WHAT DO THEY THINK ABOUT THEM? SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF EXECUTIVE WOMEN

Authors

  • Camila Antunes PPGA PUC Minas
  • Antonio Carvalho Neto PPGA PUC Minas
  • Érica Lima-Souza PPGA da PUC Minas
  • Carolina Mota-Santos PPGA da PUC Minas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14210/alcance.v25n3(Set/Dez).p349-365

Keywords:

Social Representations. Gender Relationships. Executive Women.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate, from the perspective of male executives, the social representations about woman executives in regard to their actions in the work environment. The methodology uses a qualitative approach; in regard to the objectives, it is descriptive and the method adopted was a multiple case study. Three large Brazilian companies were analyzed. The sample consisted of 31 executives in positions of high strategic level. From the data analysis, five categories emerged: effort and commitment; loyalty to the company; willingness to take risks; ability to make decisions; and negotiation skills. Most of the respondents believe that women are more committed and strive harder; that they are less loyal to the company; that they are less centralized and have less decision-making power; that they are emotionally fragile and passive; and that they should adopt a more aggressive stance when negotiating. These data indicate a maintenance of the traditional social representations of gender, in which women are assigned characteristics of submission, dependence, fragility, emotionality and responsibility for domestic tasks and child care.

Author Biographies

Camila Antunes, PPGA PUC Minas

Mestranda pelo PPGA da PUC Minas

Antonio Carvalho Neto, PPGA PUC Minas

Professor do PPGA da PUC Minas President Elect of IFSAM - International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management

Érica Lima-Souza, PPGA da PUC Minas

Mestranda pelo PPGA da PUC Minas

Carolina Mota-Santos, PPGA da PUC Minas

Professora do PPGA da PUC Minas

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Published

2019-02-28

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 3(Set/Dez) (2018)

Section

Article

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