The Antecedents of a ‘Chilly Climate’ for Women Faculty in Higher Education

The literature on women’s under-representation in academia asserts that faculty women face a ‘chilly climate’, but there are few theoretically based studies examining this proposition. Relational demography, organizational justice, and social network theories all identify possible antecedents of ‘chilly climate’. Using survey data of faculty at a private Midwestern US university, we test whether the perception of exclusion (chilly climate) is influenced by demographic dissimilarity, and perceptions of fairness and gender equity. We find that faculty women perceive more exclusion from academic departments with a low representation of women, consistent with relational demography. Perceptions of procedural fairness and gender equity are powerful factors that foster inclusion and warm the climate for both men and women. The ‘chilly climate’ for women faculty is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. Policies that fail to address these multiple causes are unlikely to be effective

Weight Discrimination: A Multidisciplinary Analysis

Protection against obesity discrimination is extremely limited under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). No obese plaintiff has won using the actual disability theory, but a few have won under the perceived disability theory. Weight-related appearance standards are legal. We estimate weight-based wage penalties for young men and women. We find that mildly obese (20% over standard weight) white women experience greater wage penalties than black men experience for weight that is 100% over standard weight. Men do not experience wage penalties until their weight exceeds standard weight by over 100 lb. A gender-plus analysis under Title VII is more appropriate than the ADA for addressing the weight-based wage penalties that women experience

“Brick & Mortar” Education and “Real World” Experience: Assessing HRM Alumni Perceptions of their Early Professional Development

In this research we examined the extent to which three distinct human resource management (HRM) undergraduate programs provide coverage of the 13 core content areas specified by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and explored the usefulness of various ways of learning including their undergraduate coursework, an internship, and previous work experience as related to early professional development. Based on perceptions of HRM alumni, the findings reveal that the three curricula provided significant differences in levels of proficiency in seven of the core areas and in perceived usefulness of the learning methods. Implications for HRM curriculum development and students’ professional development are discussed

Ethics in Music Therapy: a Programmed Text.

The purpose of this study was to develop a programmed text to teach the subject of professional ethics to music therapy students and professional music therapists. This study was undertaken in response to a mandate from the National Association for Music Therapy requiring the inclusion of professional ethics in the undergraduate music therapy curriculum. Data from four surveys were utilized in the development of the text. For the first survey, a questionnaire was sent to all university music therapy directors in the United States. Questionnaire items concerned how the subject of ethics is taught, materials used, and course titles. Analysis of thirty-nine questionnaires returned indicated that the subject of ethics was most frequently taught as part of another course. Also, respondents indicated a need for educational materials on professional ethics in music therapy. Survey II involved the eliciting of codes of ethics from 181 education and health care organizations. Sixty codes of ethics were received and utilized in the development of the text. In survey III, fifty music therapists, who had been selected at random, were asked to choose the best solution to fifty-six ethical problem situations. They were asked also to rate the importance of each situation on a scale from one (unimportant) to seven (extremely important). Ethical areas considered most important by respondents included client welfare, client-therapist relationships, and confidentiality. In survey IV, eleven experts on professional behavior in music therapy received 291 ethical problem situations. They were asked to select the best solution to each problem, and rate the importance of each of a scale from one (unimportant) to seven (extremely important). Respondents agreed unanimously 25% of the time on choices of solutions to problem situations. The programmed text consisted of ninety problem ethical situations drawn from surveys III and IV. Each situation was followed by four possible solutions to the problem, or four judgments concerning the problem. The best solutions to the problem situations followed each in a programmed text format. Excerpts from codes of ethics were used to support the choice of solutions. A discussion section was also included for each situation. The situations were grouped according to content and placed in one of four categories dealing with organizational and interprofessional relationships; clinical relationships; educational and training relationships; and research precautions and publication credits. Conclusions and recommendations included an assertion regarding the need for frequent update and review of educational materials on professional ethics in music therapy

The Impact of Passing the Professional in Human Resources Exam on Early Career Success for Undergraduates Entering the Human Resource Field

This study investigates the impact of passing the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification exam on the early career success of recent college graduates. Data were gathered from alumni of three Midwestern universities who earned an undergraduate degree in business administration (i.e., BBA) with a major in human resources. The survey was designed to measure early career success indicators including finding a job in the HR field, starting salary, and number of promotions. Results reveal that the probability of one’s first job after graduation being in human resources was significantly greater for those who had passed the PHR exam compared with those who did not pass or did not take the exam. Passing the PHR exam was not associated with significant differences in starting salary or early career promotions. Implications, study strengths and limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed

“Dirty” Workplace Politics and Well-Being: The Role of Gender

We build and empirically test an integrative model of gender, workplace politics, and stress by integrating social role theory and prescriptive gender stereotypes with the transactional theory of stress. To examine the effect of gender on the relation between exposure to non-sanctioned political influence tactics (NPITs; e.g., self-serving and socially undesirable behaviors such as manipulation and intimidation) and stress outcomes, we employed a daily diary design with 64 employed adults over the course of 12 working days. In support of our hypotheses, exposure to NPITs––that is, “dirty politics”––elicited a threat appraisal that, in turn, related to the activation of negative emotions. Moreover, unlike men, women who reported higher levels of NPITs experienced heightened levels of threat appraisal and ultimately negative emotions. We demonstrate that pairing social role theory with the transactional theory of stress is a useful approach for researchers interested in better understanding gender differences in the occupational stress process. Anyone interested in reducing stress in the workplace is encouraged not only to reduce the occurrence of NPITs, but also to consider ways to reduce the threat associated with them, especially for women

Does Work Experience Increase Productivity? A Test of the On-The-Job Training Hypothesis

Using data on wage claims investigations of a state labor department, we test the proposition that work experience increases productivity. Productivity is measured as the fraction of wages an employer allegedly owes an employee which the investigator is able to collect. The recovery of back wages is accomplished without the availability of an official enforcement mechanism. The empirical estimates indicate that investigators become significantly more productive during the first six years of job experience. While the uniqueness of this occupation prevents generalizing this finding, the study raises some important methodological issues.