PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Unlike men, for professional women, having high-status connections can backfire

2024-02-20
(Press-News.org) Women working in organizations are frequently encouraged to cultivate connections to high-status individuals based on a prominent social network theory. But new research conducted in China and the United States suggests that having high-status connections can backfire for women.

The study, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Michigan, appears in Organizational Science.

“Our findings reveal a social-network dilemma for women that is contrary to a widely accepted belief that women should build their network with high-status individuals,” said Catherine Shea, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, who coauthored the study. “High-status network contacts may be necessary for success, but they create an extra social perceptual hurdle for women to overcome.”

Women working in organizations are, on average, less successful than men: They are proportionally under-represented in management, receive less credit for their contributions, and are not as valued for their expertise. A common recommendation for women to gain prominence in organizations is to forge connections with high-status others, by seeking advice from them or obtaining mentorship or sponsorship from high-status people. By having these networks, it is assumed, women can close the status gap with their male counterparts.

Social networks are valuable for two reasons. First, high-status connections can provide valuable information and resources, which can help women achieve. Second, individuals’ networks may also shape how they are perceived and evaluated by people around them. In this way, having a network with many high-status contacts should ostensibly enhance individuals’ status (e.g., respect, admiration, influence). But this is where things do not work as planned for women: women with high-status contacts actually lose status.

This is a surprising finding given that there’s an established scientific literature showing that high-status networks positively shape the status of the individual. However, a closer look at this research shows that most studies demonstrating this effect have been of male participants, and have simply assumed that the same effects accrue to women.

In this work, researchers examined the gender-differentiated perceptions of observers as they evaluated an individual’s network. In doing so, they sought to form a more complete picture of how women’s network ties affected their attainment of status in groups. They conducted five studies (three in China and two in the United States) with a total of nearly 2,800 individuals. Participants included employees of firms in Eastern China and an engineering college in Northern China, undergraduates at an engineering school in Eastern China, and U.S. adults recruited from a crowdsourcing marketplace.

The studies concluded that compared to women with ties to lower-status contacts, women with ties to high-status contacts had less respect and admiration from other group members. Women who made ties to higher-status people were seen as being higher in dominance. Women who are dominant are subject to social penalties. This is because dominant women are seen as violating gender norms of communality (an individual’s focus on others’ needs over self-interests). The findings clarify the important yet underdeveloped aspect of how social perceptions of networks combine with gender roles in predicting the effects of networks at the interpersonal level.

“By revealing an unfortunate obstacle that women may face—the natural tendency of people to socially penalize women with high-status contacts—our research increases awareness of this bias so organizations can work against it and eradicate this form of gender inequality,” explained Shea. Managers should strive for greater structural changes to organizations (e.g., by promoting formal mentor programs, initiating sensitivity training to reduce biases) to help women harness the benefits of high-status contacts while reducing the status costs, Shea said.

One bright side was that women who explicitly demonstrated that they were forming high-status ties for the sake of the group were spared the social backlash. This means that women and organizations can take tangible steps to reframe network building activities to protect the status perception of women building their networks. For instance, reframing network events to “lunch and learn” events could ease the social pressures off of agentic women.

The authors of the research note that their research took an audience-centric approach by focusing on how observers interpreted individuals’ network contacts. They did not consider how women feel and act when they have different kinds of contacts.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Time watching videos may stunt toddler language development, but it depends on why they're watching

2024-02-20
DALLAS (SMU) – A new study from SMU psychologist Sarah Kucker and colleagues reveals that passive video use among toddlers can negatively affect language development, but their caregiver’s motivations for exposing them to digital media could also lessen the impact. Results show that children between the ages of 17 and 30 months spend an average of nearly two hours per day watching videos – a 100 percent increase from prior estimates gathered before the COVID pandemic. The research reveals a negative association between high levels of digital media watching and children’s vocabulary development. Children exposed to videos ...

SwRI to host second Automotive Corrosion Symposium

SwRI to host second Automotive Corrosion Symposium
2024-02-20
SAN ANTONIO — February 20, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute will host its second Automotive Corrosion Symposium in Detroit April 11-12. The event, first held in 2022, is designed to foster communication among corrosion experts from within automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as material, paint and other automotive suppliers over a wide spectrum of industry-identified corrosion issues. “Corrosion is a concern within the automotive industry, not just for cosmetic reasons, but because it can affect functionality and safety,” said SwRI Staff Engineer James Dante, one of the organizers ...

Rutgers professor of computer science is named Sloan Fellow

Rutgers professor of computer science is named Sloan Fellow
2024-02-20
A Rutgers professor who studies and improves the design of algorithms – human-made instructions computers follow to solve problems and perform computations – has been selected to receive a 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship. Aaron Bernstein, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, was named one of 126 researchers drawn from a select group of 53 institutions in the U.S. and Canada. The award honors extraordinary creativity, innovation and the potential to become a scientific ...

Challenge Announcement: Global Initiative to Digitalize Scents by the Digital Olfaction Society Revolutionary Scent Digitalization Challenge 2025: Capturing Aromas to Reproduce Anywhere

Challenge Announcement: Global Initiative to Digitalize Scents by the Digital Olfaction Society Revolutionary Scent Digitalization Challenge 2025: Capturing Aromas to Reproduce Anywhere
2024-02-20
Tokyo, The Digital Olfaction Society (DOS) announces a global initiative for 2025, aiming to digitize and transmit scents from various locations around the world for reproduction in Tokyo. This project intends to capture a wide range of fragrances representing the cultural diversity of the globe, leading to a significant development in Tokyo. Invitation for Worldwide Participation DOS invites teams from around the world to participate in this initiative. Whether located in major cities such as Berlin, New York, Dubai, or any place with a distinctive aroma, contributions ...

VUB researchers assemble patterns of micro- and nanoparticles

VUB researchers assemble patterns of micro- and nanoparticles
2024-02-20
Researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Riga Technical University and the MESA+ Institute at the University of Twente have succeeded in arranging very small particles (10 µm to 500 nm, 10 to 100 times thinner than a human hair) in a thin layer without using solvents. This is a hugely important first step towards developing a new generation of sensors and electronics for a wide range of applications. “Common methods based on crystallising solutions are ...

Ancient DNA reveals Down syndrome in past human societies

Ancient DNA reveals Down syndrome in past human societies
2024-02-20
By analysing ancient DNA, an international team of researchers have uncovered cases of chromosomal disorders, including what could be the first case of Edwards syndrome ever identified from prehistoric remains. The team identified six cases of Down syndrome and one case of Edwards syndrome in human populations that were living in Spain, Bulgaria, Finland, and Greece from as long ago as 4,500 years before today. The research indicated that these individuals were buried with care, and often with special grave goods, showing that they were appreciated as members of their ancient societies.  The global collaborative study, led by first author Dr ...

Smiling is the secret to seeing happiness, new research reveals

Smiling is the secret to seeing happiness, new research reveals
2024-02-20
Smiling for just a split second makes people more likely to see happiness in expressionless faces, new University of Essex research has revealed.  The study led by Dr Sebastian Korb, from the Department of Psychology, shows that even a brief weak grin makes faces appear more joyful.  The pioneering experiment used electrical stimulation to spark smiles and was inspired by photographs made famous by Charles Darwin.  A painless current manipulated muscles momentarily into action – ...

Antil studying efficient algorithms for optimization problems with PDE constraints

2024-02-20
Harbir Antil, Professor, Mathematical Sciences; Director, Center for Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence (CMAI), received funding for the project: “Efficient Algorithms for Optimization Problems with PDE Constraints.”  Antil and his collaborators are examining generic optimization problems constrained by partial differential equations (PDEs) with or without uncertainty. In case of uncertainty, a risk-averse optimization framework will be developed. Decomposition and Compression techniques will be utilized to overcome the high computational costs. Several applications in various disciplines such ...

Age-related changes in fibroblast cells promote pancreatic cancer growth and spread

Age-related changes in fibroblast cells promote pancreatic cancer growth and spread
2024-02-20
Older people may be at greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer and have poorer prognoses because of age-related changes in cells in the pancreas called fibroblasts, according to research led by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.  The study, published online Feb. 8 in Cancer Research, provides clues as to why pancreatic cancer is more common and aggressive in older people. It may also help scientists develop ...

University of Birmingham signs pioneering collaboration agreement with Vital Energi

2024-02-20
The University of Birmingham has signed a collaboration agreement with Vital Energi to develop and commercialise a range of innovative thermal storage solutions, which will help accelerate decarbonisation within the heating and cooling sector. The University and Vital Energi will work together over an initial four years to continue the development of thermal storage Intellectual Property (IP) with a view to bringing a number of products to market. As part of the agreement, the University has assigned several IP rights, including a number of patents, to Vital Energi. The implementation of thermal energy storage is imperative to address the challenges posed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Preschool education: A key to supporting allophone children

CNIC scientists discover a key mechanism in fat cells that protects the body against energetic excess

Chemical replacement of TNT explosive more harmful to plants, study shows

Scientists reveal possible role of iron sulfides in creating life in terrestrial hot springs

Hormone therapy affects the metabolic health of transgender individuals

Survey of 12 European countries reveals the best and worst for smoke-free homes

First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years

Certain HRT tablets linked to increased heart disease and blood clot risk

Talking therapy and rehabilitation probably improve long covid symptoms, but effects modest

Ban medical research with links to the fossil fuel industry, say experts

Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks

Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel demonstrates high response rates in adult patients with advanced B-cell ALL

Clinical trial at Emory University reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention

Discovering the traits of extinct birds

Are health care disparities tied to worse outcomes for kids with MS?

For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age

The sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety

Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study

North American Early Paleoindians almost 13,000 years ago used the bones of canids, felids, and hares to create needles in modern-day Wyoming, potentially to make the tailored fur garments which enabl

Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries

In major materials breakthrough, UVA team solves a nearly 200-year-old challenge in polymers

Wyoming research shows early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers

Preclinical tests show mRNA-based treatments effective for blinding condition

Velcro DNA helps build nanorobotic Meccano

Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Rare, mysterious brain malformations in children linked to protein misfolding, study finds

Newly designed nanomaterial shows promise as antimicrobial agent

Scientists glue two proteins together, driving cancer cells to self-destruct

[Press-News.org] Unlike men, for professional women, having high-status connections can backfire