Perceiving Glass Ceilings? Meritocratic versus Structural Explanations of Gender Inequality among Women in Science and Technology.
Americans often rely on meritocratic ideologies rather than structural factors to explain unequal labor market outcomes, but we know little about how such beliefs are contingent upon individuals' social locations. Taking advantage of unique survey data, this article examines how gender inequality in...
| Publicado en: | Social Problems Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 371 - 398 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of California Press
August 2010
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=511524120&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 511524120 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00377791 SPR jtl: Social Problems issn: 00377791 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: August 2010 vid: 57 iid: 3 pid: 414 pub: University of California Press artinfo: ui: 511524120 10.1525/sp.2010.57.3.371 ppf: 371 ppct: 27 formats: tig: atl: Perceiving Glass Ceilings? Meritocratic versus Structural Explanations of Gender Inequality among Women in Science and Technology. aug: au: Cech, Erin A. Blair-Loy, Mary su: Women in technology Social action Gender differences (Psychology) Glass ceiling (Employment discrimination) Meritocracy sug: subj: Women in technology Social action Gender differences (Psychology) Glass ceiling (Employment discrimination) Meritocracy ab: Americans often rely on meritocratic ideologies rather than structural factors to explain unequal labor market outcomes, but we know little about how such beliefs are contingent upon individuals' social locations. Taking advantage of unique survey data, this article examines how gender inequality in professional advancement is explained among successful women professionals in science, technology, and allied fields — an employment arena potentially characterized simultaneously by potent meritocratic ideologies and persistent gendered barriers. Using multinomial logistic regressions comparing structural and meritocratic frames for explaining the paucity of women at high levels, we show how respondents in different career and family circumstances use these conflicting perceptual lenses. We find that married women, those with business education, and those in the top levels of their organizations are more likely to account for gender inequality by invoking deficiencies in women's human capital or motivation, whereas mothers, primary breadwinners, sellers of professional services, and those working in unsupportive organizations are more likely to invoke structural explanations. This research has implications for social action. Successful women's beliefs about gender inequality may influence whether they help remove structural obstacles for other women, or whether, through adherence to the meritocratic ideology, they help reconstruct the glass ceilings they have cracked. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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