Studying Perceived Gender Discrimination and Subjective Career Success among Women: Moderating Role of Career Anchors

Abstract

Efforts aimed at providing the most inclusive workplace possible have come to the forefront in the past few decades. The goal of these measures is to improve equity and equality in the workplace for women by applying a comprehensive approach based on organizational psychology studies. The present study aims to explore women's experience of gender discrimination in the workplace (Perceived Gender Discrimination) and its effect on their self-appraisal of their achievements and success (Subjective Career Success). Another question the present study poses is whether women's career-related expectations, values, and priorities play a role in the relationship between the two mentioned variables. Overall, this research investigates the relationship between Perceived Gender Discrimination and Subjective Career Success among female employees, studying a sample of 181 women, with a focus on Career Anchors as a potential moderator. The results confirm the significantly negative effect of Perceived Gender Discrimination on Subjective Career Success, and it seems that Career Anchors play a moderating role in this relationship. ‌ Keywords Perceived Gender Discrimination, Subjective Career Success, Career Anchors, Female Employees, Technical Competence, Stability and Security, Women Careers. ‌ ‌Introduction In recent years, academics and scholars have made significant efforts to establish workplace equality for women. The reasons for these attempts are complex and vary among organizations and countries. It can be argued that the female workforce is a valuable resource of talent and capabilities, and global measures are being taken to address its underrepresentation in the workplace. The World Economic Forum (2016) recognizes that gender inequality is a major economic threat that impairs global economic growth by undervaluing the potential contributions of the female workforce. Subjective career success, also known as job satisfaction or internal career success, is a significant construct in the literature. According to a considerable body of research, subjective career success also plays an important role in the personal lives of employees. Specifically, individuals with higher subjective career success tend to have higher levels of life satisfaction (LS) and well-being (Hall, 2002). Therefore, given the significance of subjective career success, it is essential to thoroughly evaluate this construct and identify the individual and organizational factors that impact it. Methodology The present study aims to examine the relationship between three variables: women's perceived gender discrimination as the independent variable, their subjective career success as the dependent variable, and career anchors as the moderator. The primary relationship (between the independent and dependent variables) and the interactive relationship (considering the moderating role) will be analyzed through multilevel regression. Findings ‌Analyzing the data collected through the study and based on the research hypothesis, it could be concluded that: - There is a statistically significant negative relationship between women's subjective career success and their perceived gender discrimination in the workplace. In other words, women who perceive higher levels of gender discrimination in their workplace generally have lower subjective career success. - Career anchors have a moderating effect on the relationship between women's subjective career success and their perceived gender discrimination. The relationship between subjective career success and perceived gender discrimination is always negative, but career anchors exacerbate this relationship to different extents. - Technical Competence (TF) has the strongest effect on the relationship between perceived gender discrimination and subjective career success. On the other hand, Lifestyle and Security (SE) have the weakest effect on this relationship. - The effect of Entrepreneurial Creativity (EC) on the relationship between perceived gender discrimination and subjective career success could not be thoroughly analyzed due to sampling restrictions and insufficient data. ‌ ‌ References Abessolo, M., Rossier, J. & Hirschi, A. (2017). Basic values, career orientations, and career anchors: Empirical investigation of relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1556. Alipour, A., Aarab Sheibani, K. (2010). Relation of hopeness and happiness with job satisfaction among teachers. 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Keywords

• perceived gender discrimination
• subjective career success
• career anchors
• female employees
• technical competence
• stability and security
• women careers