Document Type
Thesis
First Faculty Advisor
Diya Das
Second Faculty Advisor
Valerie Leduc
Keywords
human resources; feminization; gender perception of professions
Publisher
Bryant University
Rights Management
CC-BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Over the past 50 years, women have advanced into managerial roles in the workplace at exponential rates (Beller, 1982; Scarborough, 2017). However, hiring and promotions based on societal norms and bias have often accentuated or hampered the balance of gender in certain industries (Gaucher et al., 2011; Tambe et al., 2019). The purpose of the present study is to research the differences in gender equality, perceptions, and representation in the often-feminized industry of Human Resources. This research outlines the historical progression of gender balance in the workplace and reviews societal pressures and cycles that lead to the manifestation of these roles. The study was conducted through 10 semi-structured qualitative interviews and an organizational analysis. The results showed that there are significant differences in the ways female and male HR professionals see their roles and the profession itself. Also, there are a lot more women in HR than men even though it might vary by industry. While women do seem to rise up within HR, it is harder for them to move up from the CHRO role to become a CEO of an organization . In conclusion, Human Resources is sometimes used as a token profession where women can be included in boards through them and perhaps we are seeing an evidence of the role of a CHRO creating a new glass ceiling on the progression to CEO.
