Final Report

Devon De Paola, Jamie Debrincat, Lauren Majlinger, Scotti Peterson

University of Michigan, Department of Psychology

PSYCH 395-002: Organizational Psychology

Dr. Mari Kira

December 7, 2021
 Introduction

Power & Leadership

Despite varying goals of unique organizations, strong and effective leadership is

consistently crucial in achieving success as a company. Robbins & Judge (2019) in

Organizational Behavior 18e., define leadership as the “ability to influence a group toward the

achievement of a vision or set of goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2019, p. 394). Leadership, along with

power, often accompany each other and dominate higher positions in the structural hierarchy of

organizations. These “concepts are closely intertwined, [as] leaders use power as a means of

attaining group goals.” (Robbins & Judge, 2019, p. 438). Consequently, the goals that an

organization establishes, as well how efficiently members achieve those goals, is greatly

influenced by who fills those executive positions. According to the case study, “Should Women

Have More Power?” In Chapter 13 of Organizational Behavior 18e., decision making is more

innovative and accurate when a group is diverse (Robbins & Judge, 2019). This innovation is

due to the fact that there is variety and new perspectives, especially when it comes to executive

boards.

Women’s Barriers to Power

Despite this, many major corporations do not reflect this diversity in their leadership

positions within their organizations. In fact, as recently as 2015, just over 20% of board

positions at Fortune 500 companies were held by women, making the vast majority of top

executive positions dominated by men (Robbins & Judge, 2019). Additionally, “A separate

meta-analysis of 95 leadership studies indicated that women and men are rated equally effective

as leaders,” (Robbins & Judge, 2019, p. 52) so why isn’t this ability properly reflected in the

industry? This staggering disparity is proof of the routine discrimination that women face, and
highlights the imminent glass ceiling that obstructs women from prospering in these leadership

roles, which in turn is bad for business (Robbins & Judge, 2019). Many attribute the double bind

women face to be largely the cause for much of the lack of representation and power women

have compared to their male counterparts. It is often true that traits most closely associated with

leadership are traditionally masculine, and consequently when women display these

characteristics (assertive leadership, competitive nature, etc.) they are often viewed unfavorably

by their peers (Valian, 1998). Yet, when women act more so in accordance with their associated

gender norms and roles (caring, cooperative, etc.) they are often seen as less capable of effective

leadership (Valian, 1998). This dissonance between gender expectations results in the derailment

of successful women’s careers, and also encourages women to choose to take work

accommodations that adhere to gender norms, leaving many higher-up positions at firms absent

of women (Ely & Padavic, 2020). Not only is this data upsetting, but it also contradicts what

researchers know about women’s impact in the workplace, specifically in these positions of

power.

Women’s Position in Industry

Therefore, our team wanted to understand how to effectively combat these barriers and

make organizations, specifically executive positions in organizational hierarchies, a more gender

inclusive space. Correspondingly, we are interested in looking at how companies that

successfully serve and employ women, effectively implement their employees and target

consumers' values and needs into the company’s goods or services produced. As women

ourselves, we were generally interested in gender’s role in organizations, and the diversification

of organizations overall. Specifically, we’re interested in how companies can better commit to

demonstrating diversity, equity, and inclusion of women in their companies structure and culture.
We are asking: how can companies for which women work for and/or are consumers of, have

greater representation of women in their organizational hierarchy, and how can this

diversification in positions of power/leadership impact the organization?

Our intended target audience for this research are companies and organizations that serve

women to some extent, but are not diverse or do not represent that demographic in the structure

of the business through hiring or promotional practices, especially in the top positions of the

company. Our team thought it would be beneficial for these companies to recognize their

shortcomings and examine ways in which they could improve their organizational cultures,

public images, and further engage with their clients. For example, there are many companies that

market towards women, yet top executives of these same organizations are men.

Methods

In order to research these questions further, and provide substantial data to address these

inconsistencies, we utilized the in-class literature provided to us and the Organizational Behavior

18e. Textbook (Robbins & Judge, 2019). We additionally used the internet to find supplemental

secondary research, including journal articles, interviews from case studies (Bumble & Ford), as

well as information from a University of Michigan consumer behavior lecture (MKT 313 002,

2021), from Amy Marentic.

How-To Guide

All women face substantial challenges, constantly pushing them to break through the

glass ceiling, and some women face bigger barriers than others. In the article by Hall and

colleagues (2012), Black women talk about how they use avoidant coping strategies to approach

their stressful work environments. In particular, they noted situations involving hiring or

promotional practices and situations where they felt isolated and excluded. There have to be
better ways to mitigate and address these stressors. We suggest that companies implement the

following steps to achieve greater representation in their organizational hierarchy, and outline

how this diversification can positively impact the organization.

1. Companies should provide more comprehensive, consistent, and effective feedback to WLP

(women leadership positions) participants because it allows women to identify and overcome

gender stereotypes and double binds.

Feedback is important for each employee, particularly those who seek to be granted

promotions and create long-lasting careers. On average, women receive less candid feedback

than their male counterparts, according to Ely and colleagues (2011). This only contributes to the

general culture of the American workforce that centers men and hinders women.

We suggest that organizations implement a type of feedback known as 360-degree

evaluation, which involves receiving assessments from each individual the employee interacts

with on a regular basis. This may include receiving feedback from customers, bosses, and peers

to produce a “more reliable, unbiased, and accurate performance evaluation” (Robbins & Judge,

2019, p. 597). In the 18th edition of Organizational Behavior, the authors discuss the benefits of

360-degree feedback which includes an increase in employee accountability. Through the

combination of teaching employees to give effective feedback and implementing 360-degree

evaluations, each member of the organization, including women, will be able to assess and

improve their performance leading to greater success for the company.

2. Ensuring promotions are equitable among genders. Women are vastly underrepresented,

and companies need to take additional measures to better track representation in hiring and

promotions.
 To help ensure companies have diverse teams, we suggest implementing additional

measures to ensure that hiring and promotional practices emphasize including women at all

levels of the organization. Women are significantly underrepresented in corporate offices,

particularly in managerial positions and C-suite executives (Women in the Workplace 2021,

2021). Women of color are the least represented group within companies at every level. Many

companies say that they are committed to hiring candidates from all backgrounds, races and

ethnicities, and genders, but few tie these practices to material consequences and, therefore,

many do not follow through on these promises. According to McKinsey’s Women in the

Workplace 2021 (2021):

“Only two-thirds of companies hold senior leaders accountable for progress on diversity

goals, and less than a third hold managers—who play a critical role in hiring and

promotions decisions—accountable. Moreover, among companies that say they hold

leaders accountable, less than half factor progress on diversity metrics into performance

reviews, and far fewer provide financial incentives for meeting goals.”

These statistics are troubling, so to combat this issue we suggest companies include these hiring

and promotional metrics as part of performance reviews. This will help guarantee that women

and other underrepresented individuals will be present throughout the company’s hierarchy. This

is particularly important as women continue to increase in their share of the overall workforce.

According to Gervais (2019), despite more women entering the workplace in recent years, there

has been a disproportionate level of women being promoted to managerial positions. Companies

must implement these measures before the gap becomes even larger.
3. When companies take these steps and commit themselves to hire more women, giving

women leaders feedback, and equitably promoting them, they will in turn see greater

success— in their profits and in their company culture.

There is still a lack of female representation in senior management despite evidence that

gender inclusion in these positions allows for more profitable organizations. There are studies

that show results that suggest organizations with more women executives outperform

competition and that the financial and emotional stability in those organizations is higher when

the business is led by a woman (Johns, 2013). “A recent review of 140 studies found that having

women on an executive board boosted returns, especially in countries with stronger shareholder

protections” (Robin and Judge, 2019, p. 464). In an article written by Li Fusheng, a researcher at

the Dalian University of Technology, he speaks about Amy Marentic, a University of Michigan

Graduate and the former president of Lincoln China, in 2016. During her time with the

organization she was able to achieve unbelievable statistics for the company.

“Lincoln was the fastest-growing premium car brand in China in 2016 thanks to its

expanded lineup, growing dealer network and rising recognition of its personalized

service, The Lincoln Way. The premium arm of Ford Motor Company [Lincoln] sold

11,562 cars in the fourth quarter last year, its best quarter yet in China, bringing its total

sales in the country to 32,558 cars in 2016, a surge of almost 180 percent year-on-year”

(Fusheng, 2017).

This further supports the statement that organizations not only thrive, but exceed expectations

under the supervision of a woman leader. Another platform where women leaders continue to

show their underrecognized value in an organization is written about in an article by McKinsey

which states, “Employees with women managers are more likely to say that their manager has
supported them over the past year” (Women in the Workplace 2021, 2021). For example, these

managers and supervisors made it part of their routine to check in on the overall well-being of

their employees, helped to make sure everyone’s workload was manageable, and helped to

navigate work-life challenges. These small changes in the manager’s leadership style is what

boosted the overall workplace energy, emotional stability, and excitement to work.

Case Study: Bumble

When we look to a successful example of a company that has followed these steps,

Bumble encapsulates everything companies should be doing to effectively serve and employ

women. Bumble’s founder and CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, started her career at her

now-competitor Tinder. While she was the vice president of marketing, Wolfe Herd faced

instances of sexual harassment, which she later filed a lawsuit for, and knew this wasn’t what she

had hoped to do. She used this experience to create a company that would center women in their

services and in their company culture.

Since its founding in 2014, Bumble has seen tremendous success, receiving evaluations at

“more than $14 billion, and last year it hauled in $582 million in revenue with a 26% profit

margin” (Alter, 2021). In less than eight years, Wolfe Herd became the youngest woman to have

taken a company public while also becoming the youngest, female, self-made billionaire.

Arguably, her bigger success is developing a company culture that supports women on all fronts.

Bumble ensures that women know their value, have flexibility to accommodate the challenges

that come with motherhood, and stay committed to hiring and promoting women as the company

continues to grow. 85% of their employees are women (Sairam, 2018) and have generous paid

time off and even the ability to bring their children to work if they are in a bind. They have

frequent discussions about their salaries which give employees the opportunity to know their
own worth, understand how their salaries compare to their coworkers, and ask for raises. They

are also committed to intersectional activism through donations, anti-racism training, and

preventing hate speech on their platform.

Bumble is a great example of how lifting up women professionally, financially, socially,

and emotionally can have great pay offs. As they continue to see great success and growth, other

organizations should consider the implications for how they could benefit from these same

practices.

Conclusion

Given our findings on well researched business and organizational techniques, as well as

specific case studies of organizations who have successfully implemented these strategies, we

have identified some key factors that best promote a more diverse, gender-inclusive

organizational hierarchy where women have the ability to showcase their skills. One of these

techniques includes effective, timely feedback in all directions to combat current trends in which

women are less likely to receive candid feedback, reinforcing gender stereotypes and biases.

Additionally, women, particularly women of color, are less likely to be promoted in most major

companies. For this we advise organizations to put a greater emphasis on hiring and promoting

women at the same rate as men. Not only do these strategies more adequately support the success

of female employees themselves, but also serve to benefit organizations as whole in diversifying

distribution of power. As we see in our example with Bumble, companies that have women in

managerial positions see great success in their financials as well as company culture. Overall,

these strategies provide a good basis for promoting more representation of women in positions of

leadership and power, but there is always room for additional research to be done, to combat

many of the preexisting barriers and biases women face in traditional organizational structure.
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