exception of no significant differences between US males and Chilean males, and between US females and Chilean females,
on Ability, Acceptance, and the combined WAM variable. This is shown in Table 4.
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Insert Table 4 about here
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The results of our research support Hypothesis 1, that women as managers is less positively perceived in countries
where people are less accepting of the idea that women are equal to men. They also support Hypothesis 2, suggesting that in
countries where inequality in the workplace is more accepted, the perception of women as managers is less positive. Finally,
since the US and Chile have higher levels of social and economic development than China, the results support Hypothesis 3
as well, suggesting that people in countries with a higher level of socio-economic development will perceive women as
managers more positively.
Discussion
The results of our study suggest that U.S. and Chilean men and women have high positive perceptions of women as
managers on the Ability factor, the Acceptance factor, and the combined factor. Chinese men and women have the lowest
perception of women as managers on all three factors. In all three nations, men have the lowest perception of women as
managers. In fact, U.S. females had the highest positive perception of women as managers, followed rather closely by
Chilean females, while Chinese males had the lowest perception of women as managers, followed by Chilean males.
Therefore, we find most interesting the stunning difference between the Chinese sample, and the U.S. and Chilean sample.
Three arguments may explain the results.
First, the results support our premise that the more developed socio-economically the country, the more positive the
perception of women as managers. The United States and Chile report higher per capita incomes and higher levels of social
and economic development than China. In China, which has the lowest GDP/PPP and HDI, women are not found frequently
in managerial roles (Frank, 2001), such that women are seen as having little or no place being in the male-dominated working
world (Liu et al., 2001). In the United States and in Chile, which have significantly higher GDP/PPPs and HDIs, women
have played a more important role in business and politics in recent history evidenced by their presences in a greater number
of managerial positions (Daily et al., 1999; Rueda et al., 2006). This and the data suggest that in more developed countries,
there is a more positive perception of women as managers.
11
Convention