Anne Statham

The gender model revisited: differences in the management styles of men and women

Qualitative data from 22 women and 18 men managers and their secretaries were analyzed to provide insights into gender differences in managerial styles. Traditional management style topologies, based largely on studies of mens behaviors, were called into question. Using an approach that allowed other topologies to emerge from the data, the respondents perceived that women were both task and people oriented, while men appeared image engrossed and autonomy invested. Respondents reported a strong preference for their gender-appropriate model and misunderstanding, even exasperation, with those using the alternative approach. The existence of such different models, especially if unrecognized, would place women at a disadvantage, since their success as managers is usually assessed by men who are likely to have a strong preference for the male-typed approach. The findings also suggest possible modifications to existing measures of managerial styles, particularly a consideration of image-engrossed approaches. Future research is suggested to further explore and confirm these findings.

The impact of singlehood on the career patterns of professional women.

This study investigates the impact of singlehood on the career patterns of professional women. 2 types of singlehood--never-married and divorced/separated--are compared. Length of singlehood and timing of marriage in relation to graduate school are also considered. The study sample consists of 663 professional women who received high-level degrees from a large midwestern university between 1964 and 1974. Some findings of this research follow. 1) Type of singlehood does not seem to make a difference in educational experience and occupational attainment after age of entry into graduate school and enrollment cohort are controlled. 2) Women who are single for greater periods of time tend to be more advanced in terms of educational progress in graduate school than women who are single for shorter periods of time. Women who remain single the duration of graduate school tend to experience greater occupational attainments than those women who marry prior to the completion of graduate school. 3) Relative to never-married women those who marry after completing graduate school are less impeded in terms of educational progression but are less accomplished in terms of occupational achievement. Even those women who marry early and remain married after graduate school exhibit greater occupational achievements than these women. The authors anticipated that women who eventually divorced after longer marriages in graduate school would exhibit less career advancement than women who divorced after short-term marriages during graduate school because of longer-term family responsibilities. Although results indicate that no significant differences exist almost all of the differences are in the predicated direction.

Implementation and Assessment of a Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics Undergraduate Degree Program

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin‐Parkside has developed and implemented an innovative, multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (MBB). The objective of the MBB program is to give students a hands‐on facility with molecular biology theories and laboratory techniques, an understanding of mathematical and physical concepts, an ability to apply these concepts to MBB, and a proficiency with the computational tools and skills related to bioinformatics. We hypothesized that a greater exposure to bioinformatics methods, more rigorous requirements in math and computer science, and a constant demand for integrating information in hands‐on laboratory courses would help students develop better analytical skills. Indeed, the assessment data support these predictions. Interestingly, 80% of MBB majors apply and are accepted into graduate schools.