Close
About
FAQ
Home
Collections
Login
USC Login
Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
USC
/
Digital Library
/
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
/
Where are all the ""leadhers""? Female leaders' experiences in finance
(USC Thesis Other)
Where are all the ""leadhers""? Female leaders' experiences in finance
PDF
Download
Share
Open document
Flip pages
Contact Us
Contact Us
Copy asset link
Request this asset
Transcript (if available)
Content
Where Are All the “Leadhers”? Female Leaders’ Experiences in Finance
by
Daryl Rosalind Harshbarger
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
May 2021
© Copyright by Daryl Rosalind Klump, 2021
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Daryl Rosalind Klump certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Jennifer Phillips
Joann Eisenhart
Helena Seli, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021
iv
Abstract
The study examined gender equity issues within leadership levels of the financial industry and
specifically explored the female leaders’ experiences in ABC Financial, a mid-sized financial
planning company that spans the United States. The framework used for the study was the Clark
and Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Framework. Along with a review of the literature, this framework
was used to identify the organizational, knowledge, and motivation-related factors impacting
women in leaderships’ ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. The research approach
was explanatory sequential with a survey conducted first, followed by qualitative interviews.
Thirty-five women completed the survey, and 12 volunteered to be interviewed. Study data
suggest that women in leadership face challenges in organizational factors that impact their
ability to achieve leadership-related goals. Programs and initiatives sponsored by the corporate
office emerged as an asset, as well as examples of positive male allies. Sexual harassment,
microaggressions, and role segregation emerged as barriers for women in leadership. Knowledge
and motivation influences are also addressed. Women in leadership were found to have high
levels of self-efficacy and adaptive attributions in the context of being leaders.
Recommendations are provided to address the needs identified in the data such as the need to
acknowledge the negative experiences of women in leadership. Additional recommendations
include a new networking and mentoring system and further training on the promotion process.
v
Acknowledgements
There are so many people that deserve to be acknowledged and thanked in supporting me
through this dissertation process. To my wonderful friends, Christie, Laura, Sevak, and Willis,
who have encouraged me, celebrated with me, and cheered me on to this point, thank you. Your
support has meant the world! To my incredible dissertation chair and committee, thank you for
your countless hours given, encouragement, edits, feedback. Each of you have challenged me to
be my best and to give this important work the energy and dedication needed to complete it. To
my fellow cohort members and friends, it’s been quite an adventure and honor being in the
trenches with you these last four years. I can’t wait to see where this work takes each one of you,
and am grateful for our friendships!
To my managing partner and mentors, thank you for your support through this process.
You have set the bar high for how to create an environment where anyone can succeed,
regardless of gender, race, background, etc. Your sponsorship and belief in me have helped
propel my career, and the career of other women within the firm, and I am forever grateful for
that. I hope the learnings in this dissertation can have a positive impact on continuing the work of
diversity, equity and inclusion.
To my wonderful family, thank you for sticking with me through this. My parents, who
have always been a living example of equality and teamwork, thank you for making me who I
am today. You have always encouraged me to pursue my passions, and have been a sounding
board for me in my journey. My sister and her willingness to read multiple drafts in the editing
process, thank you!
Most of all, to my husband, you have been the ultimate partner. Thank you for your
patience with me, for carrying an extra load on the home front, for bringing me coffee for the late
vi
nights up writing. You have been so supportive of all of the changes we have been through the
last four years, and I am so grateful for the sacrifices you have made that enabled me to finish
this work. Thank you!!!
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 1
Importance of Addressing the Problem .............................................................................. 3
Organizational Context and Mission .................................................................................. 3
Organizational Goal ....................................................................................................................... 5
Description of Stakeholder Groups ..................................................................................... 6
Stakeholder Group for the Study .................................................................................................... 8
Organizational and Stakeholders Performance Goals......................................................... 8
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions .................................................................. 10
Overview of the Conceptual and Methodological Framework ......................................... 10
Definition of Terms........................................................................................................... 11
Organization of the Project ............................................................................................... 12
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 14
Background of the Gender Equity Movement .................................................................. 14
Current State of Gender Equity within Corporate America .............................................. 15
Gender Equity Within the Financial Industry ................................................................... 18
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences’
Framework ............................................................................................................ 23
viii
Women in Leaderships’ Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences ............ 24
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 34
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 37
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 37
Overview of Methodology ................................................................................................ 37
Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan ........................................................ 39
Ethics and Role of Researcher .......................................................................................... 47
Chapter Four: Results and Findings .............................................................................................. 49
Participating Stakeholders ................................................................................................ 49
What Is the Interaction Between Organizational Culture and Context and Women in
Leaderships’ Knowledge and Motivation? ........................................................... 50
What Are Women in Leaderships’ Knowledge and Motivation Related to Achieving
Their Leadership-Related Goals? ......................................................................... 66
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 72
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations......................................................................... 73
Discussion of Findings and Results .................................................................................. 73
Recommendations for Practice ......................................................................................... 76
Connection to Rossier Misison and Equity ....................................................................... 84
Limitations and Delimitations ........................................................................................... 85
Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................................ 85
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 86
References ..................................................................................................................................... 88
ix
Appendix A: Survey Protocol ....................................................................................................... 95
Appendix B: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 100
Appendix C: Information Sheet .................................................................................................. 103
Appendix D: Table of Survey Results ............................................................................ 106
x
List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Groups’ Performance
Goal 9
Table 2: Organizational Influences 29
Table 3: Knowledge Influences 31
Table 4: Motivation Influences 34
Table 5: Data Sources 38
Table 6: Interview Participant Labels and Position 50
Table 7: Participant Quotations About Sexual Harassment 53
Table 8: Desire for Further Peer Relationships 62
Table 9: Attributions of Past Successes to Personal Strengths 71
2
xi
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 36
Figure 2: Survey Participants by Length of Time in Role 49
1
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
The gender equity gap has become a significant topic in today’s global discourse, and
pressure to address this gap continues to grow worldwide (Chapple & Humphrey, 2014). This
gap is expressed in different ways in different industries but is made evidently clear in the upper
echelons of corporate leadership (Abraham, 2017; Chapple & Humphrey, 2014; Seierstad et al.,
2017). The United States in particular has a gender gap among corporate leadership ranks that
needs to be addressed. According to the Department of Labor (2019), only 27% of executive
positions are held by women. The financial industry is ranked as the second worst of all
industries for the widest gender equity gap (Abraham, 2017; Miller & Tucker, 2013; Wright,
2014), particularly at the leadership level. This study explores the gender equity gap at the
leadership level within the financial industry.
Background of the Problem
Gender equity became a topic of conversation in 1957 with Europe’s commitment to
addressing the gender and pay gap by focusing on gender diversity at the board level (Chapple &
Humphrey, 2014). Around the world, various methods have been implemented to address the
gender equity gap at the board level, including mandates, self-regulation and disclosure (Chapple
& Humphrey, 2014; Seierstad et al., 2017; Yang & Yang, 2013). Some European countries chose
to impose mandates, saying at least 30% - 40% of all board of directors’ members must be
female (Chapple & Humphrey, 2014). Most American industries chose either the self-regulation
method, meaning companies were given permission to decide how to manage their own gender-
equity journeys, or the disclosure method. The disclosure method only requires board of
directors to disclose what percentage of the members are female (Bosse & Taylor, 2012;
Dzinkowski, 2018; Ho et al., 2013). In the financial industry, there are no requirements to
2
disclose board of directors or leadership team representation based on gender (Dzinkowski,
2018; Lakshminarayana, 2011; Tuttle, 2015). For the majority of companies, from the CEO to
the board of directors to field leadership positions, men hold over 90% of leadership positions
(Ali et al., 2014; Gauchat et al., 2014; Pryce & Sealy, 2013). Little to nothing has been done to
require financial institutions to change this current state. It is up to each company to decide if and
how the gender equity gap at the leadership level will be addressed (Abraham, 2017; Miller &
Tucker, 2013; Von Hippel et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2013).
The financial industry as a whole has not addressed the gender equity gap until recently.
Women entered the financial industry during World War II as placeholders for men who were
drafted to serve in the military (Miller & Tucker, 2013). Women filled roles such as tellers and
customer relations positions that required less upfront training. This remained the status quo until
the 1970s, when shifts in what was culturally acceptable for women in the workplace lead to
more women applying for sales and commission-based positions (Lahey & Quist-Newins, 2011;
Miller & Tucker, 2013). Still, the leadership ranks were comprised primarily of men. Women
entering the financial industry at this time faced challenges from blatant sexual harassment to
belittlement and role stereotypes (Gauchat et al., 2012). In the last twenty years, as diversity and
inclusion has become acknowledged as more than a token “nice idea,” gender equity has become
a main focus of many large financial firms. To varying degrees of success, new recruiting and
retention strategies have been implemented (Pryce & Sealy, 2013; Wright, 2014). The
development of women’s leadership programs began to emerge, particularly within the last
decade (Ali et al., 2014; Tuttle, 2015). Today, the conversation centers around women being the
future of the financial industry (McKinsey, 2018).
3
Importance of Addressing the Problem
It is important to address this problem of practice for several reasons. First, from a
societal equity and justice perspective, many researchers agree that the social and labor
grievances of the lack of women in leadership need to be addressed (Reguera-Alvarado et al.,
2015; Yang et al., 2013). Having women in leadership positions in financial firms equips those
firms to better serve their clients and shareholders, as the leadership team more accurately
reflects the populations it serves (Balina, 2016; Ho et al., 2015). Second, from an economic
perspective, firms are more financially productive when their leadership teams have men and
women in more balanced numbers (Garcia-Sanchez et al., 2016; Mahadeo et al., 2011; Reguera-
Alvarado, 2015). Third, having women in leadership is important in order to build critical mass
within financial organizations in recruiting and retaining more women into the field (McKinsey,
2018). From the perspective of protecting consumers, several studies have shown gender
diversity on boards leads to stronger accounting practices (Garcia-Sanchez et al., 2016; Baselga-
Pascual et al., 2015), economic return, and fewer regulator claims, which means the consumers
are better protected from fraud and embezzlement. Finally, if financial firms are unable to
address the gender equity gap at the leadership level, they risk losing relevance within the
marketplace (McKinsey, 2018; North-Samardzic & Taksa, 2011).
Organizational Context and Mission
This study focused on one firm, ABC Financial (pseudonym). ABC Financial is a for-
profit mutual comprehensive financial planning services firm that works with clients in the areas
of insurance planning, investment planning, and financial planning. The mission of the
organization, according to the website, is to create financial security for its clients through
comprehensive financial planning. This could include financial products such as life insurance,
4
long term care insurance, retirement assets, and wealth management services. Currently, the
organization has over 4,600,000 clients, with a 97% client persistency rate and the highest
possible financial ratings. Its home office is located in a northern midwestern state, with almost
100 network office location across the United States. ABC Financial employs about 7,000
financial advisors, 2,000 corporate employees, and over 14,000 support staff. Its financial
advisors are mostly white men: only 11% of its advisors are female. The organization is
governed at the corporate level by a Board of Trustees, of whom 23% are women, led by a
chairman and CEO. The second line of corporate leadership consists of executive vice
presidents, 20% of whom are women.
The leadership at ABC Financial within local offices, often referred to as the field, is
97% male at the managing partner level. Each managing partner has a certain number of
managing directors who manage branch offices, varying by the number of branch offices within
that location, as well as college unit directors who manage teams of advisors under managing
directors. These managing partners report to a performance management team at the corporate
office who is responsible for developing and promoting managing partners. The key factors
managing partners work with the performance management team on are recruiting new advisors,
increasing retention of advisors, developing an internship program, financial and operational
issues, and culture within the office. This study was conducted in 2020 and 2021, during a time
when a virus called COVID-19 had a significant global impact on businesses, families, and
individuals. The Center for Disease Control (2021) defined COVID-19 as a highly contagious
respiratory virus that caused symptoms ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to severe illness
and death. Due to the highly contagious nature of the virus, many businesses were forced to have
employees work from home. Individuals were limited in their ability to participate in normal
5
daily activities, and were required to wear masks anywhere outside of their own homes, stay six
feet apart from others when in public, and limit travel as much as possible. COVID-19 was a
significant disruption to ABC Financial as the company was required to transition to a 100%
remote work model within a matter of a week.
Organizational Goal
As a part of its overall strategic plan, ABC Financial has a stated diversity and inclusion
goal, both for the short term and the long term, that focuses on addressing the gender equity gap.
In the short term, ABC Financial has a goal of each network office having three contracted field
leaders who are women. Currently, about 20% of offices have three or more women who are
contracted as leaders within the office. By 2030, ABC Financial’s gender equity goal is to reflect
the communities served, with a field force of financial advisors that is 50% female, as well as
field leaders that are 50% female. These organizational goals are of top priority for the current
CEO, board of trustees, corporate office leadership, and field leadership teams. In pursuit of
these goals, some local offices have created diversity and inclusion councils that serve to support
those efforts locally. Each diversity and inclusion council has the autonomy to define who serves
on the council, what the structure of the council is, what the council’s objectives are, and what
strategies to employ to support the organizational goals. In support of these councils, the
corporate office has created new positions for regional diversity and inclusion consultants who
are assigned several network offices to focus on and offer corporate support to these diversity
and inclusion councils.
In pursuit of gender equity, ABC Financial’s diversity and inclusion strategy includes an
immersion experience for company leaders. This immersion experience is designed to develop
their diversity and inclusion role model skills, coaching programs for diverse advisors, and a
6
growing amount of diversity and inclusion resources available to the field. In the gender equity
space, ABC Financial has specifically formed female advisor study groups, female leader study
groups, and a women’s leadership program. The women’s leadership program is a two-year
program designed to identify talent within the field that is or has been overlooked and provide a
Fastrack to visibility at the executive level, as well as leadership development for those within
the program. The corporate office also hosts an annual women’s summit for all of the female
advisors across the country, offering training, networking opportunities, inspirational speakers,
and coaching opportunities.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
The stakeholder groups who have a direct role in supporting the goal of gender equity at
ABC Financial are the board of trustees, the executive leadership team at the corporate office;
the performance management team at the home office; the leadership teams in the local offices,
including managing partners and managing directors; and the female advisors and field leaders.
The board of trustees is responsible at the highest level for the performance of ABC Financial.
They set the overall agenda for the strategic plan that dictates the priorities of the firm. They are
responsible for using data and reports to evaluate the performance of the company, and
subsequently, the performance of the CEO and executive leadership team.
The executive leadership team is based out of the corporate office and has divided
responsibilities to manage the company’s performance. They take direction from the board of
trustees to then partner with field leadership in accomplishing organizational goals, such as the
gender equity goals. The executive leadership team manages the performance management team,
consisting of over 500 employees, tasked with managing the performance of the network offices.
The performance management team is also based out of the corporate office but often travels to
7
the locations of the network offices to meet with leadership in the network offices. They are
responsible for knowing the intimate details of each network office, the setup of the staffing
model, the leadership team, and potential up-and-coming talent. The performance management
team is also responsible for making leadership decisions, particularly at the managing partner
level. For field leadership positions beneath the managing partner level, the decision is made
jointly with the managing partners.
The managing partners represent the highest levels of leadership within the local offices.
Each managing partner is responsible for a specific territory and is tasked with growing that
specific territory and expanding to new territories. To manage their branch offices, managing
partners utilize managing directors, who own each of the branch offices. The managing directors
grow the offices through bringing in new financial advisors, building infrastructure, all to capture
a greater portion of the marketplace through insurance and investment products. The managing
partners and managing directors are all their business owners and therefore operate with a certain
level of autonomy in partnership with the corporate office stakeholders. This autonomy allows
for field leadership to develop and implement their own strategies to achieve their goals,
resulting in a widely varying experience from office to office for financial advisors within those
offices. The challenge for the corporate level leaders is to maintain the autonomy of the field
leaders while moving the company as a whole towards a more consistent experience to reach the
organizational goals, such as gender equity.
The final stakeholder group is female financial advisors and leaders. ABC Financial
differentiates its workforce into two main categories: corporate employees at the home office,
and field employees in the local office. All of the field employees together are referred to as the
field force. Local office leadership, such as managing partners and managing directors, are also
8
referred as field leadership. Less than 12% of the field force is female, and less than 10% of field
leaders are female. The female financial advisors are statutory employees, owning their
businesses in partnership with ABC Financial advisors. As a female financial advisor finds
success in building her practice, she may become eligible to explore a leadership contract. Some
offices have several women in field leader positions; others have none. Only one office has a
managing partner who is a woman.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
Although a complete analysis would involve all stakeholders, for practicality, this study
focused on ABC Financial’s female professionals in field leadership, including the female
college unit directors, growth and development directors, and managing directors. While all
stakeholder groups contribute to ABC Financial’s ability to achieve their stakeholder goal of
gender equity at the leadership level, this particular stakeholder group is the group most directly
impacted by this goal. There are 1,000 field leaders at ABC Financial, and about 10% comprise
the stakeholder group for study of female professionals in field leadership. These women at the
target stakeholder group for this organizational goal. Therefore, they were best suited as
participants for this study that was designed to understand the lack of women in leadership
within the financial industry.
Organizational and Stakeholders Performance Goals
The stakeholder performance goal for the focus of this study was for female leaders to
achieve their next leadership-related goals in pursuing college unit director, growth and
development director, managing director, and managing partner positions. Within the
organizational mission of creating financial security for its client, the goal of having more
women in leadership will better enable ABC Financial to serve the portion of the client
9
population that is female – roughly 51% of the population. Table 1 presents the mission,
organization goal and stakeholder group’s performance goals.
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance Goal
Organizational Mission
The mission of ABC Financial is to create financial security for its clients through comprehensive
financial planning.
Organizational Performance Goal
By 2030, ABC Financial will achieve gender equity at the field leadership level by having 50% of
field leadership be female.
ABC Financial Goal
ABC Financial’s goal is for female leaders (college unit directors, growth and development
directors, and managing directors) to achieve their next leadership-related goals.
10
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions
The purpose of this study was to understand the lack of women in leadership in the
financial industry. While a complete study of this phenomenon would focus on all stakeholders,
for practical purposes, the stakeholder to be focused on in this analysis were the female leaders
who are college unit directors, growth and development directors, and managing directors at
ABC Financial. The analysis focused on the female leaders’ knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences related to achieving gender equity at the field leadership level. The
research questions that guided the study to address knowledge and skills, motivation, and
organization influences were the following:
1. What are the female leaders’ knowledge and motivation influences related to achieving
their next leadership-related goals?
2. How does the organizational culture and context impact the female leaders’ capacity to
achieve their next leadership-related goals?
Overview of the Conceptual and Methodological Framework
The framework used in this study was the gap analysis framework of Clark and Estes
(2008), and the methodology was a mixed method explanatory sequential design. The gap
analysis framework is a method that helps to systematically clarify organizational goals through
analysis. It identifies the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to
organizations achieving those goals. This study sought to understand how organizational factors
impact the female leaders’ capacity to achieve their next leadership-related goals, and how
female leaders’ conceptual and metacognitive knowledge, self-efficacy, and attributions impact
their ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. This framework was adapted to an
explanatory model and implemented as the conceptual framework. As Creswell and Creswell
11
(2018) stated, this design of research is intended to add qualitative data in order to gather a
deeper meaning of information gathered in the initial quantitative phase. Assumed knowledge,
motivation and organizational influences that impact female field leaders’ performance in the
area of achieving gender equity among field leadership were generated based on both context-
specific research as well as general learning and motivation theory. This was accomplished first
through a quantitative survey of all female leaders related to their self-efficacy, attributions, and
organizational factors, followed by 12 in-depth interviews with female field leaders to
understand these influences further.
Definition of Terms
• Field Leadership: These are leaders who work for field offices as opposed to the
corporate office. Inclusive of managing partners, and those who report to them: chief
development officers, managing directors, growth and development directors, college
unit directors, and college unit directors. The female field leaders who hold college unit
director, growth and development director, and managing director titles are the
participants for this study.
• Managing Partner: the highest level of field (non-corporate) level leadership, responsible
for a specific territory with a strong focus on recruiting, development and retention of
new financial advisors.
• Managing Director: the second highest level of field level leadership, responsible for a
specific office. Managing directors have their own financial planning clients, as well as
an office of financial advisors for whom they are responsible to develop and retain.
Managing directors report to managing partners.
12
• Growth and Development Director: Growth and Development Directors report to
managing directors, and are responsible for assisting managing directors in growing their
offices while also maintaining their own personal financial planning practice. Growth
and Development Directors are coached by their managing directors, and judged by their
own personal production as well as the production of the financial advisors assigned to
their team. Growth and development directors are also responsible for recruiting new
financial advisors to their team.
• College unit director: College unit directors hold the same responsibilities as growth and
development director, but are not personally responsible for recruiting new financial
advisors. They are seeded new advisors to coach and develop.
• Financial Advisors: Financial advisors comprise the majority of the workforce, and are
responsible for building a client base through comprehensive financial planning. They are
compensated very heavily by commissions, with some supplemental bonuses. Each
financial advisor is a 1099 employee, and owns their own business. They are also the
talent pool from which local office leaders, otherwise known as field leaders, are selected
from. Currently, less than 12% of financial advisors at ABC Firm are female.
• Board of Directors: The Board of Directors are a group of individuals responsible for
setting the overall company direction, holding the CEO accountable to organizational
outcomes, and identifying company priorities.
Organization of the Project
Five chapters were used to organize this study. This chapter provided the reader with the
key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about financial services firms.
The organization’s mission, goals, and stakeholders and the framework for the project were
13
introduced. Chapter Two provides a review of the current literature surrounding the scope of the
study. Topics organizational-level and individual-level influences are addressed in the context of
the female leaders’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences in achieving their next
leadership-related goals. Each of these influences are defined and explored in depth. Chapter
Three details the methodology when it comes to the choice of participants, data collection, and
analysis. In Chapter Four, the data are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides a discussion
and recommendations for practice and future research.
14
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
This chapter serves as a summary of the existing literature on women in leadership within
the financial industry to provide context for this research study. Topics include a brief
background on women in the workforce, women in the financial industry, and women in
financial industry leadership roles. Characteristics of stakeholders are explored, as well as an
examination of what frameworks have been used previously to explore this topic, a summary of
promising practices, and why this research is unique in adding to the existing body of literature.
The chapter concludes with the knowledge, motivation, and organization influences explored in
this study, as well as an in-depth conceptual framework.
Background of the Gender Equity Movement
The gender equity movement, formerly known as the women’s rights movement, began
in Europe in the 1950s in light of a wage gap and a lack of gender equity across multiple
industries (Pryce & Sealy, 2013). This movement included demands for mandated gender
requirements for board of directorships (Chappel & Humphrey, 2014; Wright, 2014). In the
United Kingdom specifically, companies were required to self-regulate based on these new
guidelines coming out of a European committee focused on closing the pay gap (Garcia-Sanchez
et al., 2016) by focusing on what percentage of board members were female. Other areas of
Europe chose to enforce regulatory targets (Pryce & Sealy, 2016). These regulations had an
environmental focus for their improvements, as opposed to a fix-the-woman approach (Bosse &
Taylor, 2012), and took a top-down approach by focusing on companies’ board of directors
(Baselga-Pascual et al., 2015).
15
Current State of Gender Equity within Corporate America
While certain industries such as media and healthcare have made progress in working
towards gender equity (Von Hippel et al., 2015), other industries such as construction and
finance remain predominantly male-dominated (Pryce & Sealy, 2013; Von Hippel et al., 2015).
Among the male-dominated industries, the gender equity gap is most evident at the higher levels
of leadership such as executive level leadership and c-suite leadership positions (Palvia et al.,
2015).
There are many contributing factors to the current state of women in leadership in
corporate America today. The reinforcement of pervasive gender norms in American culture,
media, and expectations can create choices for women to be made between a potential desired
state and an expected state, causing internal conflict (Chapple & Humphrey, 2013). Von Hippel
et al. (2015) notes people choose careers based on factors such as perceived self-efficacy, ability,
and interest. While generalized statements and statistics cannot accurately represent each
woman’s individual experience, trends in research and data can help create a context for
understanding women’s collective experience in the American workforce. As a whole, women
who do choose to pursue leadership positions experience friction in balancing work and home,
sometimes forcing women to find less typical work or home arrangements (Miller & Tucker,
2013). These arrangements can be costly, both in time, energy, and money. For women who
provide a substantial portion of the family’s income, breadwinner norms can have a negative
effect on the spouse’s self-worth and self-value in heterosexual relationships, adding one more
potential challenge for women pursuing leadership positions (Dzinkowski, 2018).
Second, women filling dual roles of professional, breadwinner, leader as well as mother,
spouse, and homemaker face logistical challenges. For industries such as the financial industry
16
that are known for early mornings and late nights, women with childcare obligations often miss
important meetings and can be perceived as less engaged or not career focused (Pryce & Sealy,
2013). This presenteeism bias can lead to women feeling ashamed having to leave earlier than
their male counterparts to fulfill familial obligations (Dzinkowsky, 2018; Falconier & Epstein,
2011). These structural challenges can create unintentional barriers and a hostile work
environment for female professionals (Pryce & Sealy, 2013).
Third, women pursuing leadership positions often experience various levels of cognitive
dissonance as they experience conflict with gender norms and stereotype threat. Von Hippel et
al. (2015) identifies stereotype threat to be the fear of negative repercussions due to negative
perceptions of workers based on one or more aspects of the workers’ identity, especially from
management. For example, women have been stereotyped to be more emotional than men.
Women pursuing leadership positions may then downplay the role of emotion in the workplace
to avoid being perceived as emotional. This can create a need or perceived need to create a
separate identity that avoids some of the more common stereotypes such as women as weak,
emotional, sensitive, lack leadership capacity, are less committed to their careers because they
care about their families, etc. (Pryce & Sealy, 2013). Creating a separate identity can be
associated with mental stress (Pryce & Sealy, 2013), and higher levels of depression, anxiety,
lower recruiting, lower retention, and lower job satisfaction (Bosse & Taylor, 2018). Women are
then left with a working-self-concept and a home-self-concept, which comes at a high mental
health cost in not allowing women to express their true identity at work. Wright (2014) points
out that the extra mental effort required to create and maintain two separate identities requires a
greater utilization of emotional management strategies (North-Samardzic & Taksa, 2011).
17
These society-wide views lead to gender stereotypes, which influence how individuals
are expected to behave (Pryce & Sealy, 2013). Mainstream media contributes to the
reinforcement of gender norms by, as Pryce & Sealy (2013) points out, by focusing on female
femininity, familial roles and an emphasis on appearance. The traditional male-centric leadership
models celebrate assertiveness, decisiveness, honesty, being tough. When women display these
same leadership characteristics, it does not fit within the engendered expectations that women
should be charming, timid, collaborative, etc. (Wright, 2014). Of these characteristics, those that
are close to nurturing, such as nice, charming, encouraging, are the most entrenched within
society (Miller & Tucker, 2013). These gender stereotypes make it difficult for women to pursue
leadership positions, as women are then expected to be both successful and charming, skilled
and nice (Pryce & Sealy, 2013).
Somewhere between societal influences, such as gender role stereotypes, and firm-
specific influences like presenteeism bias, lies the influence of occupational segregation.
Occupational segregation has been suggested as the leading cause of gender inequity when it
comes to both leadership roles and pay gap among corporate America (Gauchat et al., 2012;
Lahey & Quist-Newins, 2011; Wright, 2014). This form of stereotypes associates women with
supportive or administrative roles, and men with leadership and production roles, meaning far
fewer women will fill occupations that are high-income earning. This stereotype forms a second
“glass ceiling” of sorts for female entrepreneurs and small business owners in gaining access to
capital (Bosse & Taylor, 2012).
Another contributing factor at the firm level is the promotion process. Some promotion
processes were identified as ambiguous (Abraham, 2017), and as being influenced by the gender
of the decision-maker (Abraham, 2017; Von Hippel et al., 2015). When the decision-maker’s
18
gender is male, a more formalized process was found to reduce unconscious bias and generate
more gender-equitable results. These formalized processes can also reduce the impact of gender
stereotypes on differences in salaries and financial performance (Abraham, 2017). Pryce & Sealy
(2013) points out that while a male candidate for leadership positions’ gender is neutral, female
candidates’ gender can conflict with the expected and desired leadership traits (strength,
aggressiveness, competitiveness.)
Gender Equity Within the Financial Industry
There remains a gender equity gap in the leadership ranks of the financial industry,
specifically, despite the growth of the talent pipeline – over half of finance graduates are women
(Von Hippel et al., 2015). In Australia, 50% of men and 84% of women said gender
discrimination is a problem in financial services (North-Samardzic & Taksa, 2011). While many
women join the industry (Von Hippel et al., 2015), few women reach the managing director or
managing partner level (Pryce & Sealy, 2013).
Similar to other sectors within the United States, the promotion process within the
financial industry creates challenges for women aspiring to hold leadership positions (Miller &
Tucker, 2013). For many firms, the promotion process begins with the strength of the
individual’s production and is often influenced by other ambiguous “it factors,” such as the
ability to build relationships and interpersonal skills (Pryce & Sealy, 2013). Identified in the
same study was that rarely did candidates play an active role in the promotion process, but rather
relied on the sponsorship of those they had former relationships with who have decision making
power.
The finance industry also employs biased performance supports (Madden, 2012).
Managers are responsible for assigning accounts. In Madden’s (2012) study, managers were
19
found to give accounts with less funds to women, which gave them less opportunity to earn
greater income. This was found to be true in settings where women’s capacity tested to be equal
to men, but opportunities provided were inequal. Not only were the accounts assigned
incomparable, but the responses of the marketplace are also biased in the level of respect and
proclivity towards working with a female finance advisor (Madden, 2012). Occupational
segregation and stereotypes also influence how the marketplace responds to female financial
advisors in the form of consumer discrimination (Gauchat et al., 2012; Madden, 2012).
Increasing Pressure on Financial Firms to Address Gender Equity
The pressures financial firms are facing to address the gender equity gap are increasing.
From a societal perspective, achieving gender equity is an ever-growing pressure (Chapple &
Humphrey, 2014, Von Hippel et al., 2015), especially among the leadership ranks. American
society as a whole is moving towards gender equity and women’s rights. It is also important to
address for the sake of the women currently in the industry. The current environment, as noted
previously, can have negative mental health implications for women who feel the need to create
alternate identities in the workplace (Reguera-Alvarado et al., 2015), and the effects of
stereotype threat can lead to poor performance due to the added stress within the environment.
Mahadeo et al. (2011) also notes that an increase in gender diversity will lead to better care of
shareholders, as the shareholder’s population makeup will be more accurately reflected in the
composition of the firm’s leadership (Reguera-Alvarado et al., 2015). Having gender equity at
the board level positively impacts accounting conservatism (Garcia-Sanchez et al., 2016). Ho et
al. (2015) also found that have a female CEO specifically led to lower accounts of fraud and
better care for clients and shareholders. Additionally, companies with multiple women serving
on the board of directors show stronger earnings in the bank (Palvia et al., 2015). While Chapple
20
& Humphrey (2014) showers contradictory evidence that board member diversity has no impact
on the company’s financial performance, this study was limited to companies that were only
recommended to disclose the gender makeup of the board, as well as defined a diverse board as
one with two or more women, which often remains below 25% of the board of director makeup.
In contrast, multiple studies found gender equity at the leadership level resulted in increased
economic value (Seierstad et al., 2017). Companies will need to embrace a mindset shift that
gender equity provides both a utility value and is the right thing to do.
Promising Practices for Gender Equity Within the Financial Industry
Many financial institutions that have prioritized this work have found promising practices
in addressing the lack of gender equity at the leadership level. McKinsey (2018) gives a great
reminder that this will require innovative thinking to rebrand the industry to a more female-
friendly version. Pryce & Sealy (2013) identifies several key components at the organizational
level: strong diversity practices, examining the promotion processes, and the importance of
sponsors and informal networks in navigating the promotion process.
Organizational-Level Promising Practices
Knowing that the gender of decision-makers will influence the outcomes of leadership
decisions, organizations should be intentional about removing potential gender biases from the
process. Efforts to remove bias from the promotion process will continue to remove barriers for
women seeking leadership positions (McKinsey, 2018). Developing quality formalized
sponsorship programs to increase name recognition will help women be more successful in the
promotion process (McKinsey, 2018), as women tend to be opposed to canvassing-type activities
(Madden, 2012). A formalized program will also help alleviate challenges women face in
forming key relationships due to socially constructed expectations (Miller & Tucker, 2013).
21
While a man grabbing a beer or dinner with another man is socially acceptable, it can be less
acceptable for a woman to go to dinner with a man. These gender stereotypes can be addressed
through organization-wide bias training (McKinsey, 2018) – currently, only 18% of companies
make bias training mandatory. Strong internship programs have also shown to encourage women
to explore the career and gain foundational experience prior to entering the career full time
(Miller & Tucker, 2013). McKinsey (2018) also found that partnering with groups that represent
minorities and attending diversity and inclusion career fairs have been helpful in addressing
gender equity.
At the individual firm level, organizations that have intentionally worked to remove some
of the family-work balance issues for women have shown great promise in making strides
towards increasing the number of women in leadership (Wright, 2014). Beginning with
formalized policies, it is also critical to de-risk the program in the cultural settings, making it
comfortable for women to utilize these programs as intended. Many organizations have found
accountability through target setting and measurement to be impactful in making progress
towards gender equity (Chapple & Humphrey, 2014). As a whole, the financial industry could
benefit from interorganizational collaboration and sharing on what is working to revolutionize
the industry to a better version of itself.
Individual-Level Promising Practices
At the individual level, Pryce and Sealy (2013) found that how the person perceived
themselves in the leadership role played a part in the securing of a leadership position. Increasing
the number of women in leadership position are role models for other women considering
leadership positions will help firms more effectively achieve gender equity (Von Hippel et al.,
2015). Attaining critical mass will also lead to more women recommending the leadership path
22
to women considering pursuing it. Increasing the number of women in leadership positions will
require disruptions of the current process and creativity (Von Hippel et al., 2015). The self-
efficacy of women pursuing leadership positions was found to be lower than that of their male
counterparts (Yang et al., 2013). Firms that have offered training and mentorship programs
specifically for women and increasing the self-efficacy of women have found lift in increasing
the talent pool and leadership pipeline. For women who have decided to pursue a formal
leadership position, building a strong relationship and connections with key decision-makers will
benefit them through increased visibility (Pryce & Sealy, 2013).
Previous Research on Women in Leadership in the Financial Industry
As reflected above, the body of existing literature on women in leadership in the financial
industry has examined the problem of practice through various frameworks. Von Hippel et al.
(2015) uses the social role theory as a framework to understand the conflict that women
experience between their gender identity and their work identity. Garcia-Sanchez et al. (2016)
looks at the problem through a resource dependency theory lens. At the same time Yang et al.
(2016) uses human capital theory (the theory that says an organization’s knowledge resides in its
human capital) to make the point that, to get more women in leadership, training and education
to strengthen the human capital of firm will be an important strategy.
Much of the existing literature explores organizational and individual level influences;
however, few use location-specific influences as a part of the conceptual framework as Pryce and
Sealy (2013), and this research does. In contrast, Lahey and Quist-Newins’ (2011) research uses
a relationship framework as well that shows the interactions of capital, habitus and the field to
conclude that individual behavior is a result of negotiated relationships within the work context.
23
These negotiated relationships then impact career growth and opportunities as individuals
navigate the existing social networks (Wright, 2014).
Certain studies also narrow in on different levels of leadership, such as the board of
directors (Ali et al., 2014), managing partners and directors (North-Samardzic & Taksa, 2011),
and CEOs (Wright, 2014). The findings among the board of director level research show the
most variance in results of the correlation between gender equity and positive organizational-
level outcomes. The studies focused on local leadership levels, and CEOs more consistently
show that gender diversity has a positive impact on revenue, lower fraud levels, culture, and
public image.
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences’
Framework
The study implemented a modified gap analysis model as its conceptual framework. Gap
analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) is a systematic, analytical method that helps clarify organizational
goals and identify the gap between the actual performance level and the desired performance
level within an organization. The steps in the gap analysis process are as follows: first, defining
measurable goals, second, determining gaps in performance, third, hypothesizing possible causes
for those gaps, fourth, validating and prioritizing causes, fifth, developing solutions, and finally,
evaluating outcomes. In gap analysis, potential causes for performance gaps are studied in the
areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences.
Often, individuals assume causes for problems within organizations without appropriately
understanding those causes. As a result, individuals may omit or misdiagnose causes for
performance gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008). Furthermore, this “jumping to conclusions” often leads
to the application of inappropriate solutions or inaction due to perceived complexity in solving
24
the problem. Gap analysis is designed to avoid creating inappropriate solutions via a thorough
study of the potential causes for performance issues (Clark & Estes, 2008). As the final step, an
implementation and evaluation plan is created.
This study was designed as an explanatory study following the general steps of gap
analysis. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of female leaders and to
identify potential barriers that impact their ability to achieve their next leadership-related goals.
The knowledge, motivation and organizational influences that impact the women’s capacity were
based on context-specific literature as well as general learning and motivation literature. These
influences are presented next.
Women in Leaderships’ Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
This section of the paper examines the relevant knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that impact gender equity standing at ABC Financial within the
leadership ranks. These underlying influences are identified by Clark and Estes (2008) in the gap
analysis model, which is the conceptual framework used for this study. Literature both specific to
the finance industry, as well as general education literature, was explored in developing a fuller
understanding of what role these influences play. The overall focus was on how these influences
affect the goal of achieving gender equity at the leadership level. It is important to understand
these influences, particularly the current experiences of the female leaders in pursuing their
leadership-related goals, to develop a viable solution. Organizational influences examined
included three main facets: 1) experiences that have impacted the female leaders’ ability to
accomplish their goals, 2) cultural models that impact their progress, and 3) cultural settings that
affect their progress (Clark & Estes, 2008). Knowledge influences examined both the female
leaders’ conceptual understanding of the leadership promotion process, as well as the
25
metacognitive strategies utilized in managing progress towards their leadership goals (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Motivation influences examined the female leaders’ self-efficacy in the context of
achieving their leadership goals, and their attributions towards achieving their leadership goals.
Organizational Influences
In addition to gaining an understanding of the individual-level influences of the female
leaders’ knowledge and motivation, a thorough understanding of the organizational level
influences provides further context of the environment in which female leaders work.
Organizations are complex systems with multi-faceted cultures, with a variety of rules,
expectations, assumptions, goals, and processes (Schein, 2017). According to Clark and Estes
(2008), organizational influences play a significant role in understanding performance, including
cultural settings and cultural models. These organizational influences play a significant role in
determining the possibility of achieving gender-equity within the leadership ranks at ABC
Financial. Organizational influences are vital to examine: if knowledge and motivation issues are
not what is contributing to the performance gap, then the issue often lies somewhere within
organizational level influences (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) identified cultural settings as the organizational
policies and procedures, and cultural models as how members of the organization interact
unspoken rules and expectations. The following three organizational level influences are
reviewed: women’s experiences that support or hinder their ability to achieve their next
leadership-related goals, cultural models’ effect on female leaders achieving their leadership-
related goals, and cultural settings’ effect on female leaders achieving their leadership-related
goals.
26
While examining cultural models and settings, an understanding of the promotion process
and how it contributes to the women’s ability to achieve their leadership-related goals is
important. Pryce and Sealy (2013) found that women who did successfully achieve leadership
positions did so with less to do with how hard they work, and more so to do with the strength of
the networks they established. These persistent existing structures and beliefs (cultural models)
about who should become a leader and how they become a leader can create structural barriers
specifically for women. Successfully achieving the stakeholder goal will require some innovation
and accepting of new ways of conducting businesses, as well as a new set of underlying
assumptions.
Organizational Proactivity in Removal of Barriers for Women Pursuing Leadership Roles
Women in the financial services industry have negative experiences that impact their
beliefs and desires to pursue leadership positions (Abraham, 2017). Some of these experiences
happen within their firms, and others occur within the broader environment of society. From
micro-aggressions along the lines of role segregation such as an unconscious bias association of
women with administrative and secretarial roles, men with dominant leadership roles, to macro
aggressions of sexual harassment within the workplace, these experiences decrease job
satisfaction and consequently the desire to move up within leadership (Gauchat et al., 2012).
Popular movements such as the #metoo movement have given women a voice and avenue to
begin bringing these aggressions to light, and change what has long been accepted as “the way
it’s always been.”
Women within the financial industry experience micro and macro aggressions within the
workplace (Miller & Tucker, 2013). For the majority of women, fortunately, these experiences
are limited to microaggressions and assumptions stemming from traditional gender role
27
stereotypes. While these are not the main reasons women do not pursue leadership roles, they do
contribute to the overall environment that is often deemed as unfavorable for women in the
financial industry (Madden, 2012).
An Organizational Culture of Respect for Women in Leadership
Cultural models are defined as the unspoken but understood expectations within an
organization (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). These models tend to be invisible within an
organization and serve as the foundation of cultural settings (Schein, 2017). Certain components
of cultural models, if present at ABC Financial, prime the organization to be more open to
positive change that supports the firm in achieving its gender equity goals. Exploring what the
cultural models are at ABC Financial provided insight into the experiences of the female leaders
Clark and Estes (2008) described how if an organization’s culture can be changed, it will impact
the performance of the employees. This study focused on gaining an understanding of whether or
not the female leaders felt their experience is consistent with ABC Financial’s statement that
gender equity is a priority. According to ABC Financial’s website, gender equity is of utmost
importance. Examining this cultural model and understanding if the actions of leadership are
aligned with what is being promoted was helpful in understanding how these cultural models
impact women’s experience. Clark and Estes (2008) emphasized the importance of employees
replacing cultural stereotypes with individualized and relevant experiences in order to improve
the workplace culture. It was important to understand what the members of ABC Financial
expect from their leaders, and how their perception of women in a leadership role interacts with
those expectations. The expectations to be understood include the expectations related to
professional relationship building, and the impact those expectations have on women navigating
the promotion and leadership process.
28
Promotion, Incentives and Feedback that Support Women Pursuing Leadership Positions
Cultural settings represent the organization’s written policies and procedures (Clark &
Estes, 2008). These settings may or may not be aligned with the organization’s cultural models
or what employees actually experience on a daily basis. It was also important to understand what
these cultural settings are at ABC Financial, and how they either support or hinder women’s
progress at ABC Financial in accomplishing their leadership goals. As cultural settings are the
visible, concrete expressions of cultural models (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001), they can be
detrimental to an organization’s progress in achieving its goals if misaligned or creating
hindrances for those trying to operate within them.
This study examined cultural settings at ABC Financial, including the training policies,
performance feedback, and employee policies that may influence the female leaders’ ability to
achieve their leadership-related goals. Specifically, the compensation model and levels of risk as
cultural settings were examined through data collection to understand how it impacts female
leaders’ ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. The current compensation model is
heavily performance based with an intrinsic element of risk. Maternity policies were also a part
of the research to understand the role those cultural settings play. Local and corporate level
training programs were examined, as well as performance feedback mechanisms and recognition
and rewards. Each of these contributed to the shaping of the organizational culture the women
exist within as they work towards their leadership-related goals. Table 2 lays out the three
organizational influences reviewed in this study and defines what they are.
29
Table 2
Organizational Influences
Organizational Influence Category Organizational Influences
Cultural Model Influence The organization needs to recognize existing
experiences of female leaders at ABC Financial, such
as microaggressions and implicit bias.
Organizational Setting Influence The organization needs to be proactive in removing
those barriers for women pursuing leadership positions.
Cultural Model Influence The organization needs to have a culture of respect for
women.
Cultural Setting Influence The organization needs to ensure promotion,
incentives, and feedback policies and procedures foster
the ability for women to pursue leadership positions.
Knowledge Influences
Developing an employee’s knowledge and skills is a crucial component of preparing
them to perform well (Clark & Estes, 2008). There is substantial literature defining how different
types of knowledge can influence a stakeholder goal (Clark & Estes, 2008), such as ABC’s goal
to increase the number of women in leadership. The types of knowledge influences include
procedural knowledge, factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge,
as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002). Understanding the knowledge influences
for women in leadership at ABC helped explain how motivation may be potentially affected, and
possibly identify areas for solutions to be developed. Each knowledge influence below was
categorized to better understand what type of knowledge gap may or may not exist.
Categorization helps to identify what type of solution would be most effective in moving towards
the stakeholder goal of gender equity. Understanding the different types of knowledge, and what
30
role they play in the development of the female leaders’ growth, is crucial for ABC Financial in
developing effective strategies.
Conceptual Knowledge of Promotion Processes
Conceptual knowledge is defined as the declarative knowledge regarding the relationship
between two or more items (Clark & Estes, 2008). The conceptual knowledge influence this
study examined is what the female leaders’ understanding of the process of accomplishing their
next leadership-related goals. As mentioned earlier in the literature review, many women in the
industry have found the leadership promotion process to be ambiguous (Pryce & Sealy, 2013). A
common theme among several studies was the recognition of the role networking played in
leadership promotions (Abraham, 2017; Miller & Tucker, 2013). In light of the potential
ambiguity of the leadership promotion process, it was important to understand to what degree of
clarity the female leaders at ABC Financial knew what the process is if they are to achieve their
next leadership-related goals. This knowledge influence was also important due to the potentially
varied process from local office to local office in appointing new leaders, developing new
leaders, and promoting leaders.
Metacognitive Knowledge Influence
Metacognitive knowledge is inclusive of aspects such as self-awareness, planning an
approach, monitoring progress towards a goal, problem solving skills, self-regulation, and
awareness of the inner dialogue (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). This study sought to
understand how female field leaders reflect on their progress and strategies in working towards
their leadership goals. Those who use metacognitive knowledge in the context of achieving their
goals tend to be more successful in working towards their goals (Krathwohl, 2002). This is why
this study examined ABC Financial’s female leaders’ practices related to reflecting on their
31
progress, and adjusting their actions accordingly. Table 3 presents the two knowledge influences
examined within this study, as well as their type.
Table 3
Knowledge Influences
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type
The female leaders need a clear understanding of promotion process to
support the achievement of their next leadership-related goals.
Conceptual
The female leaders need to engage in reflection on their own progress and
strategies used in working towards their next leadership-related goals.
Metacognitive
32
Motivational Influences
The second category of influences to be understood are motivational influences.
Knowledge alone is not sufficient enough to address a performance problem: motivation must
also be considered to gain a full understanding of a stakeholder group’s capacity (Clark & Estes,
2008). As women at ABC Financial pursuing positions in leadership gain the required
knowledge, they must then employ the necessary active choice, mental effort, and persistence to
take the goal to completion (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). Pertinent motivation-related
literature was reviewed in order to better under ABC’s female leaders’ self-efficacy and
attributions.
Motivation is crucial in achieving goals as it provides the energy and inspiration in that
process (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is based on goals, beliefs, social partnerships, interests,
attributions, which all work together in achieving these leadership goals (Mayer, 2011). The two
main motivational influences this study focused on are self-efficacy and attributions. Self-
efficacy is a person’s belief about their ability to accomplish a specific goal (Bandura, 2005). It
is key when understanding motivation, and is a main driver of self-regulation and self-correction
(Pajares, 2006). If the female leaders at ABC Financial believe they have the skills and abilities
needed to achieve their leadership-related goals, that would be an example of self-efficacy.
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is a key underlying factor when understanding a person’s motivation to
achieve a goal. Self-efficacy encompasses self-regulation and self-correction (Krathwohl, 2002),
utilized through a reflective process to support achieving a goal. As female leaders at ABC
Financial believe they can achieve their leadership goals, their self-efficacy will increase, leading
to the improved achievement of both their goals and the stakeholders’ goal of gender equity.
33
This clear importance of self-efficacy on achievement is why understanding the self-efficacy of
female financial advisors in leadership was essential in researching why there are not more
women in leadership. Self-efficacy is a strong indicator of the ability to adjust and overcome
challenges (Bandura, 2005), as many people, in general, will face difficulties in pursuing a
leadership position. A clear understanding of the female leaders’ self-efficacy related to their
leadership goals can lead to the development of a domain-specific self-efficacy. According to
Krathwohl (2002), self-efficacy is also a strong indicator of job satisfaction, a significant
precursor to a desire to progress within a company. This study explored the female leaders’ self-
efficacy related to the achievement of their leadership goals at ABC Financial.
Attributions
Attribution theory focuses on what individuals believe contributes to why events occur,
and how that affects their motivation (Anderman & Anderman, 2009). Attribution theory
includes three components of locus of control, stability, and controllability (Pintrich, 2003).
Understanding the attributions for female leaders’ success in their leadership roles at ABC
Financial helped to understand their collective motivation. This included identifying external
factors within the environment and internal factors, and what they perceive to be the relationship
between outcomes and those factors. Motivation is more effective when individuals attribute
success and failure to internal factors such as effort as opposed to external factors such as luck
(Clark & Estes, 2008). If female leaders at ABC Financial attribute their success to hard work,
the amount of energy applied, or personal efforts, they will have stronger motivation in pursuing
their leadership-related goals. Table 4 includes the summary of the motivation constructs, as well
as the underlying influence of this study.
34
Table 4
Motivation Influences
Motivation Construct Motivation Influence
Self-Efficacy ABC’s female leaders need to feel confident in their ability to
achieve their next leadership-related goals.
Attributions ABC’s female leaders need to embrace an internal locus of control in
orientation to the achievement of their next leadership-related goals.
Conceptual Framework
In the previous section, the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences were
explored individually in regard to their impact on the female leaders of ABC Financial achieving
their leadership-related goals. Each of the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences
can be examined individually and provide some level of insight towards an understanding of the
problem. However, more importantly, is understanding how the three types of influences affect
one another. The following conceptual framework explores how knowledge and motivation
interact at the individual level, which is then influenced by both the organizational level events
and culture.
Understanding this conceptual framework and how ABC Financial’s leadership can
leverage the understanding of their interaction will ultimately move the stakeholders closer to
achieving the goal of gender equity at the leadership level. This section discusses how the
influences relate to one another. This conceptual framework was constructed by the researcher
through examining literature and external research with the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis
framework to guide the research study. Maxwell (2013) describes this process as the researcher
consolidating what is perceived and known about an organization and the people within the
35
organization. This conceptual framework was then used to develop the research questions that
guide the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The conceptual framework considers existing
research on gender equity within the financial industry specifically at the leadership level, the
organizational, knowledge, and motivational influences that have contributed to that state of
being. Within the individual influences, the interaction of the knowledge and motivation
influences are specifically highlighted within this conceptual framework. Figure 1 displays this
framework, as well as the interaction of the KMO influences. The organizational influences
encapsulate the exterior experiences of the female leaders, including gender stereotypes
consistently reinforced through mainstream media, other experiences of gender discrimination,
and role-based discrimination throughout the marketplace. At the individual level, Krathwohl’s
(2002) knowledge constructs of conceptual and metacognitive knowledge are indicated to bi-
directionally influence the two motivation factors of self-efficacy (Bandura, 2005) and
attributions.
36
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework
Summary
Chapter Two has provided a summary of existing research, as well as how the study has
integrated the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis model into the framework to gain an
understanding of the female leaders’ knowledge, motivation and organizational influences. This
study aimed to develop a better model for financial firms to achieve gender equity within their
firms, starting with their leadership. It provided insight to positively influence the financial
industry by increasing gender equity, thereby better caring for its employees, shareholders, and
clients. Chapter Three explains the methodology of the study, data collection strategies,
instrumentation, and limitations of the study.
37
Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this chapter is to present the methods used to examine the underlying
influences on gender equity at the leadership level identified in Chapter Two, including the
knowledge, motivation and organizational influences. This chapter will lay out the research
questions, methodology selected and rationale, data collection plan, ethics, and limitations and
delimitations of the study. The purpose of the study was to understand the knowledge,
motivation and organizational influences that impact women at ABC Financials’ ability to
achieve their field leadership goals. This study was accomplished through mixed methods to gain
the fullest understanding of the problem of practice. The conceptual framework of Clark and
Estes (2008) creates a foundation for how to use this information to develop appropriate
solutions.
Research Questions
The following research questions were used to guide this study:
1. What are the female leaders’ knowledge and motivation influences related to achieving
their next leadership-related goals?
2. How does the organizational culture and context impact the female leaders’ capacity to
achieve their next leadership-related goals?
Overview of Methodology
The methodology used in this study was mixed methods. Both quantitative and qualitative
methods were used to answer the research questions in order to yield more insight than
quantitative or qualitative methods alone (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). An online census survey
of the 100 female field leaders was conducted. This was followed by interviews with twelve
female field leaders, who were recruited through the survey. The quantitative survey provided
38
context and direction on what topics to probe for in detail through the interviews, in an
explanatory sequential mixed methods study as defined by Creswell and Creswell (2018). An
explanatory sequential method is one which starts with a broader audience, utilizing a
quantitative study method, such as a survey, in order to inform the qualitative data collection
through means such as an interview. The purpose of the interviews was to provide deeper context
and meaning to results uncovered in the quantitative portion of the mixed methods research
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This study was be conducted under a pragmatic worldview, using
multiple methods to understand the problem. Having multiple methods of data collection was
advantageous from a data validity and reliability as well as credibility and trustworthiness-
perspective. The information collected through the survey was verified through conversation in
the interviews. Table 5 displays what methodologies were used to address the two main research
questions.
Table 5
Data Sources
Study Questions Survey Interviews
What are the female leaders’ knowledge and
motivation influences related to achieving
their next leadership-related goals?
Motivation-x Knowledge-x
How does the organizational culture and
context impact the female leaders’ capacity to
achieve their next leadership-related goals?
x x
39
Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan
Data were collected through a survey of the women in leadership at ABC Financial first,
and then through interviews with 12 women. The goals and strategies of both methods were
transparently presented to the research participants. The following sections present the various
data gathering methods, as well as the data analysis strategies.
Survey
The survey method used was an online survey with a census sampling strategy in order to
gather as many responses from the population as possible. This survey was used to assess the
ABC Financial female leaders’ motivation related influences and their perceptions about how the
organization impacts their capacity to achieve their next leadership-related goals. For the
organization influences, the surveys specifically focused on how the experiences, cultural
settings, and cultural models are hindering or supporting the women’s leadership journeys in
alignment with their leadership-related goals.
Participating Stakeholders
Within ABC financial, there are about 1,000 field leaders, of which 10% are female. This
online survey was sent to the female field leaders who are directors, including college unit
directors, growth and development directors, and managing directors – about 100 individuals.
This was a form of census sampling, where the entire population was included in the data
collection (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Census sampling was appropriate with both the
relatively small population size of female leaders. Women at ABC Financial are committed to
gender equity at the leadership level as expressed through various local-level women’s groups,
formation of an all-women’s association, and female-focused leadership programs. The
population of survey participants were spread out across the United States. Further demographic
40
information about variables such as marital status and sexual or gender orientation were not
collected.
Instrumentation
The Clark and Estes (2008) framework informed the survey questions. The survey
included 15 closed-ended questions on motivation and organizational influences, as well as two
open-ended response questions regarding organizational influences. The guidelines of the IRB
Information Sheet for Exempt studies were included with the instructions of the survey. Surveys
were the starting point of this study in order to efficiently collect a large amount of information
with the least inconvenience for the survey participants. The survey took about five minutes to
complete. The content of the survey questions was not too deeply personal, so even anchors were
selected for response options, forcing participants to choose either agree or disagree oriented
responses.
When it came to the motivation influences, the online survey administered via Qualtrics
was an adaptation from several existing surveys designed to explore the individuals’ motivation,
both self-efficacy and attributions, as well as impact of organizational influences on leadership
development. To measure self-efficacy, the General Self Efficacy scale (Rotter, 1966) was
adapted to measure task specific self-efficacy. The Successful Sales Attributions and Behavioral
Intentions scale (Dixon, 2001) was adapted to measure the female leaders’ attributions related to
achieving their leadership goals. While this instrument was meant to measure sales peoples’
attributions, it was adapted to focus on the achievement of women’s leadership goals at ABC
Financial. For organizational questions, both cultural models and cultural settings, survey
questions were created based on theories from Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) and Schein
(2004).
41
Understanding the women’s level of self-efficacy was helpful in determining what self-
efficacy related items to further explore in the interviews. Bandura (2005) explained the
relationship self-efficacy has on motivation. Additionally, attributions were measured as a
motivation construct in order to better understand to what the female leaders attribute their
success in pursuit of their leadership goals. The findings of this study helped determine the
appropriate solutions for the organization to achieve its gender equity goal.
Data Collection Procedures
The female leaders at ABC Financial were each sent a link from the researcher inviting
them to participate in the survey. In the invitation, the study participants were informed of the
purpose of the study as being an understanding of their experience at ABC Financial in order to
learn why the organization has not achieved gender equity at the leadership level. Participants
were also told participation is entirely voluntary, and any information given will remain
anonymous and not affect their employment status. The Information Sheet for Exempt Research
was attached and described in order to gain consent to use information collected in the survey.
The cross-sectional collection method was used, collecting all data at one point in time (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). A single-stage sampling design approach was used (Creswell & Creswell,
2018) as the researcher had access to all female leaders’ contact information as provided by ABC
Financial. Participants took the survey in their natural settings in order to encourage participation
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The deadline to complete the survey was two weeks from receipt
of the survey link. A reminder email was sent one week after the original link was shared. A
separate link was provided at the end of the survey for participants to provide contact
information to indicate interest in participating in an interview.
42
Data Analysis
The purpose of data analysis is to derive meaning from the data that was collected
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Quantitative data was gathered from the closed-ended items from the
Qualtrics survey. Descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, and mode, are commonly used
when analyzing the results of surveys (Salkind, 2017). These were calculated for the closed-
ended items on the survey, as well as the frequencies of each response on the six-point Likert
scale. Each question had the same six response options: very untrue, untrue, somewhat untrue,
somewhat true, true, and very true. Each of these responses was assigned a numerical value for
each question in order to produce the mean, median, standard deviation, and frequencies. The
mean and standard deviation were used to determine where the average answer tended to fall.
Range was another construct utilized to examine whether outliers had an impact on the mean.
Lastly, frequencies of each response to each question were also helpful in determining whether
most participants trended towards true responses or untrue responses. This data was then
displayed in the narrative as well as in tables and figures. All personally identifiable information
was removed, and the data was stored on a secure Qualtrics account.
Validity and Reliability
As with any research study, validity and reliability are of top priority in designing the
survey and collecting data. Validity is a construct that measures whether or not the survey
questions measure the intended research question or appropriate influence (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). Reliability is the internal consistency of the instrument used to collect information, as
well as the consistency of scores produced by that instrument (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Several measures were taken to ensure the study’s validity and reliability, including expert
review of a dissertation committee and beta testing with peers. Adapting the use of existing
43
surveys helped ensure the reliability of this study’s survey, including the GSE and Successful
Sales Attributions. As Creswell and Creswell (2018) pointed out, content validity through the
alignment of research questions with survey items is crucial in maintaining validity. A thorough
dissertation committee review was utilized to ensure content validity of the survey questions
through the alignment of survey questions with constructs measured.
Interviews
Following the collection of quantitative data through surveys, interviews were conducted
with 12 participants. Interviews are the most effective manner to collect data in an individual
setting, allowing the researcher to act as the primary data collection tool (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Interviews provided space for the female leaders to share about their experiences in
pursuing their next leadership-related goals in their own words with rich details. The information
gathered through interviews was used to triangulate data collected in the initial survey
conducted.
The first focus of the interview questions was to follow up to survey questions related to
organizational factors influencing the women’s capacity to achieve their leadership-related goals
through experiences that are both internal to the firm and external to the firm, as well as cultural
models and cultural settings. The second focus was to understand the two knowledge influences
that are assumed to impact women’s progress towards their leadership goals. The first knowledge
influence was a conceptual influence of the understanding of the female leaders about the
process of how leaders are promoted. The second knowledge influence was metacognitive
knowledge of how to self-reflect on their progress made towards achieving their leadership
goals. The third focus of the interviews was to further explore the responses from the survey
focused on motivation-related factors of self-efficacy and attributions.
44
Participating Stakeholders
Participants for the interviews were recruited from survey participants. Interviewees will
volunteer to participate through a separate link at the end of the survey. The participants were
selected via a purposeful selection method so as to maximize variation (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). In order to maximize variation, participants will be selected based on their current title
with the company. Each participant will be a female leader at ABC Financial with one of the
three titles: 1) college unit director, 2) growth and development director, or 3) managing director.
It was the goal to conduct interviews with three individuals per each of three titles.
Instrumentation
The interviews were semi structured and consisted of 12 open ended questions and six
follow up questions. The interviews were conducted on Zoom, and lasted about one hour each.
The interview protocol is included in Appendix A. These interviews were semi-structured in
order to allow for more flexibility within the interview than structured interviews. Baseline
information provided in the surveys was used as a guiding format for further probing in the
interviews. The interview questions focused on the knowledge influences, both conceptual and
metacognitive, through open ended questions, then on motivation influences of self-efficacy and
attributions, followed by questions about organizational influences and experiences. All
questions were designed as open-ended questions in order to gain more rich and descriptive
details compared to the survey responses (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Data Collection Procedures
Interested participants submitted their name as a potential participant through a separate
link at the end of the survey, out of which a purposeful sample selection of 12 women were
selected to be interviewed. The interviews were scheduled via Zoom, with the option to not
45
utilize a camera if a participant was not comfortable being on camera. Prior to beginning the
Zoom recording, verbal permission was be gained to record the session, and the Information
Sheet for Exempt Studies was also shared in accordance with IRB guidelines. No participant was
recorded without the express permission of the participant. If permission was not granted, then
the researcher took notes by hand to capture the essence of the conversation. Participants were
not be required to list their name in the Zoom meeting if they were not comfortable doing so. For
candidates not comfortable being recorded via Zoom, a backup audio recording device was be
available. For participants without access to Zoom, a phone option was also available. After
conducting the interview, recordings were stored on a secure Zoom server, with the backup
recordings stored on an external recorded device. Any notes taken during the conversation were
stored in a secure Dropbox file. The recordings and notes will be destroyed once no longer
needed for research purposes. Any off the record information was not be shared. Participants are
free to contact the researcher with follow up questions, as well as request information from their
interviews.
Data Analysis
Analyzing qualitative data typically used to answer the research questions involves
coding the data and identifying themes, as well as quantitative analysis of surveys (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Survey data were analyzed first, using means, medians, standard deviations, and
frequencies. Transcripts of the interviews from Sonix were then used to begin coding the data.
The coding and categorization of interview data was linked to the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences in the research questions and the study’s conceptual framework.
Finally, the qualitative themes and the quantitative responses were compared and contrasted in
order to triangulate the data.
46
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Creswell and Creswell (2018) identified the interviewer as the main data collection tool
in the interview process. This means putting forth much effort, intense focus, and intentional
ethical conduct in order to protect the participants and integrity of the data (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). In order to maintain both credibility and trustworthiness, the researcher employed several
strategies. These strategies are inclusive of a dissertation committee review, the use of follow up
questions to clarify and provide rich detail and description, conducting multiple interviews, and
the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative data, as suggested by Creswell and Creswell
(2018). As mentioned previously, with the interviewer as the primary instrument in data
collection, a diligent practice of reflexivity contributed to limiting potential bias in the data
collection process. Reflexivity (Creswell & Creswell, 2018) is the practice of reflecting upon the
data collection process, the researcher’s own personal experiences and how those experiences
may impact the collection, analysis and presentation of data (Rubins & Rubins, 2012).
The researcher accomplished this by maintaining a research journal throughout the
process. After each interview, the researcher noted any area in which she felt she needed to
triangulate interview data with survey data to ensure accurate interpretation. All questions and
follow up questions were pre-determined and reviewed by a committee to ensure the questions
were not leading questions. In each interview, the researcher disclosed the need for her to stay
neutral as to not influence interviewee’s responses. Coding each interview for themes also helped
ensure that conclusions were not formed based on one interview. Lastly, in the self-reflective
process of maintaining a research journal, the researcher learned that she herself was unclear on
the promotion process, and could benefit from stronger metacognitive strategies. This realization
47
helped the researcher to balance the emphasis she put on these findings and subsequent
recommendations.
Ethics and Role of Researcher
Ethics are a critical component of the research process; therefore, it is important for the
researcher to abide by ethical standards in order to protect the research participants (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The researcher must also acknowledge any existing
or potential biases. In the spirit of respecting and protecting the participants, it was made clear in
this study that participation was entirely voluntary, all information collected will be kept
anonymous and confidential, names of participants and organizations will be protected, and no
identifiable information was included. The information sheet was used in order to obtain verbal
informed consent in this study. The researcher also transparently explained the purpose of the
study. No data was collected for this study prior to USC institutional review board approval. The
USC IRB review process contributed to ensuring participants were not harmed in conducting this
study. Permission was also gained from the corporate office of ABC Financial to research gender
equity.
Beyond making sure participants were respected and protected, the researcher took great
care to address the issue of potential bias, as well as possible power imbalances with participants.
The researcher’s positionality could have affected data collection and analysis, as the researcher
is a woman in leadership in the financial industry. The researcher did not have a managerial
relationship with any of the participants. To address bias, peer review was utilized to prevent the
effects of potential bias in the research data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Peer review is when a
peer works to verify that interpretations are not biased in a specific direction (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). The researcher was careful to select participants with whom she does not have a
48
professional relationship in order to remove the impact of a power dynamic. This helped improve
the validity and credibility of the information collected. Utilizing triangulation by collecting data
from multiple sources also served as a mechanism to decrease the likelihood of a personal bias.
The researcher kept a research journal in the practice of reflexivity, which is reflecting on the
data collection and analysis process in order to be cognizant of the effect of personal biases
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). All findings were reported holistically without manipulation in
order to uphold the integrity of the study. During the qualitative data collection, the researcher
was careful to avoid sharing personal experiences and over relating to the participants, which
could have unintentionally impacted answers (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), and influenced the
responses of participants by leading them in a certain direction. Lastly, the researcher received
no extra benefits or compensation from ABC Financial for conducting this research.
49
Chapter Four: Results and Findings
This chapter presents the results and findings of the research conducted about the
organizational, knowledge, and motivation factors that influence women in leadership achieving
their leadership-related goals at ABC Financial. The study includes data from 35 surveys and 12
interviews with women in leadership at ABC Financial. The results and findings are organized
by organizational data being presented first, followed by knowledge data, and finally, motivation
data.
Participating Stakeholders
The participating stakeholders for both the survey and interviews consisted of women in
leadership at ABC Financial with current leadership roles and those with leadership-related
goals. Thirty-eight women qualified for participation from the 105 women the survey was
distributed to. All participants had served for various amounts of time with ABC Financial, as
notated in Figure 2. Determination of qualification required an affirmative response to Question
1 of the survey, “Do you have leadership-related goals at Northwestern Mutual you are currently
working towards?” Participants who did not have current leadership-related goals were
ineligible to complete the survey.
Figure 2
Survey Participants by Length of Time in Role
0
2
4
6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ 20+
Number of Years in Position
Number of Years in Position
Number of Participants
50
Table 6
Interview Participant Labels and Positions
Label Position
Person A Managing Director
Person B Managing Director
Person C College Unit Director
Person D Managing Director
Person E College Unit Director
Person F Growth and Development Director
Person G Growth and Development Director
Person H College Unit Director
Person I Growth and Development Director
Person J Growth and Development Director
Person K Managing Director
Person L Managing Director
The 12 interview participants were recruited from the survey participants via a separate link.
Table 6 presents the details of the interviewee labels. Length of time with ABC Financial was
purposefully omitted in order to protect the participants’ identities.
What Is the Interaction Between Organizational Culture and Context and Women in
Leaderships’ Knowledge and Motivation?
Organizational results and findings were derived from both the survey and the interviews.
Data from the surveys were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and frequencies of
response. Each question had the same six Likert-style response options: very untrue, untrue,
somewhat untrue, somewhat true, true, and very trued. Each response option was assigned a
numerical value, from very untrue (1) to very true (6). If the mean score of the answers to a
question were a four or higher, this indicated a generally more positive response. After stating
the mean, the standard deviation was then analyzed to determine how often the responses fell
below the mean, potentially at 3.9 or lower, indicating an overall negative response. For each
51
question, the frequencies of each response were then analyzed to determine if outliers or other
factors influences a regression to the mean. See Appendix D for full survey response frequencies
by question. Results and findings are presented below as organized by assumed influences. The
existence of barriers, presented through the survey and interview items, determined whether or
not influences emerged as needs or assets. To maintain anonymity, interviewees are not
identified in some quotations.
Organizational Results and Findings
This section defines the organization's influence-related findings and results. They are
sorted by themes related to cultural models and settings at ABC Financial. The cultural models
include the need to have a culture of respect for women and the need to recognize existing
negative experiences of female leaders at ABC Financial. The cultural settings include the
impact of policies, procedures, and compensation on women’s ability to achieve their next
leadership-related goals.
Mixed Results About the Culture of Respect of Women at ABC Financial
The results from the survey and findings from the interviews revealed there is currently
not a strong culture of respect for women at ABC Financial. Of the 38 survey respondents, 51%
answered that they disagreed that there is currently a culture of respect for a woman at ABC
Financial. Further supporting findings from the interviews include multiple descriptions of
happenings at events, including alcohol and sexual harassment incidents they had both
personally experienced and witnessed. While four of the interview participants’ immediate
leaders reacted in a supportive manner and defended them in the harassment situations, four
other interviewees were either told they were “being too sensitive” or to “keep their mouths shut
and deal with it.” All participants acknowledged being aware of sexual harassment that exists
52
within the company and a history of harassment that has occurred. Interviewees stated things
such as, “I can’t believe in 2021 that such blatant harassment is still tolerated here,” and “if I
didn’t love [ABC Financial] so much, I would’ve exited a long time ago because of the way
these men get away with bad behavior.” Table 7 displays a few key quotes from interviewees on
their awareness of or experiences with sexual harassment.
When the participants' answers were sorted by length of time with the company, those
that have been there the longest/are the most senior mention the most about sexual harassment
and negative experiences. The newer leaders mention more empowerment, hope, and positive
experiences. An interviewee with more tenure noted, “I know [ABC Financial] corporate is
making an effort to more publicly support women, and that’s great. But until they put their
money where their mouth is and start taking these claims seriously, it feels like lip service.”
53
Table 7
Participant Quotations About Presence of Sexual Harassment
Pseudonym Quotation
Person L “I know about too many women who've been sexually harassed or touched or
whatever, and sure, there's a formal complaint filed with the Home Office, but
at the end of the day, the adviser is allowed to continue to produce here, even
though there's five or six or eight or twelve or thirteen hundred complaints
against them because they make money. And same thing with managing
partners, like, we got a lot of pervy managing partners that have gotten away
with a lot of stuff with no consequences.”
Person F “I know that those women at [ABC Financial] have experienced
discrimination and harassment and are uncomfortable, and those types of
things absolutely have to get resolved.”
Person J “From a sexual harassment standpoint, I would say I've had a negative
experience in the sense that we don't really have an H.R. department, right?
Like, that's one thing that I also think is sort of missing in the [ABC Financial]
system, because each office has its own little small business. So it’s up to the
local office to handle sexual harassment claims, and sometimes it’s handled,
and sometimes it’s ignored.”
Person K “I mean, it's not been easy here. Before coming here, I never ran into the
harassment or discrimination or a lot of the things that I run into here. And I
know it's at a lot of [ABC Financial] offices. It needs to be addressed at the
general agency level.”
Another common theme related to the respect of women at ABC Financial is the theme of
role segregation. This theme was not present in the survey results but was mentioned in seven of
the 12 interviews. The participants explained a strong association between men in the company
being in an advisor role and women in administrative or support roles. This is made evident at
company events or when interacting with employees at the home office, as assumptions on the
roles held are made purely based on gender. Person J framed it in this manner:
54
When I first joined the business…I did start as a recruiter, right. So keep in mind that
when I would go to annual meeting, you saw a good looking man. You assumed they
were a rep. You saw a good looking woman. You assume they were a recruiter. Right? It
was like, that was just the assumption. And more often than not, that was the correct
assumption. And it’s not any different today. When I call the Home Office for help, they
ask me whose assistant I am instead of thinking, God forbid, I might actually be a rep.
The culture also highlights and recognizes advisors over those in support roles, which leads to
women feeling inferior and less valued. They are often assumed to be in support roles, for six of
the interview participants. Person D described the feeling as, “it’s a producers’ world, and we’re
all just living in it. Unless you’re bringing in the big bucks, you are pretty replaceable.”
While both sexual harassment and role discrimination were present themes in the
qualitative data, several participants did mention a shift in the company beginning in 2017.
Participants attributed this shift to the rollout of several new female-focused initiatives, such as
the Annual Women’s Gathering (pseudonym) and Developing Female Leaders program
(pseudonym). All 12 interview participants mentioned these programs as efforts that have
positively impacted creating a culture of respect for women at ABC Financial. Person F stated, “I
absolutely love the [Annual Women’s Gathering.] That is probably the single best thing ABC
Financial has done for women, and it’s helping change the culture.”
The Need to Acknowledge Negative Experiences of Women in Leadership at ABC Financial
The second cultural model explored is the organization’s need to acknowledge female
leaders' existing experiences at ABC Financial. The unacknowledged negative experiences that
arose in the data were experiences with microaggressions and implicit biases, gender stereotypes,
minimization of these experiences when reported, a lack of care from leadership in regards to
55
these negative experiences, themes of abuse and harassment, and challenges created from both
unique career pathways and familial obligations. While it was a mixed response on whether
being in leadership has been an overall positive experience (one in three participants said no), in
all 12 interviews, there emerged a strong connection between whether leadership at ABC
Financial has been a positive experience and the interviewee’s direct leaders’ level of support for
women in leadership.
The data revealed several women had negative experiences with microaggressions and
implicit biases. Person G acknowledged the microaggressions she experiences as “constantly
being mistaken for an assistant or recruiter” and “always assuming I’m the one to be taking
notes.” Person A describes implicit biases she experiences as being labeled “too competitive –
yet my male counterparts are praised for their competitive spirits, but when I want to be the best,
I’m too arrogant, too competitive, selfish.” The results of the survey question pertaining to
whether women felt the company was acknowledging their experiences were an average score of
3.7, which numerically represents between a “somewhat not true” (score = 3) and “somewhat
true” (score = 4). On average, women felt their experiences were somewhat more acknowledged
than not acknowledge (M = 3.7, median = 4, SD = 1.4).
Findings from the interviews revealed several themes of negative experiences that
participants reported as having not been acknowledged, the first of which was of minimization of
experiences of women in leadership. Several interviewees described being told “you’re
overreacting,” “you only feel this way because you’re an emotional woman,” “you are just too
sensitive – learn to toughen up” after bringing up negative experiences. A second theme was a
lack of care from leadership about what women experience in four of the 12 offices interviewees
work in. Person H discussed the reaction of her leadership to her struggles during COVID-19 to
56
work full time and provide child care to a newborn, as she was told, “well, if you can’t afford a
nanny, then maybe you shouldn’t be in this business.”
One in three survey participants indicated that being in leadership at ABC Financial had
not been a positive experience. While exploring this question of whether being in leadership at
ABC Financial had been a positive experience in an interview setting, themes of abuse,
discrimination, harassment, and concern for safety emerged. One interviewee stated, “I’m a
fairly tough woman, and yet I do not ever go to company events alone. That’s how unsafe I feel.”
Another interviewee shared several experiences of verbal abuse and fear for her safety, citing
specific experience: “[my leader] once got so angry that, after screaming at me, he threw a chair
against a wall.” Whether or not these experiences were acknowledged varied greatly from office
to office, which may explain the mean score of 3.7 in response to whether women in leadership
feel their experiences are acknowledged (M = 3.7, median = 4, SD = 1.4.)
The main differentiating factor between all participants’ experiences, whether positive or
negative, was the level of support from the managing partner. Some women described strong,
supportive relationships with their managing partners who serve as advocates and allies. Person
L shared, “I love my managing partner. If it weren’t for him, I literally would not be where I am
today. He has always advocated for me and is the first person to stand up to poor behavior and
defend me.” The women in these offices expressed gratitude for the men that advocated for them
and protected them. Person C expressed, “I wish every woman at [ABC Financial] was given the
same level of empowerment as [my leader] has given me. [My leader] has dripped on me and
advocated for me since the beginning, and it’s made a world of difference.” These actions on the
leaders’ part sent a clear message about valuing women in the firm.
57
Others described difficult, contentious relationships with men who doubted the reality of
their experiences and took no steps to help resolve the situations. One interviewee described her
immediate leader as “a difficult person who struggles with women. He doesn’t care about family
responsibilities at all.” Another interviewee described reporting an active sexual harassment
situation and was told “because alcohol was involved, we can’t really know if that actually
happened.” In the latter scenarios, women described feeling exhausted by both having to defend
themselves and having to protect other women within the agency.
Another aspect of women's experiences in leadership that needs to be acknowledged from
the perspectives of participants is the unintentional inequities created due to the pathways to
leadership for some women. The traditional pathway into leadership begins with building a
strong personal practice. A personal practice that would qualify someone to enter into leadership
creates significant amounts of passive revenue for that person. Several women in leadership,
having come from nontraditional backgrounds such as staff positions, created financial
limitations as they had no passive revenue. If this experience were to be acknowledged and
accommodated, it would open the door for more potential women to commit to leadership
positions.
Other experiences that go unacknowledged for women in leadership include difficulties
between leadership roles and maternal roles, and acknowledging the multiple office-related roles
women leaders play. Early morning mandatory meetings “feel impossible because I have kids I
have to drop off at school,” as one participant described it. One double standard within the
organization, Person L stated very clearly that:
double standards exist here and go completely unacknowledged. A man can go to a
company event and get completely blasted, but I can’t, or it’ll affect the way I’m viewed.
58
God forbid I go in the office without my makeup on; everyone spends the whole day
asking me if I’m sick.
Person H described the culture within her office as “locker room culture. They call our
Wednesday Morning Meeting “Blocking and Tackling.” I didn’t even know what that meant; I
had to Google it. Also, it’s at 7:30 AM, and attendance is mandatory, which makes it really hard
for my advisors who are single parents or who have chronic pain issues.” Eleven of the 12
interview participants reported being required to attend leadership meetings regularly at early
morning hours because of parental responsibilities. Several women expressed frustration at the
lack of acknowledgment of the extra amount of time and effort required for them to meet
expectations regarding their appearance. Person G joked, “Yeah, I could make the 7 AM
meetings, too, if I didn’t have to get [two young children] ready, spend an hour on my makeup,
make the daycare drop off and commute to the office.”
Emerging Removal of Barriers for Women in Leadership at ABC Financial
The data reveal that ABC Financial corporate does not entirely take steps to proactively
remove barriers for women in leadership. For quantitative data, each question was answered on a
six-point scale. The mean, standard deviation, and frequencies of responses were evaluated for
each question. See Appendix D for full results. For this question, survey results had a mean score
of 3.8, which indicates “somewhat not true” in response to “ABC Financial proactively removes
barriers for women in leadership.” (M = 3.8, median = 4, SD = 1.3.) One barrier that interview
participants highlighted as not being proactively removed for women in leadership is competition
and shame within the culture as accountability mechanisms. Person C told of “a weekly email
that goes out, publishing everyone’s activity for the previous week, that anyone can then reply
all, and publicly question someone who didn’t hit their targets.” Person A expressed the
59
frustration of “constantly being pitted against my peers publicly,” and Person G explained, “this
constant public shaming of women is not helpful – we’re already really good at being hard on
ourselves!” Ten of 12 participants discussed the use of shame and public humiliation as
accountability mechanisms, describing a leadership culture within the specific office of only
caring about numbers. With self-disclosed “perfectionist tendencies,” these “culture of shame
tactics,” as Person G described it, create anxiety and erode self-confidence for the women in
leadership.
Open-ended survey responses spoke highly of Home Office sponsored programs recently
to support women in leadership, including the Developing Female Leaders, Annual Women’s
Gathering, and the Representation of Women’s Group (all pseudonyms). The Developing
Female Leaders is a Home Office sponsored and administered program that empowers women to
create a career vision provides resources and key relationships to achieve that vision and fosters
peer relationships that extend beyond the two-year program. Every interview participant
mentioned how beneficial the Women’s Leadership Program was in addressing barriers they
faced in their roles, as Person D described it as “the best thing [ABC Financial] has done to
communicate the value of women and provide resources. It’s led to way more direct and
transparent conversations that have made a difference for me.”
A common theme in the interviews was women's desire in leadership for the Home
Office and local office leadership teams to have tangible forms of accountability for those who
sexually harass others. Person K expressed her frustration of “the Home Office says we must
have a culture of respect for women, but I’m still waiting to see it. I want to tell them, “Prove it.”
Start taking these sexual harassment experiences seriously with some real accountability.” The
online culture of respect training was a form of proactive removal of barriers that four women
60
described as “completely ineffective.” Although firing these men who sexually harass women
would be reactive, many women expressed meaningful progress forward as a company.
Lack of Clarity Regarding the Promotion Process and Expectations
Analysis of the data revealed that the promotion process at ABC Financial is not clear.
Fifty-two percent of survey participants answered that the promotion process is not clear, and
zero participants answered “very true” to the promotion process's clarity. Interview findings
supported this result and expounded on other related topics, such as the process's fairness and
leadership onboarding. Two interview participants highlighted that it is “more difficult for
women to get the attention of the Home Office, which is a crucial piece of the promotion
process.” One interview participant noted, “it is even more difficult for women that do not come
from a production background.” Seven of the 12 interviewees mentioned a consistent leadership
onboarding process that covers responsibilities, expectations of duties, required metrics, and
future leadership paths would have been a helpful experience.
Inconsistent Provision of Mentors, Allies, Advocates, and Peer Relationships
Both survey and interview data highlighted an inconsistent provision of mentors, allies,
advocated, and peer relationships. One out of every three survey participants indicated they did
not have a role model to look up to within ABC Financial, yet three of four participants had the
necessary mentor(s) to achieve their goals. Person G pointed out:
it is so important to have a role model that you can relate to, and when there aren’t any
female advisor speakers at these trainings or company meetings, I raise hell about it
because I didn’t have a role model to look up to, and we need that.
Only three of 12 of the interview participants mentioned positive male allies and advocates
within their office. One interview participant shared, “when I had my sexual harassment event,
61
[my leader] is the one who escorted the man out of the event, and stood by me and supported me
through the entire reporting process.” Every interview participant expressed the desire for more
peer support, study groups, and relationships. Table 8 presents interviewee quotations regarding
their desire for further relationship-building opportunities.
The majority of interviewees mentioned their strongest peer relationships at ABC Financial had
evolved from either the Developing Female Leaders or the Annual Women’s Gathering, both
being Home Office sponsored programs. The Developing Female Leaders program provided
opportunities for 12 women per year to join a two-year program that included vision exercises,
leadership development assessments, and relationship-building opportunities. These
opportunities include both peer and mentor relationships. Some of these relationships were
described by Person L as “key relationships” for navigating the promotion process. The Annual
women’s Gathering is a two-day gathering for all women within the company. Person D told of
the benefits of attendings: “the training is amazing, but its more so the opportunity to spend time
with other women like me, encouraging each other and learning what’s working and what’s not
from people I can really relate to.”
62
Table 8
Participant Quotes Expressing Desire for Further Peer Relationships
Interviewee Quotation
Person F I think I like that the [Representation of Women’s Group] is coming, or is is
in existence now. That's not something I had thought of, but I like the
[Networking for Women] things that happen at Regional Meeting and
Annual Meeting. I'd like more of that, more opportunities to build
relationships with my peers. So we have a local women's council and then
get togethers to try to accomplish this, whether it’s Book Club to Happy
Hour to just things to connect the women in the office. I think each office
probably needs that one doesn't have it.
Person A It's good that I have these other women who are professionals and I talk
with them, and we are able tocan connect. We need more of that. There's
like eight to ten of us that meet regularly, and we can laugh about the hard
stuff, and we're very close and stuff like that. Every woman at [ABC
Financial] needs that.
Person G So [the Annual Women’s Gathering] is the best thing I think they’ve ever
done. And I think that's really helped me make some great connection. So
now I have a Monday morning, my own little Monday morning meeting
group from that event. We're super close, actually, so I wish that, like, we
had these events more frequently and could meet more of the women in our
company.
The Need for Effective Feedback and Support Mechanisms of Women in Leadership
This study sought to understand the role feedback plays for women in leadership at ABC
Financial. According to the study’s data, feedback for women in leadership is not proactively
offered and is not always consistent and helpful. Many women described having not received
constructive feedback due to their coach’s fear of an emotional response. The data also found
limitations in stylistic flexibility on the part of many mentors and coaches, especially when it
comes to accountability mechanisms and coaching styles.
63
On feedback mechanisms specifically, one interviewee described having to “demand
feedback meetings. I put them on my leaders’ calendars quarterly, and I ask over and over again
until I get a real answer on what I need to do better.” One-third of survey participants felt they
do not receive the feedback they need to achieve their goals. Another interviewee described
having to actively pursue regular and helpful feedback from leaders, mentors, and Home Office
partners. The women who described helpful feedback mechanisms described it as “honest
feedback given in a trust-based relationship within cultures that are conducive to healthy
conflict.” Four of the women mentioned men within their companies being “afraid to give
constructive feedback” due to fear of them becoming “emotional” or “because, as a woman, I
might cry.” Several women identified the issue of their coaches or mentors only having one
coaching style, as Person J so eloquently put it:
I’ve had negative coaching experiences. I was seeing a coach who only knew how to
coach one way. I danced growing up; I didn't play sports, so treating me like another
football player or just another person on the field doesn't work for me. You can yell in
my face all you want, and it's going to turn me off more than it is going to motivate me.
And so I had experiences with people trying to kind of take that that approach. And I'm
like that. It's not working, right? So people need to learn more than one way of coaching.
Data revealed that support mechanisms functioned best when paired with effective
feedback. Survey data showed it is “somewhat true” that support systems exist for women in
leadership at ABC Financial: 75.9% of survey participants answered that they feel they have the
support they need to achieve their leadership-related goals. Many women described regular
accountability meetings as their support system, with varying degrees of efficacy. For example,
when asked about her support systems at ABC Financial, Person D described “we have a regular
64
weekly internal meeting to review metrics with each of the teams involved, and that’s the system
we have. It’s mostly for accountability.” Four of the women mentioned self-formed support
groups that they found to be most impactful. Some interviewees mentioned a diversity and
inclusion council within their office that offers best practices and recommendations for
increasing diversity and inclusion. Person A stated, “one of the reasons my leader brought me on
was my ability to build a successful [diversity and inclusion] council. It’s a resource within our
office for dealing with issues when they arise, and trying to change the office culture through
events and education.” One woman mentioned her managing partner as stating, “we will never
have a diversity and inclusion council – why are we hiring women? They’re just going to fail
out… because they’re pulled in too many directions.” Women's leadership experiences from
office to office are inconsistent, mainly based on the experiences they have with the leadership
team and managing partner.
The Neutral Impact of Compensation and Emerging Impact of Benefits on Women in
Leadership
Both survey and interview data were collected concerning the impact of compensation
and benefits on women in leadership achieving their leadership-related goals. Survey
participants, in general, answered that the incentives were well aligned to support them achieving
their leadership-related goals: in response to “ABC Financial’s incentives are well-aligned to
support me in achieving my leadership-related goals,” the mean answer was 4.1, or “somewhat
true.” (M = 4.1, median = 4, SD = 1.2.) The most common topics were feelings of lack of
compensation versus time and effort invested and maternity benefits. Person F stated, “I
basically view my leadership responsibilities as a nonprofit because that’s what it is for me based
on the amount of time I spend on it…not profitable.”
65
Every interview participant mentioned frustration with having invested more time,
energy, effort, and money into growing their teams than their male counterparts and not feeling
satisfied with the compensation received. Ten of 12 interviewees described expectations of
providing high levels of care for their team members, despite the revenue not supporting it.
Person H expressed, “it’s frustrating that I put more time and effort into my leadership
responsibilities, but I know for every hour spent on leadership, I could make one client phone
call and make more money. Just one phone call.” Several women mentioned that they are not
pursuing leadership for financial reasons, as it would not be worth it if that were their motivation.
Maternity leave was addressed as a topic of conversation in every interview. Interviewees
were grateful for the “maternity policy that has been put in place for producers.” Several
interviewees had children before the policy but expressed that they are “still glad to know it
exists for other women.” Person G identified that there’s still an organizational gap in “maternity
policies for women in leadership. If women in leadership were to go on maternity leave now,
they would receive financial aid tied to their production, but not to their leadership overrides.”
The lack of maternity benefits for women in leadership creates a challenge for women that wish
to grow their families and to pursue a leadership position.
Impact of COVID-19
Throughout the interviews, participants discussed the impact of COVID-19 several times.
As mentioned before, COVID-19 was a contagious virus that caused a global pandemic and
forced the majority of workers to stay in their homes, including working from home. At times,
participants discussed as “a difficulty to be overcome,” and at other times, it “created advantages
and opportunities for [the interviewees.]” All interviewees acknowledged that 2020 was “a tough
66
year due to COVID-19” in regards to working towards their leadership-related goals, and several
described “having taken a hit in revenue due to COVID-19.” For example, Person B mentioned,
But [2020] was a tough year. I won't get into that right now. But it was a tough year as a
rebuild year for us. Some unique circumstances that came about because of the
demographics of our group, and change that occurs with young people when we were
forced to go entirely remote because of COVID. Our dynamics changed, our culture
changed. It was lonely, and it hurt our office production.
One advantage that two interviewees mentioned was that all company events moved to virtual
settings, which eliminated sexual harassment occurrences as employees were not interacting in
person. Conducting business in a completely virtual environment created a challenge for women
in leadership as they worked to build relationships with their team members, conduct training,
and manage the business. Four participants highlighted the challenge of working from home with
childcare responsibilities and their male counterparts’ lack of empathy and understanding
towards their dual responsibilities. Person G specifically described, “I was shamed in internal
meetings when my kids would appear in the Zoom camera, while my male counterparts bragged
about how great working from home was for them, and how they were able to be so much more
efficient without as many interruptions or long commutes.”
What Are Women in Leaderships’ Knowledge and Motivation Related to Achieving Their
Leadership-Related Goals?
This section explores the results and findings related to the women's knowledge and
motivation in leadership at ABC Financial. The knowledge influences are conceptual knowledge
of the promotion process and metacognitive knowledge of how-to self-monitor progress towards
their leadership-related goals. The motivation results and findings explore the influences of self-
67
efficacy and attributions. Results and findings indicate that women in leadership would benefit
from a greater conceptual understanding of the leadership process and metacognitive strategies.
Survey and interview data revealed strong motivation factors of high self-efficacy and adaptive
attributions.
Knowledge Results and Findings
The data from the survey and interviews revealed an opportunity to be support women in
leadership in terms of their conceptual knowledge of the promotion process. This lack of
visibility into the promotion process negatively impacted women’s desire to progress in
leadership and have a long-term vision. There was also an opportunity to improve the
metacognitive knowledge and strategies utilized, as the results and findings were inconsistent.
Lack of Understanding of Promotion Process and Impact on Long Term Vision
As found in the survey and interviews, the women's conceptual knowledge was weak
regarding the promotion process and how to progress along the leadership track. Only one of 12
interview participants could clearly articulate the promotion process from college unit director to
managing partner with specific programmatic requirements and production metrics. Half of the
interview participants acknowledged their lack of understanding of the promotion process was
demotivating and discouraged them from pursuing leadership-related goals. For example, Person
D expressed frustration in the following way:
Sometimes it's hard for other women in the company to articulate and even myself, as far
as where I would want to go or see myself going within [ABC Financial], either because
of lack of role models or the role model that I see, I just don't see myself in that person.
And not understanding how the whole promotion process works and why some people
68
are elevated over others with seemingly no rhyme or reason like, it makes me just want to
quit and focus on my own practice.
The survey results indicated a mean score of 3.4, representing “somewhat untrue,” in response to
the question, “The promotion process at ABC financial is clear.” (M = 3.4, median = 3, SD =
1.3.)
Weak In-Depth Self-Monitoring Strategies of Progress in Achieving Leadership Goals
No survey data was collected regarding the women in leaderships’ metacognitive
knowledge and strategies. The findings from the interview participants were inconsistent
regarding self-monitoring strategies used by women in leadership to monitor their progress
towards their goals. Many described external accountability methods and meetings, as opposed
to self-reflection strategies. When asked what self-reflection strategies she used, Person C
responded, “I guess none. I have a little sticky note from the beginning of the year where I wrote,
OK, it’d be cool if I made this much money from leadership this year. But that’s really it.” One
participant described her strategy as “a regular practice of self-reflection and progress made in
the form of journaling.” This is an opportunity to better support women in leadership in various
ways that will be described in Chapter Five.
Motivation Results and Findings
The survey interviews explored two motivation influences. These influences include the
self-efficacy of women in leadership to accomplish their leadership-related goals and their
attributions of success in achieving their leadership-related goals. The data would suggest that
women in leadership have high levels of self-efficacy and strong adaptive attributions.
69
High Levels of Self-Efficacy in Achieving Leadership-related Goals
The findings in all 12 interviews revealed a high level of self-efficacy related to women
in leaderships’ perceptions of their ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. Each
interviewee expressed that they believe they have the skillset, knowledge, and motivation to
accomplish the tasks needed to achieve their leadership-related goals. Four of the 12
interviewees were able to clearly articulate the specific strengths they have that lead them to
believe they can accomplish these goals realistically based on past successes. Person A
articulated her particular strengths as “creating infrastructure, building teams and setting a clear
vision. Person I spoke clearly of her “ability to listen, empathize, and accommodate for people as
individuals. I am really good at making people who are different from the so-called norm feel
like they belong and helping them find methods that work for them.”
Three interviewees mentioned that having a similar role model who had already achieved
what they want to achieve helped build their self-efficacy in pursuing their leadership-related
goals. Role models emerged as an important component to the women in leadership. The data
suggest a positive relationship exists between having a role model and higher levels of self-
efficacy. This study did not explore the direction of causality of the relationship. Person F
described the impact of her mentor:
I met [my mentor] in my third interview. From the beginning of my career, I had
someone to look up to, and I think I faced less challenges than other women because I
had someone to follow. Learning from her then allowed me to be an example for [the
three woman] who came up behind me.
70
Effort-Based Attributions for Progress
Survey questions explored women in leaderships’ attributions regarding their progress in
achieving their leadership-related goals. The survey question, “I feel I have control
overachieving my leadership-related goals at ABC Financial,” had a mean score of 4.3 and a
median of 4, representing an answer of “somewhat true.” (M = 4.3, median = 4, SD = 1.0). See
Appendix D for frequencies of responses. This particular question was used to measure a subset
of attributions, locus of control. With a mean of 4.3 (more true than not), and 79.3% selecting a
“true” response (either somewhat true, true, or very true), the data showed a high level of internal
locus of control. Interestingly, responses to the question regarding effort attributions versus
external attributions had a lower mean of 3.9, a median of 4 (M = 3.9, median = 4.0, SD = 1.2.)
However, inferential statistics were not included in the data analysis, so the difference in mean
my be due to chance. This means that women in leadership believe they have control, and
simultaneously acknowledge the role external factors play, such as the approval of their direct
leaders and existing relationships as revealed in the interviews. The last subfactor of attributions,
controllability, is highlighted in response to question 31, “Achieving my leadership-related goals
at ABC Financial depends most heavily on the amount of effort I put in, rather than factors
beyond my control.” Of the survey respondents, 83.4% identified their answer to this question as
some version of true.
Table 9, “Attributions of Past Successes to Personal Strengths,” details where women
described the skills they have relied on in the past to achieve their goals and demonstrated agile
attributions. Person A identified her team building skills as one of the reasons for her success,
which was also mentioned by Person B, E, and L. Other women focused more on individual
skills, such as vision casting, conflict resolution, and balancing priorities.
71
Table 9
Attributions of Past Successes to Personal Strengths
Pseudonym Quote
Person A “My success in the past came from doing the things I’m really good at. I
created infrastructure where I made a whole new recruiting structure for the
recruiting team, built a new training team. And I'm a really good team
builder. And I can work with people. I can I can have direct conversations
with them without being nasty and but being nice. I'm a very big proponent
of women and coaching them enough to be successful. Those are the things
I’m good at.”
Person B “Last year we had some great achievements, and this year we had some
great starting metrics. We had, you know, we were in the top 10 in the
country. Even when I launched the district in ‘05, ‘06, recruited top
numbers because that is something I am very good at. And in ‘07, we had a
number 17 overall office in the country under my leadership. So I put a lot
into the engine. Right. It was my springboard and a chance for me to
showcase what I’m good at, which is having a big vision and bringing the
energy every day to achieve that vision.”
Person C “Last year and this year I have the best intern unit from the three of us that
had units. Of the other 16 interns that were in our office on other teams,
only one of them stayed with us for a full time job. So for me to have had
three stay on, and who will likely be continuing with[ABC Financial], I
think is a really good reflection on how I've done with them. And I think
they’ve stayed because I do a good job of showing that I care and investing
the time in them, moreso than the other intern leaders.”
Person D “I think also one of my strengths is being clear about my vision and what
my culture is, and having conversations with those about what the
expectations are and if they are not meeting them, helping them transition
out, and I’ve gotten good at that. That has really allowed the the key people
to really start to thrive and grow because there’s more room for them. And
then I have more time to work with those people. Plus, some of it is just
now I'm in my two and a half years into this role, and am getting good at it!
And so there is just some time and tenure, and then also knowing what I’m
good at.”
72
Conclusion
This chapter explored the survey results and findings of the interviews conducted to
understand the organizational, motivational, and knowledge influences that impact female
leaders’ ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. The results and findings indicate that
several organizational factors such as cultural models and settings inhibit women in leadership
from achieving their goals, such as a lack of a consistent culture of respect of women across the
company and lack of acknowledgment of the women in leaderships’ experiences. There is an
opportunity to expand the conceptual knowledge of the promotion process for women in
leadership. Motivational factors revealed a high level of self-efficacy across the board and a mix
of controllability results within attributions. Chapter Five will include recommendations for
improving the organizational, motivational, and knowledge influences that impact women’s
ability to achieve their leadership-related goals.
73
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations
Chapter Five presents discussion of the study’s results and findings and recommendations
for increasing gender equity at the leadership level by more effectively supporting women in
leadership in achieving their leadership-related goals based on the findings and results presented
in Chapter Four. Recommendations include organizational-level changes, including proactively
removing the barriers women in leadership face, a networking and relationship creation support
system, further mentoring resources, and accountability mechanisms to reinforce a culture of
respect for women—a metacognitive strategy recommendation ties in with the mentorship
recommendation. A new training program is recommended to increase women's conceptual
knowledge in the leadership promotion process.
Discussion of Findings and Results
This study revealed findings and results related to the organizational influences and
knowledge and motivation factors of women in leadership at ABC Financial. Similar to findings
from Chapple and Humphrey (2013), Garcia-Sanchez et al. (2016), and Miller and Tucker
(2013), organization level items had a significant impact on women in leadership than their
knowledge and motivation factors. First and foremost, data revealed that women in leadership
had negative experiences that need to be acknowledged. These negative experiences ranged from
sexual harassment, to challenges faced when balancing multiple responsibilities, to feelings of
not belonging. The need for the experiences of women in leadership to be acknowledged is in
alignment with Abraham’s (2017) findings that women in the financial industry, in general, have
negative experiences, and those experiences decrease their desire to pursue leadership positions.
Secondly, it was clear from the data collected that gender stereotypes exist within the
context of ABC Financial and impact women in leadership in various ways. North-Samardzic
74
and Taksa (2011) identified that 84% of women in financial services stated gender
discrimination is an active problem. Women at ABC Financial described experiencing gender
discrimination in various ways. These include microaggressions, biases against them based on
familial obligations, inflexibility of working hours and group meetings, and various occurrences
of sexual harassment. The lack of acceptance of women in leadership roles can cause women to
create a separate work identity, which may lead to anxiety and depression (Von Hippel et al.,
2015) and impedes women’s ability to achieve their leadership-related goals. This study’s
findings related to microaggression were similar to those of Wright (2014). Women displaying
masculine-oriented features of competitiveness, assertiveness, and direct communication were
unfairly categorized differently than their male counterparts who demonstrated the same
characteristics.
A third organizational influence that the data revealed was the presence of role
segregation at ABC Financial. Role segregation relates to the association of men within positions
of power and influence, and women in positions of support (Madden, 2012). At ABC Financial,
this concept revealed itself through the data in the form of two assumptions: financial advisors
and leaders’ positions are held men, and assistant and staff positions are held by women. Two
participants described how “surprising” it is for others to discover that they hold leadership
positions. Person D shared, “when I go to leadership conferences with my husband, no other
leader ever talks to me. They automatically assume my husband is the Managing Director, and
I’m the stay-at-home spouse. It’s incredibly frustrating.” This influence of role segregation was
present in the studies of Gauchat et al. (2012) and Madden (2012) and within this study. The
unconscious or conscious association of men in positions of power or sales, and women in
supportive positions, did contribute to a sense of not belonging for women in leadership at ABC
75
Financial. Person K spoke of attending national sales meetings, and “being escorted to the
recruiting session, because there’s no way a woman could be in leadership, right”
In a similar vein to role segregation, 36.7% of women in leadership at ABC Financial
also expressed feelings of not belonging due to their inability to attend specific early morning
meetings as they conflicted with childcare duties. Every interview participant spoke of Monday
morning meetings designed as an accountability mechanism for the leadership team. For seven of
the interviewees, they stated these meetings start at 7:30AM or before. For women who cannot
drop dependents off at day care, their only option is to either miss the meeting or show up late.
This structural barrier caused men who did not have the same familial obligations to think less of
these women and view them as “not as committed.” Two of the women shared feelings of guilt
over not being able to work the same hours as their male counterparts, knowing that it impacted
their perception within the office. This bias against those who cannot work long hours in the
office is known as presenteeism bias (Wright, 2014). It creates a barrier for women who must be
identified by their superiors as dedicated and hard working.
A recurring theme in the study data was an appreciation for changes in cultural settings,
such as newer initiatives designed to support and promote women. The majority of these new
initiatives were sponsored by the company’s Home Office, with only two participants
mentioning positive local cultural settings., In contrast, participants also expressed frustration
and disappointment at the lack of progress made in actual experiences or cultural models. Person
G stated succinctly, “while the corporate Home Office made concerted efforts to advertise their
support of women in leadership and articulate the value that women in leadership contribute to
the company as a whole, little had changed in my day-to-day experiences with men in my office.
And that’s discouraging.”
76
In addition to organizational findings, data also revealed learnings about the knowledge
and motivation influences. As Clark and Estes (2008) made clear, developing an employee’s
knowledge and skills is an integral part of empowering them to perform well. From a
motivational influence standpoint, the women at ABC Financial were found to have high self-
efficacy and adaptive attributions for their success. This is in contrast to the findings in the Yang
et al. (2013) study, where the self-efficacy of women in leadership was found to be low,
particularly when compared to their male counterparts.
Recommendations for Practice
The results and findings from Chapter Four indicated barriers related to several
organizational factors associated with creating a supportive environment for women to achieve
their leadership-related goals. There are five recommendations identified to address these key
findings of organizational influences. Two knowledge factors of the promotion process and
metacognitive strategies are also included to reinforce and enhance the existing practices among
the women in leadership at ABC Financial. Ideally, these recommendations would be
implemented sequentially in the order presented below. Clark and Estes (2008) identified that
fully integrated solutions that are implemented sequentially, with organizational level changes
first, tend to be more effective and efficient.
Acknowledge the Negative Experiences of Women in Leadership
The findings and results within this study revealed that women's negative experiences in
leadership are not being acknowledged by local leadership or corporate officers. This lack of
acknowledgment is similar to North-Samardzic and Taksa’s (2011) findings, in which the
financial institution involved in the study did little to acknowledge or change the entrenched
masculine norms within the culture. Therefore, to support women in leadership in achieving their
77
goals, ABC Financial must acknowledge the range of women’s experiences, particularly the
negative experiences, in leadership. Acknowledging and addressing the negative experiences of
women in leadership will help lessen mental stress (Von Hippel et al., 2015) and help normalize
and reinforce women being in leadership positions. Abraham (2017) also noted that
acknowledging the range of experiences for women in leadership will positively impact their
desire to continue in leadership. As women see their concerns being legitimized and addressed, it
will align the company’s actions with its value statement that women are a crucial part of
leadership. Abraham (2017) found this to be meaningful in supporting women in leadership
positions, and helped to build loyalty with the company as women felt they were truly valued
and cared for.
One recommendation that would enable ABC Financial to acknowledge the negative
experiences women in leadership have would be to collect regular and anonymous feedback
from all women in leadership to identify the specific experiences within each office. Gauchat et
al. (2012) identified the regular collection of feedback and data as a key resource for
acknowledging all experiences of women in leadership. The CEO and Board of Directors needs
to empower Home Office partners to act upon the information gathered and use that power to
enact changes that would improve women's experiences in leadership. Bosse and Taylor (2012)
emphasized the importance of proactive removal of barriers. The choice to go beyond simply
acknowledging the experiences, and moving to actions that respond to the experiences, is one
form of proactively removing the barriers these experiences create.
78
Proactively Remove Barriers for Women Such as Sexual Harassment and Unconscious Bias
The findings and results from this study revealed room for improvement in proactively
removing women’s barriers in the leadership experience. These barriers include sexual
harassment events, role segregation, negative coaching experiences, and the use of public
criticism to shame women in leadership. Several recommendations are made to address how to
proactively remove these barriers.
One immediate recommendation would be a clear, confidential process for addressing
sexual harassment events that include accountability for those who are found to have committed
sexual harassment, despite their positionality within the company. This recommendation is
supported by recommendations made by Bosse and Taylor (2012). A local resource that has
shown to be a promising practice at ABC Financial within some offices is the Diversity and
Inclusion Council. These local councils reinforce the message of the importance of all diversity
and inclusion (D & I) efforts, including gender equity. If empowered correctly, these councils
could be a form of accountability when harassment or other negative experiences occur and
proactive promotion of any D&I initiative. Irrespective of the form the initiative takes, it must be
clear that harassment in all forms is not tolerated, with actions that support such claims. Von
Hippel et al. (2015) identified similar structural recommendations to help address stereotype
threat.
Similarly to Gauchat et al. (2012) and Kelly and Wallace (2012), this study found role
segregation to be another barrier that needs to be proactively removed. This may be
accomplished through efforts such as a rebranding campaign (McKinsey, 2018). Ultimately, as
more women join the organization and move into leadership, this will be the most effective way
79
to reshape how those within the organization build associations of who “fits” within a certain
role.
The data also showed that women sometimes have negative coaching experiences due to
stylistic limitations of those who are in coaching positions. ABC Financial should invest in
additional training programs to increase the skillsets of those who coach others and active
listening skills. This recommendation is supported by research done by McKinsey (2018), where
it was identified that a quality, formalized mentorship program will help support women in
leadership. These efforts should be inclusive of an opportunity to rethink current accountability
practices that interviewees describe to be “shame-based” and “demotivating, and counter-
effective.”
This study’s findings and results uncovered the need for a variety of coaching styles.
Women described a desire for a more encouraging style of coaching compared to a shame-based
style. Pryce and Sealy (2013) as well as Miller and Tucker (2013) identified similar
recommendations for coaching styles. Due to role segregation, women at ABC Financial already
stated the did not feel they belong. The shame-based coaching style participants described only
exacerbates the feelings of not belonging. One example Person E shared of this “shame-based”
coaching style involved a weekly meeting with all leaders in the office where “each person
shares their commitments for the week prior, and results from the week prior. For anyone who
did not achieve their commitment, it is an open opportunity to give harsh, public criticism.”
Pryce and Sealy (2013) pointed out that a harsh coaching style contributes to a confidence gap
that the shame cycle only exacerbates. Person H described herself as “[her] own worst critic – I
don’t need anyone else telling me what I’m doing wrong!” She expressed a desire for a more
encouraging, empowering style of coaching.
80
The Need for Advocacy and Mentorship Through a Recommended Program
Equally crucial to holding transgressors accountable is highlighting advocates who
empower the women in leadership on their teams to achieve their goals. ABC Financial does
already provide D&I and allyship training to certain levels of leadership. Two interviewees
described having leaders who are supportive allies, and proactively work to create a local culture
of respect for women. These positive male allies are a key component to helping create an actual
culture of respect for women, as confirmed by McKinsey (2018). ABC Financial should expand
the existing allyship training to include the entire field. Offering advocacy training for men will
helping them understand what role they play in changing the culture. Madden (2012) found that
this type of training and support will be beneficial for women in leadership.
In addition to allies, interviewees also highlighted the importance of mentors in
supporting them to achieve their leadership-related goals. There was an inconsistent experience
among research participants regarding their mentorship experience. Four of 12 interviewees felt
they had a supportive, relatable mentor. The remaining eight interviewees described having
either an ineffective mentor or no mentor at all. Miller and Tucker (2013) provided
recommendations of a consistent mentorship program and experience. ABC Financial will
benefit from implementing a standardized mentorship process, connecting women in leadership
with an appropriate mentor based on their goals and personal development plans.
Two essential elements to successful mentoring are feedback and self-monitoring
strategies (Abraham, 2017). The data revealed that feedback for women in leadership at ABC
Financial is inconsistent. Person I described her feedback experience as “very inconsistent.
Sometimes I feel like I have to beg for it repeatedly before I get anything concrete I can work
on.” Self-monitoring strategies utilized by women in leadership were also found to be
81
inconsistent. Only Person A could clearly articulate and describe her self-monitoring strategies,
including her practices of goal setting, reflection, and journaling. Part of the recommended
standardized mentorship program should include including training for mentors and mentees on
effective goal setting and self-management strategies (Rueda, 2011), such as journaling and
reflection, in achieving these goals. Mentors should receive training on delivering effective and
consistent feedback to support the women in leadership as they pursue their goals (McKinsey,
2018).
Structural Recommendations: Moving Meeting Times and Accommodating Familial
Obligations
Among the findings in this study were two opportunities for improvements in cultural
settings. The first of these opportunities is the timing of mandatory meetings. The participants
indicated that mandatory early morning meetings create barriers for anyone, man or woman, who
has childcare responsibilities. Moving meetings to times where anyone with parental
responsibilities could also attend would create a more inclusive culture and remove a barrier for
women who have other responsibilities outside of the workplace. This consideration of the whole
person is a similar recommendation to ones made in the Von Hippel et al. (2015) study, where it
was recommended to accommodate familial responsibilities. Wright (2014) stated that this
working-time flexibility will significantly benefit women's satisfaction and motivation in
leadership.
The second opportunity for improvement would be to set clear and fair expectations of
how a leader’s time is to be spent that would be reflective of the compensation they receive. The
organization should ensure that adequate support systems are in place so that if a leader’s
management-related compensation comprised 10% of their total pay, those leadership
82
responsibilities would take about 10% of their time. These accommodations will be a visible sign
to women that ABC Financial is serious about removing barriers they encounter in pursuing their
leadership-related goals. This proactive removal of barriers was found to be a promising practice
in Miller and Tucker (2013).
Networking for Relationships and Role Models
Another theme revealed by the data as an opportunity for improvement is the importance
of networking, relationships, and role models (Abraham, 2017; McKinsey, 2018). The
participants reported that some of their most important support systems were relationships
formed at women-only networking events. ABC Financial should create a program, or enhance
existing programs, to expand networking opportunities among women in leadership (Von Hippel
et al., 2015). This should include opportunities to network with other women in leadership and
key decision-makers in the promotion process. This is support by Abraham's (2017) study and
Miller and Tucker (2013). Creating opportunities for women to network with key decision-
makers will also increase name recognition and make women more successful in the promotion
process (McKinsey, 2018).
Local managing partners could also contribute to these efforts by facilitating study groups
for women in their offices, led by other successful leaders. This is a promising practice that has
shown traction within one office of ABC Financial. Person G shared what her managing partner
had done for her, and other leaders within her office:
He sought out a top-producing female advisor, and personally requested her to mentor us
as a group once a month. He then paid her for her time out of his pocket, and met with us
separately each month to debrief what we had learned from her. It was so meaningful to
83
me that he was investing both his time and his money into my success, but he also knew
we need someone that had been through similar life experiences for us to learn from.
This example encompasses an aspect of networking as well as provides a credible, relatable role
model.
Role models play a key role in creating motivation and self-efficacy (Bandura, 2005).
One benefit of a networking program and mentoring program would be the increase in visibility
of potential role models that already exist. Because only about 10% of leaders within ABC
Financial are female, not every female in the field has an opportunity to interact with a female
leader regularly. A program that would promote and connect the women in leadership would
help solve that problem and potentially increase recruiting efforts. Von Hippel et al. (2015)
identified that women who felt higher discrimination levels are less likely to recommend the
career. Providing credible, relatable female role models may encourage other women to
recommend the field (Beaman et al., 2012). This will help reduce the feeling of being “the only
one,” as many study participants described it, and was identified in North-Samardzic & Taksa
(2011).
Make the Promotion Process Clear and Fair
Clark and Estes (2008) stated that education occurs when people acquire conceptual,
theoretical, and strategic knowledge and skills to help them handle unique challenges and
problems. The data from this study reveal women in leadership perceive the promotion process
at ABC Financial as neither clear nor fair to them, particularly as women. Only one participant
knew exactly what steps she needed to take in order to achieve her next leadership-related goal.
Therefore, a job aid focused on developing the conceptual knowledge of the promotion process
is recommended, based on the similar findings in Abraham’s (2017) study. This resource should
84
describe each leadership position, how the positions work, what the responsibilities are, and
metrics for success. This resource could provide tools to assess and develop skillsets and
knowledge needed to move along the leadership program for women in leadership. This
recommendation is supported by the findings of McKinsey (2018) and Pryce and Sealy (2013),
which emphasizes the importance of examining and publicizing the promotion process to
removed barriers for women in leadership.
Connection to Rossier Misison and Equity
This study is in alignment with the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of
Education mission statement. According to Rossier’s website (2017), the mission of the Rossier
School of Education is
to prepare leaders to achieve educational equity through practice, research and policy. We
work to improve learning opportunities and outcomes in urban settings and to address
disparities that affect historically marginalized groups. We teach our students to value
and respect the cultural context of the communities in which they work and to interrogate
the systems of power that shape policies and practices. Through innovative thinking and
research, we strive to solve the most intractable educational problems.
This study aimed to support achieving gender equity with the leadership ranks of the financial
industry. In alignment with the Rossier mission, through thorough research, creative problem
solving, and respecting the cultural context of ABC Financial, research-based solutions that are
designed to challenge the systems of power that exist to change ABC Financial in order for
gender equity to be achieved.
85
Limitations and Delimitations
Every study has its limitations and delimitations. Limitations are factors that limit the
study beyond the researcher’s control, such as how many people volunteer to participate, and the
truthfulness of self-report answers (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This study’s limitation included
a limited number of respondents. There are only about 100 female leaders who met the criteria.
An additional limitation was the assumed truthfulness of both the survey and interview
responses. This study was also limited by being conducted on the university’s doctoral program
timeline. If the study were conducted separately from the doctoral program, more interviews
could have been conducted to gain further insight. Another potential limitation of the study was
the added environmental stress of COVID-19, which may have negatively impacted the survey
response rate. Social desirability played a limiting factor in the female leaders' answers, meaning
that answers could have been given that may have been more in alignment with what the
participant perceived was desired instead of the honest answer.
Delimitations are decisions the research made to purposefully introduce limitations. For
this study, delimitations included only studying ABC Financial instead of other financial firms,
only studying women within the organization, only focusing on women in leadership roles, and
utilizing the Clark and Estes (2008) KMO framework. Only certain aspects of the participants’
experience were explored in this study. Sexual orientation and race were two factors that were
not included in the scope of this study. Lastly, time and practicality introduced certain limitations
in the amount of information gathered in this study.
Recommendations for Future Research
Based on the current limitations, further research could help provide insights to the
industry on the correlation and causation of several factors involved in this study. For example,
86
what is the causal relationship between mentorship and self-efficacy? Understanding the
relationship between organizational factors such as mentorship provided and individual
influences such as motivation factors may lead to findings that will enhance future
recommendations. Additionally, researching how the data from women in leadership compare to
men in leadership within the financial industry? This may lead to data that helps to separate
challenges faced by women versus by all within leadership. Another area that could be
researched is understanding the development of a pool of future female leaders, studying the
experience of women who are financial advisors would provide insights to help develop more
potential future leaders. This study's binary nature does not include the impact of gender fluidity
or sexual orientation and would be another recommendation for future research. Researching the
experiences of same-sex couples, particularly women, could yield further insight into the role of
gender stereotypes within the financial industry.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences related to women in leadership achieving their leadership-related goals
at ABC Financial. The mixed-methods study utilized the Clark and Estes (2008) framework as a
guide for conducting the gap analysis. Results and findings indicated that while positive changes
have been made in the cultural settings space, there is much room for improvement in both
cultural models and cultural settings. The current homogenous makeup of the leadership team
alone (90% male) would indicate there is still room for improvement.
The findings from this study align in many ways with existing research. These findings
can provide insights into the field of financial planning and gender equity. It is clear from this
study and existing research that the gender equity gap exists within the financial industry,
87
particularly at the highest levels of leadership. It is crucial to understand why these gaps exist to
form appropriate and effective solutions. Furthermore, to address this gap, each leadership level
and entry point into leadership also need to be examined to understand the nuances of the
promotion process. An understanding of the barriers that may exist at each leadership entry point
will give insight into the entire leadership pipeline. Achieving gender equity at the leadership
level in the financial industry will prime the organization to better support women at all levels
and provide financial security services to every section of the population.
88
References
Abraham, M. (2017). Pay formalization revisited: Considering the effects of manager gender and
discretion on closing the gender wage gap. Academy of Management Journal, 60(1), 29-
54.
Ali, M., Ng, Y., & Kulik, C. (2014). Board age and gender diversity: A test of competing linear
and curvilinear predictions. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(3), 497-512.
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/24702292
Anderman, E., & Anderman, L. (2009). Attribution Theory. Education.com.
https://www.education.com/reference/article/attribution-theory/
Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing (1st
ed.). Longman.
Balina, R. (2016). Does the gender of a bank’s president have an effect on financial
performance? A case study of Poland’s cooperative bank sector. Journal of Corporate
Responsibility and Leadership, 3(2), 10–22.
Bandura, A. (2005). The evolution of social cognitive theory. In K. G. Smith & M. A. Hitt (eds.),
Great Minds in Management, 9-35. Oxford University.
Baselga-Pascual, L., Trujillo-Ponce, A., Vähämaa, E., & Vähämaa, S. (2015). Ethical reputation
of financial institutions: Do board characteristics matter? Journal of Business
Ethics, 148(3), 489–510.
Bosse, D., & Taylor, P. (2012). The second glass ceiling impedes women entrepreneurs. Journal
of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 17(1), 52–68.
Center for Disease Control. (2021). COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/faq.html
89
Chapple, L., & Humphrey, J. E. (2014). Does board gender diversity have a financial impact?
Evidence using stock portfolio performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(4), 709-723.
Chuang, H., Lin, E., & Chiu, S. (2018). The gender wage gap in the financial industry: Evidence
from the interindustry ranking. International Review of Economics and Finance, 55, 246–
258.
Clark, R. E., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. CEP Press.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D., (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
Dahl, M. (2011). Organizational change and employee stress. Management Science, 57(2), 240-
256. www.jstor.org/stable/41060715
Department of Labor. (2019). Women in the labor force: A data book.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-databook/2019/
Dew, J., Britt, S., & Huston, S. (2012). Examining the relationship between financial issues and
divorce. Family Relations, 61(4), 615-628.
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/23324469
Dixon, A., Spiro, R., & Jamil, M. (2018). Successful and unsuccessful sales calls: Measuring
salesperson attributions and behavioral intentions. Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 64–78.
https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.3.64.18333
Dzinkowski, R. (2018). Women in financial leadership: Engaging, inclusive, and empowering,
women continue to create value and are changing the conversation in business. Strategic
Finance, 100(3), 38–43.
90
Erez, M. & Gati, E. (2004). A dynamic, multi-level model of culture: From the micro level of the
individual to the macro level of global culture. Applied Psychology: An International
Review, 53(4), 583-598.
Falconier, M., & Epstein, N. (2011). Couples experiencing financial strain: What we know and
what we can do. Family Relations, 60(3), 303–317.
Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2001). Analyzing cultural models and settings to connect
minority achievement and school improvement research. Educational Psychologist,
36(1), 45-56. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1207/S15326985EP3601_5
García-Sánchez, I., Martínez-Ferrero, J., & García-Meca, E. (2016). Gender diversity, financial
expertise and its effects on accounting quality. Management Decision, 55(2), 347–382.
Gauchat, G., Kelly, M., & Wallace, M. (2012). Occupational gender segregation, globalization,
and gender earnings inequality in US metropolitan areas. Gender and Society, 26(4), 718-
747. http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/41705723
Ho, S., Li, A., Tam, K., & Zhang, F. (2015). CEO gender, ethical leadership, and accounting
conservatism. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2), 351–370.
Howell, J., & Avolio, B. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of
control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated-business-unit
performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(6), 891–902.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.6.891
Hume, E., Smith, A., & Stephen, F. (2006). University student ethics: The differential
explanatory effect of locus of control. Academy of Education Leadership Journal, 10(3).
Krathwohl, D. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy: An overview. Theory Into Practice
41(4), 212-218.
91
Lahey, K. E., & Quist-Newins, M. (2011). Do commissions level the playing field for female
producers in the financial services industry? Financial Services Review, 20(3), 217-236.
Lakshminarayanan, S. (2011). Fall from grace or glass ceiling. Journal of Business Case
Studies, 7(5), 61-69.
Lee, Y., & Liu, W. (2012). Leadership behaviors and culture dimensions in the financial
industry. Journal of Applied Finance and Banking, 2(2), 15–44.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1321674115/
Li, Y., Wei, F., Ren, S., & Di, Y. (2015). Locus of control, psychological empowerment and
intrinsic motivation relation to performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(4),
422–438. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp-10-2012-0318
Madden, J. (2012). Performance-support bias and the gender pay gap among stockbrokers.
Gender and Society, 26(3), 488-518.
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/23212272
Mahadeo, J., Soobaroyen, T., & Hanuman, V. (2011). Board composition and financial
performance: Uncovering the effects of diversity in an emerging economy. Journal of
Business Ethics, 105(3), 375–388.
Malik, M., Butt, A., & Choi, J. (2015). Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating
effects of creative self-efficacy, reward importance, and locus of control. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 36(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1943
Mayer, R. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
McKinsey. (2018). Where are the women in financial services? Newstex.
http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/2101115752?accountid=14749
92
Miller, S., & Tucker, J. (2013). Diversity trends, practices, and challenges in the financial
services industry. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 67(6), 46.
Niu, H. (2010). Investigating the effects of self-efficacy on food-service industry employees’
career commitment. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29, 743-750.
North-Samardzic, A., & Taksa, L. (2011). The impact of gender culture on women’s career
trajectories: An Australian case study. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International
Journal, 30(3), 196–216.
Palvia, A., Vähämaa, E., & Vähämaa, S. (2015). Are female CEOs and chairwomen more
conservative and risk averse? Evidence from the banking industry during the financial
crisis. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(3), 577–594.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3
rd
ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
Pintrich, P. (2003). A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in
learning and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 667.
Pryce, P., & Sealy, R. (2013). Promoting women to MD in investment banking: Multi-level
influences. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 28(8), 448–467.
Raghuram, S., Wiesenfeld, B., & Garud, R. (2003). Technology enabled work: The role of self-
efficacy in determining telecommuter adjustment structuring behavior. Journal of
Vocational Behavior, 63, 180-198.
Rambe, P. (2016). Power distribution at Eskom: Putting self-leadership, locus of control and job
performance of engineers in context. African Journal of Business and Economic
Research, 11(1), 45-92.
93
Reguera-Alvarado, N., Fuentes, P., & Laffarga, J. (2015). Does board gender diversity influence
financial performance? Evidence from Spain. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(2), 337–
350.
Robins, R., Trzesniewksi, K., Tracy, J., Gosling, S., & Potter, J. (2002). Global self-esteem
across the life span. Psychology and Aging, 17(3), 423-434.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rded.)
Sage Publications.
Rueda, R. (2011). The 3 dimensions of improving student performance: Finding the right
solutions to the right problems. Teachers College Press.
Schein, E. H., Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership, 5th edition. Jossey-
Bass.
Seierstad, C., Gabaldon, P., & Mensi-Klarbach, H. (2017). Gender diversity in the boardroom
Volume 1: The use of different quota regulations . Cham: Springer International
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56142-4
Tuttle, H. (2015). Is the insurance industry improving for women? Risk Management, 62(7), 44.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1716697757/
USC Rossier School of Education. (2017). Our mission is equity. https://rossier.usc.edu/our-
mission-is-equity/
Von Hippel, C., Sekaquaptewa, D., & Mcfarlane, M. (2015). Stereotype threat among women in
finance: Negative effects on identity, workplace well-being, and recruiting. Psychology of
Women Quarterly, 39(3), 405–414.
Wright, T. (2014). Gender, sexuality and male-dominated work: The intersection of long-hours
working and domestic life. Work, Employment and Society, 28(6), 985-1002.
94
Yang, Y., Chen, Y., & Yang, L. (2013). Gender gap, training and financial performance:
Evidence from public accounting industry. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 24(19), 3697–3718.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary
Educational Psychology, 25, 82-91.
95
Appendix A: Survey Protocol
Methods: Data Collection
Introduction Email Text
Hello NAME,
My name is Daryl Klump, and I’d like to invite you to participate in this survey as
part of my dissertation research with the University of Southern California. It should take
about 5 minutes or less to complete. The purpose of the study is to better understand the
experience of women in leadership at our firm who are actively pursuing leadership-
related goals. These key learnings will ideally contribute to making ABC Financial a
better place for women to achieve leadership-related goals. Participation is completely
voluntary, and all answers will be kept anonymous. Your answers will not affect your
job. Attached is an information sheet detailing the purpose of the study and data
collection procedures.
As a follow up to the survey, I will also be conducting interviews with eight to ten
women who are willing to participate. If you are interested in being interviewed, please
indicate your interest through the link at the end of the survey. Because the link is
separate from the survey, your survey responses will remain anonymous. Thank you so
much for your time and insight. If you have any questions about the survey or survey
results, please contact me.
Demographic logic questions to begin.
96
• How long have you been in your current role?
• Do you have leadership-related goals you are currently working towards?
o Yes – I have leadership-related goals I am currently working on.
o No – I am completely satisfied with my current contract and unit’s recruiting and
production metrics.
▪ *If yes, survey will continue on.
▪ *If no, the following message will appear: “Thank you for your
willingness to participate. Because you do not currently have leadership-
related goals you are working towards, you are not eligible to participate.”
Question
Response options (if
close-ended) RQ
Concept being measured (from
emerging conceptual framework)
1 I believe I have the
ability to accomplish my
leadership-related goals
at ABC Financial.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Motivation – self-efficacy
2 Achieving my
leadership-related goals
depends most heavily on
the amount of effort I
put in, rather than
factors beyond my
control.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Motivation – attribution
3 I receive effective
feedback from my
leadership in relation to
achieving my
leadership-related goals
at ABC Financial.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Organization – Cultural Setting;
Policies and Procedures
4 ABC Financial
provides the mentorship
I need in order to
achieve my leadership
goals.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Organization – Cultural Setting;
Policies and Procedures
5 As a leader at ABC
Financial, I feel I
belong.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Organization – Cultural Models;
Culture of Respect
97
6 Leaders’ success at
ABC Financial results
directly from their
efforts rather than
factors beyond their
control.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Motivation – attributions
7 My experience as a
female leader at ABC
Financial has been a
positive experience.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Org Model – Experiences at
ABC Financial
8 ABC Financials’s
incentives are well
aligned to support me in
achieving my
leadership-related goals.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Organization – cultural settings;
policies and procedures
9 I know what metrics I
need to hit in order to
achieve my leadership-
related goals at ABC
Financial.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Organizational – Cultural
Settings; policies and procedures
10 I feel I have control
over achieving my
leadership-related goals
at ABC Financial.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ1 Motivation – attributions
11. The process of
appointing leaders at
ABC Financial is fair.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ2 Organization – Cultural settings;
policies and procedures
12 The culture at ABC
Financial is supportive
of me achieving my
leadership-related goals.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ2 Organization – Cultural models;
Culture of Respect
13 The leadership
promotion process at
ABC Financial is clear.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
RQ2 Organization – Cultural settings;
policies and procedures
98
5- True
6- Very True
14 I have competent
role models at ABC
Financial to follow in
pursuit of my
leadership-related goals.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ2 Organization – Cultural Settings
15 I have the support
system I need at ABC
Financial to accomplish
my leadership-related
goals.
1- Very untrue
2- Untrue
3- Somewhat untrue
4- Somewhat true
5- True
6- Very True
RQ2 Organization – Cultural Setting
16 ABC Financial has a
culture of respect for
women that makes it
easy for me to pursue
my leadership-related
goals.
7- Very untrue
8- Untrue
9- Somewhat untrue
10- Somewhat true
11- True
12- Very True
Cultural Model – Culture of
Respect
17 ABC Financial is
proactive in removing
barriers female field
leaders face in pursuing
their leadership-related
goals.
13- Very untrue
14- Untrue
15- Somewhat untrue
16- Somewhat true
17- True
18- Very True
Organizational Setting –
Proactive in Removing Barriers
18 ABC Financial
acknowledges the
experiences of female
field leaders as they
pursue their leadership-
related goals.
19- Very untrue
20- Untrue
21- Somewhat untrue
22- Somewhat true
23- True
24- Very True
Organizational Model –
Recognizing Experiences
19 Describe the
experiences at ABC
Financial that support
your pursuit of your
leadership-related goals,
if any.
RQ2 Organization Model -
Recognizing Experiences
20 Describe the
experiences at ABC
Financial that hinder
your pursuit of your
leadership-related goals,
if any.
RQ2 Organization Model -
Recognizing Experiences
99
In addition to this survey, several interviews will be conducted with female field leaders. If you
are interested and willing to participate in this survey, please indicate so through this link. Each
interview will take about an hour and will be conducted via Zoom. Each person who participates
in an interview will receive a small gift for doing so.
Link survey information:
Interested in interviewing? Y or N
Name:
Contact Information:
Length of time at ABC Financial:
Role:
Length of time in role:
100
Appendix B: Interview Protocol
Thank you for agreeing to participate in this Zoom survey as a part of my study. I appreciate you
giving of your time from your extremely busy schedule to answer some questions. This interview
should take about an hour, although we have set aside an hour and a half. As a thank you for
your time, you have been entered in a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. The winner of the
drawing will be notified via email after the interviews have been completed.
As noted in the survey you previously took, I am currently participating in a doctoral program at
the University of Southern California and am studying gender equity at ABC Financial, and the
experiences that female leaders have at the firm.
My intention is not to assess your performance as a leader but to explore your experience as a
female leader at ABC Financial. All information that you share with me will be kept anonymous.
Your name and answers in this interview will not be shared with anyone outside of the scope of
this study, and will not be known by anyone other than myself.
I may report out aggregated finding and use some quotes, but never with your name.
During this Zoom interview, you do not have to display your name if you don’t wish. If you are
comfortable with it, I will be recording the audio and video of this interview via Zoom. If you
would prefer to leave your camera off, you are welcome to. I will also be taking notes. Both the
recording and the notes will not be shared with anyone beyond the scope of this project. The
recording will be stored on a password protected server and destroyed two years after my
dissertation defense is approved.
101
All of that being said, do you have any questions before we begin? Do I have your permission to
record this interview?
Ice breakers: Tell me about your background with ABC Financial.
What are your current professional goals at ABC Financial? → Probe for leadership-specific
goals.
Question Construct Being Measured
1. Tell me what the process is for you to attain your
next leadership-related goal.
RQ1 – Knowledge, Conceptual
2. What support systems, if any, are in place here at
ABC Financial to help you achieve your
leadership-related goals?
Follow up: how do you feel you are doing so far in
achieving your goals?
RQ2 – Organizational Settings
3. Tell me about any mentors, coaches or leaders, if
any, who work with you on your leadership-
related goals at ABC Financial.
RQ2 – Cultural Settings
4. Tell me about the feedback, if any, you receive
related to pursuing your leadership-related goals at
ABC Financial.
Probe: How consistent is the feedback you receive? How
helpful is the feedback you receive?
RQ2 – Cultural Settings
5. Where at you at currently in relation to achieving
your current leadership-related goal at ABC
Financial?
RQ1 – Knowledge, metacognitive
102
Probe: What do you do to monitor your own strategies in
working towards your leadership-related goals at ABC
Financial?
6. How do you feel about your ability to reach your
leadership-related goals at ABC Financial?
RQ1 – Motivation, self-efficacy
7. What challenges, if any, do you run into while
working towards leadership goals at ABC
Financial?
RQ2 – Cultural models,
experiences
8. You mentioned earlier that you have achieved [X]
in working towards your leadership goals. What
do you believe are the reasons for this?
RQ1 – Motivation, attributions
9. Tell me about the impact of compensation
structure on your ability to achieve your
leadership-related goals at ABC Financial, if any.
RQ2 – Cultural settings
10. Aside from the compensation structure, what
corporate policies impact your ability to achieve
your leadership goal at ABC Financial?
RQ2 – Cultural settings
11. In your opinion, what, if anything, could ABC
Financial do differently in order to support women
in achieving their leadership-related goals?
RQ2
12. To what degree do you feel women are respected
as professionals at ABC Financial?
Probe: how does this impact their ability to achieve their
leadership-related goals.
RQ2 – Cultural Model
103
Appendix C: Information Sheet
INFORMATION SHEET FOR EXEMPT RESEARCH
STUDY TITLE: Where Are All the LeadHers? A Study on Women in Leadership in the
Financial Industry ©
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Daryl Klump
FACULTY ADVISOR: Helena Seli, PhD
You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to understand why there are not more women in leadership at ABC
Financial. We hope to learn about the experiences you’ve had at ABC Financial, and how those
experiences impact your ability to achieve your leadership-related goals. You are invited as a
possible participant because you are a woman in leadership at ABC Financial.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
There are two components to this study: an online survey and eight to ten interviews. Survey
participants will be asked to complete a voluntary survey. This survey will take about 5 minutes
to complete. The survey will be kept completely anonymous.
104
Volunteers to participate in interviews will be recruited from survey participants through a
separate link after the survey’s completion. Interviews are also completely voluntary, and will
take about one hour to complete. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom, and will also be kept
confidential. Information used from interviews in sharing findings will be kept anonymous to
everyone but the researcher.
If you decide to take part, you will be asked to complete the survey. If you are interested in
participating in an interview, you will be asked to spend about an hour in an interview further
sharing about your experiences as a woman in leadership at ABC Financial.
PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
Those who also choose to participate in an interview will receive a thank you gift for their time.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable
information will be used.
Survey data is anonymous and will be stored in a password-protected Qualtrics account.
Interview data will also remain anonymous. Interviews will only be recorded with the express
verbal permission of the participants. Participants will have the option to be interviewed via
Zoom or a phone call. If Zoom is selected, participants do not have to utilize their camera or
display their names if they so choose. If the interview is recorded, it will be stored in a
password-protected Zoom account. If conducted via a phone call, an external recording device
will be utilized. These recordings will be stored on a secure Dropbox server. Any notes taken
105
by the researcher during the interview will be kept confidential, and destroyed five years after
they are no longer needed for the research.
Participants will have the right to review or edit any video or audio recordings. Any information
disclosed as “off-the-record” will not be included in the study. All personally identifiable
information will be removed from the findings and transcriptions. Information will only be
accessed by the research team and USC IRB.
This study will be conducted on Qualtrics and Zoom, and adheres to the Privacy Policies. To
learn more about Qualtrics Privacy Policies or Zoom’s Privacy Policies, please familiarize
yourself at https://zoom.us/privacy or https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-
platform/getting-started/data-protection-privacy/.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Daryl Klump:
USC Email: dharshba@usc.edu
Cell Phone: 425-829-3508
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email
irb@usc.edu.
106
Appendix D: Table of Survey Results
Survey Item Mean SD Response n %N
1. I believe I have the ability to
accomplish my leadership-related
goals at ABC Financial.
4.9 1.0 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
0
1
1
7
12
9
0.0
3.3
3.3
23.3
40.0
30.0
2. Achieving my leadership-related
goals depends most heavily on the
amount of effort I put in, rather than
factors beyond my control.
4.2 1.1 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
0
4
1
12
11
2
0.0
13.3
3.3
40.0
36.7
6.7
3. I receive effective feedback from
my leadership in relation to achieving
my leadership-related goals at ABC
Financial.
4.1 1.4 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
0
7
2
6
12
3
0.0
23.3
6.7
20.0
40.0
10.0
4. ABC Financial provides the
mentorship I need in order to achieve
my leadership goals.
3.9 1.1 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
3
4
14
7
1
3.3
10.0
13.3
46.7
23.3
3.3
5. As a leader at ABC Financial, I feel
I belong.
4.0 1.5 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
3
1
7
7
7
5
10.0
3.3
23.3
23.3
23.3
16.7
6. Leaders’ success at ABC Financial
results directly from their efforts
rather than factors beyond their
control.
3.9 1.2 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
2
7
11
5
3
3.4
6.9
24.1
37.9
17.2
10.3
107
7. My experience as a female leader at
ABC Financial has been a positive
experience.
3.9 1.3 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
3
0
6
11
7
2
10.3
0.0
20.7
37.9
24.1
6.9
8. ABC Financials’s incentives are
well aligned to support me in
achieving my leadership-related goals.
4.1 1.2 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
2
1
2
12
11
1
6.9
3.4
6.9
41.4
37.9
3.4
9. I know what metrics I need to hit in
order to achieve my leadership-related
goals at ABC Financial.
4.6 1.2 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
1
2
8
11
6
3.4
3.4
6.9
27.6
37.9
20.7
10. I feel I have control over achieving
my leadership-related goals at ABC
Financial.
2.7 1.0 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
0
1
5
10
11
2
0.0
3.4
17.2
34.5
37.9
6.9
11. The process of appointing leaders
at ABC Financial is fair.
3.9 1.2 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
3
6
8
11
0
3.4
10.3
20.7
27.6
37.9
0.0
12. The culture at ABC Financial is
supportive of me achieving my
leadership-related goals.
4.2 1.3 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
2
5
7
11
3
3.4
6.9
17.2
24.1
37.9
10.3
13. The leadership promotion process
at ABC Financial is clear.
3.4 1.3 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
2
7
6
6
6.9
24.1
20.7
20.7
108
True
Very True
8
0
27.6
0.0
14. I have competent role models at
ABC Financial to follow in pursuit of
my leadership-related goals.
4.1 1.4 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
2
2
5
7
8
5
6.9
6.9
17.2
24.1
27.6
17.2
15. I have the support system I need at
ABC Financial to accomplish my
leadership-related goals.
4 1.5 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
4
1
2
9
10
3
13.8
3.4
6.9
31.0
34.5
10.3
16. ABC Financial has a culture of
respect for women that makes it easy
for me to pursue my leadership-related
goals.
3.8 1.4 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
1
3
11
6
3
5
3.4
10.3
37.9
20.7
10.3
17.2
17. ABC Financial is proactive in
removing barriers female field leaders
face in pursuing their leadership-
related goals.
3.8 1.3 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
2
4
3
11
7
2
6.9
13.8
10.3
37.9
24.1
6.9
18. ABC Financial acknowledges the
experiences of female field leaders as
they pursue their leadership-related
goals.
3.7 1.4 Very Untrue
Untrue
Somewhat Untrue
Somewhat True
True
Very True
2
4
8
4
10
1
6.9
13.8
27.6
13.8
34.5
3.4
Abstract (if available)
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Conceptually similar
PDF
Principals’ impact on the effective enactment of instructional coaching that promotes equity: an evaluation study
PDF
Hail to the chief: an exploration of female chief executives’ successes
PDF
Nonprofit donor retention: a case study of Church of the West
PDF
Evaluating emergency nurse leader capacity to reduce first-year employee turnover
PDF
One to one tablet integration in the mathematics classroom: an evaluation study of an international school in China
PDF
Educational resiliency factors contributing to college success for adolescent mothers
PDF
The implementation of data driven decision making to improve low-performing schools: an evaluation study of superintendents in the western United States
PDF
Mentoring as a capability development tool to increase gender balance on leadership teams: an innovation study
PDF
Women of color senior leaders: pathways to increasing representation in higher education
PDF
Creating a safety culture to decrease vehicle accidents with Sales Service Representatives
PDF
High school counselors’ support of first-generation students’ postsecondary planning: an evaluative study
PDF
Raising women leaders of Christian higher education: an innovation study
PDF
The impact of advanced technologies on the workplace and the workforce: an evaluation study
PDF
Incentivizing for-profit investment in the non-profit initiatives of the Community Cooperative: an evaluation study
PDF
Improving the representation of female executives in a large utility provider: a modified KMO framework
PDF
Curriculum and assessment alignment, instructional practices, and the impact on Hispanic/Latino students advanced placement exam achievement
PDF
Learning the language of math: supporting students who are learning English in acquiring math proficiency through language development
PDF
Development of intraorganizational post-merger collaboration plan: an evaluation study
PDF
The moderating role of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on employee turnover: A gap analysis
PDF
Lack of Latinx senior executive service members in a federal government agency
Asset Metadata
Creator
Harshbarger, Daryl Rosalind
(author)
Core Title
Where are all the ""leadhers""? Female leaders' experiences in finance
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Publication Date
05/03/2021
Defense Date
04/08/2021
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
finance,gender equity,OAI-PMH Harvest
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Seli, Helena (
committee chair
), Eisenhart, Joann (
committee member
), Phillips, Jennifer (
committee member
)
Creator Email
darylklump@gmail.com,dharshba@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-458143
Unique identifier
UC11668573
Identifier
etd-Harshbarge-9576.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-458143 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Harshbarge-9576.pdf
Dmrecord
458143
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Harshbarger, Daryl Rosalind
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
gender equity