , The impact of hierarchical structures on the work behavior of men and women . Social Problems, 1976, 23, 415-430 . (b)
37.
KANTER, R. M. , Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books , 1977.
38.
KOMAROVSKY, M.Cultural contradictions and sex roles: The masculine case . American Journal of Sociology, 1973, 78, 783-885 .
39.
LARWOOD, L. , WOOD, M. , & UNDERLIED, S. D.Training women for management: New problems, new solutions . Academy of Management Review, 1978, 3, 584-593 .
40.
LIPPS, H. M. , & COLWILL, N. L.The psychology of sex differences. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Spectrum , 1978.
41.
LEVENTMAN, S.Marginality and the Vietnam vet. Luncheon Roundtable Discussion, American Sociological Association, Toronto, Canada , 1981.
42.
LEWIN, K.Resolving social conflicts. New York: Harper , 1948.
43.
LUBLIN, J. S.Old girls' networks . Wall Street Journal, August 4, 1981, p. 1 .
44.
McLAUGHLIN, S.Occupational sex identification . American Sociological Review, 1978, 43, 909-921 .
45.
MERTON, R. K. , & BARBER, E.Sociological ambivalence. In E. A. Tiryakian (Ed.), Sociological theory, values and sociocultural change. London: Free Press , 1963.
46.
MILLS, D. Q.Human resources in the 1980's . Harvard Business Review, 1979, 57(4), 154-162 .
SCHWARTZ, F. N.Converging work roles of men and women . Business and Society Review/lInnovation, Fall, 1973, 71-75 .
65.
SEXTON, P. C.Women and work. Research and Development Monograph 46. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration , 1977.
66.
SIMMEL, G.The sociology of Georg Simmel. (Kurt Wolff, Trans.) New York: The Free Press , 1950.
67.
STEIN, A. H. , & BAILEY, M. M.The socialization of achievement motivation in females . Psychological Bulletin, 1973, 80, 345-366 .
68.
STONEQUIST, E. V.The marginal man: A study in personality and culture conflict. New York: Russell and Russell , 1937.
69.
TROTSKY, J.Must women executives be such barracudas?Wall Street Journal, November 9, 1981, p. 28 .
70.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR , Women in management. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau , 1980.
71.
URIS, A.The executive job market. New York: McGraw-Hill , 1965.
72.
VANDERUELDER, M.Corporate husbands . Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1980, p. 30 .
73.
VAN MAANEN, J.Breaking in: A consideration of organizational socialization. In R. Dubin (Ed.), Handbook of work, organization, and society. Chicago: Rand-McNally , 1975.
74.
VAN MAANEN, J. , & SCHEIN, E.Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. Stan (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press , 1979.
75.
WOOD, M.Women in management: How is it working out?Advanced Management Journal, Winter, 1976, 22-30 .
76.
YALOW, R. S.Men and women are not the same . New York Times, January 31, 1982, p. E21 .
