XXXVIII Sunbelt Conference 2018, June 26-July 1, 2018 in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The effect of women’s workplace networks on their chances of obtaining positions of authority
Women continue to be underrepresented in positions of organizational authority globally. Existing evidence shows that employee characteristics and macro factors far from account for the whole picture, suggesting that the most promising explanations may lie in the workplace itself. One potential explanation that has been understudied is women’s networks at the workplace. Workplace networks can be beneficial for one’s career, but also dysfunctional when they lead to exclusion from attractive positions. In this session, we invite both substantive and methodological contributions concerning the effect of women’s workplace networks on their chances of obtaining positions of authority. What kind of networks facilitate women’s inroads to authority positions? Is it the case that women have to be sponsored by men in their networks at work to obtain authority, as found in Burt’s (1995) famous single case study? We welcome contributions from different paradigms and disciplines, including sociology, organizational science, and economics.
