University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Women in executive leadership: a study of the gender diversity gap

(USC Thesis Other)

Women in executive leadership: a study of the gender diversity gap

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Women in Executive Leadership: A Study of the
Gender Diversity Gap
by
Nichelle Lynn Dekeyzer

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

August 2021

© Copyright by Nichelle Lynn Dekeyzer 2021
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Nichelle Lynn Dekeyzer certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Eric L. Fecht
Helena Seli
Jennifer L. Phillips, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

iv

Abstract
This research seeks to advance understanding around the lack of gender equity in executive
leadership roles. Gender diversity in executive leadership strengthens organizational
performance, increases capacity to attract and retain top talent, and narrows the gender pay gap
for women (Dezso and Ross, 2012). External societal causes, such as implicit and explicit gender
biases rooted in pervasive stereotyping and socially constructed gender norms, permeate
organizations and manifest as mysterious and misunderstood “glass ceilings” for women in
leadership (Eagly & Karua, 2002; Federal Glass Ceiling Commision, 1995). This study
specifically analyzes gender equity at one digital marketing and sales organization, Mountain
Marketing Solutions (MMS; pseudonym). Using the Clark and Estes (2006) gap analysis
framework, this study examines ways in which stereotyping and bias create barriers in
organizational culture, inhibit women’s access to organizational knowledge, and ultimately
impede the motivation of women to pursue careers in executive leadership. Findings suggest the
cultural model and setting at MMS is a barrier for women advancing into executive leadership.
The study also finds gaps in women’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations, as well as gaps in
declarative and procedural knowledge. Recommendations for closing these gaps for women in
middle management are made along with recommendations for future research.
Keywords: gender diversity, executive leadership, women in leadership, organizational barriers,
glass ceiling

v

Dedication
To my husband Aaron Dekeyzer, and my three boys Dylan, Carson, and Ryan, who have been a
constant source of support and love throughout my education. Aaron has always believed in me
and pushed me to believe in myself. I would not have pursued a doctorate without his support
and encouragement. My children have offered countless distractions and laughs along the way
too. I love you more than all the stars.

vi

Acknowledgements
To women in leadership at Mountain Marketing Solutions, thank you for being an
inspiring example of courage, compassion, empathy, and strength. I cannot wait to see all you
accomplish. To women in leadership everywhere, you belong at the very top, thank you for
showing up every day to beat the odds and challenge what is possible. You give me hope.
Thank you to Dr. Fecht for encouraging me to pursue an area of study I am so passionate
about from the very beginning of my doctoral program. Thank you to the University of Southern
California for creating a space committed to furthering organizational thought leadership
specifically in areas of diversity and inclusion. Thank you to Dr. Phillips for all your help and
encouragement throughout this dissertation process, I truly could not have done this without your
constant support, patience, and guidance.
I want to acknowledge this study is limited to a focus on women, a binary gender
identification that is only one underrepresented group but certainly not the most
underrepresented gender in executive leadership. Further research to address the
underrepresentation of numerous fluid combinations of gender and race is needed to truly
address organizational inequity in its entirety.
As a woman in executive leadership, my own experiences undoubtably influence my
beliefs about this topic. My goal in this dissertation was to as objectively as possible present a
review of relevant literature, interview insights, and findings from document analysis. For those
that want to discuss further, please reach out to me. There is much work to be done!

vii

Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice.................................................................... 1
Organizational Background and Context ............................................................................ 2
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 2
Importance of Addressing the Problem .............................................................................. 5
Organizational Context and Mission .................................................................................. 8
Organizational Performance Goals ..................................................................................... 9
Stakeholder Groups ........................................................................................................... 10
Description of Primary Stakeholder Group ...................................................................... 10
Stakeholders Performance Goals ...................................................................................... 11
Purpose Statement and Research Questions ..................................................................... 12
Conceptual Framework and Methodology........................................................................ 12
Definitions......................................................................................................................... 13
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 14
Chapter Two: Review of Literature .............................................................................................. 15
Review of the Literature ................................................................................................... 15
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 45
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 45
Overview of Methodology ................................................................................................ 45
Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan ........................................................ 47

viii

Ethics and Role of Researcher .......................................................................................... 53
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 56
Participating Stakeholders ................................................................................................ 57
Research Question 1: How Do Organizational Influences Impact Women in
Middle Management’s Capacity to Move Into Executive Leadership?............................ 59
Research Question 2: What Are Women in Middle Management’s Knowledge
and Motivation Related to Executive Leadership Positions? ........................................... 64
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 74
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendation .......................................................................... 76
Recommendations for Practice ......................................................................................... 78
Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................................ 86
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 87
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 89
References ..................................................................................................................................... 91
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 108
Appendix B: Information Sheet for Exempt Research ............................................................... 111
Appendix C: Document and Artifact Protocol............................................................................ 113

ix

List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance Goal 11

Table 2: Organizational Influences 28
Table 3: Knowledge Influences 33
Table 4: Motivation Influences 38
Table 5: Data Sources 46
Table 6: Participant Tenure 57
Table 7: Participant Job Level 58
Table 8: Knowledge Findings 59
Table 9: Motivation Findings 66
Table 10: Organization Findings 70
Appendix C: Document and Artifact Protocol 113

x

List of Figures
Figure 1: KMO Conceptual Framework 26
Figure 2: Executive Leadership Organization Hierarchy 63

1
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice
In the United States, women hold only 11% of top earner positions in Fortune 500
companies, only 21% of board seats, and only 26% of executive or senior leadership positions
(Catalyst, 2019). Despite increases across entry and middle management positions, growth for
women at the top has remained largely stagnant (Nelson & Levesque, 2007). Pew Research
Institute found, in a study across eleven industries in the United States, that no company in the
S&P 1500 was close to achieving gender equity in executive positions (Desilver, 2018).
Research trends outside the United States also point to skewed ratios for women in
executive leadership positions, emblematic of a global problem. Worldwide, fewer than 24% of
executive leadership positions are held by women (Klalie, 2013). In Finland for example, women
make up 50% of management positions but occupy only 15% of executive roles (Klalie, 2013).
Only 4% of Finnish listed companies had a female CEO (Klalie, 2013). Despite low numbers,
Finland is one of a few countries aggressively working towards gender equity through the use of
mandated quota laws (K3 Viestintä, 2016).
Women have substantially increased their participation in the workforce over the past 40
years in management positions, and the board room (Dezso & Ross, 2012). According to Gieger
and Parker (2018), women have seen a 17% increase since 1950 in their workforce
representation (up from 30% to 47%). Despite those increases, women are moving backwards in
executive roles decreasing from 6.4% in 2017 to 4.8% in 2018 (Pew Research Center, 2018).
Based on significant improvements in workforce participation, education, and management
experience, barriers can no longer be attributed solely to a lack of qualified women in the
workforce (Dezso et al., 2013). Therefore, further research and analysis is required to understand
the root cause of the issue.

2
Organizational Background and Context
Mountain Marketing Solutions (MMS) is the organization being researched in this study.
MMS is a marketing and sales organization located in the western United States. The company
has just under 1,500 employees across various marketing, technology and sales professions.
Within MMS, women makeup 39% of all employees and hold 25% of all leadership positions.
Situated below the executive level, there are currently 20 women in middle management
positions (positions above entry level managers and below senior vice president). There are
numerous factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women in executive leadership
positions at MMS and around the world, however this study focuses on understanding the
capacity of the women in those middle management positions to advance into executive
leadership within MMS. The research presented is meant to address gaps in the knowledge and
motivation required for women to advance into those roles as well as to evaluate the
underpinning organizational barriers present at MMS.
The issue of gender diversity in high level leadership positions is a macro global
phenomenon; this research study specifically addresses the problem of gender diversity in
executive leadership positions at Mountain Marketing Solutions (MMS, a pseudonym). The
executive team at MMS consists of leaders holding a position in the company of senior vice
president or above. Currently, there is only one woman holding an executive position among the
11 total executives (representing nine percent). The one position being held by a woman on the
executive team is in a support function leading Human Resources.
Background of the Problem
Historically, the lack of women’s rights to work and receive equal pay has prevented
workplace equality within the United States. Dating back to the early 1900s, it was illegal for

3
women to own property and control their earnings without approval or oversight from a man
(Milligan, 2017). Although 25% of women worked outside of the home prior to World War II,
American involvement in the war expanded the type of work typically offered to women as the
United States sent men overseas to fight (Goldin, 1991). With women increasingly occupying
positions previously held by men, the need for equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation
compounded. Several key legal battles were a prerequisite to further progress. Examples include
a United States Supreme Court decision in 1937 guaranteeing women minimum wage, the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting sex discrimination for employment, a 1974 congressional law
outlawing housing and credit discrimination on the basis of sex, and the 1994 congressional
adoption of the Gender Equity in Education Act (Milligan, 2017). These expansions opened
critical doors for gender equity.
Women have increased their significance in the workforce over the past 40 years,
evidenced by gains in management positions, board seats and wages. Women have also
increased the rate at which they attain higher education, with 38% now earning bachelor’s
degrees (Pew Research Institute, 2018). Women have taken the lead in holding postgraduate
degrees as well at 14% versus 12% for men (Pew Research Institute, 2018). Women makeup
47% of the workforce and hold 38% of all management positions (Dezso et al., 2013).
Boardroom positions held by women have increased from 9.6% in 1995 to 22.2% in 2017 (Pew
Research Institute, 2018). Education, along with women’s increased presence in management
level positions and on boards has supported a narrowing of preexisting wage gaps. Median
wages for women have increased from $12.48 per hour in 1980 to $16 per hour in 2016, while
wages for men have remained flat (Pew Research Institute, 2018). Despite these gains, women
on average make only 83 cents on the dollar when compared to men (Pew Research Institute,

4
2018). Gaining complete equity in pay would require women to increase their representation in
executive roles. A 2016 study of public and private firms willing to disclose proprietary pay ratio
data revealed that executive leadership positions account for 49% of all wage earnings in an
organization (Mueller et al., 2017). Given the fact that women, as of 2017 held less than 10% of
executive positions, the financial discrepancies between gender continue to persist (Desilver,
2018).
The C-suite is a term used to describe executive leadership in an organization holding
officer positions and typically having the word chief in their title such as Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). In Fortune 500 firms, women occupy less than 5% of C-suite positions, a number that
has decreased over the past few years as several women have vacated positions and been
replaced by men (Pew Research Institute, 2018). Of all publicly traded companies throughout the
history of the United States there have only been three instances when a female chief operating
officer has left the company and been replaced by another female (Green, 2018). In 2017 there
were 54 incoming chief operating officers in the S&P 500 and only seven were women (Spencer
Stuart, 2018). This disproportionate representation of women across companies creates an
environment where executive women are severely outnumbered within their organizations and
rare across their industries. The implications of a scarcity of women in male dominated positions
(such as executive leadership roles) was coined as tokenism by Kantar (1977).
Kantar’s research suggests highly disproportionate executive teams cause several
disadvantages for women. According to Kantar (1977), women on skewed teams are often
treated as token representations of gender diversity. Token women experience increased
expectations and limited support (Kantar, 1977). Women are put into a paradox of trying to
assimilate into a male dominated group while holding the responsibility of representing women

5
at large (Kantar, 1977). From physically standing out in a room full of men to socially standing
out when discussing common interests, women in executive roles often describe their
experiences as isolating. Jan Fields, the former President of McDonald’s who was fired in 2012
after a one month drop in performance, described her social isolation from the team as “very
lonely” (Chira, 2017). A 2018 study by McKinsey and Company revealed that approximately
40% of women in executive leadership roles were “onlys” (the only woman on their team).
Onlys are more likely to experience sexual harassment, increased pressure to perform, and other
microaggressions causing them to be 150% more likely to leave their positions despite their
career goals (McKinsey & Company 2018). The issue of tokenism is highly applicable to MMS
because the organization only has one female at an SVP level or above.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
There are four reasons the problem of gender diversity at MMS is important to address.
First, increasing gender diversity at MMS is important to strengthen its ability to continue hiring
top talent. Second, gender diversity in leadership is important to prevent the attrition of current
talent. Third, gender diversity is key to increasing thought diversity, innovation and financial
performance. Fourth, gender diversity at the executive level is critical to closing the gender pay
gap.
With an unemployment rate of 2.3%, the Utah job market is fiercely competitive (U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). As more and more millennial and Generation Z (Gen Z)
employees enter the workplace, issues of diversity are becoming increasingly important to the
talent acquisition strategy of MMS. The millennial generation includes people born between
1980 and 1995 while Gen Z includes people born between 1996 and 2005 (Adecco, 2020).
Trendhunter found that 70% of Gen Z candidates consider leadership diversity and diversity

6
commitments when considering a place to work (Neely, 2020). This sentiment is echoed across
business literature. Andreas (2019) stated in a recent Forbes article, “organizations will need to
transform leadership teams and cultures to reflect changing social values.” (p. 1). In addition to
remaining relevant in a competitive talent market, MMS needs to increase the number of women
in executive positions to keep its current talented women from leaving the organization.
According to the 2019 Women in the Workplace Report, the two strongest predictors of
employee satisfaction are fairness and opportunity. The study found that issues of fairness or
equal access to opportunities influenced employee engagement more significantly than other
discussed topics such as leadership accountability and strategic direction. Despite this, 25% of
women believe gender has negatively influenced their ability to get a promotion or raise (Women
in the Workplace Report, 2019). The number of women in leadership roles at MMS does not
represent the employee demographics in the company as women currently represent 39% of
employees. A study by the Global Strategy Group (2016) found that 82% of Americans believe it
is critical for men and women to have the same advancement opportunities in their careers but
only 35% believe their company values having women in leadership positions. This reveals a
deep disconnect between employee expectations and organizational behaviors. Attrition for
women at MMS is 15% higher than attrition for men and that is compounded by the fact that
there are fewer women hired into the organization than men to begin with. Overall, 39% of
employees at MMS are women and 61% of employees are men. MMS needs to address gaps in
gender diversity to retain and engage talented women. Increasing the number of women in
executive leadership would increase the number of positive role models and could lead to an
increase in women in leadership across all levels of the organization (Kantar, 1977). This could
substantially increase employee engagement not only for women, but for all employees.

7
In the December 2019 employee engagement survey conducted at MMS, leaders who
were women had 39% higher employee net promoter scores on their teams than men. MMS uses
the question “on a scale of one to ten how likely are you to recommend MMS as a place to
work?” as one of four measures of employee engagement. Women also scored higher on the
connection index score (four questions specific to leadership), and the average scores of 19 other
engagement questions. Increasing the ratio of women in leadership from 25% to 36% at MMS
could have a significant positive impact on employee engagement in the organization.
Strong engagement drives organizational performance (Anitha, 2014). Increasing
diversity would increase performance through employee engagement and by increasing thought
diversity and innovation. Diversity in leadership improves innovation and performance in
corporations. Over the course of a 15-year study, Dezso and Ross (2012) found the presence of
female leadership at the top of S&P 1500 firms contributed on average to a $42 million increase
in Gross Profit (GP). Companies with three or more women on their board of directors see a 1.2
percent higher growth rate than companies in the same industry without gender diverse board
rooms (Lamagna, 2018). Especially in areas of innovation, companies such as IBM have found
women are critical to driving innovation in all sectors of the business (Boston College, 2012). If
MMS worked to prioritize increasing the diversity of its senior leadership team, it could also see
increases in GP. Now is a critical time for MMS as the company is experiencing increased
pressure from competitors alongside shrinking GP margins. Increasing the number of women in
executive roles at MMS would benefit people and the business, but it is also vitally important to
expanding women’s access to higher paying positions.
Diversity in executive leadership is also necessary to address income discrepancies
between men and women. Without holding top level positions, women cannot make significant

8
progress in closing wealth gaps. Women in the United States, 50.8% of the total population, hold
only 30% of the country’s wealth (Leonhardt, 2016). Promotion into executive positions brings
with it access to a larger slice of the overall compensation paid by an organization. For example,
chief executive officers (CEOs) on average make 36% of the overall salaries paid in an entire
organization (Bebchuk et al., 2006). At MMS, the difference in compensation between sales
representatives and leadership is significant. Sales agents, for example, at MMS only earn 18%
of the salary an executive leader makes. If women cannot break the barriers keeping them from
advancing into senior leadership roles, they will remain in the lowest paid positions in the
company. Resolving the problem of gender diversity in executive positions would promote
increased pay equity in the company, enhance thought diversity and innovation on executive
teams, increase employee engagement, and increase capacity to hire in the future significantly
benefiting all stakeholder groups.
Organizational Context and Mission
Mountain Marketing Solutions (MMS), an organization located in the western United
States, is a digital marketing and sales company dedicated to helping the world’s largest brands
find and acquire new customers. Over the past 15 years, MMS has grown from a local company
of 20 employees to a company of 1,650 sales and marketing professionals across the world.
Although the company values diversity of thought and inclusion (each is specifically mentioned
in its values statements), it has always lacked diversity in the highest levels of leadership.
Current executive positions at MMS include the company’s president, chief operating
officer, chief technology officer, executive vice president of finance, executive vice president of
marketing services, executive vice president of consumer, senior vice president of marketing,
senior vice president of sales and operations, senior vice president of general counsel, senior vice

9
president of partner strategy, and senior vice president of people. Directly below the 11-member
executive team are 10 vice presidents and 45 senior managers and directors. Among these middle
managers 36% are women.
MMS has employees in five cities in the United States and three cities internationally.
However, the majority of employees are located in one of two locations in the same United
States state (only 200 employees are located outside of these two main locations). At these two
locations, women make up 44% of the labor force with 92% of women earning high school
diplomas and 30% (compared to 35% of men) earning bachelor's degrees (State Department of
Workforce Services, 2017). A study by the state’s Women in Leadership Project found that the
number of women holding top leadership positions in the state decreased from 11.6% to 6.4%
between 2014 and 2018 (Madsen et al., 2018).
Organizational Performance Goals
The goal of MMS is to implement solutions that will increase the number of women in
executive leadership 25% by December 2022. This goal would increase the total number of
women on the executive team from one to four over a three-year period. If achieved, the total
representation on the executive team would increase from 9% to 34% and would be closely
aligned with the current ratios of women in the organization (39%). This goal is below the
industry benchmark of 46.3% representation of women in marketing and sales management
positions (Deloitte, 2020), however it will bring the organization’s representation of women
managers into parity with internal employee demographics. Achieving this reflection of MMS
employees is important because research shows the workforce is increasingly expecting diversity
representation in leadership. Failure to do so could increase attrition for talented women already
working for MMS and impede its ability to attract top talent (Jones, 2018).

10
Stakeholder Groups
There are four important stakeholder groups at MMS worth exploring. First and foremost,
women who are currently in middle management positions with the potential to move into
executive leadership roles. Second, women in the organization are stakeholders as they are
directly impacted by barriers to executive leadership opportunities. Third, employees at large
would be impacted from gender diversity as the company would be able to improve engagement
and financial results impacting productivity and performance. Fourth, the executive leadership
team as it currently stands would be a stakeholder in this effort as their dynamics would shift and
their meetings would be the primary benefactor of increased innovation and thought diversity.
Description of Primary Stakeholder Group
Within the organization, women currently in middle management positions are the
primary stakeholder group involved in the performance goal of increasing the gender diversity of
the executive team at MMS. Women in middle management can be found throughout the
organization in human resources, marketing, operations, business development, and partner
strategy. Finance, sales, and IT divisions do not have representation of women in middle
management. The average tenure of women in middle management at MMS is 4 years, and 17
out of 18 of the women have bachelor’s degrees. The majority of women in middle management
are in marketing services, consumer brands, and operations groups.
All of the women in this stakeholder group are responsible for leading a team of
employees and are responsible for at least 5 direct reports. The majority of women in middle
management were promoted from within MMS through an internal hiring process where a
position is opened by a hiring manager and candidates apply and interview for the role. None of
these women participated in a formal leadership onboarding program following their promotion

11
into middle management.
Stakeholders Performance Goals
The stakeholder performance goal is shown in Table 1. To achieve this goal, three
women need to advance into a leadership role as senior vice president or above. If this
stakeholder goal is achieved, the organization would also meet its performance goal.

Table 1
Organizational Mission, Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance Goal
Organizational mission
The mission of MMS is to transform the way the world's leading brands find, acquire, and
support their customers while improving the overall customer experience.
Organizational performance goal
By December 2022, MMS will implement solutions that increase the number of women in
Senior Vice President positions and above by 25%.
MMS women in middle management goal
By December 2022, 15% of women in middle management attain executive leadership positions
within MMS.

12
Purpose Statement and Research Questions
Low numbers of women in executive leadership positions have large implications on
company talent acquisition, attrition, engagement, profitability, innovation, and growth.
However, the root cause of this diversity issue has not been fully explained by the literature.
There is growing research on implicit and explicit bias against women in leadership, however,
there are very few studies that address the low numbers of female candidates for executive
positions. In 2019, only 8% of applicants for executive positions at MMS were women. The
purpose of this study is to support MMS’ organizational performance through understanding the
capacity of women currently in middle management positions to promote into executive
leadership positions. The research questions guiding this study are:
1. What are the women in middle management’s knowledge and motivation related to
attaining executive leadership positions?
2. How do the organizational and external influences impact the capacity of women in
middle management to move into executive leadership positions?
3. What are the knowledge, motivational and organizational recommendations?
Conceptual Framework and Methodology
This study utilizes the gap analysis framework established by Clark and Estes (2008) to
identify performance issues in relation to stakeholder knowledge and motivation alongside a
review of organizational barriers. This model was chosen to address the problem of gender
diversity in executive leadership positions because it encompasses individual stakeholder gaps
and institutional gaps within the same theoretical framework. Organizational influences
evaluated include the cultural model and cultural setting of MMS as a company. Knowledge

13
gaps are evaluated based on declarative, metacognitive, and procedural knowledge. Motivation is
assessed by evaluating self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and value.
Qualitative data were collected using this framework to provide an assessment of the
gaps and strengths related to organization, motivation, and knowledge. This research sought to
understand the capacity of women in middle management to attain executive positions within
MMS using a non-probability purposeful approach. The sampling criteria for the study narrowed
interview participants to women currently in roles that are above entry-level management and
below senior vice president. For the purpose of this study, these positions will be referred to as
middle management, although the organization itself does not specifically use the term when
referring to those roles.
Definitions
Listed below are definitions and terms relevant to this study.
• Self-Efficacy describes a person’s perceptions around their own capabilities to succeed at
a specific task or goal (Bandura, 1982).
• Middle Management includes leaders in a position above entry level manager and below.
senior vice president. (These include senior manager, director, senior director, and vice
president within MMS).
• Executive Leadership includes roles that are senior vice president and above. (These
include senior vice president, executive vice president, chief operating officer, chief
technology officer, and president at MMS).
• Social Cognitive Career Theory is a theory built around self-efficacy theories and
outcome expectancy theories to understand human psychological barriers to career
aspirations (Lent, Brown, & Hacket, 1994).

14
• Outcome Expectancy is a person’s beliefs around how it would feel and be to achieve a
particular outcome such as a career goal or aspiration (Yeagley et al., 2010).
Organization of the Study
This study is organized into five chapters. This first chapter introduced the problem of
practice, provided the reader with background information related to the problem and outlined
definitions relevant to the research. The organization for study was also introduced with some
context as well as an outline of the mission, performance goal, and stakeholder goals. Chapter 2
will present a review of literature related to the scope of study. Current trends in leadership,
gender diversity, and the experiences of women in leadership will be addressed. Several theories
relevant to gender diversity and career selection will be presented. Chapter 2 will also introduce
Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework and present knowledge, motivation and
organizational influences that will be researched in this study. Chapter 3 explains the
methodology as it relates to sampling criteria, data collection, and analysis. Chapter 4 presents
the analysis of data. Chapter 5 engages in a discussion of the findings and makes
recommendations for further study.

15
Chapter Two: Review of Literature
Women have historically been underrepresented in leadership, however rapid shifts in
access to information, labor market demands, and increased participation in education and the
workforce have bolstered increases in women occupying entry level and middle management
roles. It is critical now to examine why these advancements in leadership diversity have not
translated into more women in executive leadership roles. This requires a deeper understanding
of leadership in a historical context, an investigation into current trends and experiences of
women in executive leadership, a review of theories relating to women in leadership, and an
analysis of a conceptual framework for solving the problem.
Review of the Literature
Leadership has been a topic of research and debate for centuries. As socially constructed
leadership qualities and socially constructed gender norms change over time, the dynamics of
women in leadership also shift. Over 500 years ago Machiavelli (1532/2006) described
successful leaders as astute, assertive, and fear invoking. Weber (1947) found charisma and
influence to be key characteristics of leadership. Later, Burns (1978) stated the single most
important attribute of a leader was vision. Overall, most leadership research prior to the 21
st

century points to agentic leadership qualities such as assertion, competition, control, and
hierarchy.
Over the past 20 years however, there has been a shift in leadership research, and new
studies have found more collaborative forms of leadership highly successful (Astin & Leland,
1991). Historically, leaders relied on access to power to solidify their authority; however, post-
industrial leadership involves power sharing and relies heavily on collaboration (Lipman-
Blueman, 1996). With advances in globalization, the democratization of information, and

16
advancements in technology, leadership now requires increased abilities to motivate and inspire
employees to embrace collective values and interests above their own (Shamir et al., 1993).
Today’s leaders are told to put their employees first and embrace a people centric approach to
influencing transformational change. Transformational leaders affect positive change within
organizations by communicating shared vision and collective values, establishing high
expectations, and increasing employee engagement to achieve goals (Northouse, 2004). Kantar
(1997) observed that with the rapid growth of global competition and technology many leaders
are experiencing a transition that involves a breakdown of hierarchy and traditional modes of
power.
This shift in leadership begins to contextualize effective leadership in less traditionally
masculine terms and positions it in alignment with how women lead (Gallagher & Golant, 2000).
There is significant debate around the root cause of differences in leadership styles between men
and women, such as gender conditioning, societal norms, and predisposition. Several studies
suggest women lead in ways that are more interactive, communicative, and empowering of
employees as compared to male counterparts (Helgesen, 1990; Rosener, 1995). Rosener (1995)
wrote that the behaviors historically preventing women from being promoted into advanced
leadership are starting to be seen in a positive light and have simultaneously shifted from being
described as feminine to being described simply as good leadership traits. Eagly and Carli (2003)
argued that women now have “some advantages in typical leadership style but suffer some
disadvantages from prejudicial evaluations of their competence as leaders, especially in
masculine organizational contexts” (p. 807).
Sykes (2016) described Anglo-American organizations as predominately formulated
around masculine individualism and observed these institutions often increasingly incentivize

17
masculinity in executive leadership roles. Competition remains a top characteristic among those
chosen for executive leadership alongside hard work and a willingness to take risks (McCarthy,
2019). Despite agentic leadership traits often determining who is selected for executive
leadership, successful organizations are making the shift towards collaborative executive teams
(Agarwal et al., 2018). With the dynamics of leadership shifting, it is important that
organizations start incorporating collaborative leaders into their executive teams to foster
increased cross-functional synergies and innovation (Argarwal et al., 2018).
Trends of Women and Leadership
Women have been fighting for a seat at the table for decades across the world. Progress
has been slow and complicated. Even when women do rise to high levels of leadership, they face
serious challenges with biases, harassment, and lack of support. The following sections present
historical trends of women in the workplace, insights into job search behaviors of women
influenced by gender normative social conditioning, and commonly shared characteristics of
positive outliers.
Demographics and Dynamics of Women in the Workplace
Women have increased participation in the workforce over the past several decades and
are forecasted to continue increasing overall job share from 46.8% to 47.2% by the year 2024
(Buckly & Bachman, 2017). Despite making up nearly half of all people in the labor market,
women make up only 4.2% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies (Farrell, 2013). As the number of
women earning college education increases and the average age of getting married decreases,
women are also having children later (Livingston & Cohn, 2010). Women with college degrees,
on average, start having children seven years later than women without a degree (Bui & Miller,
2018). A striking 49% of corporate women in executive leadership positions in the United States

18
do not have children compared to only 19% of men without children in the same roles (Hewlett,
2002). In a study of 6,500 Harvard alumni in 2012, 85% of women listed work life balance as the
biggest hindrance to women achieving equity in career advancements (Groysberg & Abrahams,
2014). Ely et al. (2014) in a more recent study of 25,000 Harvard Business School alumni found
that almost all men and women interviewed cited work life balance as the culprit for the lack of
gender diversity at the top. Their study also found a large discrepancy in expectations between
men and women with over half of men believing their career would take priority over their
spouses compared to only 7% of Gen X women and 3% of Baby Boom women believing their
careers would take priority (Ely et al., 2014). According to Ely et al., women want more
challenging work, career advancement, and opportunity however organizations need to provide
those opportunities equally to women (2014). Many organizations have started offering more
work life balance and flexibility specifically for women, however, women taking advantage of
these offers typically experience slower career progression (Ely & Pavic, 2020).
Global Trends
Catalyst (2019) conducted a global study of women in top earning leadership positions
and found that women hold significantly less of these roles than men worldwide. In the European
Union, women represented only 17% of senior executives (Eurostat, 2019). In India, women
make up only 7% of senior management (Grant Thornton, 2017). In the United States, women
hold only 11% of top earner positions within S&P 500 companies (Catalyst, 2019). Gender
diversity in executive leadership increases innovation, enhances brand reputation, decreases
organizational bias, and improves financial results (Blumberg, 2018).

19
Applicant Statistics and Pipeline Concern
Research shows that men and women search for jobs at a similar rate; however, women
typically only apply for a position if they believe they meet 100% of the qualifications while men
apply for positions in which they believe they meet 60% of the qualifications (Tockey &
Ignatova, 2018). This results in women spending an equal amount of time as men searching for
jobs but submitting 20% fewer applications (Tockey & Ignatova, 2018). Mohr (2014) surveyed
women to uncover the reasons for lower application rates and found 78% of women did not
believe they would be hired without all of the qualifications and did not want to waste their time,
experience failure, or be disrespectful of the job requirements.
According to a 2018 McKinsey study of over 64,000 employees across 279
organizations, the problem of underrepresentation of women in senior leadership cannot be
explained by women exiting the workforce as attrition rates remained similar to their male
counterparts (Krivkovich, 2018). However, for every 100 men hired into a manager level
position in 2018, only 79 women were hired into management (Krivkovich, 2018). It appears
that the discrepancy in hiring rates put women significantly behind and has an impact on the
overall available pipeline for senior leadership.
Sexual Harassment for Women in the Workplace
Sexual harassment remains a prevalent part of work for women. Over 35% of women in
corporate America endure sexual harassment in their careers, and this number increases to 55%
for women in senior leadership (Krivkovich, 2018). A global study conducted by the Swedish
Institute for Social Research found that women in leadership positions in the United States were
50% to 100% more likely than those in non-leadership positions to be sexually harassed (Folke
et al., 2020). Despite high occurrences of sexual harassment and 98% of companies having

20
policies forbidding the behavior, many women believe reporting sexual harassment can hinder
their careers and only 32% believe discriminating behavior against women is promptly addressed
by their organizations (Krivkovich, 2018).
Women in Executive Leadership
Women have been historically underrepresented in senior leadership positions, and yet
research asserts women in middle management positions share the same abilities and skill sets as
male counterparts (Gallagher & Golant, 2000). Understanding the specific barriers of women in
middle management positions is critical to resolving women’s lack of representation in executive
leadership positions. Research suggests multilevel intervention is required to overcome these
barriers (Isaac et al., 2012).
Women experience slower promotion rates, higher attrition at pivotal career stages, and
underrepresentation of advocacy, all of which contribute to the problem of lack of executive
leadership presence (Martinez et al., 2007). In addition to these obstacles, women are more likely
to be asked to take on additional organizational tasks that do not result in higher pay or
advancement into executive leadership (Bird & Wang, 2004). Higher expectations and lower
recognition for work combine to create a higher bar for women seeking to advance into
executive leadership. Knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences should be examined
in relation to supporting women in overcoming these challenges.
Gallagher (2000) in an interview of 200 top executive women from Fortune 500
companies found four common characteristics of women in executive leadership. Competency,
or the combination of talent, experience, and skills was the first requirement. Outcomes, or the
ability to influence organizational change was the second. Both of these were described as
typically required for successful middle management as well. Relationships were a

21
differentiating characteristic found between middle management and executive leadership.
Women in executive positions tended to put more emphasis on building strategic relationships
and making time for activities such as lunches with colleagues. Endurance was the last
requirement for executive leadership. Gallagher (2000) described this as critical due to the
demands of executive positions. Women on average took 11 years to achieve their positions on
the executive team at an organization and most often worked 60 hours a week to get there.
Mental and physical endurance were listed as shared characteristics of the positive outliers of
women in executive roles in large organizations (Gallagher, 2000). These characteristics should
be investigated to better understand the capacity of women in middle management to advance
into executive leadership.
Influential Theories
Several relevant theories help provide deeper understanding of the problem of gender
diversity in executive leadership. Three theories that are highly applicable to this study are
Kantar’s (1977) theory of tokenism, Eagley and Karu’s (2002) theory of prejudice and role
congruity, and Lent et al.’s (1994) social cognitive career theory. Each of these theories is
discussed in more detail throughout this chapter and help build the framework for this study as
well as provide insights into organizational recommendations in Chapter 5.
Tokenism
Tokenism was a theory established by Katner in 1977 and is highly applicable to the
study of women in executive leadership roles. Kanter (1977) studied the experiences of women
in senior leadership positions at Fortune 500 companies and found numeric underrepresentation
to cause experiences of unfair expectations combined with social and professional isolation. This
contributed to literature in a meaningful way because it was the first-time gender diversity in

22
leadership was examined through an organizational lens studying the social dynamics and
barriers to women in these roles. Kanter posited the term “token” for women holding positions
on skewed teams with 15% or less representation in the group. Being the only woman on an
executive team was found to lead to increased visibility, pressure, and a perceived need to
modify emotional responses to better assimilate (Kanter, 1977). Women who experienced
tokenism were faced with a paradoxical expectation to assimilate with their male dominated
groups while simultaneously representing women at large (Kanter, 1977). Kanter's theory of
tokenism has been widely studied since with mixed findings.
Research by Goldenhar et al. (1998) confirmed tokenism led to negative experiences for
women while Yoder (2002) concluded tokenism must be evaluated within a broader
organizational context. King et al. (2010) continued this research and found the psychological
perceptions of women experiencing tokenism within a specific organizational context influence
the outcomes of tokenism. According to King et al. (2010), token status led to women’s
subjective experiences of tokenism, but the outcomes on job satisfaction, affective commitment,
job stress, turnover intentions, and helping behaviors were also influenced by the psychological
climate of gender inequality (King et al., 2010). This research posited tokenism was most likely
to cause negative experiences if token women were also in organizations with perceived gender
discrimination (King et al., 2010).
Prejudice and Role Congruity Theory
Another relevant theory for understanding the scarcity of women in executive leadership
positions is Role Congruity Theory. Eagly and Karau (2002) posited Role Congruity Theory as
one explanation for low numbers of female leaders in executive positions. According to their
research, two forms of prejudice negatively impact women seeking executive positions. First is

23
related to outdated beliefs about agentic leadership styles being better and men being more likely
to embrace them (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Second, the backlash effect on women who behave
contrary to ascribe gender norms despite congruence with the expectations of the required
behavior of the leadership position they occupy (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Communal leaders are
more likely to democratize decision making, prefer collaboration over competition, and exhibit a
greater degree of empathy than agentic leaders, which are described as assertive, dominant, or
self-reliant (Eagly & Carli, 2007).
According to Eagly and Karau (2002) there were two implications of gender prejudice on
leadership advancements for women. First, prejudice creates barriers of entry for women
pursuing executive leadership roles because these roles are uniquely perceived to require
masculine leadership traits compared to middle management positions. Specifically, the
incongruity between outdated social constructs of effective executive leadership traits (as more
agentic or masculine) and stereotypical social constructs of women in leadership (as more
communal or feminine) creates a glass ceiling (metaphorical barrier of entry) for advancement
into senior leadership positions because hiring managers and organizations at large do not
believe women are capable of executive leadership (Eagly & Karua, 2002; Federal Glass Ceiling
Commision, 1995). Second, this prejudice impacts the actual behavior of women due to
stereotype threat (the phenomenon of women adjusting their behavior to align with the perceived
expectations of their gender role to avoid backlash associated with exhibiting behavior
incongruity with their gender roles) and affects “self-regulatory and expectancy confirmation
processes” (Eagly & Karua, 2002, p. 590). This study of women in middle management positions
at MMS builds on Role Congruity Theory (Eagly & Karua, 2002) by assessing what, if any,

24
impact prejudice has on self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and value for women in middle
management positions.
Social Cognitive Career Theory
Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) has been established and used to study the
behaviors of women’s career decisions (Lent et al., 1994, 2000). In a study of college women
and their goals related to elite leadership, Yeagley et al. (2010) found both positive outcome
expectations and high levels of self-efficacy to predict a greater likelihood of career goals and
interests related to elite leadership. Lent and Brown (2006) articulate the need for dynamic and
contextual research encompassing self-efficacy and outcome expectations specific to career
development for women. Building on Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory alongside
decades of career behavior research they provide recommendations for balancing theoretical
rigor and research relevance. Specifically, in measuring social cognitive variables such as self-
efficacy, Lent and Brown recommend can do (perceived ability) questions rather than will do
(intent) or will get (outcome expectation). Clark and Estes (2008) refer to personal goals, beliefs
about organizational barriers, emotional climate and experiences, and personal values of goals as
critical aspects of motivational performance. Researching the capacity of women to advance into
executive leadership requires investigation into motives as motivation according to SCCT
correlates with career goal setting and outcomes (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2000).
Clark and Estes’s (2008) Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework
The gap analytic model by Clark and Estes (2008) provides a framework for
organizational change. According to their model, establishing organizational performance goals
as a first step towards improving gender diversity on the executive team. For MMS specifically,
the goal is to increase the number of women in executive leadership 25% by the end of 2021.

25
Second, Clark and Estes (2008) recommended identifying stakeholders critical to attaining this
goal. The primary stakeholder group in this study are women in middle management positions at
MMS. The third step is to set individual goals for the stakeholder group that support the
organizational goal at large. The individual stakeholder group goal is to have 15% of women
currently in middle management promoted into an executive leadership position by the end of
2021 (three women). If three of the 20 women currently in middle management were promoted
into executive leadership, MMS would have achieved its target of increasing the representation
of women on the team by 25%. The fourth stage of problem solving is to identify the capacity of
women in middle management to promote into executive leadership. This is accomplished by
measuring the knowledge (K), motivation (M), and organizational (O) influences on women in
middle management and comparing it against the requirements of all three needed for goal
attainment. Fifth, findings must be synthesized to posit a root cause summation. Last,
recommendations are presented to address gaps in capacity. Figure 1 shows these areas of
research combined into a conceptual framework for this study.

26
Figure 1
KMO Conceptual Framework

Women in Middle Management Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Organization, knowledge, and motivation are the lenses through which performance gaps
should be evaluated as each are tied to organizational performance and to each other (Clark and
Organizational Influence

Cultural model: WMS needs to value
diversity in all levels of the organization.

Cultural setting: WMS needs to invest in
trainings, conferences, guest speakers,
and other inclusion efforts directed
toward women.

Cultural setting: WMS needs to provide
visibility and access to female role
models at the executive level.
Knowledge Influence

Declarative: Female middle managers
need to know what is expected of them to
be competitive for promotion to senior
vice president.

Metacognitive: Female middle managers
need to be aware of their own strengths
and growth opportunities and be capable
of creating development plans for career
advancement.

Procedural: Female middle managers
understand how to navigate.
Motivation Influences

Self-efficacy: Female middle managers
need to have the confidence they can
grow professionally into an executive
leadership role.

Outcome expectancy: Female middle
managers need to believe their investment
in career development and growth can
result in an executive leadership position
at WMS.

Value: Female middle managers need to
see value in growing their careers from
middle management positions to
executive level positions.
Capacity of women in middle
management to attain
executive leadership positions
at WMS

27
Estes, 2008). Organizational structure and motivation, for example, both influence the tacit
knowledge transfer between employees and departments in an organization (Osterloh & Frey,
2000). According to McCarthy (2001), tacit or surreptitious knowledge that is not incorporated
into training or formalized in company policies is more widely available to dominant groups due
to cultural and organizational biases and reveals a critical missing link for women in middle
management. A thorough evaluation of the knowledge and motivation of women in middle
management alongside the analysis of the organizational structure of MMS is required.
Organizational Influences
Research suggests individual and organizational barriers continue to hinder women’s
advancement into elite leadership and each need to be overcome to mitigate the symbolic glass
ceiling hindering equality (Cook & Class, 2014). Resolving concerns of individual knowledge
and motivation alone is not enough to solve the gender leadership gap; organizational barriers
and biases must also be addressed (Catherine et al., 2016). Organizational barriers are defined by
Clark and Estes (2008) as processes, policies, and resources that obstruct performance.
Measuring organizational models and settings requires understanding the beliefs of stakeholders
about the organizational environment (Clark and Estes, 2008). Hiring processes, training
practices, and the existence of positive female role models are key organizational influences for
closing the gap (Catherine et al., 2016). Table 2 shows organizational influences alongside the
identified influence categories.

28
Table 2
Organizational Influences
Organizational influence type Influence statement Assessment
Cultural model MMS needs to value diversity
in executive leadership.
Reviewed organizational
values, processes, and
policies.
Cultural setting 1 Financial investment,
trainings, conferences,
guest speakers, and other
inclusion efforts directed
toward women.
Asked women to share
insights into formal
trainings.
Cultural setting 2 Visibility and access to
female role models at the
executive level.
Reviewed organizational
chart and asked women
about access to female role
models on executive team.

Training for Women in Middle Management
Tharenou et al. (1994) found that training was influential in helping women advance into
senior leadership roles; however, the majority of leadership training provided by organizations
was received by men. Organizations need to give high potential employees leadership
development including job rotations and promotions alongside targeted coaching (Fernandez-
Araoz, 2017). When women do not feel they have all the knowledge required to succeed in a
position they are less likely to pursue a role which makes leadership training for women in
middle management especially important (Catherine et al., 2016). Training programs are
important for providing skill demonstration, guidance, and feedback in anticipation of a need to

29
perform job requirements that are too complex for job aids and too new for previous experience
(Clark and Estes, 2008). Comprehensive leadership education experiences can help women when
facing novel or unexpected hurdles in career progression (Clark and Estes, 2008).
Training to Reduce Hiring Manager Bias
Demographic characteristics of hiring managers have also been found to influence the
advancement of women in leadership positions, indicating some opportunities around bias
training for those making hiring decisions (Powell and Butterfield, 1994). Hiring for senior
leadership positions in particular tends to be based on perceived fit with the candidate and the
existing leadership team and is therefore uniquely subjective and impacted by biases (Powell,
1999). Implicit bias occurs when a hiring manager consciously rejects gender stereotypes but
unconsciously makes hiring decisions based on them (Catherine et al., 2016). According to
Banjai and Greenwald (2013), implicit bias is most commonly displayed in the form of in-group
favoritism. In hiring processes, this manifests itself in hiring managers preferring candidates that
are most similar to themselves (Catherine et al, 2016). Because men occupy the majority of
executive leadership roles and board positions and hiring decisions for executive leadership are
made by current executives and board members, in-group preferencing due to implicit bias can
have profound impacts on women that manifest in subtle ways. According to Catherine et al.
(2016), implementing a bias training program that has been well researched and proven to show
success in reducing bias can have a profound organizational impact.
Visibility and Access to Female Role Models
In addition to hiring processes and training programs, organizational role models are
important for women (Morrison & Von Glinow, 1990). Negative stereotyping can hinder a
woman's self-efficacy and career aspirations for leadership. Davies et al. (2005) found in a study

30
that women exposed to negative stereotype commercials were less likely to aspire to be leaders
than those who were not exposed to negative stereotypes. However, Dasgupta and Greenwald
(2001) found that exposure to counter stereotypical female role models could positively
influence a woman’s beliefs about leadership. Research suggests exposure to similar role models
whose success seems replicable can be very important for achievement in a negative stereotype
domain (Hoyt & Simon, 2011). Leicht et al. (2017) also found counter stereotypical role models
to reverse the negative impacts of stereotype threat on women in leadership.
The number of role models in leadership who are women remains disproportionately low
(Lyman & Chappell, 2018). According to Bandura (1977), role models influence a person’s
motivation by helping shape their own self-efficacy. A role model, which differs from a mentor
because they are not required to have a direct relationship, can be either a close or distant model
(Lyman & Chappell, 2018). Close role models are those directly involved in a person’s life or in
close proximity to them. For example, family, friends, colleagues, and leaders within the same
organization would be considered close role models. Distant models are those observed from a
far such as celebrities, political figures, athletes, or other models not in close proximity. Close
models provide observable and replicable behaviors, while distant models can act to provide
inspiration and possibility (Lyman & Chappell, 2018). In the absence of close role models (who
have the biggest influence), distant models within the same area of domain (women in senior
leadership at other organizations, for example) influence self-efficacy beliefs (Lockwood &
Kunda, 1997, 1999). Research suggests female role models can shape attitudes and beliefs about
female leadership and the abilities of women to succeed (Beaman et al., 2012). Exposure to role
models who are women in executive leadership positions can decrease the impact of negative
stereotyping for women in middle management (Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004).

31
The more women there are in leadership at any level of an organization the easier the
barrier of entry can be for women seeking to advance into executive leadership. Gender diversity
in middle management provides a structural organizational indicator of a company’s capacity to
improve gender equity (Cox, 1994). Goodman et al. (2003) found that for every increase of 10%
in the number of women in lower management positions, a company was 1.19 times more likely
to have a woman in senior management. This finding could support theories about tokenism, the
importance of models and peer groups, or could suggest that organizations with women in senior
leadership are more likely to also hire women into lower and middle management positions.
Development Opportunities and Promotion Practices
The capacity of women to advance into executive leadership improves when an
organization's hiring practices and development programs are more structured and formal
(Goodman et al., 2003). According to Goodman et al. (2003), the more emphasis an organization
puts on development and promotions for women into advanced leadership, the more likely the
company will be to succeed. Companies that embrace an internal hiring philosophy coupled with
an emphasis on formal leadership development achieve higher gender equity in senior leadership
positions because women are more likely to be promoted into these positions from within an
organization rather than be hired by an outside organization into advanced leadership (Konrad &
Pfeffer, 1991; Lyness & Judiesch, 1999). Due to talent shortages throughout organizations and
the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership it is critical employers invest in
professional development for women to enhance their business and leadership skills (Baluja,
2009).

32
Knowledge Influences
This section covers research related to knowledge influences surrounding the problem of
gender diversity in executive leadership. Knowledge is critical to successful leadership because
strategic leaders not only understand their own knowledge but also must develop the knowledge,
skills and capabilities needed within organizations to further its strategy and achieve
performance goals (Koch, 2006). Research suggests as the knowledge required for a leadership
position increases, gender diversity decreases (Kemp, 1994). In the case of increasing the
number of women in executive leadership, it is critical for women in middle management
positions to possess the skills and knowledge to succeed in the role. Three types of knowledge
covered are declarative, metacognitive, and procedural. Table 3 presents assumed knowledge
influences alongside knowledge types and assessment for this study.

33
Table 3
Knowledge Influences
Knowledge influence type Influence statement Assessment
Procedural Female middle managers
need to know what is
expected of them to be
competitive for promotion
to senior vice president.
Female middle management were
asked to describe the processes
for promotion into executive
leadership and what steps they
would need to take.
Metacognitive Female middle managers
need to be aware of their
own strengths and growth
opportunities and are
capable of creating
development plans for
career advancement.

Female middle management were
asked to share their experiences
as a leader at MMS, their
perceptions of executive
leadership at MMS. Women in
middle management were asked
to identify areas of strength and
weakness and what additional
development is needed for their
advancement into executive
leadership.
Declarative Female middle managers
need to know what is
expected of them to be
competitive for promotion
to senior vice president.
Female middle management were
asked how MMS defines
executive leadership and what
the requirements and
responsibilities and benefits are
of the role.

34
Know What Is Expected to Compete for Promotion
Declarative knowledge is explicit knowledge that can be passed verbally from one person
to another (McFarland, 2014). Women need declarative knowledge about their organization, the
requirements for senior leadership, as well as a thorough understanding of the culture and rules
to promote into executive roles (Gallagher, 2000). Gallagher (2000) recommended women
explicitly ask for knowledge about what competencies are required, what outcomes are expected,
and what relationships are recommended.
Questions around what make leaders successful have been extensively researched from a
wide variety of angles. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify the traits and
behaviors critical to leadership (Mutalib & Ghani, 2013). Several areas of cognitive ability have
been found relevant to successful advancement in leadership that include reasoning abilities,
general cognitive abilities, and complex problem-solving skills (Zaccaro et al., 2004). Additional
research suggests creativity and innovation are important skills for advanced leadership (Makri
& Scandura, 2010). Other research suggests personality traits can be analyzed using the
theory of five factor model (FFM) of personality (or big five) to determine leadership abilities
(Digman, 1990).
There are numerous studies about what leaders need to know, however, knowledge
requirements vary by organization. Women need knowledge related to how to accomplish results
within their specific organization, applicable financial information, an understanding of their
industry and what competitors are doing as well as knowledge of industry trends (Gallagher,
2000). This knowledge can come in the form of formal training programs, but can also be
obtained through business books, professional seminars, journals, and academic training
(Gallagher, 2000).

35
Metacognition and Self-Awareness
In addition to understanding the knowledge and skills required for promotion to executive
leadership, it is also important for women to be able to analyze and understand their strengths
and opportunities (Clark and Estes, 2008). Self-awareness enables leaders to understand their
strengths and weaknesses as well as their abilities to manage conflict, communicate, respond to
criticism, and navigate complexities inherent in organizational social dynamics (Guber, 2015).
Research has found that self-awareness is critical to effective leadership because it allows leaders
to identify their own performance gaps and seek out learning and development to improve
performance outcomes (Taylor, 2010). Metacognition is the ability and motivation to make
meaning of skills, knowledge, attributes, and abilities and is critical to preparedness for
leadership (Black et al., 2016). Combined, self-awareness and metacognition must be evaluated
to determine the capacity of women in middle management to promote into executive leadership.
Procedural Understanding of How to Navigate the Organization
There has been relatively little research done on how and why promotions happen for
certain individuals, particularly in executive leadership. Studies that have sought to analyze
promotion reasons have done so through the lens of individual attributes and skills rather than
through analyzing how decisions are made within organizations by hiring managers (Ruderman
& Ohlott, 1994). Ruderman and Ohlott (1994) conducted a three-year study of Fortune 500
organizations and found that 48% of promotions into leadership occurred as part of an
organizational restructure. In fact, 22% of leaders and HR professionals cited being in the right
place during a restructure as the reason for their promotion (Ruderman & Ohlott, 1994).
Butterfield and Powell (1991) found that being in good standing in a leadership position within
the same department was critical to advancement into senior executive roles when an opportunity

36
became available. Howard (1986) found that almost 10% of promotions to senior leaders
occurred because the first-choice candidate was not available, and even more occurred because
hiring managers felt hiring a subordinate would be faster than looking externally. Having the
procedural knowledge of how executive leadership promotions occur across organizations, and
specifically, at MMS, is extremely important for women in middle management looking to
navigate their careers. Many executive promotions occur during organizational restructuring or
growth at MMS, so it is imperative women are positioning themselves organizationally long
before a job posting is created. Of the 11 executive leaders currently at MMS, only two were
interviewed for their executive positions. The remaining 9 executives were promoted into
leadership from a previous vice president position in their current department at a time of
restructure and did not have to apply for their role.
Knowing that promoting from middle management to executive leadership may involve
applying through a formal job opening, but could also require asking for advancement or
networking or being in the right place in good standing when an opportunity arises, is incredibly
important for women to understand. Babcock and Laschever (2009) research the behaviors of
women and men in the workplace and conducted a study to measure people’s perceptions of the
importance of asking for what they want. Their research presented questions such as “I think a
person has to ask for what he or she wants rather than wait for someone to provide it” and “there
are many things available to people, if only people ask them” (Babcock & Laschever, 2009, p.
20). According to their findings, women are 45% less likely to see the benefits of asking for what
they want. Even more interesting is the finding that for every 10% gap in responses to the benefit
of asking there was a 30% difference in attempts at negotiations. Evan a small gap in the
procedural knowledge of how promotions occur at MMS could hinder the capacity of women in

37
middle management to promote into executive leadership.
Motivation Influences
Motivation drives performance through the willingness of motivated employees to work
hard, provide discretionary effort, and strive towards achievement (Clark and Estes, 2008).
Specifically related to creating and attaining goals, motivation is an important link between the
needs of employees as individuals and the performance goals of an organization (Achim et al.,
2013). Three factors that contribute to an individual’s motivation are self-efficacy, outcome
expectancy, and value (Bandura, 1977, 1991, 1997). Table 4 illustrates these motivational
influences alongside corresponding motivation constructs.

38
Table 4
Motivational Influences
Motivation influence type Influence statement Assessment
Outcome expectancy Female middle managers need
to believe their investment in
career development and
growth can result in an
executive leadership position
at MMS.
Women were asked to share
their expectations and beliefs
about the likelihood of
advancement into executive
leadership.
Self-efficacy Female middle managers need
to have the confidence they
can grow professionally into
an executive leadership
position.
Women were asked to share
their past performance,
experiences, beliefs, role
models, and advocates.
Value Female middle managers need
to see value in growing their
careers from middle
management positions to
executive level positions.
Women were asked how it
would feel to be an executive,
what the role of an executive
is, and what career goals they
have.

Confidence to Grow Into an Executive Leadership Position
Self-efficacy comes from the research of Bandura (1977, 1991) and refers to the beliefs
of an individual in their own capacity to succeed. This self-appraisal of abilities functions as a
determinant “of how people behave, their thought patterns, and the emotional reactions they
experience in taxing situations” (Bandura, 1982, p. 123). Perceptions of self-efficacy, whether
accurate or not, influence motivation to pursue a goal as well as affect the amount of effort and

39
persistence a person has toward achieving goals (Bandura, 1982). According to Bandura (1977)
there are four ways in which self-efficacy can be influenced: direct experiences of success,
vicarious experiences or modeling, verbal persuasion and encouragement, and emotional
dispositions. Building on Bandura’s (1977) work, Betz and Hackett (1983) applied self-efficacy
theory to career choices of women in male dominated career fields such as math, science, and
technology. Their research found that societal gender norms can negatively influence women’s
self-efficacy in male dominated fields, which in turn works to lower career aspirations for
women in non-traditional female roles (Betz & Hackett, 1997). This is important because senior
leadership is highly male dominated. Following Betz & Hackett, the creation of a social
cognitive career theory (SCCT) combined theories of self-efficacy and outcome expectations to
study the impact each have on career interests and goal setting (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994).
Outcome expectations are the beliefs a person has about what the consequences of their actions
will be (Bandura, 1986). According to Bandura (1986, 2001), people form their outcome
expectations by experiencing the results of their own actions as well as observing the outcomes
of people around them. For the study of women in middle management, it would be helpful to
analyze self-efficacy and outcome expectations specifically in the context of advancement into
executive leadership.
According to Bandura, there are three types of human agency that impact motivation:
direct personal agency, proxy agency, and collective agency. Each form of human agency can be
influenced by experience, vicarious experience, persuasion, and emotional excitement (Bandura,
2011). A person uses their personal history of success, role models, persuasion of trusted
advisors, and their emotional state regarding a specific task or goal to form their self-efficacy.

40
Self-efficacy influences behavioral and personal determinants, and, in combination with
environmental factors, determines a person’s likelihood to succeed.
Leadership self-efficacy applies these concepts to a leader’s belief in their leadership
abilities (McCormick et al., 2002). Bakken et al. (2003) conducted a study of leadership among
scientists and found that leadership self-efficacy was higher in men than in women. In fact,
numerous studies have been performed to evaluate the differences between self-efficacy in
leaders who are men versus women, and overwhelmingly the research shows that women
experience comparatively lower self-efficacy (Hoyt, 2005). Isaac et al. (2012) developed an
educational intervention in response to women’s low efficacy scores. Their research found self-
efficacy in women to be particularly low in male dominated fields such as medicine, science, and
engineering. In their study, women were asked to rate their efficacy beliefs prior to and
following a 16-week educational course (Isaac et al., 2012). The questionnaire used eight
efficacy statements and asked participants to rate on a Likert scale from one (strongly agree) to
seven (strongly disagree) their own abilities in leadership (Murphy, 1992). The study concluded
women’s leadership self-efficacy did increase following the course, and that efforts to improve
self-efficacy through similar training may increase women’s participation in leadership more
broadly (Isaac et al., 2012).
Haber-Curran et al. (2018) conducted a study of college women’s leadership self-efficacy
through the lens of 19 emotionally intelligent leadership (EIL) capacities. According to their
research, four specific capacities influenced leadership self-efficacy in women: managing
conflict, facilitating change, initiative, and developing relationships. According to Sax (2008),
women who are freshmen in college have lower self-efficacy than men on measures of academic

41
abilities and intelligence. Despite this, women attend universities and colleges at higher rates and
outperform men in a variety of academic measures (Eagan et al., 2016).
Similarly, women in leadership have a tendency to underestimate their capabilities
despite having equally strong competencies as men (Calizo et al., 2007). Research indicates
negative beliefs about leadership abilities lower career aspirations for women (Epstein &
Bronzaft, 1974). Low self-efficacy inhibits women’s motivation and makes navigating and
overcoming career challenges more difficult, ultimately impacting performance (Bandura &
Locke, 2003). Additionally, research shows low self-efficacy influences decision making, and
low efficacy in women in leadership can decrease the likelihood of pursuing advancement
(Dugan et al., 2013). This is especially important if advancement into executive leadership
requires asking for a promotion, rather than waiting for a job opening to be posted.
Dickerson and Taylor (2000) conducted a study to determine the impact Global Self-
Esteem (GSE) and Task Specific Self-Esteem (TSSE) have on the task choices of women in
leadership. GSE includes the overall assessment of a person's self-worth and does not directly
correlate with self-efficacy, however, TSSE does provide a measure of self-efficacy and is
capable of predicting task choice (Bandura, 1982, 1997). According to their study, low TSEE
leads to self-limiting behavior in women that results in women self-selecting out of advanced
leadership positions (Dickerson & Taylor, 2000). In other words, if women do not believe they
can succeed in senior leadership, they will not seek a career as an executive.
Modeling and persuasion interventions can increase self-efficacy and improve self-
limiting behaviors of women in leadership (Bandura, 1997, Dickerson & Taylor, 2000).
According to Betz and Hackett (1997), the most “important application of self-efficacy
interventions is to attempt to increase interest in an area” (p. 396). Understanding the self-

42
efficacy of women in middle management positions at MMS will help guide recommendations
around modeling, training, and advocacy interventions.
Belief Professional Development Can Result in an Executive Leadership Role
Outcome expectations influence career decision making and the formation of career
interests (Fouad & Guilen, 2006). Yeagley et al. (2010) found that outcome expectations
specifically influence career aspirations for women seeking advancement into elite leadership.
Outcome expectations are defined as a person’s beliefs about the potential consequences, good
and bad, of a specific behavior (Bandura, 1977, 1986). Several different categories of outcome
expectations have been studied, such as the anticipated financial, social, and personal (or self-
evaluative) results of a particular action (Bandura, 1986). Research suggests goal setting, social
learning, valuation of incentives, and symbolic thinking are all influenced by the expectation’s
women have about being in advanced leadership (Fouad & Guillen, 2006).
Yeagley et al. (2010) studied women in their first year of college and found outcome
expectations and self-efficacy to influence goal setting indirectly through the impact each had on
the development of women’s career interests. Outcome expectations can be used to measure the
extent to which pursuing a career in executive leadership would align with the values of women
in middle management (Lent & Brown, 2006).
Bandura’s (1997) research found three types of outcome expectations and indicated that
positive expectations serve to incentivize behavior. The first type of expectation involves
physical implications (pain or pleasure resulting from a given outcome). The second form is
social reactions to the outcome (social approval, praise, recognition, compensation, and power).
The third is self-evaluation, which takes place in the form of feeling proud or critical of oneself.
In situations where self-efficacy is high and there are perceived negative outcome expectations

43
(physical, societal, or self-evaluating), a person may be hesitant to pursue a career interest or
goal. For example, even if women believe they would succeed in executive leadership, if they
feel there would be negative societal or personal outcomes, it could influence their career
choices.
Based on these findings, it is important to evaluate the outcome expectancy of women in
middle-management positions at MMS towards executive leadership. Outcome expectations
influence decision making and should be measured in addition to self-efficacy to create a deeper
understanding of overall motivation to be promoted into executive leadership. When predicting
the impact that outcome expectations will have on women seeking advanced leadership, it is also
important to evaluate the career values of those women.
Value in Growing From Middle Management to Executive Leadership
According to Bandura (1977), the amount of value a person places on an expected
outcome also influences the degree to which they will pursue a goal. Theories about outcome
expectations date back to the work of Toleman (1932), who studied learned expectations in
animals and the influence it had over their behaviors. Atkinson (1957) expanded on Toleman’s
work by combining expectancy-value theory (Toleman, 1932) with Lewin et al. (1944) research
on levels of aspiration influenced by probability of success taking into account the difficulty and
barriers associated with the task. Bandura (1997) took these theories further to argue that in
addition to outcome expectations being variables, the value ascribed to those outcomes also
comes into play as a critical factor.
According to Butler and Hasenfratz (2017), gender differences in values and self-
concepts begin in early childhood and form as a result of differential beliefs and treatment from
parents, peers, and teachers. These self-concepts and values are critical to examine because

44
research shows they are equally predictive of school achievement in boys and girls (Wigfield et
al., 1997) and are therefore critical as any differences in values results in large impacts on
achievement (Butler & Hasenfratz, 2017). According to Wigfield et al. (2016), valuing a specific
goal is critical because it directly influences the competence motivation required to achieve it.
Higgins (2007) defined value as the attraction a person has to an activity. Guo et al. (2015) found
values and expectations predict outcomes in students across varying academic fields.
Gore and Leuwerk (2000) studied values related to career aspirations by having
participants rate the degree to which a list of work values would fulfill their own values.
Understanding the values of participants can be done either separately from outcome
expectations or by asking in the same question participants to rate the outcomes likely to occur
that most apply to their values (Lent & Brown, 2006).

45
Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this study is to analyze women in middle management’s knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences to understand their capacity to promote into executive
leadership. The findings in this study are used to help MMS achieve their organizational goal of
increasing the number of women in executive leadership by 25% by the end of 2022. This
chapter presents the research methods and case study design for gathering and analyzing data.
This chapter presents the research questions and methodology, describes data collection,
limitations, and ethical considerations, and concludes with a presentation of the approach to data
analysis used in this study.
Research Questions
The research questions for this study relevant to the conceptual framework are as follows:
1. What are the women in middle management’s knowledge and motivation related to
attaining executive leadership positions?
2. How do the organizational and external influences impact the capacity of women in
middle management to move into executive leadership positions?
3. What are the knowledge, motivational and organizational recommendations?
Overview of Methodology
This case study uses a qualitative methodological approach to understand the unique
experiences and world views of women in middle management about themselves as leaders,
MMS as an organization, and executive leadership within the context of MMS specifically.
Qualitative research uses data in the form of words for the purpose of developing new theories
and ideas (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Because a review of the current literature has not fully
answered why women have seen such slow growth in areas of executive leadership, further

46
qualitative research is needed. Using Clark and Estes (2006) gap analysis framework, this case
study asks women in middle management to share insights into their contextual knowledge,
motivation, and understanding of MMS from their own viewpoints in their own words. This
study also included document and artifact analysis specific to MMS to provide insight into
organizational influences including a review of training and development resources, values
statements, organizational structure, and relevant budgets. Interviews address women in middle
management at MMS with questions specifically designed to understand gaps in knowledge,
motivation, and organization to support greater understanding specific to the conceptual
framework and research questions above. Currently, there are 18 women in middle management
who meet the criteria for the study. Table 5 outlines and provides rationale for each data
collection method.

Table 5
Data Sources
Study questions Interviews Document and artifacts
What are the women in middle management’s
knowledge and motivation related to attaining
executive leadership positions?
X
How do the organizational and external influences
impact the capacity of women in middle
management to move into executive leadership
positions?
X X
What are the knowledge, motivational and
organizational recommendations?
X X

47
Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan
Data collection included interviews and document analysis specific to the organizational,
knowledge, and motivational influences on women in middle management at MMS. The
following sections will provide further insights into the data collection process from selecting
participants to presenting findings. The data were synthesized in accordance with the plan set
forth in this chapter and will be presented in Chapter 4 as either a gap or an asset to the capacity
of women in middle management at MMS.
Interviews
Interviewing was selected as the method for gathering information to enable complex and
contextual responses about the experiences women in middle management have experienced. A
semi structured interview format was followed using a mix of structured probing questions and
ad-hoc follow-up questions to ensure the flexibility needed to gain deep understanding of
women’s unique experiences, while also ensuring consistency and adherence to the outlined
research questions (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Open ended interview questions were presented to
assess the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of women in middle
management. Procedural, metacognitive, and factual knowledge influences were assessed. Self-
efficacy, outcome expectations, and values were also examined. Organizational cultural models,
settings, and support resources are also evaluated. The interview protocol (see Appendix A)
outlines interview questions that can be used to answer the research questions above.
Participating Stakeholders
Women in middle management were selected as the primary stakeholders and
participants for interviews because they are the women in the organization most likely to be
promoted into executive leadership. These women lead teams of people and have been promoted

48
beyond entry level managerial roles. Women in middle management are responsible for budgets,
setting quarterly objectives for their teams, executing strategic priorities, and making critical
team level decisions. Several of these women have been chosen for the company’s annual
Employee Impact Award, which is given to less than 1% of employees per year for exceptional
performance, and others have earned Employee of the Month recognition and other
organizational achievements. The average tenure of this stakeholder group is four years. Only
one woman has been promoted into executive leadership from a middle management position in
the organization. This group of women have shown interest in advancing their careers as leaders
by moving beyond their initial entry level roles. The 20 women chosen for interviews represent
several company divisions including operations, sales, marketing services, and consumer. There
are no women in middle management in finance, legal, or information technology (all parts of
the operations division).
Survey Sampling Criteria Rationale
Nonprobability sampling was planned to gain contextual knowledge about the women in
middle management at MMS specifically, and the findings are not generalizable to the general
population outside of this study site (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The sample population of
women in middle management was chosen to provide an understanding of typical experiences of
women in leadership between entry level and executive at MMS. This population was
determined purposefully using the below criterion.
• Participants were women employed at MMS at time of study. Gender is self-identified at
time of hire at MMS, and all participants selected for the study identify as women.
• Participants are leaders with titles of senior manager, director, senior director, and vice
president. Within MMS these positions are above entry level manager and below

49
executive leadership. Names for women in middle management were retrieved from the
organizational chart.
• Participants did not report directly to me as the researcher involved in the interviews.
Data Collection and Instrumentation Procedures
Online interviews were chosen for data collection due to MMS as an organization
moving all employees to virtual work from home environments in response to the COVID-19
global pandemic. Zoom was chosen as the technology to be used for conducting interviews
because all employees at MMS have access and are familiar with zoom, which allowed for face-
to-face online interviews to take place without any additional training or constraints for
participants. Zoom also enables interview recordings, and audio was transcribed for final
analysis. Interview were chosen based on participant input and calendar invites were sent with a
link to a Zoom meeting. The Zoom online meeting room was password protected and
participants were given the password to enter in the calendar invite. Interviews were between 45
minutes and one hour and were transcribed using a third-party transcription technology.
Participants were sent a thank you note after their participation but were not offered an incentive
in advance of their participation.
During data collection, participants were informed explicitly they were participating in a
study and were asked for permission to be interviewed and recorded. An introduction with the
purpose of the study was shared with participants prior to the interview along with an
Information Sheet for Exempt Studies as shown in Appendix B. As all participants in the study
were women in middle management at MMS and the purpose of the study was to solve the
gender inequities in executive leadership at MMS, the research problem was one that was
relatable and beneficial for participants. Semi-structured interview questions were used to

50
prevent the collection of unrelated or non-topical information and to ensure participants are not
put in a position to be providing harmful information. Participant privacy was maintained, and
names were removed from the transcriptions to maintain anonymity.
As stated by Creswell (2018), the interviewer is the primary instrument in a qualitative
study. As the primary instrument for this study, it was critical for me to ensure that great effort
was taken to create research that contributes to the field in a way that is meaningful. This was
done by adhering to the outlined methodology to ensure a high level of creditworthiness and
integrity.
Data Analysis
Data analysis includes multiple perspectives and avoids only showing one side of the
issue. The analysis synthesized positive and negative findings and work to create a thorough and
comprehensive understanding of the interviews. Privacy was maintained by removing all
identifying information for participants. When direct quotes were used in discussing findings,
participants are anonymously identified numerically. Codes were created to organize interview
responses in alignment with the KMO conceptual framework discussed in Chapter 2. Three
codes were created for the knowledge and motivation influences, and four codes were created for
the organization influence. Additional codes were added throughout the analysis as themes
emerged in the interviews. Specifically, codes were created for the mention of male dominance
in a working group, empathy or purpose as key strengths or leadership values, and mentions of
being encouraged or nudged into leadership. Notes were taken during interviews as well as
during data analysis and used to capture additional context as well as the researcher’s thoughts
and reactions. Responses were then analyzed to determine if they revealed a gap in the influence
or an asset in an area. If the majority of responses were a gap, the influence was determined to be

51
a gap in influences on women’s capacity to advance into executive leadership. Likewise, if the
majority of responses were coded as an asset, that influence was determined to be an asset
supporting women’s capacity. Data will be stored for at least five years as recommended by
Creswell and Creswell (2018), and the analysis procedure were documented to ensure readers
can determine for themselves the trustworthiness and credibility of the analysis.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Qualitative research validity is not measured in the quantitative sense of reliability and
validity but is instead a measure of a study’s “trustworthiness, authenticity, and credibility”
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018, p. 200). This section identifies several approaches that were used to
increase the accuracy of the research findings. One method that was used was a commitment to
present all sides of the information even findings that ran contrary to the main themes.
Credibility in qualitative research shows the consistency or stability of the study
methodology and can be increased with detailed process documentation (Yin, 2009). Gibs (2007)
provides procedures that can be used to increase the readability of the study including checking
transcriptions for mistakes that stand out, ensuring codes do not shift or change during the coding
process, and comparing codes and themes in external research. All of these methods were used to
ensure the reliability of the study remains high.
Document and Artifact Analysis
Documents provide a key source of data in qualitative research and include digital or
physical materials, reports, visuals, records, statements, and other organizational artifacts
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Several documents and artifacts were needed to understand the
organizational influences within MMS on women in middle management’s capacity to promote
into executive leadership. Values statements were reviewed to evaluate cultural model one,

52
MMS needs to value diversity in executive leadership. Training budgets and inclusion and
diversity budgets were reviewed to evaluate cultural setting one, financial investment, training,
guest speakers, and other inclusion efforts directed toward women at MMS. Organizational
charts were viewed to reveal the number of women currently in executive leadership at MMS to
determine culture setting two, visibility and access to female role models at the executive level.
Coaching, mentoring, and hiring policies were reviewed to evaluate cultural setting three, level
of support for women in middle managers for achieving executive leadership positions.
Data Collection Procedures
Value statements were accessed on the publicly available company website. The
organizational structure was retrieved from the company intranet. Hiring processes and policies
were provided by the recruiting team and learning and development resources were provided by
the learning and development team. Inclusion and diversity budgets were provided by the
Inclusion and Diversity team along with a monthly Inclusion and Diversity newsletter.
Data Analysis
Values statements were reviewed to determine diversity and inclusion as company
values. Presence of role models was analyzed by reviewing the number of women in senior
leadership positions compared to the number of men and compared to the number of women in
middle management positions. Additional support programs were reviewed to determine the
extent to which they are available and in support of advancing women into executive leadership.
Artifacts were determined as either revealing a gap or an asset based on the research around each
KMO influence. Artifact analysis was also compared to interview responses, specifically as they
related to training and development programs as well as organization values and commitments
towards women in leadership.

53
Ethics and Role of Researcher
Researchers have an obligation to maintain ethical approaches to their work to protect
participants from harm (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). As a senior vice president in executive
leadership at MMS it was very important to be thoughtful about the influence this had on the
research. As an interviewer, I had my own experiences at MMS that shaped my understanding as
I conducted interviews it was important to keep the integrity of responses true to those
participating. It was also important participants knew the study was completely voluntary and
that their responses would be kept anonymous. In a qualitative study involving interviews, the
researcher is the primary instrument, and the experiences and subjectivity of the researcher must
be taken into consideration (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). My positionality as a researcher was
important to include within the context of ethics because as the person conducting the interviews
there was room for bias (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To balance any preconceived notions about
the experience of women at MMS, it was important to incorporate ongoing self-reflection into
the analysis process to ensure the findings were authentic to those who participate in interviews.
This positionality was also a reason for a semi-structured interview to keep questions grounded
in the research questions and consistent from participant to participant.
An assumption I brought into the study was that MMS had a diverse range of knowledge,
motivation, and organization gaps and that these gaps did not result from a singular root cause.
This assumption was based on my awareness of the organization, its training programs, culture,
and was directly impacted by the experiences I had working as a woman at MMS. Throughout
the data collection and analysis, which happened simultaneously throughout the research
process, it was critical to be self-reflective and separate my own experiences from those of
participants. It was also important that questions were worded in ways that did not lead to a

54
preconceived answer. As a researcher, I had to remain open to my own experiences not being
reflected in the study and committed to maintaining authenticity and voice for the women in
middle management being interviewed. Another assumption I made was that women are at least
somewhat interested in executive leadership and that the gaps in diversity were not a result of
women not wanting career advancement. This assumption was tested directly by asking
motivational questions specific to value and expectations for executive leadership as well as by
asking what women’s career goals were. Again, throughout the data collection and analysis
process I had to remain open to being wrong about that assumption.
Participants were all employees of MMS, and it was important as an interviewer to
ensure they knew the study was completely voluntary and for the purpose of academic research
and not required in any way by MMS. As the Senior Vice President of People at MMS, it was
common for me or my team to be conducting surveys, focus groups, or interviews of employees
to support our decisions for making organizational change. It was important that participants
knew this interview was for the purpose of writing a dissertation and was in no way related to
other employee experience initiatives. This information was disclosed to all participants at the
beginning of the interview along with a request for consent to prevent participant exploitation
and protect participants as suggested by Creswell and Creswell (2018). Also, because of my
position within the organization, I did not interview anyone that worked on a team that I led.
A proposal was submitted and approved in accordance with the IRB protocols of the
University of Southern California. MMS as an organization did not have a separate IRB process.
None of the participants in the study were of a vulnerable population. To protect the anonymity
of participants, all identification information was removed during the transcription process to
guard against any potential harm that could be caused by asking them to talk openly about

55
executive leadership and many findings were synthesized and summarized collectively to avoid
specific details from one person becoming discernable. When direct quotes were used
participants were assigned a number rather than any other identifying information and any quote
that would have given insight into a person’s identify was avoided completely. All people who
met the criteria were invited to participate in the study and no qualified participants were
excluded from participation in an interview to ensure the highest ability to understand the
capacity across women in middle management and not only among a select few.

56
Chapter Four: Findings
This research study explored the capacity of women in middle management at MMS to
attain executive leadership positions. Organization, motivation, and knowledge were investigated
to identify gaps. The stakeholder group that participated in the interview process were women in
middle management at MMS. The following research questions were used:
1. How do the organizational and external influences impact the women in middle
management’s capacity to move into executive leadership positions?
2. What are women in middle management’s knowledge and motivation related to executive
leadership positions?
3. What are the knowledge, motivational and organizational recommendations?
Thirteen women participated in semi-structured interviews. The initial volunteer email
was sent to all 20 eligible participants. Of those who received the email invitation, 13 responded
to the invitation, and interviews were completed for all 13 individuals. Interviews were
scheduled for 90 minutes; however, interviews took on average 45 minutes to complete. A series
of 20 questions organized thematically by knowledge, motivation, and organization were asked,
and probing questions were brought in as needed to help facilitate deeper understanding.
Interview transcription analysis was completed alongside document analysis to determine
findings related to the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences described in the
conceptual framework in Chapter 2. Analysis of documents centered around the organizational
influences and specifically focused on understanding the assumed MMS cultural models and
settings. Documents analyzed included the organization’s value statement, training, recruiting,
and inclusion and diversity programs. Organization, motivation, and knowledge gaps were
determined if seven or more of the 13 interview responses showed lack or negativity in a given

57
area. If seven or more of the 13 responses were positive or present in each area it was determined
to be an asset.
Participating Stakeholders
This research studied MMS women in middle management positions who were above
entry level leadership, but below senior vice president, and who did not report up through the
People Team within the organization. Detailed demographic information for each participant is
not listed for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality of participants. Later, when discussing
findings, quotes from participants will be individually listed, and participants will be identified
only as P1 through P13. Table 6 shows a high-level breakdown of tenure at MMS across
participants to help provide context on how long each woman interviewed has been with the
organization. The average tenure of the current SVP and above executive team is eight years. If
the two most recent outside hires that were made in the past 12 months are excluded, the
combined tenure would be 10 years. Based on tenure alone, only two of the participants
interviewed have eight or more years of experience at MMS.

Table 6
Participant Tenure (N = 13)
Number of participants Tenure
2 0 - 2 years
7 2 - 5 years
4 6+ years

58
Table 7 shows a breakdown of the participants by job level to exhibit the tenure spread
from senior manager to VP level positions. Sixty-four percent of women interviewed were in
Director positions. One of those interviewed were at the Sr. Manager level, nine were at the
Director level, and three were at the Vice President level.

Table 7
Participant Job Level (N = 13)
Number of participants Job level
1 Senior Manager
9 Director
3 Vice President

59
Research Question 1: How Do Organizational Influences Impact Women in Middle
Management’s Capacity to Move Into Executive Leadership?
Organization influences were assessed in two ways in this study. First, three interview
questions were asked to assess the organizational influence as perceived by women in middle
management around the organization's value of diversity, its investment in training, conferences,
and other formal programs for women in leadership, and access to executive level role models.
Second, document and artifact analysis were completed to gain additional insights into the
organizational barriers to the capacity of women to advance into executive leadership. All three
areas of organizational influence were identified as gaps for MMS despite some recent examples
of the company investing more in inclusion and diversity efforts. Table 8 shows the assessment
of each organizational influence based on the interview questions and document and artifact
analysis.

Table 8
Organization Findings
Organizational influence type Assumed influence Assessment
Cultural Model MMS needs to value diversity in all levels of
the organization.
Gap
Cultural Setting MMS needs to invest in trainings,
conferences, guest speakers, and other
inclusion efforts directed toward women
Gap
Cultural Setting MMS needs to provide visibility and access to
female role models at the executive level
Gap

60
Cultural Model
As an organization, MMS needs to value diversity at all levels as established in Chapter
2. The cultural model at MMS was evaluated based on interview questions about how women
feel valued and supported in the organization and by reviewing the company value statement.
Three women described the culture at MMS as it relates to women in leadership as supportive.
However, one of those three women acknowledged that her experiences of support were likely
not felt on other teams outside of her department, which she described as being one of the most
supportive and diverse in the company.
The majority of women (77%) felt their experiences at MMS were more difficult because
they were women. Three participants expressed views that women throughout the organization
were expected to work harder than their male peers. Ten women mentioned the cultural
atmosphere as being male dominant and difficult to navigate for women in leadership. Five
women mentioned executive leaders had friendship ties to their male peers but that women in the
organization were often left out of the social settings that would allow them to develop these
same relationships with the executive team. For example, P11 said at times it “does feel like I’m
missing out on the joke or there’s some naturally stronger relationships that have formed that I
can’t break through.” P3 shared she feels “males have a closer relationship with males versus a
female or having a direct report that’s a male, I feel like sometimes I can’t connect closer than
other males can with them.”
Although the cultural model was identified as a gap, 38% of women shared that they felt
the company was moving in the right direction and that there had been an obvious investment in
supporting women in leadership especially over the past few years. Eighty-five percent of
women acknowledged it was more difficult to be a woman in leadership at MMS than it was to

61
be a man. P7 shared that to get respect from men in executive leadership, she felt she had to
make everyone comfortable. This perception often meant that P7 felt that she could not speak
candidly when needed. P11 also talked about having to navigate meetings and presentations
differently because she is a woman stating, “it’s challenging, and I definitely feel aware I’m a
woman.” The participants interviewed seemed hopeful that the organization was moving towards
valuing women in leadership, but they all voiced the perception that additional work had to
happen to make women feel valued at every level and across all teams. P8 stated that when she
first started, she was discouraged by the lack of value the organization had for women but that
“especially the last few years, there’s been such a deliberate way of looking at it and saying how
do we get more diversity.”
MMS has two values in their value statement that support a culture of inclusion for
women in executive leadership: “Create Community” and “Respect Every Person.” These values
are not reflective of how women at MMS in this study reported feeling as leaders in the
organization. However, these values were adopted in early 2020 according to women
interviewed, and the full impact on the organizational culture might still be forthcoming. A
concrete example of the organization’s commitment to diversity is its recent signing of a
diversity pledge stating that at least one woman will be interviewed for every position director
and above. The organization has also established an Inclusion and Diversity Council (IDC)
whose purpose statement reads,
everyone is a part; no one is apart. Ours is a community for everyone. We embrace
diversity in experience, identity, and perspective, not only to help each of us learn and
grow, but also to expand the capabilities of our business.

62
The organization’s monthly newsletters were also reviewed and show a clear
commitment towards inclusion and diversity, sharing information about an executive diversity
training, company lunch and learn opportunities, and other inclusion efforts. Despite the more
recent commitments reviewed in the documents, based on the interview responses of women at
MMS, this influence was assessed as an overall gap.
MMS Does Not Value Diversity at All Levels of the Organization
To measure the resources allocated to women, interview questions were asked specific to
the formal trainings and programs provided at MMS. All 13 women interviewed expressed a lack
of structured training programs to support their career advancement into executive leadership.
Additionally, a review of the training budgets available as part of document analysis revealed a
quarterly leadership training available to all managers and above and an executive coach offered
to those already in executive leadership. P1 shared that learning development opportunities
catered to entry level leadership and that executive level support would be beneficial. P2 shared
that she had recently been nominated for an executive coaching program along with three other
women focused on building confidence as a leader. This program was the only mention of an
investment specifically in women.
Three women expressed a recent shift in the organization’s commitments towards
leadership development. P5 stated “a lot of my development has happened recently, I feel like
I’ve noticed a seismic shift, honestly in the amount of trainings given.” P7 shared that her
director taught leadership topics weekly based on various “pillars of leadership,” which was said
to be “really useful and really helpful.” Each of the women interviewed seemed to have a
different experience with formal training programs rather than a unified or shared experience
indicating leadership development varies by department or leader. Based on interview responses,

63
the organization does not provide any opportunities for women to take on executive leadership
projects or initiatives to build confidence through personal performance. No women have been
given executive level training or development, and nine women specifically addressed executive
skills as opportunities or gaps in their current leadership abilities.
MMS Does Not Provide Access to Female Role Models
The organizational chart of MMS was reviewed to determine whether or not women in
middle management have access to female role models at the senior executive level. Across the
entire organization, only one woman held a position higher than Vice President (VP). The
remaining 11 SVP and above positions are held by men. Based on review of the organizational
chart, the study determined visible access to executive role models who are women is a gap at
MMS. Figure 2 shows an anonymized organizational chart for the executive team at MMS.

Figure 2
Executive Leadership Organization Hierarchy

64
The findings from the artifact analysis of the organizational chart were echoed by the
responses of women interviewed. P2 shared that her female leadership role models were outside
of MMS and had a strong influence on her prior to her current role. P4 said she feels discouraged
when she sees a picture of the executive team on the website or in a meeting because it “feels a
little discouraging” and that “they just look very much alike.” P4 shared concerns that when she
sees an executive team with little to no women in leadership roles, she believes there is a “glass
ceiling effect.”
Two women, P3 and P5, shared examples of role models that were women currently
below the SVP level but in VP level positions. Thirty eight percent of women shared the one
SVP on the executive team that is a woman as a role model for their careers. P7 pointed out that
none of the executive leaders in marketing were women and that having a role model to look up
to specifically in her line of work would be impactful.
Research Question 2: What Are Women in Middle Management’s Knowledge and
Motivation Related to Executive Leadership Positions?
Interviews were conducted and analyzed to determine which knowledge and motivation
influences surfaced as assets or gaps in the capacity of women to advance into executive
leadership. Document analysis was not used for analyzing knowledge and motivation. If more
than 50% of women expressed low levels of knowledge or motivation in interviews, the
influence was determined to be a gap. Any influences that were not gaps were considered assets
to women’s capacity. Responses were also considered in relation to organizational influences.
Notes were taken during the interviews to add context beyond the answers themselves in an
effort to uncover additional insights such as hesitation to answer, quickness of a response, or the
amount of time spent on various types of questions. Findings from the interview analysis are

65
organized in the following sections thematically by each influence. Where relevant, additional
research from literature outside the study is brought in to either reinforce, ground, or
contextualize the findings.
Knowledge Influences’ Findings
The first component of the research question seeks to understand three knowledge
constructs, as they relate to executive leadership: declarative, metacognitive, and procedural.
Questions were asked to assess the declarative knowledge of women in middle management
positions about what is expected of them to be competitive for promotion into senior leadership.
Metacognitive knowledge was also assessed to determine the extent to which women in middle
management positions are aware of their strengths and growth opportunities, and able to create a
career development plan for advancement. Women in middle management were also asked
procedural questions about their awareness of how to navigate the organization and incorporate
resources available into career pathing strategies. Table 9 shows an assessment of each
knowledge influence within MMS based on seven interview questions related to the declarative,
metacognitive, and procedural knowledge types. Interview data revealed that much of the
knowledge available for women at MMS appears to be dependent on organization influences,
which will be discussed in more depth alongside other organizational influences.

66
Table 9
Knowledge findings
Knowledge influence type Influence statement Assessment

Declarative
Female middle managers need to know what is
expected of them to be competitive for
promotion to senior vice president.

Gap
Metacognitive Female middle managers need to be aware of their
own strengths and growth opportunities and are
capable of creating development plans for
career advancement.
Asset
Procedural Female middle managers need to understand how
to navigate the organization and incorporate
resources available into their career pathing
strategies.
Gap

Female Managers Do Not Know What Is Expected of Them
Declarative knowledge refers to a person’s understanding of facts, norms, concepts, rules,
or requirements (Elliot et al., 2017). In this study, participants were asked to describe the roles,
responsibilities, and requirements of executive leaders at MMS to determine whether declarative
knowledge related to executive leadership was a gap or an asset to women’s ability to advance
within the organization. All women described some of the roles and responsibilities of executive
leadership providing examples that include strategy, vision, culture, goal setting, and decision
making. However, none of the women expressed a complete understanding of what would be
expected of them to promote into executive leadership. Also mentioned as key to executive
leadership was a strong understanding of the business beyond a particular team or department.

67
P11 described the required skills as “ensuring that you have the right values, the right vision and
the right goals. And then you have to make sure that you have the right people there to execute.”
Another participant stated moving to executive leadership would require “clarifying, defining,
and setting the strategy.”
Women described their ability to build a team culture and their influence on others as
strengths, but they also identified the need for additional training in setting strategic direction,
making data-driven decisions, and understanding financials are needed. When asked about the
current formal or informal training available to women to learn those specific skills, there were
only two (two of 13) women who said they were informally working to attain those skills.
Therefore, the declarative knowledge of women in middle management regarding what would be
expected of them to promote to executive leadership was identified as a gap. P3 said one area the
business could better support women was in, “having the clear job description and clear
expectations, that followed with consistent conversations.”
Female Middle Managers Are Aware of Their Own Strengths and Growth Opportunities
Metacognition refers to a person’s ability to identify gaps, opportunities, and strengths;
strategize and problem solve; and reflect on or monitor problem areas (Sternber, 1985). All of
the women interviewed were very quick and thorough with answers regarding both strengths and
opportunities, showing metacognitive knowledge as an asset among participants. There were
several themes across the interviews related to strengths.
Empathy and a strong ability to create connection with their teams was mentioned in 10
responses to the question about strengths. The ability to effectively communicate, build buy-in,
and influence around a common vision also came up for eight women. P3 stated when asked
about her strengths, “I would say motivating my team.” P5 said, “I think my strength is, first and

68
foremost, to really rally the team around an idea.” Providing clear feedback also came up with
six participants' self-assessed area of strength. Overall, the strengths described were primarily all
in relation to leading a team and were people skills centric. Examples of women’s responses to
what their opportunities for growth are include: the ability to analyze data (seven of 13), create
strategy (five of 13), presentation skills (five of 13), transitioning from executing on to
delegating tactical work (four of 13), and decision making (three of 13). Participants shared
phrases like getting “sucked into some day-to-day stuff,” struggling to get “out of the day-to-
day,” and a general sense of having too much to do at times to focus on the higher-level
leadership as opportunities they described.
Four women spoke about the perception they had that women at MMS were expected to
work harder than men. P4 said, “I've seen it happen multiple times where, as a female, they have
to prove themselves a lot more. It's harder to get the promotion. It's harder to get the raise.
They're taking a lot more.” P12 said the following when describing her reasons for taking on
more than her male counterparts:
It's tough because you care, and you want to do a good job, and you care about the
company. You want to be successful. And it's like watching a train wreck sometimes, I
feel like, when I'm just like, if I say no to this, it is going to be a nightmare. Somebody
has to do it. And nobody in this meeting is going to do it except me.
Female Middle Managers Are Not Clear on How to Navigate the Organization
Procedural knowledge describes an awareness of strategies, processes, and procedures
(Elliot et al., 2017). The assumed procedural knowledge influence seeks to understand the extent
to which women at MMS understand how leaders promote into executive leadership. None of the
participants expressed procedural knowledge of how executive leadership positions are filled at

69
MMS, but collectively they touched on a variety of potential criteria. When asked the question,
“How do leaders get promoted into executive leadership at MMS,” five women listed one or two
ideas for how to get promoted into executive leadership, and eight women indicated they had no
clear understanding. Responses of the six that did share procedural knowledge of the promotion
process cited tenure, good relationships, being in the “right place at the right time,” continually
taking on more projects outside the scope of one’s department or brand, earning the trust of the
rest of the executive team, being outspoken, and working to forge one’s own path or create one’s
own executive role as key ideas.
Of the women interviewed, 43% came up with one or two reasons executives currently at
MMS are promoted into executive leadership. However, none of the women outlined a direct
path to executive leadership, and all women expressed that there is a lack of transparency into
the promotion process. For the 57% who shared they did not have a clear understanding of how
leaders promote into executive positions at MMS, there were two categories of responses. The
first was a sentiment that MMS has historically been a “boys club” or “tribal.” Seven participants
expressed in varying ways that in the past favoritism has played a role in the selection of the
executive team. The second category of responses was that it is not clear or transparent how
executives come to be in their roles. However, there was a sense that the team overall seems to
be deserving and they trust in the process, albeit unclear. There were also a range of responses to
how women in particular could be promoted into executive leadership at MMS from “it takes
time, you can’t just fire all the dudes,” to MMS should “fire half the men in executive positions
and replace them with women.” A few responses also mentioned their career paths going from
very clear and specific as they moved from individual contributors to managers, or managers to

70
directors, but that moving from a director or vice president level role to an SVP or EVP role was
very unclear.
Motivation Influences’ Findings
“Motivation is the product of an interaction between people and their work environment”
(Clark & Estes, 2008, p. 86). The expectancy, self-efficacy, and value of women in middle
management at MMS towards executive leadership were three motivational influences studied.
Overall, the study found that women in middle management at MMS valued executive leadership
as a career, but had gaps related to expectations and self-efficacy. Table 10 shows the influence
statements associated with each area of motivation alongside the assessment of each as a gap or
asset.

Table 10
Motivational Findings
Motivation influence type Assumed influence Assessment

Outcome expectancy
Female middle managers need to believe their
investment in career development and growth
can result in an executive leadership position at
MMS.

Gap
Self-efficacy Female middle managers need to have the
confidence they can grow professionally into an
executive leadership position.
Gap
Value Female middle managers need to see value in
growing their careers from middle management
positions to executive level positions.
Asset

71
Female Middle Managers Do Not Believe Development Will Result in Executive Leadership
Women in middle management need to believe their work can result in successfully
achieving executive leadership positions. Three women expressed expectations they could
advance into executive positions, but 75% did not believe they would achieve executive
leadership positions. P1 stated, “there are just a finite number of positions, which I think is
obviously the biggest barrier to entry.” P3 said that at this point in her career her expectations for
an executive leadership role were “not too high,” and according to P7, “I can’t really see long
term with MMS right now.” P10 expressed a feeling of imposter syndrome with the comments,
“I feel like it's something I’m interested in, but I have this imposter syndrome, as a lot of people
do...I don’t know if I’m like smart enough to do that.”
Women who expressed they had regular and open feedback from their leadership team
and a clear path within their current department toward executive leadership verbalized more
expectancy that they would be able to achieve a senior leadership position at MMS. Four women
expressed that they wished there were examples of women in senior leadership in their specific
area of the business. For example, P10 said, “I definitely think with my own imposter syndrome
that I've mentioned, seeing other female leaders does plant the seed in my mind.” Three women
expressed the belief that their expectation of achieving executive leadership would increase if
they could see the path from their current role and develop stronger relationships with the current
executive team to learn how they were promoted into their positions.
When asked about their current career goals or ambitions, nine women did not describe
being promoted to a higher-level of leadership as a career goal. They instead shared goals related
to increasing their value to MMS from their current position. In addition to the expectancy
influence, self-efficacy also surfaced in the analysis as a gap.

72
Female Middle Managers Are Not Confident They Will Grow into Executive Leadership
“Self-efficacy is a personal belief in one’s capability to organize and execute courses of
action required to attain designated types of performances” (Artino, 2012, p.76). This study
sought to explore whether women in middle management believe they are capable of
successfully becoming executive leaders. To assess the self-efficacy of women in middle
management at MMS, interview questions were asked about their decision to pursue leadership,
their access to role models, how they think it might feel to be an executive at MMS, what their
career goals are for themselves, and how likely they feel it is they become an executive. Seventy
seven percent of women interviewed expressed a lack of confidence in their ability to grow into
an executive leadership position when directly asked. P3 stated that her belief in becoming an
executive leader at this point in her career was “not too high,” but that over time she hoped her
confidence would grow. Three participants (P4, P6, and P10) mentioned feeling imposture
syndrome and an ongoing doubt in their ability to be successful in their current positions. P13
shared that there were days she felt confident but that other times “it’s tough because there aren’t
that many executive women at [MMS] as a whole.” Overall, only 23% (three of 13) women felt
confident they would be successful in attaining a position in executive leadership, revealing self-
efficacy as a gap.
Lent et al. (2017) found that several factors influence self-efficacy and career choice
including mastery, verbal persuasion, access to role models, and emotions. To better understand
the role verbal persuasion has played in women’s advancement in leadership at MMS, women
were asked about what caused them to pursue a role in leadership originally. Seventy percent of
women shared they decided to become leaders after experiencing verbal persuasion from
someone in an elevated leadership position. The prevalence of women persuaded to pursue

73
leadership by someone else who believed in them and convinced them they would do a good job
was a significant influence that surfaced in interviews. P1 shared she was very hesitant about
accepting her first leadership position because she doubted her ability to lead and felt she was not
prepared for the role. P3 said she always wanted to be a leader “but never felt confident enough
to.” P8 shared that a director at the time she was an individual contributor told her she would
make a great leader and that she should consider a career in leadership. Eight women described a
form of verbal persuasion influenced their decision to pursue their first leadership position,
indicating verbal persuasion had a significant influence on their original motivation. However,
only one woman shared she currently has an executive leader that has told her to continue
pursuing advancement towards executive leadership specifically.
Role models are impactful influences on a person’s self-efficacy and career decision
making (Buunk et al., 2007). Women were asked to share insights into their role models and also
asked what impact, if any, having more women in executive leadership would have. Eighty
percent of women gave an example of another women in leadership that they saw as a role
model, however, only three of those were executives and the rest were other women in middle
management. Seventy seven percent of women gave examples of men in executive leadership or
women outside of MMS. Thirty percent specifically shared they lacked female role models in
executive leadership. All of the women felt having more women on the executive team would
have a positive impact on women throughout the organization. P1 stated “having like folks in
those leadership positions makes you see that like, oh I could do that.” P5 shared that “whether
or not it has a sizeable impact on someone or it’s a bit more subconscious, I think it just does
wonders to prove that it can happen.” P10 stated “with my own imposter syndrome, seeing other

74
female leaders does plant the seed in my mind…” Access to female role models is further
discussed later in the chapter as an organizational barrier at MMS.
Female Middle Managers Value Growing Their Careers Into Executive Leadership
In addition to self-efficacy, value beliefs influence the motivation of women and their
career choices (Guo et al., 2015). Valuing a career in executive leadership was measured by
asking women about their career ambitions and by asking women to describe how they would
feel in an executive leadership position. Only three women stated executive leadership as an
explicit career goal; however, 70% of women in middle management felt an executive role
would be beneficial and valuable as a career. As a result of these data, this influence was
determined to be an asset. P2 described how it would feel to be an executive by saying
“incredible, just like every other promotion I’ve gotten.” P11 shared being in executive
leadership would “feel like a privilege. It would make me feel very humble and I wouldn’t take it
lightly.” Thirty percent of women acknowledged executive leadership would come with
pressure, stress, and fear. However, even those sentiments were shared alongside positive value
statements about the benefits of being in an executive leadership position. For example, P1 stated
“I think it’s pressure, but it’s also in a good way, knowing if you succeed, you’re creating and
growing.”
Summary
Study findings suggest that there are several opportunities for improving women’s
capacity to advance into executive leadership at MMS. Several strengths emerged from the
research, including women’s metacognitive knowledge, value for executive leadership, and
recent improvements in the organizational cultural setting for women in leadership, such as the

75
newly developed inclusion and diversity council. However, all three assumed organizational
influences impacting women’s advancement were identified as gaps.
Chapter 5 will discuss recommendations for improving three specific areas of
opportunity, one for each of the organization, knowledge, and motivation barriers. The
influences discussed were chosen as a focus based on a review of literature that suggests either a
root cause for the influence or a researched recommendation for improvement. The gaps chosen
for further discussion are those most capable of supporting MMS in achieving its organizational
goal to increase the number of women in executive leadership by 25% by the end of 2022.

76
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendation
The purpose of this study was to support MMS’s organizational performance through
understanding the capacity of women currently in middle management positions to promote into
executive leadership roles. Interview and document and artifact analysis uncovered several gaps
to address, and recommendations are provided to close those gaps based on reviewed literature,
empirical evidence, and supporting theories. This chapter synthesizes findings from the study,
posits individual and integrated recommendations, discusses limitations, and highlights future
research opportunities.
Discussion of Key Findings
Several gaps were identified using the gap analysis framework provided by Clark and
Estes (2008). This section discusses key findings related to each of the three areas of influence
identified in the conceptual framework, organization, knowledge, and motivation. Bringing in
additional research, each finding is discussed alongside findings from other research studies.
Eighty percent of women interviewed said they did not have insight into the roles and
responsibilities of the executive leadership team at MMS. Gallagher (2000) recommended
women seek specific knowledge about what competencies are required for executive leadership
within an organization, what outcomes are expected, and what relationships are recommended.
These topics were also discussed in this study’s interviews as women shared insights into their
opportunities for improvement and concerns about navigating the organization as women in
leadership. According to Liautaud (2016) executive training programs accompanied with
networking and mentorship opportunities provide the best possible results for the professional
advancement of women in leadership. Numerous companies are successfully leveraging
mentorship programs to help women throughout their organizations succeed in leadership and

77
mentor programs require support and involvement from the highest levels of the organization
(Liautaud, 2016).
Seventy seven percent of women interviewed did not feel confident in their ability to
attain an executive leadership position. This finding is consistent with several studies that have
found women have lower leadership self-efficacy beliefs than men (Murphy, 1992; McCormick,
2001; Hoyt, 2005). Hoyt (2005) has found women with low self-efficacy struggle to navigate the
impacts of negative stereotyping and are less likely to identify with advanced leadership
positions. Negative stereotype theory states when women in leadership positions have low self-
efficacy, they are more likely to be overly critical of themselves and perform worse than their
counterparts despite their actual leadership strengths and capabilities (Steele, 1997; Nguyen and
Ryan, 2008). Davies et al. (2005) found exposing women to gender stereotypic advertisements
hindered their leadership aspirations and that creating an identity-safe environment was key to
curbing the impacts of negative stereotype threat. According to Davies et al. (2005), negative
stereotypes create a societal framework that layers risk of judgement, misunderstanding, and
differentiated treatment into the leadership decision-making process for underrepresented
individuals.
Based on interview responses from women in middle management at MMS, women who
had low outcome expectations for advancing into executive leadership also did not share
executive leadership as a career goal. The three women that showed strong outcome expectations
also discussed senior leadership as a career aspiration. Spencer (1999) et al. found that
neutralizing stereotypes by informing students in a portion of the study that the math test they
were about to take had gender-neutral results, increased the performance of women on the test
compared to the control group that was not told this. Spencer’s (1999) finding is consistent with

78
Bandura’s (1997) work on outcome expectations and studies by Lent et al. (1994) that found
self-efficacy influence career aspirations in women.
Seventy six percent of women interviewed said MMS needs to invest more in diversity
efforts to support women in leadership, and all women interviewed felt the organization needed
more women in executive leadership as role models. Dezso and Ross (2012) found that female
representation in senior leadership increases the motivation and commitment of women in lower-
level leadership roles. In organizations with women in top leadership positions, women also
experience less conflict with role congruity (Dezso & Ross, 2012). There were specific examples
shared by multiple participants of how the organization has gotten better over time for women in
leadership positions. However, the overall responses to questions about what the culture of MMS
is like for women in leadership were negative. Women felt supported as individuals but excluded
from group settings where relationships were being built and exposure was available. Increasing
the number of women in executive leadership roles improves women in lower managements
performance by providing women with mentoring and social relationships (Dezso & Ross,
2012). According to Clark and Estes (2008), even for those with high motivation to perform and
the knowledge and skills needed to succeed “missing or inadequate processes and materials can
prevent the achievement of performance goals” (p. 103).
Recommendations for Practice
Three recommendations are presented to address the findings of the study. The first is an
executive roles and responsibilities training to increase the declarative knowledge of women in
middle management is recommended. Second, bias and negative stereotype threat training that
incorporated modeling and feedback is recommended to increase women’s self-efficacy and

79
outcome expectancy. Third, women in executive leadership from outside of MMS should be
brought in as guest speakers to increase women’s access to female role models.
Recommendation One: Identify and Train Women on the Skills and Responsibilities of
Executive Leadership
Eighty percent of women interviewed shared they did not know the roles and
responsibilities of executive leadership and did not have opportunities to participate in structured
training related to their self-identified areas of opportunity as a leader. Training programs help
increase declarative knowledge related to how a job is performed, and an effective training
program should include corrective feedback and guided practice elements (Clark and Estes,
2008). An executive leadership training program is recommended for women in middle
management at MMS that provides hands on opportunities to work alongside the current
executive leadership team to ensure feedback and coaching are given throughout the program.
Executive leadership at MMS needs to develop a list of skills and requirements to be
successful at the executive level and share those with women in middle management. A training
curriculum should be created taking the concepts required for executive performance and should
be presented in order of simplest to most complex. This proposed approach is based on research
presented by Clark and Estes (2008). Many universities offer executive women leadership
programs, including Berkeley, Yale, Columbia, and MIT. These programs offer examples of
strategic executive level topis for developing future executive leaders who are women.
According to McKinsey and Company (2019), women-only leadership development
programs serve to embolden women in an organization and also provide the introspective
reflection needed for women to assess their day-to-day work environment and champion change.
Based on a study of hundreds of program sessions and over 150 participants, McKinsey and

80
Company found three critical elements are needed to effectively increase gender diversity in
executive positions. First, organizations must expand their idea of effective leadership when
creating their ideal skills and responsibilities. According to their research, future global
challenges will require executive teams to transition from traditional leadership models such as
authoritative, rigid, and aggressive to more inspirational, participative, and developmental
(McKinsey, 2019). Second, the program should encourage and reward participants for sharing
honestly their experiences as women in leadership stating, “our experience has made abundantly
clear to us that women are hesitant, or even unwilling, to point out to their employer the barriers
they face at work” (McKinsey, 2019, p. 2). Third, the program must include an element of
reflection in which the current executive team explicitly asks for feedback on the program and
prompts participants to reflect and share any insights uncovered about how the organization’
culture, policies, and practices help or hinder women (McKinsey, 2019).
The recommendation is to follow McKinsey’s (2019) model by having the current
executive team work to expand and identify the roles, responsibilities, and competencies of
successful executive leadership. Once this is established, the recommendation is for the
executive team to provide training to women in middle management on those specific areas. To
maximize the benefits of this training program, participants should be encouraged to share
openly and candidly their experiences and be given time to provide feedback to the executive
team.
Recommendation Two: Train on Bias and Negative Stereotype Threat
Seventy percent of women interviewed said they value executive leadership as a career,
but only 25% had high outcome expectations for attaining an executive role at MMS. Building
on Bandura’s (1986) work, Lent and Brown (1996) developed a social cognitive career theory

81
that suggests self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals are impacted by
sociostructural gender experiences in the workplace. These experience impact women’s
expectations and self-efficacy, which in turn influence the career motivations of women.
According to Clark and Estes (2006), motivation is key to performance. Women in middle
management need to believe their investment in career development and growth can result in
executive leadership positions at MMS.
Although evidence-based recommendations specific to women in middle management
remain absent from academic literature, there are several studies that suggest bias training
increases self-efficacy and outcome expectations for women in other male dominated career
areas and could be applicable to women in middle management seeking executive roles. Isaac et
al. (2017) found that a 16-week course focused on increasing bias awareness in female
participants resulted in increased self-efficacy towards STEM leadership. Lent and Brown (1996)
suggest two measures for successful social cognitive career programs: attainment of desired
positions or outcomes and the level of persistence and perseverance toward achieving a career
goal. Based on the research conducted by Isaac et al. (2017) providing women with training on
how negative stereotype threat and the experience of bias can impact their behaviors is a way to
help women become more aware when these barriers are influencing their performance. Based
on that finding, MMS should provide negative stereotype threat and bias training for women in
middle management.
Participants’ self-efficacy pre- and post-training should be measured using Murphy’s
(1992) Self Efficacy for Leadership metric containing eight statements on a Likert scale for a
point in time comparison. Interviews could be done again following the program to gain more in-
depth understanding of how the program influenced self-efficacy and expectations among the

82
participants. Issac et al. (2017) recommended aligning gender bias training curriculum with the
transtheoretical model (TTM) for behavioral change created by Prochaska and DiClemente
(1983). TTM suggests five general stages for individual behavioral change: precontemplation,
contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983). The first
five weeks of the course is focused on helping participants become aware of gender bias and how
gender stereotyping influences men and women’s expectations for leadership and beliefs about
women’s strengths as leaders. This training specifically needs to be done in a way that provides
opportunities for modeling successful executive leadership as well as providing feedback
specifically to women. The use of modeling and feedback has been found to build self-efficacy
(Pajares, 2006). Weeks six through sixteen focus on critical reflection, feedback, and specific
application techniques for overcoming challenges and navigating leadership progression at
MMS. In addition to gender bias training, women at MMS would benefit from increased
exposure to other women in executive leadership positions as role models.
Recommendation Three: Provide Role Models by Bring Women in Executive Leadership
Roles Into the Organization
All women interviewed in this study suggested women at MMS would be positively
impacted by access to more role models on the executive team who are women. Only three
women shared they had a female role model in the organization in executive leadership, and a
review of the organizational chart via document analysis shows there is only one woman at a
Senior Vice President or above level in the company. Women in middle management need role
models who are women to experience equitable access to motivation, learning, and career
planning (Murrell & Zagenczyk, 2006; Latu et al., 2003). Due to the low number of women in
executive leadership and the need for female role models, research has emerged to explain the

83
influence of distant models (role models outside of the immediate organization or sphere of
influence) on women in leadership (Gibson, 2003). Past research findings suggest positive
distant role models can influence women’s self-perceptions and career performance (Latu et al.,
2013). Since MMS does not have a gender balanced executive team, and research as well as
interview findings suggest having access to female role models would improve women’s self-
efficacy and motivation towards executive leadership, a recommendation to increase exposure to
distant female role models who are executives is suggested.
Successful executive women provide juxtapose negative stereotype threat experienced by
women and provide women an opportunity to build self-efficacy through vicarious experience
and modeling (Taylor et al., 2011; Bandura, 1986). Female guest speakers who are executives
could be brought into the organization to lecture on leadership, and the executive leadership
curriculum in the training program outlined in the first recommendation could include stories
about women in executive leadership or be written by women who are executive leaders.
Additionally, the organization could expand what is considered an executive leadership position
and provide all leaders VP and above with company facing exposure to internally increase the
number of women accessible as role models in the organization.
Integrated Recommendations
Isaac et al. (2012) recommended combining individual recommendations into a
multilevel approach to remove organizational barriers for the advancement of women into senior
management. According to Clark and Estes (2006), a program that takes a comprehensive
approach to addressing organizational, motivation, and knowledge needs is ideal. In this case, the
approach is applied to increase the capacity of women in middle management to attain executive
positions. Specifically, MMS needs to implement a structured, comprehensive executive training

84
program for women in middle management that can build upon the assessed strengths of
motivational value and metacognitive knowledge found in this study. The goals of this program
should be to: increase declarative knowledge about executive leadership, reduce the impacts of
negative stereotype threat on women’s self-efficacy, and increase exposure of female role
models in executive positions.
Based on the interview findings of this study, women at MMS value executive leadership
as a career and are interested in more structured executive level training opportunities.
Metacognition was a strength across participants, and women quickly identified specific areas of
executive leadership in which they wanted additional support and learning opportunities. As
described in Chapter 4, those areas include: strategy, decision making, data analysis, financial
modeling, and business understanding. A formal “future executive” program is consistent with
the recommendations of McCarthy (2001), who found that organizations without structured
knowledge transfer have skewed benefits for dominant groups.
As discussed in Recommendation One, executive leadership skills and responsibilities
should be expanded to include the traits needed for the company in the future (McKinsey, 2019).
Future executive training should also provide transparency into the hiring process for executive
leadership. Interviews found women lacked visibility into executive leadership responsibilities as
well as the reasons why executives were chosen for their current roles. Thirty eight percent of
participants shared they would feel more confident in pursuing a career in executive leadership if
they had a clearer understanding of what a path between middle management and executive
leadership might be. Closing these identified gaps is critical to increasing gender diversity
according to Catherine et al. (2016), who also highlighted the importance of positive female role
models for women in leadership.

85
Interview responses also affirm the importance of female role models on the executive
team as women shared a gender balanced team would increase the ability for women across the
organization to see themselves in those roles. Due to the lack of available female role models, as
discovered in interviews and confirmed with document analysis, the proposed executive training
program should seek to bring highly qualified executive level women in leadership into MMS to
speak, teach, and answer questions for women in middle management. Research finds in the
absence of role models within an organization, access to distant models within the same career
domain can influence self-efficacy beliefs (Lockwood & Kunda, 1997, 1999). Improving
outcome expectations through clarity on career pathing, hiring processes, and requirements and
improving self-efficacy through access to female executive role models is key to increasing the
number of women actively seeking executive leadership (Latu et al., 2013). This is especially
important at MMS as only two women interviewed in middle management identified executive
leadership as part of their career goals when asked. Closing the motivational gaps created by a
lack of positive role models who are women is required to transition career goal setting
behaviors according to Lent et al. (2000).
Organizational investment in a future executive program for women in middle
management would show the value MMS has in women at all levels of the organization.
Interviews and document analysis suggest MMS does not value women at all levels of the
organization, does not invest in programs targeted towards increasing representation of women
in executive leadership, and does not provide executive level role models who are women.
Bringing in outside speakers, trainers, and resources for women along with investing a portion of
the company’s learning and development budget specifically to develop women in middle
management would help close these gaps in organizational culture.

86
Finally, the proposed program should include executive sponsorship for women
participating to increase the amount of exposure women in middle management have to the
executive team and encourage relationship building, an area interviews uncovered as a perceived
disadvantage for women at MMS compared to their male counterparts. Verbal persuasion was
found to be highly influential in women’s decisions to pursue their first leadership position as
described by participants. Based on Bandura’s (1997) research, verbal persuasion through
ongoing dialogue with a sponsor could help build self-efficacy.
Recommendations for Future Research
Additional research specifically related to hiring practices for executive leadership would
be helpful to determine equity and access for women in middle management and make specific
recommendations for navigating career growth towards executive positions. Hiring manager
biases were found to be influential in influencing whether or not a female applicant was selected
for a position; however, this study focused on women in middle management and not on hiring
managers as the primary stakeholders interviewed. The study was not able to explore hiring
managers’ potential biases as a result. Additional research on hiring managers themselves at
MMS could increase awareness how biases may be impacting the advancement of women into
executive leadership. Additionally, assessing the capacity of the recruiting and current executive
teams at MMS to find and hire women for executive leadership positions outside of internal
candidates would help the organization to reach gender parity as not all executive level roles will
be hired internally.
Another area for future research is a comparative analysis of the capacity of women
versus men in middle management to promote into executive leadership. This would involve a
similar framework as this study but with an expanded stakeholder group, along with the

87
inclusion of a quantitative data component. Such a study would help to better explore which
findings from this study are consistent across gender lines within middle management and which
are specific barriers to women that are not evenly experienced by men. This analysis could also
identify similarities or differences in tenure between the two groups and determine if women
require longer tenure for promotion, as suggested by Gallagher (2000). Gallagher found that
women on average have 11 years of tenure at an organization prior to advancement into
executive leadership.
Finally, a review of how many women versus men at MMS are spending time on projects
that do not directly contribute to increases in pay or promotion would be beneficial. Bird and
Wang (2004) found negative impacts for women who more often do this type of work compared
to their male counterparts. At MMS, interview findings suggest women feel they are more likely
to work on Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), culture committees, inclusion and diversity
councils, and other unpaid work than men. A more thorough understanding of how that
additional work impacts women seeking executive leadership would help the organization shift
that responsibility or build participation into its executive competencies to be considered a
strength of candidates rather than something that trades off time with little to no benefit.
Limitations and Delimitations
Several limitations and delimitations influenced the findings of this research study.
Limitations included the variables that impact results but are not in the control of the researcher,
and delimitations are the intentionally created constraints that influence the end results of the
study (Ioanidis, 2007). One significant limitation impacting this study was the current global
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which caused MMS as an organization to
transition all employees to work from home through the remainder of 2020. This limitation

88
required interviews to be conducted via Zoom, an online video platform, rather than face-to-face
(USC IRB, 2021). Another limitation was that women in middle management self-selected to
participate in the study. Therefore, the participants potentially have an interest in the subject of
executive leadership or take issue with the low number of women in executive leadership within
MMS. There was also a limitation on the criteria that required excluding certain women based on
reporting lines for the protection of those reporting directly to me as a researcher. This reduced
the total population of women by two people and excluded anyone in the Human Resource
organizational structure from participation in study. Although women participating were not in a
direct reporting line conflict, the fact that I am in executive leadership at MMS could have
limited some potential participants’ willingness to participate or to share openly their
experiences. Due to the nature of the research being for the purposes of academic dissertation
research, there was also a limitation of time in this study as the entire data collection and analysis
took place within a four-month period.
Delimitations also existed in this study. Narrowing the focus of the study to only women
in middle management excluded entry-level leaders in the organization who might be beneficial
to understand gaps in capacity earlier in a woman’s career. Another delimitation is the decision
to specifically sample women within the organization, rather than all people in the organization.
Despite being helpful in allowing a deeper understanding of the capacity of women to advance
into executive leadership, this decision eliminates the ability to determine if the gaps addressed
are unique to women in the organization or consistent across gender lines within MMS. Keeping
interviews to under an hour for the purpose of time for the participants but also for the sake of
allowing enough time to complete the research required constraints on the number of questions
as well as the number of follow-up questions completed.

89
Conclusion
Interview findings at MMS align closely with literature reviewed and suggest there are
organizational, motivational, and knowledge gaps hindering the advancement of women into
executive leadership positions. Organizational barriers found in this study’s data include a
historic lack of commitment and value placed on gender diversity in executive leadership; a lack
of funding for programs that improve gender equity; and a lack of role models, mentors, and
advocates for women throughout the organization. Motivational needs among the participants
include the low outcome expectancy leadership and the lack of self-efficacy. Knowledge needs
include the declarative and procedural knowledge about how to advance into executive
leadership at MMS. As an organization, this study found that MMS has not established
structured hiring processes, executive level leadership trainings, and executive competency
models.
Growing participation of women in the workforce and specifically in leadership has
created a large pipeline of women within organizations capable of advancement into executive
roles. However, the influence of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy on the career choices of
women at MMS continues to be a barrier that must be addressed through deliberate
organizational action. The issue of pipeline is in the number of applicants to executive
leadership, not the number of qualified women for executive leadership. Based on this study and
previous research, several factors contribute to women making the decision not to pursue
executive careers. To help resolve this barrier for women, the organization should lean into
internal sourcing for executive roles and place greater emphasis on proactively approaching
women for advancement into executive positions.

90
Organizationally, MMS has shown improvements in its commitment to gender equity as
evidenced by interviews as well as the number of programs created in the past 12 months. MMS
should continue these programs as it appears from this research that these efforts have begun to
shift the perception women have in middle management towards the value the organization has
for women at all levels. If the company can increase women in middle management’s access to
female role models, declarative knowledge about executive leadership, and self-efficacy to
succeed as an executive, it can achieve its goal of increasing the number of women in leadership
by 25%. Achieving gender parity on the executive team would increase financial performance
through thought diversity, close the gender pay gap organizationally, and help MMS attract and
retain top talent.

91
References
Adecco. (2020). Millennials vs. gen z: Key differences in the workplace.
https://www.adeccousa.com/employers/resources/generation-z-vs-millennials-infographic
Andreas, T. (2019). Finding and hiring diversity executives for your company.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/12/02/finding-and-
hiring-diversity-executives-for-your-company/#14370b031f4d
Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee
performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance, 63(3), 308-323.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-01-2013-0008
Agarwal, D., Bersin, J., Lahiri, G., Schwartz, J., & Volini, E. (2018). The symphonic C-Suite:
Teams leading teams. DeLoitte Insights.
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2018/senior-
leadership-c-suite-collaboration.html
Artino, A. R. (2012). Academic self-efficacy: from educational theory to instructional practices.
Perspectives on Medical Education, 1(2), 76 – 85.
Astin, H. S. & Leland, G. (1991). Women of influence, women of vision: A cross generational
study of leaders and social change. Jossey Bass.
Babcock, L. & Laschever, S. (2003). Women don’t ask: Negotiation and the gender divide.
Princeton University Press.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2),
122-147.

92
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice
Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of
Psychology, 52, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1
Baluja, T. (2009). Helping female executives bridge gender gap; Rotman's professional
development courses are designed for women at all stages of career. https://search-
proquest-
com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/439628934?accountid=14749&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsi
d%3Aprimo
Beaman, L., Duflo, E., Pande, R., & Topalova, P. (2012). Female leadership raises aspirations
and educational attainment for girls: A policy experiment in India. Science 335(6068),
582-586. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1212382
Bebchuk, Lucian A., Cremers, K. J. Martijn, & Peyer, Urs C. (2006). Pay distribution in thetop
executive team. Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 574.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.964303
Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (1997). Applications of self-efficacy theory to the career assessment
of women. Journal of Career Assessment, 5(4), 383-402.
Boston College. (2012). Empowering women’s success in technology: IBMs commitment to
inclusion. Center for Work and Family.
https://www.03.ibm.com/employment/inclusion/downloads/empowering_women_in_tech
_ibm_case_study.pdf

93
Blumberg, Y. (2018). Companies with more female executives make more money: Here's why.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/why-companies-with-female-managers-make-more-
money.html
Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research
interviewing (3rd ed.). Sage.
Bums, J. M. (1978). Leadership. The Free Press.
Buckley, P. & Bachman, D. (2017). Meet the US workforce of the future: Older, more diverse,
and more educated. Deloitte Review, 21.
Bui, Q. & Miller, C. C. (2018). The age that women have babies: How a gap divides America.
The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-birth-
age-gap.html
Butler, R. (2014). Motivation in educational contexts: Does gender matter? In L. S. Liben & R.
S. Bigler (Vol. Eds.), The role of gender in educational contexts and outcomes. In J. B.
Benson (Series Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 47, pp. 1-42).
Elsevier.
Butler, R. & Hasenfratz, L. (2017). Gender and competence motivation. In A. J. Elliot, C. S.
Dweck, & D. S. Yeager (Eds.) Handbook of competence and motivation (2nd ed., pp.
489-511). Guilford Press.
Buunk, A. P., Peiro, J. M., Griffioen, C. (2007). A positive role model may stimulate career-
oriented behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1489–1500.
Catalyst (2009). 2008 Catalyst census of women corporate officers and top earners of the
Fortune500. http://www.catalyst.org/publication/283/2008-catalyst-census-of-women-
corporate-officers-and-top-earners-of-the-fortune-500

94
Catalyst (2010). Women CEOs of fortune 1000. http://www.catalyst.org/publication/322/women-
ceos-of-the-fortune-1000.
Catalyst. (2019). Women in management: Quick take. https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-
in-management/
Catalyst. (2019). Pyramind: Women in S&P 500 companies.
https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-sp-500-companies/
Catherine, H., Miller, K., Benson, K., Handley, G. (2016). Barriers and bias: The status of
women in leadership. American Association of Women.
Clark, R. E. & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Conchie, B. (2008). The demands of executive leadership. Business Journal.
https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/11614/seven-demands-leadership.aspx
Cook, A. & Glass, C. (2014). Women and top leadership positions: Towards an institutional
analysis. Gender, Work, and Organization, 21(1), 91-103.
Cox, T. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, practice, research. Berrett-Kohler.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
Dasgupta, N., Asgari, S. (2004). Seeing is believing: Exposure to counterstereotypic women
leaders and its effect on automatic gender stereotyping. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 40, 642–658.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103104000253

95
Davies, P. G., Spencer, S. J., & Steele, C.M. (2005). Clearlink the air: Identify safety moderates
the effects of stereotype threat on women’s leadership aspirations. Journal Personality
Social Psychology, 88, 276-287.
Desilver, D. (2018). Women scarce at top of U.S. business and in the jobs that lead there. Pew
Research Institute. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/30/women-scarce-at-
top-of-u-s-business-and-in-the-jobs-that-lead-there/
Dezso, C.L. and Ross, D.G. (2012). Does female representation in top management improve firm
performance? A panel data investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 33(9), 1072-
1089.
Dezso, C. L., Ross, D. G., & Uribe, J. (2013). Why are so few women top managers? A large-
sample empirical study of antecedents of female participation in top management.
https://www.gsb.columbia.edu/mgsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/5848/WomeninTMT.pdf
Dicerson, A. & Taylor, M. A. (2000). Self-limiting behavior in women: Self-esteem and self-
efficacy as predictors. Group and Organizational Management, 25(2), 191-210.
Digman, J. (1990). Personality structure: the emergence of the Five-Factor Model. Annual
Review of Psychology, 41, 417-440.
Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender in
self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores. Journal of Educational Psychology,
98, 198-208.
Dugan, J. P., Kodama, K., & Correia, B. & Associates. (2013). Multi-institutional study of
leadership insight report: Leadership program delivery. National Clearinghouse for
Leadership Programs.

96
Eagan, M. K., Stolzenberg, E. B., Rmirex, J. J., Aragon, M. C., Suchard, M. R., & Rios-Aguilar,
C. (2016). The American freshman: Fifty-year trends, 1966-2015.
Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
https://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/50YearTrendsMonograph2016.pdf
Eagly, A. H. & Carli, L. L. (2003). The female leadership advantage: An evaluation of the
evidence. The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 807-834.
Eagly, A. H. & Carli, L. L. (2007). Women and the labyrinth of leadership. Harvard Business
Review. https://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership
Eagly, A. H. & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.
Psychological Review, 109(3), 573-598.
Elliot, A. J., Dweck, C. S. & Yeager, D. S. (2017). Handbook of competence and motivation:
Theory and application. The Guilford Press.
Ely, R. J., Stone, P., & Ammerman, C. (2014). Rethink what you “know” about high achieving
women. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/12/rethink-what-you-know-
about-high-achieving-women
Ely, R. J. & Pavic, I. (2020). What’s really holding women back? Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2020/03/whats-really-holding-women-
back?referral=03759&cm_vc=rr_item_page.bottom
Epstein, G. F., & Bronzaft, A. L. (1974). Female modesty in aspiration level. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 21(1), 57-60.
Eurostat. (2019). Employees by sex, age, and occupation.
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/lfsa_eegais

97
Federal Glass Ceiling Commision. (1995). Good for business: Making full use of the nation’s
human capital: The environmental scan: A fact-finding report of the Federal Glass
Ceiling Commission. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Ferrell, J. (2013). Where are US women in 2013 [Infographic]. Center for American Progress.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/03/08/55678/infographic-
where-are-u-s-women-in-2013/
Folke, O., Rickne, J., Tanaka, S., & Tateishi, Y. (2020). Sexual harassment of women leaders.
Daedalus, 149(1), 180-197. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01781
Fouad, N. A. & Guillen, A. (2006). Outcome expectations: Looking to the past and potential
future. Journal of Career Assessment, 14,130-142.
Gallagher, C. A. & Golant, S. K. (2000). Going to the top: A road map for success in America’s
leading women executives. Penguin Group.
Gibbs, G. R. (2007). Analyzing qualitative data. In U.Flick (Ed.), The Sage qualitative research
kit. Sage.
Giberson, T. R., Resick, C. J., Dickson, M. W., Mitchelson, J. K., Randall, K. R., & Clark, M. A.
(2009). Leadership and organizational culture: Linking CEO characteristics to culture and
values. Journal of Business Psychology, 24, 123-137.
Gibson, D. E. (2003). Developing the professional self-concept: Role model construals in early,
middle, and late career stages. Organization Science, 14, 591-610.
Global Strategy Group. (2016). Women in leadership: why it matters.
https://www.globalstrategygroup.com/thought-leadership/gsg-works-with-the-
rockefeller-foundation-to-launch-100x25-campaign/

98
Goldin, C. (1991). The role of World War II in the rise of women’s work. National Bureau of
Economic Research, 81(4), 741-756. https://www.nber.org/papers/w3203
Goodman, J. S., Fields, D. L., & Blum, T. C. (2003). Cracks in the glass ceiling: In what kinds of
organizations do women make it to the top? Group & Organization Management, 28(4),
475-501.
Gore, P. A., & Leuwerke, W. C. (2000). Predicting occupational considerations: A comparison
of self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and person-environment congruence.
Journal of Career Assessment, 8, 237-250.
Grant Thornton. (2017, March 8). India ranks third lowest in having women in leadership roles
for the third consecutive year [Press release]. https://www.grantthornton.in/press/press-
releases-2017/india-ranks-third-lowest-in-having-women-in-leadership-roles-for-the-
third-consecutive-year/
Green, J. (2018). Indra Nooyi’s Pepsi exit means another female CEO replaced by a man. The
Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/nooyis-pepsi-exit-means-another-
female-ceo-replaced-by-a-man/
Groysberg, B., & Abrahams, R. (2014). Manage your work, manage your life. Harvard Business
Review. https://hbr.org/2014/03/manage-your-work-manage-your-life
Guber, P. (2015). Self-awareness is the most important skill for career success.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-were-22-self-awareness-most-important-skill-career-
success-guber/
Guo, J., Marsh, H. W., Parker, P.D., Morin, A. J. S., & Yeung, A. S. (2015). Achievement,
motivation, and educational choices: A longitudinal study of expectancy and value using
a multiplicative perspective. Developmental Psychology, 51(8), 1163-1176.

99
Helgesen, S. (1990). The female advantage: Women’s ways of leadership. Doubleday Currency.
Hoyt, C. H. & Simon, S. (2011). Female leaders: Injurious or inspiring role models for women?
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(1), 143-157.
Heatherington, L., Daubman, K. A., Bates, C., Ahn, A., Brown, H., & Preston, C. (1993). Two
investigations of “female modesty” in achievement situations. Sex Roles, 29, 739-754.
Horner, M. S. (1972). Toward an understanding of achievement-related conflicts in women.
Journal of Social Issues, 28, 157-175.
Hsieh, C. T., Hurst, E., Jones, C. I., & Klenow, P. J. (2019). The allocation of talent and U.S.
economic growth. Econometrica, 87(3), 1439-1474.
Ionidis, J. P. (2007). Limitations are not properly acknowledged in the scientific literature.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17346604/?from_term=Ioannidis+JP&from_cauthor_id
=17346604&from_pos=1
Isaac, C., Kaatz, A., Lee, B., & Carnes, M. (2012). An educational intervention designed to
increase women’s leadership self-efficacy. CBE--Life Sciences Edition, 11, 307-322.
doi.10.1187/cbe12-02-0022
Jones, S. E. (2018). The value of diversity in leadership roles.
https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/the-value-of-diversity-in-leadership-roles
K3 Viestintä. (2016). Women directors and executives report 2016: Women directors on the rise,
executive positions still going to men. Finland Chamber of Commerce.
https://kauppakamari.fi/en/2016/12/22/women-directors-and-executives-report-2016-w
men-directors-the-rise-executive-positions-still-going-to-men/

100
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Some effects of proportions on group life: skewed sex ratios and responses
to token women. American Journal of Sociology, 82(5), 965-990.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2777808
Kantar, R. M. (1997). On the frontiers of management. Harvard Business School University
Press.
King, E. B., Hebl, M. R., George, J. M., & Matusik, S. F. (2010). Understanding tokenism:
Antecedents and consequences of a psychological climate of gender inequality. Journal
of Management, 36(2), 482-510.
Klalie, A. (2013). Why are so few women promoted into top management positions? Hanken
School of Economics. https://kauppakamari.fi/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/annaklaile-
why-are-so-few-women.pdf
Koch, R. (2006). The financial times guide to strategy. Pearson Education Limited.
Konrad, A. M., & Linnehan, F. (1995). Formalized HRM structures: Coordinating equal
employment opportunity or concealing organizational practices? Academy of
Management Journal, 38, 787-820.
Krivkovich, L., Nadeau, M. C., Robinson, K., Robinson, N., Irina, S., & Yee, L. (2018). Women
in the workplace 2018. McKinsey and Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-
insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2018?trk=BU-pros-ebook-2019-
genderreport//?trk=BU-pros-ebook-2019-genderreport
Latu, I. M., M. S. Mast, J. Lammers and D. Bombar (2013). Successful female leaders empower
women's behavior in leadership tasks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49,
444–448.

101
Lefkowitz, J. (1994). Sex-related differences in job attitudes and dispositional variables: Now
you see them. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 323-349.
Leicht, C., Goclowska, M. A., Van Breen, J. A., Lemus, S., & Moura, G. R. (2017). Counter
stereotypes and feminism promote leadership aspirations in highly identified women.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00883/full
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hacket, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of
career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior,
45(1), 79-122.
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2006). On conceptualizing and assessing social cognitive
constructs in career research: a measurement guide. Journal of Career Assessment, 14,
12-35.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2000). Contextual supports and barriers to career
choice: A social cognitive analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 356-362.
Lent, R. W., Ireland, G. W., Penn, L. T., Morris, T. R., & Sappington, R. (2017). Sources of self-
efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of
the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior,
99, 107–117.
Lewin, K., Dembo, T., Festinger, L., & Sears, P. S. (1944). Level of aspiration. In J. M. Hunt
(Ed.), Personality and the behavior disorders (Vol. 1, pp. 333-378). Ronald Press.
Liautaud, M. (2016). Breaking through: Stories and best practices from companies that help
women succeed. John Willey and sons Inc.

102
Loehr, A. (2013). Infographic depicting the rise of women in the workforce. [Infographic].
https://www.anneloehr.com/2013/05/14/statistics-to-kickstart-the-rise-of-women-in-the-
workforce/
Lipman-Blueman, J. (1996). The connective edge: Leading in an interdependent world. Jossey,
Bass.
Lyman, A. L. & Chappell, S. F. (2018). Leadership and role modeling. Western New England
University.
Machiavelli, N. (2006). The Prince. (W. K. Marriott, Trans.).
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm#link2H_4_0007
Madsen, S. R., Quayle, S., & Scribner, R. (2018). The status of women in leaders in Utah
business: A 2018 update. (Policy brief No. 12).
https://www.uvu.edu/uwlp/docs/uwlpbrief2018no12.pdf
Makri, M., & Scandura, T. A. (2010). Exploring the effects of creative CEO leadership on
innovation in high-technology firms. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 75-88.
Martin, C. L., Fabes, R. A., & Hanish, L. D. (2014). Gendered-peer relationships in educational
contexts. In L. S. Liben & R. S. Bigler (Vol. Eds.), The role of gender in educational
contexts and outcomes. In J. B. Benson (Series Ed.), Advances in child development and
behavior (Vol. 47, pp. 151-187). Elseveier.
Martinez, E. D., Botos, J. Dohoney, K. M., Geiman, T. M., Kolla, S. S., Olivera, A., Qiu, Y.,
Rayasam, G. V., Savreva, D. A., Cohen-Fix, O. (2007). Falling off the academic
bandwagon: Women are more likely to quit at the postdoc to principal investigator
transition. EMBO Rep 8, 977-981.

103
McCarthy, D. (2019). Twenty traits successful senior executives share.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/characteristics-of-most-successful-senior-executives-
2275904
McCarthy, S. A. (2001). Portals in the glass ceiling: The role of surreptitious knowledge in the
leadership advancement of high potential middle management women. [Doctoral
dissertation, University of California-Los Angeles].
McFarland, D. (2014). A dictionary of animal behavior. Oxford University Press. https://www-
oxfordreference-
com.libproxy1.usc.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780191761577.001.0001/acref-
9780191761577-e-420
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Milligan, S. (2017). Stepping through history: A timeline of women’s rights 1769 to the 2017
Women’s March on Washington. The Civic Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/the-
report/articles/2017-01-20/timeline-the-womens-rights-movement-in-the-us
Mohr, T. S. (2014). Why women don’t apply for jobs unless they’re 100% qualified. Harvard
Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-
100-qualified?trk=BU-pros-ebook-2019-genderreport
Morrison, A., White, R., Van Velsor, E., & The Center for Creative Leadership. (1992).
Breaking the glass ceiling: Can women reach the top of America’s largest corporations?
Addison-Wesley
Mueller, H. M., Ouimet, P. P., & Simintzi, E. (2017). Within-firm pay inequality. The Review of
Financial Studies, 30(10), 3605-3632.

104
Murphy, S. E. (1992). The contribution of leadership experience and self-efficacy to group
performance under evaluation apprehension. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of Washington: Seattle, WA.
Murrell, A. J. and T. J. Zagenczyk (2006). The gendered nature of role model status: an
empirical study. Career Development International, 11, 560–578.
Neely, J. (2020, January). Future-proofing work culture. Tech summit 2020. Conference
conducted at the meeting of Silicon Slopes, Salt Lake City, UT.
Nelson, T. and Levesque, L.L. (2007) The status of women in corporate governance in high-
growth, high potential firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(2).
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00170.x.
Osterloh, M, & Frey, B. S. (2000). Knowledge transfer, motivation, and organizational forms.
Organization Science, 11(6), 538-550.
Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (2006). Self-efficacy beliefs and motivation in writing development.
In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.) Handbook of writing research (pp.
158-170). The Guilford Press.
Pew Research Institute. (2015). Women and leadership: Public says women are equally
qualified. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/
Pew Research Institute. (2018). The data on women leaders. Pew Social & Demographic Trends.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/the-data-on-women-leaders/
Pew Research Institute. (2018). The narrowing, but persistent, gender gap in pay.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/09/gender-pay-gap-facts/
Powell, G. (1999). Reflections on the glass ceiling. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender
and work (pp. 325-345). Sage.

105
Powell, G., & Butterfield, D. (1994). Investigating the “glass ceiling” phenomenon: An empirical
study of actual promotions to top management. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 68-
86.
Rosener, J. B. (1995). America’s competitive secret: Utilizing women as a management strategy.
Oxford University Press.
Rosin, H., & Korabik, K. (1991). Workplace variables, affective responses, and intention to
leave among women managers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 64, 317-330.
Rousseau, D. M. (1990). Assessing organizational culture: The case for multiple methods. In B.
Schneider (Ed.), Organizational climate and culture (pp. 153 - 192). Jossey-Bass.
Sax, L. J. (2008). The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women
and men. Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (Eds.). (2008). Motivation and self-regulated learning:
Theory, research, and applications. Erlbaum.
Shamir, B. House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic
leadership: A self-concept based theory. Organization Science, 4, 577– 594.
Spencer Stuart. (2018). CEO transitions 2017. https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-
insight/2017-ceo-transitions
Steinmayr, R., & Spinath, B. (2009). What explains boys’ stronger confidence in their
intelligence? Sex Roles, 61, 736-749.
Sternber, R. J. (1985) Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. Cambridge
University Press.

106
Taylor, S. E. (2010). Redefining leader self-awareness by integrating the second component of
self-awareness. Journal of Leadership Studies, 3(4), 57 - 68.
Tockey, D. & Ignatova, M. (2018). Gender insights report: How women find jobs differently.
LinkedIn Talent Solutions. https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-
us/talent-solutions-lodestone/body/pdf/Gender-Insights-Report.pdf
Utah Department of Workforce Services. (2017). Women in the workforce.
https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/data/library/laborforce/womeninwf.html
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Economy at a glance.
https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ut.htm
Weber, M (1947). The theory of economic and social organisation. The Free Press.
Wingfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Yoon, K. S., Harold, R. D., Arbreton, A. J. A., Freedman-Doan, C.,
et al. (1997). Change in children’s competence beliefs and subjective task values across
the elementary school years: A 3-year study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89,
451-469.
Wingfield, A., Tonks, S. M., & Klauda, S. L. (2016). Expectancy-value theory. In K. R. Wentzel
& D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (2nd ed., pp. 55-74). Routledge.
Mckinsey & Company. (2019). Women in the workplace: 2019 annual report.
https://wiw-report.s3.amazonaws.com/Women_in_the_Workplace_2019.pdf
World Health Organization. (2020). Corona disease pandemic COVID.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Yeagley, E. E., Subich, L. M., & Tokar, D. M. (2010). Modeling college women’s perceptions of
elite leadership positions with Social Cognitive Career Theory. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 77, 30-38.

107
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Sage.
Yoder, J. D. 2002. 2001 Division 35 presidential address: Context matters: Understanding
tokenism processes and their impact on women’s work. Psychology of Women Quarterly,
26, 1-8.
Zaccaro, S. J., Kemp, C., & Bader, P. (2004). Leader Traits and Attributes. In J. Antonakis, A. T.
Cianciolo & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The nature of leadership (pp. 101-124). Sage.

108
Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Thank you for volunteering to participate in this study. I appreciate your willingness to
spend time with me today to talk about your experience as a woman in leadership at MMS. This
interview will take around an hour, however I have scheduled an hour and a half in case we need
additional time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask at any time.
I am currently working on my doctoral dissertation at the University of Southern
California and this interview along with others will be incorporated into my final dissertation.
My dissertation focuses on the problem of gender diversity in executive leadership within MMS
and utilizes a gap analysis framework. Specifically, I am researching the knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences on women in middle management at MMS on their capacity to
promote into executive leadership.
It is important for me that you understand this interview is not at the request of MMS and
is being conducted separately for the purpose of academic research. I will make a copy of the
findings available to you upon request. All information shared is confidential. With your
permission, I will record the interview so that the audio can be transcribed. This will help me
capture your answers in your words and reduce the chance of me missing portions of your
answers in my notes. The audio recordings will be deleted once they are transcribed and I will
maintain transcriptions in a password secured location.
4. What are the women in middle management’s knowledge and motivation related to
attaining executive leadership positions?
5. How do the organizational and external influences impact the capacity of women in
middle management to move into executive leadership positions?
6. What are the knowledge, motivational and organizational recommendations?

109
Question 1: Can you describe your experience as a leader at MMS? RQ1-K, metacognitive
Question 2: Based on your understanding of MMS, how do people advance into an executive
leadership position? RQ1-K, procedural
Question 3: Tell me about your strengths as a leader. RQ1- K, metacognitive
Question 4: What made you decide to pursue your current role in leadership? RQ1-M, value
Question 5: What do you value most about your current position? RQ1-M, value
Question 6: What growth opportunities do you have as a leader within MMS? RQ1-K,
metacognitive
Probing question: What are you doing to strengthen your areas of opportunity?
Question 7: Describe your current career plan RQ1 - M, outcome expectations, value, or self-
efficacy
Probing question: Tell me about your career aspirations.
Question 8: What, if any, barriers do you anticipate coming between you and your career goals?
RQ2 - O
Question 9: Describe your feelings how it would feel to be in executive leadership at MMS?
RQ1 - M, outcome expectations
Question 10: What steps would you need to take to advance into executive leadership at MMS?
RQ1 - K, procedural
Question 11: Describe what the roles and responsibilities of an executive leader at MMS are
RQ1 - K, declarative
Question 12: What beliefs do you have about the likelihood of advancing into executive
leadership in your career? RQ1 - M, self-efficacy
Probing question: What about at MMS specifically?
Question 13: Tell me about the role models you have for your career, if any. RQ1 - M, self-
efficacy
Probing question: Tell me about the women you look up to as role models, if any.
Question 14: Imagine you were promoted to the executive team at MMS. How would it feel to
be on the executive team? RQ1 - M, outcome expectations
Probing questions: What is most exciting about that thought? What, if anything, would you be
afraid of?

110
Question 15: Describe the culture of MMS as it relates to women in leadership RQ2 - O, cultural
model 1
Probing question: Why do you think there is only one woman on the executive team?
Question 16: What impact would be having more women on the executive team bring to MMS
in your opinion? RQ1 - M, value
Question 17: Tell me about the development, formal and informal training, you have received at
MMS related to leadership. RQ2 - O, cultural setting 1
Probing question: What additional development is needed, if any? RQ1 - K, metacognitive
Question 18: How likely do you believe it is that you will become an executive leader at MMS?
RQ1 - M, outcome expectations
Probing question? If you were determined to advance into executive leadership, how much time
do you feel you would need to devote towards achieving that goal? How likely do you think it is
you would succeed?
Question 19: What do you see as the biggest organizational influences of MMS on women in
middle management? RQ2 - O, cultural setting 3
Question 20: Describe some of the requirements of being an executive leader at MMS based on
your understanding. RQ1 - K, declarative

111
Appendix B: Information Sheet for Exempt Research

STUDY TITLE: A STUDY OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: UNDERSTANDING
THE GENDER DIVERSITY GAP IN EXECUTIVE
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
___________________________________________________________________
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 better understand the gender gap in executive leadership at MMS.
We hope to learn what influences contribute to that gap and how best to address increasing
gender diversity in executive leadership at MMS. You are invited as a possible participant
because you are a woman in middle management at MMS that is outside of the People Team
reporting structure.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
As a voluntary participant, you will be asked to participate in an interview over zoom where you
will be asked questions specific to your experiences as a woman in middle management at MMS.
The interview will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes to complete but will be scheduled for 90
minutes to ensure time for any questions you may have or additional information you would like
to share. For accuracy purposes, the interview will be recorded; however, if you would like to
decline a video recording, notes can be taken instead. If you decide to take part, you will be
asked to provide a 90-minute window in which you will be scheduled for an interview over
zoom.
PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not be compensated for your participation; however, interview timing will be based
completely on your preferences working around your preferred schedule.

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. Your anonymity will be protected by removing all identifying

112
information at the time of transcription and findings will be synthesized and presented
thematically rather than individually.

A third-party transcription service will be used and the transcribers will have access to video
recordings to create transcripts. Once transcription is complete, audio recordings will be deleted
to protect confidentiality.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Nichelle Dekeyzer,
dekeyzer@usc.edu, 801-300-3141

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.

113
Appendix C: Document and Artifact Protocol

Organizational influence Analysis Notes
Cultural model Document provides MMS
values statements

Cultural setting 1 Document informs on
training, policies, budgets,
and practices dedicated to
supporting women in
promoting into executive
leadership.

Cultural setting 2 Document provides insight
into the organizational
structure.

Cultural setting 3 Document informs on
additional support for
women in middle
management including
mentorship or peer support
programs.

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Racial and gender gaps in executive management: a retrospective examination of the problem cause and strategies to address disparities

PDF

Improving the representation of female executives in a large utility provider: a modified KMO framework

PDF

The lack of gender diversity in executive leadership ranks within higher education

PDF

Hail to the chief: an exploration of female chief executives’ successes

PDF

Gender-based leadership barriers: an exploratory study of the underrepresentation of women of color in technology

PDF

Underrepresentation of women in the U.S. banking industry’s top executive roles: why doesn’t the CEO look like me?

PDF

Minding the gender gap: self-efficacy and women senior leadership roles in banking

PDF

Where are all the ""leadhers""? Female leaders' experiences in finance

PDF

Prescription for change: gender barriers impact on healthcare leadership equity

PDF

Navigating race, gender, and responsibility: a gap analysis of the underrepresentation of Black women in foreign service leadership positions

PDF

Implicit bias: an advancement opportunity limiter for African American women in entertainment

PDF

Lack of Latinx senior executive service members in a federal government agency

PDF

Stress and burnout: a qualitative study of the influences on female leaders' decision to leave

PDF

The role of executives’ knowledge and motivation in enabling organizational supports for diversity, equity, and inclusion

PDF

Causes for a lack of gender diversity in leadership

PDF

Corporate America after Ursula Burns: building a pipeline of Black female executives

PDF

Raising women leaders of Christian higher education: an innovation study

PDF

Gender barriers towards women on the career path and within executive leadership

PDF

Influencing and motivating employee engagement: an exploratory study on employee engagement in organizational injury-prevention programs

PDF

Black brilliance in leadership: increasing the number of Black women in the senior executive service

Asset Metadata

Creator Dekeyzer, Nichelle Lynn (author)

Core Title Women in executive leadership: a study of the gender diversity gap

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2021-08

Publication Date 08/12/2021

Defense Date 08/11/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag executive leadership,gender diversity,glass ceiling,OAI-PMH Harvest,organizational barriers,women in leadership

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Phillips, Jennifer F. (committee chair), Fecht, Eric L. (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email dekeyzer@usc.edu,nichelledekeyzer@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC15723584

Unique identifier UC15723584

Legacy Identifier etd-DekeyzerNi-10036

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Dekeyzer, Nichelle Lynn

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 author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

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

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu