Mary E. Graham

Not Just a Formality: Pay System Formalization and Sex-Related Earnings Effects

Drawing on neoclassical economic, internal labor market, and devaluation theories, we examine how the sex composition of jobs and the sex of individual workers affect earnings, depending upon the formalization of the pay type. Using personnel data for over 8,000 employees, we confirm the existence of a negative relationship between earnings and the proportion female in a job. We also find that for less-formalized pay types (cash incentive bonuses), sex-composition and individual-sex effects are larger than for more formalized pay (merit raises and base salary). Together, these findings support devaluation explanations, suggest that incentive bonuses may widen the earnings gap between women and men, and have implications for the design of pay structures in organizations.

Consideration of the Incomplete Block Design for Policy-Capturing Research

This article introduces and urges consideration of the incomplete block design for policy-capturing research. The authors compare incomplete block designs with full factorial and fractional factorial designs along several dimensions, including survey length, analysis limitations, and impact on study participants. An initial empirical investigation of an incomplete block design and a full factorial design is performed in a policy-capturing study of 183 job seekers. As predicted, the two designs generated equivalent results on the main effects and most interactions; however, the designs yielded divergent results on some interactions. Study participants who received the incomplete block design were more positive about the survey length and experienced less stress and exhaustion than those receiving the full design. The authors discuss how methodologists might examine and compare policy-capturing designs in future research.

Gainsharing and women's and men's relative pay satisfaction

There is some evidence that women have equal or higher pay satisfaction than similarly situated men, even though they may earn less than these men. Using Majors (1994) model of entitlement, this study examined gender differences in pay satisfaction in two companies before and after gainsharing bonus programmes were introduced. Results indicated that women had higher pay satisfaction than men prior to the introduction of gainsharing and there was some evidence that this difference was greater among lower-paid employees. Women did not exhibit higher pay satisfaction after gainsharing was introduced. The potential association of gainsharing with changes in female–male pay satisfaction is discussed. Copyright

The important role of change management in environmental management system implementation

Purpose – There is increasing concern about the environmental aspects of business and production processes, and many companies have chosen to implement environmental management systems (EMSs). The purpose of this paper is to examine whether change management efforts improve the perceived success of EMS implementation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes empirical survey data using hierarchical regression analyses with a sample of mid‐level engineers and managers in manufacturing facilities.Findings – Change management efforts appear to enhance the perceived environmental performance of manufacturing establishments, primarily driven by top management support for EMS implementation and efforts to institutionalize the EMS.Research limitations/implications – Results are generalizable to large manufacturing facilities implementing EMSs. Results should be replicated with a larger sample and using measures of actual environmental performance.Practical implications – Change management techniques can e...

Designing an Energy Literacy Questionnaire for Middle and High School Youth

A measurement scale has been developed to assess secondary students’ energy literacy—a citizenship understanding of energy that includes cognitive as well as affective and behavioral items. Instrument development procedures followed psychometric principles from educational and social psychology research. Initial exploration of the measure yielded promising results: internal consistencies for the cognitive, affective, and behavioral subscales, measured by Cronbachs α, ranged from 0.75 to 0.83; average discrimination indices ranged from 0.27 to 0.46. The instruments validity was supported with contrasted-groups and developmental-age progression comparisons, as well as factor analyses. The energy literacy questionnaire provides an opportunity to measure baseline levels of energy literacy and to assess broader impacts of educational interventions.

The effects of gender composition of senior management on the economic fallout

In this article, we test the proposition that the presence of women in management impacts decision-making outcomes. In particular, we hypothesize that the greater the proportion of women on the senior management team, the lower the degree of risks taken at the firm level. Using data from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) and the US Treasury in this study, we create firm-level gender ratios and control for firm size to assess the impact on two separate risk outcome measures. We find some evidence that financial institutions with more women in the senior management team avoided having to accept Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, but that the proportion of women executives has no impact on stock return volatility.

A more proactive approach to addressing gender‐related employment disparities in the United States

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a proactive public policy approach to complement relatively reactive existing policies addressing gender-related employment disparities in the USA, and to provide an initial empirical illustration of the proposal. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a conceptual application of theories of total quality management (TQM) to the topic of gender-related employment disparities, followed by an empirical illustration using US Current Population Survey data and a gender equal employment opportunity (EEO) scorecard. Findings – Using the TQM framework, company outliers were conceptualized on the EEO scorecard as “special” causes of economy-wide equal employment variation and the industries in which companies are situated as “common” causes. The paper identifies two underperforming industries on gender-related employment outcomes: Mining and Construction, and Transportation, Communication and Utilities. Research limitations/implications – Further conceptual work on the application of TQM to gender disparities in employment is recommended. Also, the study considered broad industry categories; future research should refine these categories further. Practical implications – It is recommended that US enforcement agencies incorporate industry considerations more explicitly into their activities. Employer insights may be beneficial to improving equal employment opportunity performance at the industry level. Originality/value – The application of TQM theory to the topic of gender-related employment disparities is a novel approach that may motivate new public policies.

The View at the Top or Signing at the Bottom? Workplace Diversity Responsibility and Women’s Representation in Management

Women lag men in their representation in management jobs, which negatively affects women’s careers and company performance. Using data from 81 publicly traded firms with more than 2,000 establishments, the authors examine the impact of two management structures that may influence gender diversity in management positions. The authors find no association between the presence of an HR executive on the top management team—a structure envisioned in practice as enhancing diversity but which could, instead, operate merely symbolically—and the proportion of women in management. By contrast, the authors show a strong, positive association between a previously unexamined measure of commitment to diversity—the hierarchical rank of the individual certifying the company’s required, confidential federal EEO-1 report—and women’s representation in management. These findings counter the common perception that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations are too weak to affect gender diversity. The authors discuss the implications for diversity scholarship, as well as for management practice and public policy.