The Impact of Societal Gender Perception on Attitudes Toward Female Managers: A Sample of Educational Organizations

Abstract

Gender refers to the roles assigned to women and men by cultural and societal norms. It aims to achieve equality by eliminating gender-based discrimination and ensuring equal rights and opportunities for both genders. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between societal gender perceptions in educational organizations and attitudes toward female school managers from various perspectives, as well as to determine the impact of this perception on attitudes toward female managers. In this research, which adopts a predictive relational model, data were collected from 196 teachers working in public schools in the Ordu province using the criterion sampling method. The validity and reliability of the research data were also tested within educational organizations: The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and Attitudes Toward Women Managers Scale were used in the collection of research data. Descriptive statistics were used for analyses related to sub-problems, Pearson correlation analysis was employed to determine relationships between variables, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the influence of teachers' societal gender perceptions, as independent variables, on their attitudes toward female school managers, as the dependent variable. The findings of this research indicate a significant negative relationship between the "hostile sexism" score from the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory sub-dimensions and teachers' attitudes toward female managers. It was also found that teachers' ambivalent sexist perceptions predict their attitudes toward female managers. The results of the study reveal that teachers hold some negative stereotypes about women and female managers. They further highlight that, similar to various sectors, women in education are subjected to discriminatory practices and attitudes.