The Future of Women in Psychological Science

There has been extensive discussion about gender gaps in representation and career advancement in the sciences. However, psychological science itself has yet to be the focus of discussion or systematic review, despite our field’s investment in questions of equity, status, well-being, gender bias, and gender disparities. In the present article, we consider 10 topics relevant for women’s career advancement in psychological science. We focus on issues that have been the subject of empirical study, discuss relevant evidence within and outside of psychological science, and draw on established psychological theory and social-science research to begin to chart a path forward. We hope that better understanding of these issues within the field will shed light on areas of existing gender gaps in the discipline and areas where positive change has happened, and spark conversation within our field about how to create lasting change to mitigate remaining gender differences in psychological science.

How to Promote Career Advancement and Gender Equity for Women in Gastroenterology: A Multifaceted Approach

In the business world, women's employment careers have been a significant problem. It has been determined that a variety of factors influence women's career outcomes in organizational contexts. Thus, the study's goal was to examine how demographic variables affected Nepalese women's career advancement in commercial banks. The study's population was female employees in commercial banks who held supervisory positions or above. Samples of 319 women were collected for the research. A purposeful sampling technique was employed to get the respondents' responses. To analyze the influence of demographic characteristics on career development, descriptive as well as analytical research designs were utilized. Among the statistical methods used were the one-way ANOVA, independent t-test, mean, and percentage frequency. The results showed that factors influencing women's careers include age, income, and service year in addition to marital status, and designation. However, education did not affect women’s careers. The study's conclusions offer insightful information on the potential influence of demographic variables on the careers of females. The study's conclusions will be valuable to the existing literatures related to how demographic elements affects carrers of women. Additionally, supports organizations in focusing on creating rules that suit their unique set of circumstances.

PurposeAims to look at the way women in Western industrialized countries have made significant career advancements but barriers remain which necessitate organizational intervention. A number of initiatives that have commonly been introduced to help women in their career development have produced only modest gains in women's advancement.Design/methodology/approachArgues that four basic underlying processes – social cognitions, justice, threat, and utility – must be considered and managed as part of the development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives targeting women's career advancement, if such initiatives are to have their desired impact. These underlying processes and their implications are presented with recommendations for organizational leaders and human resource professionals.FindingsThe goal of women's advancement is both noble and vital to long‐term organizational success, and initiatives to further the cause are needed. These goals are not, however, without their obstacles. By understanding how social cognitions, perceptions of fairness, threat, and utility can individually and collectively impact the success or failure of programs to advance women, organizational leaders can develop and implement informed practices that are embraced by all members of the organization and which, consequently, further the advancement of all organizational members.Originality/valueThe article focuses on the key underlying processes that are believed to be critical for understanding the barriers to women's career advancement, but it is necessary to note that, as with any organizational initiative, there are other organizational factors that must be considered, such as top management support, and the history of the organization with regard to gender.

This study explores leadership styles and gender in higher education (HE) by examining representation of female professors in Australian and Turkish universities and identifying barriers to achieving seniority. The paper explores factors, including leadership styles, which explain the higher representation of female professors in Turkey, despite legislative frameworks and strategies in Australia to improve representation of senior women. It then explores barriers to women's career advancement, including the difficult management culture, low morale, informal processes in appointment and promotion, and lack of training for management roles in Australia, and conflict between career and family roles in Turkey. Finally, the paper identifies the impact of strategic choices on leadership styles and women's career advancement. This research questions the impact of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action frameworks on women's representation as professors.

The purpose of this systematic review is to further our understanding of women and educational leadership knowledge production from three Chinese societies and to contribute to the development of a more diverse global knowledge base in gender and educational leadership and management. A total of 341 articles were identified from 4 electronic databases. We conducted a systematic review of 24 eligible articles that focused on women and educational leadership in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, utilised empirical research designs and were published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 2000 and 2021. This review synthesised six overarching themes, including the underrepresentation of women leaders in schools and universities; barriers for women's career advancement; impact of social-cultural contexts on gender-related leadership; gender stereotypes and gender dynamics; gender-based variation in leadership behaviours; and gender equity legislation and policies. The review reveals that underrepresentation of female leaders is a pervasive problem in both schools and universities across three Chinese societies. Substantial gaps still exist between policies and practices. The study highlights systemic barriers and lack of organisational enablers for women's career advancement. The implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

Gender disparity is a pervasive problem in the United States automotive industry particularly in critical decision-making positions where male employees dominate the field. Three significant issues were addressed in this study: Diversity management, career planning, and women’s career advancement. The quantitative correlational study investigated how diversity management and career planning are related to women’s advancement in the US automotive industry to improve the representation of women in management and senior-level positions. The gender gap in management was examined through the organizational justice theory and grounded by the glass ceiling metaphor. Ninety-two full-time employees from an automotive company in Atlanta participated through Survey Monkey. Perceived Facilitators to Career Advancement Scales, the Perceived Barriers to Career Advancement Scales, and the Job Descriptive Index Scales were analyzed using multiple regression. The research questions addressed the individual and combined relationship between diversity management and career planning to career advancement.

ABSTRACTThe paper examines the impact of the resumption of China's national college entrance exam (Gaokao) on the gender gap in higher education attainment and women's later career advancement. We find that the resumption of the Gaokao widened the higher education gender gap in affected cohorts in regions with stronger son preference. Moreover, this gap later extended to high‐skilled occupations, including directorships and executive positions in Chinese public firms. These outcomes are driven by local sex discrimination, which exacerbates gender‐biased resource allocation. Our findings highlight that entrenched gender norms can distort policies designed to nurture talent without explicit gender targeting, ultimately leading to persistent gender disparities in high‐skilled positions.

Purpose This study examines how workplace cultures, organisational policies, and cultural perceptions affect career sustainability and gender inclusion in Ghana's construction industry. In order to further Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), it aims to determine the factors that facilitate and hinder women's career advancement and evaluate how national frameworks differ from regional practices. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey design was employed, collecting data from 120 professionals across contracting firms, consultancies, and public agencies in Ghana. Using purposive sampling, a structured questionnaire captured perceptions on policies, enablers, barriers, and cultural factors. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, one-sample t-tests, correlation, and regression analysis to identify significant patterns and relationships. Findings The findings highlight both vertical and horizontal segregation, showing that women are still under-represented in site-based and leadership roles despite a youthful and highly educated workforce. Professional networks and individual resiliency are more important for career advancement than organisational support. Gender bias, hostile work environments, and exclusion from unofficial networks are examples of critical barriers that are made worse by lax enforcement of policies and a lack of commitment from leaders. Despite the effectiveness of maternity leave, other institutional supports like sponsorship, mentorship, and clear career pathways are still lacking. Ghana's progress is recognised, but it falls short of regional standards, according to comparative analysis, highlighting the necessity of systemic changes. Research limitations/implications Several limitations should be acknowledged. First, the cross-sectional design captures perceptions at a single point in time and does not allow causal inference. Second, reliance on self-reported data may introduce response bias, particularly in relation to sensitive issues such as discrimination or harassment. Third, purposive sampling, while necessary to ensure adequate female representation, limits generalisability beyond the sampled organisations. Fourth, although the regression model identified gender as a significant predictor of hostile culture perception, a substantial proportion of variance remains unexplained, suggesting the influence of additional organisational and contextual factors not captured in this study. Future research may employ longitudinal and multi-level designs to deepen understanding of institutional and organisational dynamics over time. Originality/value This study makes three original contributions to the field of gender inclusion scholarship: (1) Establishing a tri-level association framework empirically, which quantifies how institutional enforcement failures (weak leadership commitment, r = −0.51; poor reporting mechanisms, r = −0.47) are significantly associated with hostile workplace culture; (2) exposing a “hollow policy paradox” in which formal maternity provisions (M = 3.71) coexist with systematic deficiencies in enforcement (M = 2.08), sponsorship (M = 2.79), and career pathways (M = 2.68), proving that policy existence policy effectiveness; (3) identifying gender as the main demographic predictor of hostile culture perception (ß = 0.32, p < 0.001), independent of seniority, experience, or specialisation, offering statistical evidence that workplace barriers are essentially gendered rather than role-specific. Individual resilience tactics, organisational enabler deficiencies, and institutional enforcement gaps are synthesised into a testable predictive relationship by the integrated multi-level framework, which has immediate implications for the advancement of SDGs 5 and 8 in developing economies.

Underdeveloped nations are focused on entering the list of developed nations. To do this, they try to meet the criteria. Education and academia are the focus of attention for many countries, and Pakistan is one of them. In this study, the authors examined those hidden factors that create hurdles and reduce the backbone of academia. Employees, either male or female, play an essential role in the productivity and performance of firms. Unfortunately, because of traditional schools of thought and the strong influence of culture in Pakistan, women face a variety of barriers in the workplace. The study highlights those gaps and checks the impact of glass ceilings as well as gender discrimination on women's careers in the educational sector of Pakistan and the State of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. This study is critical in determining why it plays a crucial role in how women do not reach the advancement level when put side-by-side with male employees. Furthermore, high power distance culture is viewed as a moderator that has a negative impact on glass ceilings and women's career advancement. Data was collected from 355 female employees in middle and upper-level positions. The result has been analyzed by a structural equation model with the help of AMOS. The study’s finding support existing literature demonstrating how high power distance mitigates the negative effects of glass ceilings, gender discrimination, and women's careers in the educational sector.

Over the years, women’s role and impact in the workforce have increased, leading to shaping the modern economy. They have become an integral part of the global labour force in diverse sectors, from education, healthcare, science and technology. The legal framework and gender stereotypes have significantly restricted women’s participation in various sectors. Amid all the advancements and challenges such as gender pay gaps, unequal representation in leadership roles, and balancing work with family responsibilities, still exist. This study examines how gender discrimination affects women's career advancement in four important fields: government, education, business, and entrepreneurship. It highlights the gender differences that affect professional achievements by exploring the intricate elements that influence women's career trajectories, salary discrepancies, and sector-specific challenges. The study emphasises the vital need for ongoing efforts to eradicate structural prejudices and advance an equal, diverse, and inclusive workforce through a thorough and comparative investigation of parameters offered to both genders.

The underrepresentation of women in top management positions is an important concern in the hospitality industry, in spite of the increasing number of women employees. This study examined factors affecting women's career advancement in the hospitality industry. An online survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 226 hospitality students, educators and recruiters. Seven factors were extracted: External (e.g. network, mentor), Character, Equity, Family issues, Lack of support, Advancement and Treatment. A major finding of this research was that significant differences existed in perceptions by gender and groups (students, educators, and recruiters). Group differences showed that industry recruiters always had significant differences with educators and students. The findings indicated that hospitality education programs could implement a number of measures to better prepare women for leadership roles in the hospitality industry.

Inequalities between women and men continue in global labor markets. Although the inclusion of women as labor force increases day by day, their representation in senior management levels remains insufficient. Women continue to face several barriers preventing them from attaining equal access, participation, and progress in the business environment. Within this chapter, the authors discuss two types of career barriers called “glass ceiling” and “glass cliff,” which women encounter frequently in their work life. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general perspective on barriers of women's career advancement and to examine glass ceiling and glass cliff the in its background, its causes, and its consequences. The chapter also aims to analyze studies which criticize the concept of glass ceiling. The results of the chapter are expected to be a source for researchers in the areas of women's career barriers, women's leadership, and gender inequality.

The article analyses the effect of gender in professors’ career advancement using data on the entire population of professors in the Italian university system, data on the National Scientific Qualification (NSQ) accreditation scheme, and data on scientific productivity (SciVal) for bibliometric scientific sectors. As NSQ accreditation is a prerequisite for career advancement in Italian universities, using this data makes it possible to rule out women’s reluctance to apply for promotions -candidate professors must apply for accreditation- as a mechanism for explaining the gender gap in academia. Our results show a relevant gender gap in career advancement that is not explained by gender differences in productivity (above the minimum level needed to obtain the accreditation). A structural gender bias also remains after controlling for available resources and for the percentage of female full professors in the academic scientific sector. The results contribute to the debate on the introduction of gender quotas.

The glass ceiling phenomenon is an invisible barrier that limits women in achieving leadership positions, including in the accounting profession. Although women's participation in the workforce has increased, they still face gender bias, social stereotypes, discrimination based on preferences, and dual role pressures. This study aims to examine in more depth the causes and impacts of the glass ceiling phenomenon in the accounting profession through a cross-continental literature study approach. Using Gender Role Theory, it was found that social norms attached to women's traditional roles contribute greatly to negative perceptions of their leadership abilities. Meanwhile, the theory of Socialist Feminism explains that gender inequality in the workplace is the result of a system of capitalism and patriarchy that limits women's access to power and strategic positions. The discussion in this article shows that in various regions, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and America, patriarchal organizational structures and cultures are still the main barriers to women's career advancement. These results emphasize that the glass ceiling is not an individual obstacle, but a systemic phenomenon that needs to be addressed through inclusive policies, structural organizational reforms, and more gender-equitable social awareness.