Business Students' Perception of Women in Management - the Case in Singapore

• Main Authors: Lee, J., TAN, Hwee Hoon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 1993
• Subjects: Business
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2612
• Institution: Singapore Management University

A study was conducted which surveyed 278 undergraduate business students in Singapore concerning their perceptions of women in management. The purpose of the research was to study the male and female students' acceptance of women managers; their perceptions of others' acceptance of women managers; and their perceptions of the typical male and female manager. Male students were found to be less accepting of women's roles at home and at work. However, there was no significant difference found between male and female students in their acceptance of career women who were married with children. The majority of male and female students preferred to have a male boss. Both the male and female students rated a male manager, as compared to a female manager, to be higher on competence, pace of work, physical and mental strength, leadership ability, activity, business orientation, task orientation, firmness, autocracy, decisiveness, and demand. The results implied that there has been little change in attitudes toward sex roles and women in management, although the female labor force participation in Singapore has increased significantly in the past decade. Implications are drawn from the study for management education in Singapore.