Abstract:
This paper reports on the findings of a recent Australia-wide empirical study that
investigated the impact of the presence of senior women executives on management
cultures. The study involved interviews with 255 senior executives in Australian
organisations from the higher education, public and private sectors. It sought
to analyse gendered organisational practices and procedures embedded within such
cultures. We found that both men and women clearly agreed that the presence of
women in senior roles had changed management cultures and influenced methods of
decision-making. Yet we also found that the influences that women were seen to have
on management cultures were often described in terms that reinforced traditional
gender stereotypes. The paper argues that valuing management based upon traits and
orientations traditionally associated with women and "the feminine" has the potential
to further engender inequality at senior levels in organisations.
